One Tank Road Trips

[Mark Sedenquist]

Here's another one I wrote for January edition of the NPR Desert Companion magazine. A 1-2 tank trip starting and finishing in Las Vegas, NV.

(Cheat sheet: US-95 to Blythe, east along I-10 to Dome Rock Road to Quartzsite, north along Arizona Highway-95 to Parker Dam Road, north once more on AZ-95 through Lake Havasu, Mohave Valley, Bullhead City, crossing the river at Laughlin. West on Nevada Highway 163 to Christmas Tree Road and return to Las Vegas on US-Hwy 95).

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

Here's the latest article recently published in the Desert Companion Magazine.... Ostriches run amok...

Las Vegas: Exit I-15 at Jean. Take NV-161 to Sandy Valley Road. At Sky Ranch, go south on Kingston Road (there’s a stretch that’s unpaved). Keep heading south on Cima Road to Kelso, then take Kelbaker Road to Route 66, turning west on Amboy Road. At Twentynine Palms continue south through Joshua Tree National Park to Indio. Take I-10 west to Cabazon. The fastest route back to Las Vegas is through Victorville on I-15.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Lonliest Highway in America is featured on the Desert Companion Magazine this month. All by your lonesome on Hwy 50 (Except for the Ghosts)

(North on US Hwy-93 to NV SR-376 and then east on US Hwy-50, returning on US Hwy-93 to I-15 for a 775 mile round trip). See map of this route.

Peter Thody's photo is featured in this article, unfortunately the magazine failed to provide his photo credit, but we all know it was his photo!

Mark

[shirohniichan]

Thank you for the photos and information, Year25.

I live on the other end of Route 66 and am planning a trip to Petrified Forest from So' Cal' soon. I've never been eat of Oklahoma City, so I enjoy seeing what the other parts are like.

Editor: We can't figure out which post you were replying to... Please, let us know and we'll move this post to that thread....

[Year25]

Thank you for the photos and information, Year25. [/I]

You are welcome! I haven't been on here in awhile, so pardon my late response!

[AZBuck]

I've been meaning to write up a sort of compendium of local one day RoadTrips that I take visitors on when they come to see me in Tucson. As long as you realize that 'One Tank RoadTrip' does not mean a 'One Day RoadTrip' (there's just too much to see) here goes. As is usual for me I'll describe this loop trip in a clockwise direction.

The great stops start even as you barely leave Tucson, and first up is the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park. After a short (or long) hike or bike ride in the desert, head down to the first of two caves worth visiting in the area, Colossal Cave where legend has it that there is still some hidden loot from an old west robbery.

Heading east on I-10 brings you to the town of Benson and one of those local little museums RoadTrippers enjoy so much for a quick insight into local history and culture. From there AZ-80 will take you south through St. David to "The Town Too Tough To Die" - Tombstone AZ. Although many of the wooden buildings along main street had to be rebuilt following two major fires in 1881 and 1882, the Bird Cage Theatre is original and was operated by Wyatt Earp. Continuing down AZ-80 brings you to Bisbee, home of both one of the world's biggest open pit copper mines, another great little local museum, and is just a great town to walk in.

Now backtrack a bit on AZ-80 and hook up with AZ-90 over to Sierra Vista. On the way, you'll be crossing the The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, a true oasis in the desert and one of the last free-flowing streams in this area. In Sierra Vista itself, a visit to the Fort Huachuca Museum. (Note that Fort Huachuca is an active military base, and you will be required to show two forms of ID for everyone over the age of 13.).

From Sierra Vista continue north on AZ-90 towards Benson, but your goal is well short or there and will be on the left- a world class living cave. Entry is only by guided tour, but this is well worth it. After your spelunking, backtrack south on AZ-90 to AZ-82 west to Sonoita for a bit of relaxation with the grape. Patagonia for some unique pizza and another desert oasis.

Close the loop by continuing on down to Nogales, a town that straddles the US-Mexican border and heading north from there along I-19 (the only Interstate in the US that is still - for a while at least - signed in kilometers rather than miles) but using the parallel US/AZ-89 Nogales Highway where possible, making a few last historic stops at Tumacácori, Tubac, and a relatively new one at the Titan Missile Museum before returning to Tucson.

Either at the start or end of your journey, you can also take in some of Tucson's most notable attractions, the Pima Air & Space Museum, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Mission San Xavier del Bac, and Biosphere 2.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

Wow, this is a great list!

Mark

[Mark Sedenquist]

Here's another one-tank road trip featuring Bishop, California.

Great photos by RTA contributors, Peter Thody, Bruce Jones and Megan Edwards are featured in this article "The Scenic Route (Just up the Street)!

...And you can never have too many trunk-packing tips...

[Lifemagician]

Buck, do you know if they are doing tours under the glass? It's more than a decade since I was there, but they had, at the time, suspended the tours under the glass. I have since heard that it closed completely... but the site shows that this appears no longer to be the case. I can't find information about the under glass tours.

I'd make the effort to get there, if I could be sure of doing the under the glass tour.

Lifey

[Mark Sedenquist]

It was open in 2009, Jaimie wrote an article about it...

And here is the link about the public tours....