I'm wondering if anyone can make any suggestions for a trip to Albuquerque and Phoenix this fall. My wife has a four-day business trip to Albuquerque in late September. Her brother lives in Phoenix. She hasn't been to visit him since before we got married and I've never been to either New Mexico or Arizona (about 15 years ago I thought I was going to get to go to New Mexico on business, but the case I was handling settled and I never made it out there), so we have in mind that I'll join her on the business trip, do my own thing while she's in meetings and such, and then we'll drive to Phoenix to visit. Or we might reverse the order and go to Phoenix first depending on her brother's schedule. I want to stop at the Grand Canyon en route either way because it seems ridiculous to go out there for the first time and NOT visit the Grand Canyon.
We'll definitely be flying out. I'd love to drive it, but it's a waste of my time suggesting the idea, and to be fair it would simply eat up too much of our limited time. Looks like Southwest to Albuquerque (probably DCA->DAL->ABQ since this is a direct flight, meaning no changing planes) and for the trip home who knows yet. Flying into or out of Las Vegas could be interesting since I've never been there either, but it's too far out of the way, and Salt Lake City is WAY too far at over 600 miles from Albuquerque (especially if I were to detour via the Moki Dugway).
So I think we'll fly into ABQ on Wednesday, rent a car, stay there until midday Sunday, then drive to the Grand Canyon, spend a day or two there, and then drive to Phoenix. Looking at a map, the most obvious route would be I-40 west to US-89, north to AZ-64, west to the canyon; then, when leaving there, continue down AZ-64 to I-40 at Williams, then east to Flagstaff and down I-17. (My brother-in-law lives east of I-17 just below the "Lookout Mountain Preserve.") I guess that would put us into Phoenix late Tuesday and we plan to fly out on Saturday. I figure a clinch of I-17 will be an easy matter between driving down to Phoenix and then going to the airport at the end of the week.
My question, then, is four-fold:
(a) What is there of roadgeek interest in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area that doesn't involve too many hours of driving? I see there is a road called "Turquoise Trail" that looks like it could be a scenic route between those two cities, so perhaps use that one way and take I-25 the other. Is it worth it? The people planning my wife's meeting have said they do not recommend it, but I also got the impression they are not interested in roads for the sake of roads. I will pretty much have Friday and Saturday on my own to do as I wish. Maybe Thursday as well but I don't know yet. I believe I'll need to be back by around 5:00 or 5:30 each of those nights because I think they have dinners planned and spouses/guests are apparently welcome. Thus, I don't regard there as being an option to drive somewhere, stop for the night, and then take another route back.
(b) It would add considerable distance to go around via the US highways to stop at Four Corners on the way from Albuquerque to the Grand Canyon. On the other hand, it'd be kind of neat to go to Four Corners even though I know there isn't really anything there. Are the roads scenic or are they boring? My wife won't mind a longer route if it's especially scenic and interesting. On the other hand, since I've never been out there I don't know whether I-40 might be scenic enough to warrant just going that way. I don't have the patience to click through a "virtual drive" on Google Street View.
(c) I've read that the Grand Canyon's North Rim is much less crowded, probably because it looks like it's much more of a nuisance to reach. The maps make it appear to be a significantly greater distance. Is it worth doing that instead of the South Rim for one's first trip there? (My wife has been to the South Rim more than once in the past.) It looks like it would consume an awful lot of time to go there instead.
(d) Anything else worthy of exploration within the confines of the schedule described above? I'm kind of assuming there won't be much opportunity for road-related activity while we're in Phoenix because we rarely see my brother-in-law and so we should spend the time with him and his wife since they'll be hosting us. (When they came here for three days a few years back we took them to Mount Vernon and to some of the museums downtown.)
Thanks in advance!
(a) Turquoise Trail is exactly what you said: a scenic backroad between the two cities. You could easily drive that to Santa Fe, spend some time there, and be back to ABQ in time for dinner. Also, ABQ (and most of New Mexico) has made quite an effort to be appealing to Route 66 tourists, so that's another idea for something road-related to do around there.
(b) I think I-40 is somewhat scenic in its own right, but I would say there is even more to see from the roads up around the Four Corners area. Either way, there are lots of scenic stops: El Malpais Nat. Mon, El Morro Nat. Mon, Canyon de Chelly Nat. Mon, Petrified Forest Nat. Park, etc. I enjoyed the Arizona Meteor Crater, too. Although it's a privately-owned, somewhat pricey tourist trap, it was still cool to see the main attraction, and to marvel at the impact of a space rock. Monument Valley is exceptionally scenic, but that might be getting outside of your timeframe.
(c) It's true that the North Rim is a lot quieter, because it's very remote. The solitude is nice, and it's a stark contrast to the crowds on the South Rim. However, since you're looking south across the canyon, the view is often backlit and somewhat hazy. I don't know if I would recommend it given the circumstances you've outlined.
In winter 2014 I actually did option B on your list but also included US 163 (used CO-41/UT 162 to get over there) through Monument Valley which very scenic. Google Image or Street View US 163 west of Mexican Hat for the best views to preview.
Google says:
Direct ABQ to Grand Canyon village is 6 hr
ABQ to GCV using NM/AZ 264 is 6.7 hr
ABQ to GCV using US 550 and US 160 (not counting brief detour to 4-cor monument) is 7.5 hr
ABQ to GCV via 4 cor and US 163 is 8.7 hr
I would also recommend visiting Petroglyph NM in western ABQ. You can see stuff with next to no walking from the parking area.
If you enjoy Mexican Food there is a terrific place in Flagstaff (Salsa Brava) on I-40 Business a little west of the south end of US 89.
Mapmikey
Thank you both. I just looked at the pictures of Monument Valley on AARoads. Wow. I had no idea that was out there. Looks jaw-dropping. That will make the added distance much easier to sell to Ms1995hoo.
I had forgotten about that crater. I've seen pictures of it but had forgotten it was out there. Not sure we'll fit that in if we do the Four Corners/Monument Valley route–which, I notice, might allow for a side trip to the Moki Dugway, too.
I see Petroglyph NM on the map. We'll be staying at the Doubletree downtown, so that looks quite simple. I'll check it out.
I'd second what has already been said and add that I'd stock with the south rim if I were you.
If the intent were to spend a day or two recreating in the area, the North Rim is substantially better. If the idea is to get out of the car for an hour just to see it, the South Rim is equally impressive.
Quote from: corco on March 11, 2015, 01:20:55 PM
I'd second what has already been said and add that I'd stock with the south rim if I were you.
If the intent were to spend a day or two recreating in the area, the North Rim is substantially better. If the idea is to get out of the car for an hour just to see it, the South Rim is equally impressive.
Thanks. I'm thinking we'll probably stay overnight for at least one night, especially given the time involved driving from New Mexico. The time estimates Google gave me are all longer than what Mapmikey cited, though of course I don't know for certain I used the same start/endpoints or routing. As I ponder it, I'm thinking we may wind up having to stop for the night somewhere between Albuquerque and the Grand Canyon because we probably won't be hitting the road first thing in the morning, so if we do that, I imagine we'd spend one night at the Grand Canyon instead of two. We won't be hiking terribly far down into the canyon due to physical issues, but I'm sure we will do at least a few hours of wandering around and taking photos. If the South Rim is better for photography, then I think that's the place to go.
If time weren't an issue, I'd consider the North Rim, then Las Vegas, then Hoover Dam, but I think that's all simply too much extra distance that takes way from time visiting the relatives.
I would keep in mind that lodging options are pretty bad between Four Corners and the Grand Canyon via Monument Valley- there's a random decent hotel in Kayenta and maybe a Quality Inn in Tuba City, but that's about it. Both of those are definitely rez towns- driving on the Navajo Reservation is an experience in itself. Watch for pedestrians, even out in the middle of the desert. Especially being from back east, spending the night in either city will probably feel fairly foreign. That's not to say you should avoid it- just...you will notice a distinct cultural difference. Probably not so much at the Hampton Inn or whatever in Kayenta, but if you hang out in town you will.
In early December, I took a trip from southern California to Monument Valley. I only had a few days, and split up the trip into these segments:
L.A. to Laughlin, NV
Laughlin, NV to Kayenta, AZ via the Grand Canyon south rim
Kayenta to Las Vegas via Monument Valley and 4 Corners (a very long driving day!)
Vegas to L.A.
If you plan to stay in Kayenta, try to find something to eat on the way, as there wasn't much to choose from there, especially since we got there around 8pm. We ended up just getting sandwiches at the Subway. Also, look out for the many stray dogs on the reservation. The iconic view of Monument Valley is at Utah milepost 13 on US163 east of the valley. Great views from the View Hotel at the MV Navajo Tribal Park. The rest of US163 is a nice drive, check out the Mexican Hat, like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon. I wish I had taken the short detour to see the Goosenecks State Park (off UT261, the road to the Moki Dugway), sort of like a double Horseshoe Bend (which is off US 89 in Page, AZ).
I saw the hotel in Kayenta listed on Expedia. I may go get a AAA book. I suspect the cellular data signal for one's iPad isn't so great in the rural areas.
If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, you should take a tour of all the filming locations in ABQ. They go about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Quote from: Road Hog on March 12, 2015, 09:39:20 AM
If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, you should take a tour of all the filming locations in ABQ. They go about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Never seen it, but thanks for the tip all the same.
I sent my wife a link to pictures of Monument Valley and she replied as follows. I don't see much reason for concern, though of course there is always a chance of a breakdown anywhere you go. Would y'all be concerned about it being a desolate area?
QuoteWOW, those are some spectacular pictures. Looks desolate though, don't know if I want to drive out there alone. What if you break down? We should discuss it this weekend.
I did it in a car with about 180k miles on it. You'd be doing it in a presumably much newer rental.
I'm pretty sure I had satellite radio everywhere out there, so I would think On-Star would work if that is on the vehicle.
Also, no matter what you decide to do: There are going to be desolate stretches of road going from ABQ to Phoenix via the Grand Canyon. Try and find a coverage map for whatever cell service you have - http://www.cellularmaps.com/coverage.shtml
On the third hand, my wife always says "the desert is trying to kill you"...
The least busy road in my recollection on the Monument Valley routing is CO-41/UT 162...
Mapmikey
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2015, 08:21:18 PM
I sent my wife a link to pictures of Monument Valley and she replied as follows. I don't see much reason for concern, though of course there is always a chance of a breakdown anywhere you go. Would y'all be concerned about it being a desolate area?
QuoteWOW, those are some spectacular pictures. Looks desolate though, don't know if I want to drive out there alone. What if you break down? We should discuss it this weekend.
There's enough people out there that it really doesn't feel desolate. It might to some folks, but compared to, say, central Nevada, or Wyoming (or to use an Arizona example, US 60 west of Wickenburg or US 191 between Morenci and Springerville) it's not desolate. The roads are good, I'm 85% sure there's cell service, and there's quite a bit of traffic. If you broke down you wouldn't be more than an hour from a tow truck- I can say that with near certainty. 163 is a pretty touristy road. There are many places in the rural west where I'd be worried if I broke down and 163 isn't even close to being on that list.
Thanks to both of you. I told her driving through desolate areas is part of travel in that area. Looks like Verizon's coverage is better than I would have expected there. I suppose it's fair to remember the Indian tribes probably want cellular service, so there's going to be some sort of service along the roads....
I discovered there's a bed and breakfast near the foot of the Moki Dugway. It's a small place that apparently books up well in advance, but I may look into that. Talk about a place with no light pollution for looking at the stars.
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2015, 09:04:19 PM
I discovered there's a bed and breakfast near the foot of the Moki Dugway... Talk about a place with no light pollution for looking at the stars.
Yes, that is truly a dark-sky region:
http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/
Hope it's clear when you're there...
Thanks again for the tips. Trip is mostly booked with the exception of flights (waiting until tomorrow to do that), one night's lodging in the Valley of the Gods area (I have a call in to that bed and breakfast to see if they have a vacancy; if not, we'll stay in Bluff or Mexican Hat), and the car rental. Do you folks have any thoughts on whether it's important to have a higher-clearance vehicle like an SUV for roads like the Moki Dugway or the unpaved 17-mile loop through the Valley of the Gods? Normally I'd opt for a mid-size or full-size car, but the unpaved roads gave me pause.
The Moki Dugway doesn't require anything more than a standard passenger car. It's pretty well graded.
Quote from: AsphaltPlanet on March 16, 2015, 02:50:54 PM
The Moki Dugway doesn't require anything more than a standard passenger car. It's pretty well graded.
Thanks. The owner of the Valley of the Gods Bed & Breakfast called back a few minutes ago and his opinion echoes yours–he said if the only off-road driving you plan is limited driving like Valley of the Gods Road, a standard rental car is fine unless there's a lot of rain that turns the road to mud. I guess I'll see what the rates are and decide based on pricing.
The more I look at the maps and the photos on Google Maps and the like, the more I think we may skip Four Corners to allow more time for exploration up around the Moki Dugway, possibly including Muley Point.
Thanks again to all for the tips. I'll resurrect the thread this fall with photos and the like.
Thread bumped because two weeks from today we will be in Albuquerque and I'd like to ask for you folks' advice on which route you recommend between Albuquerque and the Valley of the Gods area. Looking at the maps, the obvious choices are either I-25 north to US-550 to US-64 or I-40 west to US-491 (former 666). Don't know whether we'll stop at Four Corners because it'll depend on timing–I want to stop for dinner in Bluff before heading to the bed and breakfast near the Moki Dugway. Goal is to reach the bed and breakfast by about 7:00 PM.
The real question is whether either route is particularly scenic or particularly faster. On the whole a scenic drive probably trumps all else unless the scenic route takes so long as to be impractical.
Thanks in advance.
I thought US 550 was scenic. It is definitely wide open...few slowdowns once you leave the I-25 area.
Mike
It's been a while, but I liked the scenery on 550 better than 491. Of course, you can't go wrong anywhere in the region you'll be visiting. Get yourself something with Hatch green chiles.
Thanks to both of you. The AAA map gives 550 the scenic marking and doesn't give it to 491, but I figured comments here might be more useful.
Definitely do 550. You'll see the same type of scenery in Utah and Arizona as you do on 491. 550 is significantly different.
Quote from: usends on March 12, 2015, 09:25:55 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 12, 2015, 09:04:19 PM
I discovered there's a bed and breakfast near the foot of the Moki Dugway... Talk about a place with no light pollution for looking at the stars.
Yes, that is truly a dark-sky region:
http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/
Hope it's clear when you're there...
If you're interested in astronomy, definitely make it a point to visit Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, where Pluto was discovered. The old Clark Telescope inside was very recently restored and ready for visitors!
Thanks again to both of you. I think corco's advice clinches it on the New Mexico segment unless something happens in the next two weeks to close the road.
Regarding the observatory, my gut tells me we won't have time, but I'll try to squeeze it in because it'd be interesting. I've only been to one observatory, the McCormick Observatory in Charlottesville at my reunion this summer, and it was almost closing time so I didn't get to see much. But it'll all depend on timing because when we pass Flagstaff we will be en route to my brother-in-law's house in the Phoenix are and we will need to be there by dinnertime. Thanks for the tip, though, because it'll give me a reason to keep an eye on the time and figure out what we can do.
I second the Lowell Observatory. Of course, you want to go at night, and on a night when they have the big telescope(s) open to the public. I've done it twice and was very impressed both times. 10+ years ago when I was last there, it was just a few nights a week and weather-permitting. I got lucky with the timing. Sounds like it might not work out for you on this trip if you'd be going on the way to Phoenix and want to get there for dinner...
I still appreciate the advice because I don't know what the evening plans are for the nights when we're in Phoenix. I'm not averse to a late trip back up to Flagstaff (assuming suitable weather, of course), but since we hardly ever get to see these relatives due to the distance involved, I think it's reasonable to make the visit the higher priority.
Some photos (http://www.ajfroggie.com/roadpics/nm/us550/) of US 550 from my own trip 10 years ago, to give you an idea of what to expect.
Quote from: froggie on September 11, 2015, 03:46:49 PM
Some photos (http://www.ajfroggie.com/roadpics/nm/us550/) of US 550 from my own trip 10 years ago, to give you an idea of what to expect.
Thanks for that. I haven't had time (nor, candidly, the patience) to click through on Street View or the like, so I appreciate that link. Knowing it's four lanes is good information.
Yep. Except for the first few miles from I-25 and a couple of towns it passes through, it's a 4-lane undivided and 70 MPH.
The four lanes will make the missus happier, too. I enjoy two-lane roads from time to time, but she gets annoyed with them on longer drives. (Of course, she'll have to put up with them in Utah and Arizona, but Monument Valley plus way less traffic than we get in Virginia will help!)
We've been in Albuquerque since Wednesday. Flew in that afternoon. It took half an hour to get the rental car, allegedly due to an inventory issue in the computer, but it got squared away. Drove to the hotel and simply had dinner there, didn't drive anywhere.
Didn't drive anywhere yesterday either due to the schedule for my wife's convention. Instead she and a friend of hers and I walked to Old Town Albuquerque, about a 1.5-mile walk via the route my phone plotted (took a different route back and the total worked out to around 3.75 miles, including walking around Old Town). The schedule issue was that last night her group had chartered a bus to go to the Sandia Peak Tramway and to have dinner at the restaurant at the foot of the tram before riding up. Nice idea in theory, didn't work so well in practice. I was hoping to be up at the top of the tram in time for sunset, but because they scheduled dinner first for a group of about 40 people, that didn't work. Took forever to get food, I shoveled it down in ten minutes, and I was riding up the tram when the sun set. Wasn't a great sunset anyway, no clouds in the sky to create color and texture, but it would have been nice to have been at the top ahead of time. I guess I have to remember it's a group of secretaries and they aren't thinking about photo opportunities. I had time for a drink at the top and then a few photos before we had to come down all too soon because my wife was cold and was getting chest pains, presumably from being at 10,300 feet of altitude (I doubt the margarita helped either). She was fine once we were back at the bottom for a while, at least.
Today she was at her convention so I drove to Santa Fe. Took Turquoise Trail up and I-25 back. I enjoyed Turquoise Trail more despite the much slower drive (and I stuck to the speed limit because I'd been warned about cops, though I didn't see any). There was almost nobody on the scenic route so I wasn't holding anyone up or being pushed from behind, and I could pull off to take pictures as it suited me. Very nice drive. Thank you to those of you who recommended it. I-25 coming home was less enjoyable because of fairly heavy traffic, although maintaining the speed limit wasn't a problem until a short distance north of I-40. I presume it was a combination of afternoon traffic combined with it being Friday afternoon.
Tomorrow I'm staying in Albuquerque due to the schedule again (dinner plans). May hit the Unser Racing Museum and Petroglyph Monument. Sunday we drive to the Valley of the Gods. I'm going to use US-550 per the suggestions up the thread. Beyond there, we'll see what time it is. The bed and breakfast's owner called yesterday and she recommends getting there before dark because she says it's hard to find. It's on the dirt road through the Valley of the Gods near the foot of the Moki Dugway.
The rental vehicle is an SUV, a Nissan Armada, because that was by far the lowest price. It has low-range 4WD, so I'm REALLY not concerned about dirt roads and the like!
This is a really nice area to visit. Thanks again for the recommendations in this thread.
Greetings from the Valley of the Gods Bed and Breakfast. We're about two miles from the foot of the Moki Dugway. The night sky here is unbelievable, especially with the lunar eclipse. Major bright Milky Way directly overhead. I just hope some of the pictures come through. Right now I'm inside and my camera is outside shooting in bulb mode triggered by remote control. I'm going for a half-hour exposure.
THANK YOU for recommending US-550. Great drive. I stuck to the speed limit and was glad I did when someone passed us entering Cuba and then got pulled over within five minutes.
Tomorrow we go up the Moki Dugway and out to Muley Point. Back down the Dugway to Goosenecks State Park. After a stop for gas, we'll head to Monument Valley and then on to the Grand Canyon South Rim. Unfortunately, I think we will skip the 17-mile dirt road through the Valley of the Gods due to time: It takes an hour or more to drive.
We're on our final day before flying home to the rainy East Coast and I just wanted to say thanks again for the advice. Since my last update, we've done the following:
(1) The day after my previous post above, we drove up the Moki Dugway and out to Muley Point. Took loads of pictures and then went back down the Dugway (used low-range 4WD and a low gear; may not have been necessary, but it made me more comfortable because the vehicle was a lot heavier than I'm used to). Video of the Dugway to follow later this month after I download and sort through the hundreds of photos.
(2) After the Dugway we skipped Goosenecks, put gas in the vehicle in Mexican Hat, and headed for Monument Valley. Stopped at Forrest Gump Hill (there is a sign off to the west side of the road) and at several other locations. What a magnificent road that is in terms of scenery. Continued down US-163 to Kayenta, completing the clinch, and then took US-160 west. Stopped for lunch at McDonald's in Tuba City and then headed on towards the Grand Canyon.
(3) US-89 has a major construction project going on near Cameron and we were delayed some 20 minutes by a flagman. Glad we stopped for lunch earlier. Once we broke clear, we got stuck behind some doofus who stopped at the roundabout at AZ-64 even though nobody was on the roundabout. He earned a loud, long blast from my horn. Headed west on AZ-64 to the Grand Canyon. That drive feels insanely long. We stopped at the watchtower and one overlook but skipped most of the others due to a desire to reach the Maswik Lodge in time for sunset photography. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before. What an amazing sight. Words and photos can't do it justice.
(4) The next day (Tuesday) we headed south to Phoenix. I was a bit surprised to see two seemingly new roundabouts in Tusayan. These were not to be the last roundabouts on our trip and I was surprised Arizona has a lot of them (more on this later). The sat-nav wanted us to go down AZ-64 to Williams, but I instead opted for US-180 to Flagstaff even though it cost me the clinch of Route 64. I was more interested in the scenic route. Stopped for lunch at a Jack in the Box in Flagstaff. They used to have a location near where I grew up in Virginia but it closed some 35 years ago after the E. coli thing and my mother had never been willing to take us there. Now that I've visited one, I can't say I had missed all that much.
(5) We continued straight down I-17. What an interesting road. The northern part near Flagstaff felt sort of like portions of the Adirondack Northway part of I-87 due to the pine forest and the high elevation. Then the long downhill segments reminded me more of Colorado or New Mexico. Once we reached Black Canyon City the terrain began to look more like what I had envisioned for Arizona, rocky desert with cactus all over the place. I had planned to continue down I-17 and then cut east on Thunderbird Road to try to help ensure I might manage the clinch, but as we neared Phoenix the Jack in the Box lunch came back to haunt me and I decided just to take the fastest route, which meant AZ-101 east and then south through the streets. As it turns out, I likely won't manage the clinch unless we take I-17 to dinner tonight: A segment south of here will be closed tonight and tomorrow. Oh well. The steakhouse is near the airport, but since my brother-in-law will likely be driving, we'll take whatever route he prefers and I won't raise the idea of clinches or the like.
(6) Wednesday we went up to Sedona, which meant going back up the same segment of I-17 we used the day before. But it was worth it to see the scenery in Sedona. I'd heard the town's name but had never seen pictures and all I can say is "wow." Regarding roundabouts: Loads of them throughout the Sedona area. My brother-in-law and his wife grumbled about them because they don't like slowing down for them, though they conceded I had a valid point about how you stop less often. Bigger issue I noted is that NOBODY here uses their blinkers at the roundabouts. That slows things down because you have to stop more often when you don't know whether someone is exiting.
(7) Leaving Sedona we were going to go to a restaurant in Cornville but instead stopped at the Up the Creek Grill on Page Springs Road. Absolutely outstanding meal, five-star quality but without the five-star price. I highly recommend it to anyone who's in that area. After dinner we returned to I-17 via Cornville Road and thence back to Phoenix. My brother-in-law plowed into a huge piece of truck tire debris at the top of the climbing lane south of AZ-69. Amazingly, there was no damage.
(8) Thursday we headed up to Jerome. My brother-in-law drove again, I-17 to AZ-69 with the intent of connecting to AZ-89A. His wife was attempting to navigate using a AAA map. I had my iPhone and knew she was missing tons of turns, but I decided not to say anything and the result was I got the AZ-69 clinch. Route 89A is a wild mountain road, twisty as heck and it would have been loads of fun in a different vehicle. Their van is too heavy and slow to allow you to appreciate the twisty stuff, and the tint job on the front right window is poorly-done, but I got some good photos I may upload or perhaps send in to AARoads to update that route's page. Jerome was an interesting little town, a former mining town that's turned into a bit of a hippie art area. It's on the side of a mountain and the road in and out has lots of hairpin turns and major elevation changes. Dropping out of Jerome on the east side, we encountered another series of four roundabouts before picking up AZ-260 back to I-17 (Route 260 being another clinch). As I said, I was really surprised to see so many roundabouts. I didn't think most Western states would be building many of them.
(9) Didn't really go anywhere today other than a UPS Store to ship some purchases home and the gas station to fill up the rental vehicle before returning it tomorrow. Tonight we are going to the Stockyards Steakhouse, which I gather is a local institution that's been around since the 1940s.
Interesting things:
–Arizona advises of an upcoming speed limit decrease with yellow diamond signs saying "SPEED REDUCED AHEAD" instead of the white rectangular signs used elsewhere or the signs telling you what the limit will be. I found them weird because I've never seen that style elsewhere.
–Most of the roundabout signage is kind of crummy in my opinion because most of the ones we've seen don't have the diagrammatic sign showing the exits and saying what each road is/where it goes. Instead, they have an LGS in advance that has multiple lines of text with arrows next to them (eg, a curved arrow pointing straight ahead, thus denoting to take the second exit, with a street name, and an arrow pointing right, thus denoting to take the first exit, with a different street name) and then, at the bottom of the sign, the words "NEXT ROUNDABOUT." I prefer the diagrammatic signs used in the UK and in most other states. They're easier to read quickly. I'll have a picture or two of the Arizona style sometime next week after I download stuff.
All in all, we've had a great trip and, as I've said before, I appreciate all the advice from everyone. I'll have a final route log and map sometime after we get home.
Edited to add: Here's an example of the roundabout signage from Sedona. In this case, the road we were on went straight. When that road ended, there was a more conventional diagrammatic sign.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi31.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc378%2F1995hoo%2FRoad%2520sign%2520pictures%2FECD998CA-D8BA-46E7-BDCB-D84B43805635_zpsnzt51z85.jpg&hash=5423f0e5ce8363aed292f3d3965f1c9505f7490d)
I'm still sorting pictures since I unexpectedly have today off, but it will come as no surprise that I gave priority to the Moki Dugway videos. The second one includes still photos taken from the cliffs.
Heh, two more.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi31.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc378%2F1995hoo%2FF7D6CCD0-A459-4CEB-B912-7ECA59DC3A92_zpsiukkm9kp.jpg&hash=295b7a69499608ef5e58c0194666ddc4e573f4e3)
(https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.M198294ce6207f929c36288e4c3e6cd80o0&pid=15.1)
Two compilations of scenery for those who might find that sort of thing interesting. I found the roads in southeast Utah to be particularly scenic.