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Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Old Sep 30th 2009, 3:47 am
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake
My Dad says - have you ever been to Sedona? If you haven't, you don't know what good scenery is. Flagstaff to Sedona to Jerome to Prescott to Phoenix is a spectacular drive. He says the route you proposed is nice too, but it's basically a repeat of what you've already done.
Silly Kaffy - of course I've been to Sedona! I went there 3 weeks ago, and have been many times. I've done the Williams - Sedona route, Flagstaff - Sedona route, Sedona - Jerome - Prescott - etc. Sedona is up there with Bryce Canyon and Zion in terms of dramatic scenery. I am getting a bit tired of the ticky-tacky tourist row(s) in Sedona ... I think I need some good restaurant recommendations that are away from the t-shirt vendors ...

Today, we drove through most of your route above - Eagar - St. John - Zuni - Blackrock - El Morro (awesome monument, not unlike Sedona). Along the way, we stopped (mainly in desperation!) at a run-down little eatery in Ramah (just before El Morro). The place was awesome! I had the best quesadilla I've ever had, and my mom had a great BLT. While there, an old man approached us (father of the owners) and asked where we were from ... I told him our home town name in UK, turns out his wife was from there! He married her as a 'war bride' and brought her back here to New Mexico in '45. My 80 year-old mom was fascinated by this! He explained that this was a 'mormon community'.

The entire drive, up until you join I-40 at San Rafael, is great - ever-changing scenery, some dramatic, some mild - but always fascinating - one minute, dense forest; the next minute, rolling hills with dense bushes, then scrub ... how does it change so fast ...? ! The freeway part is the least attractive (but even that is not bad), and the stretch from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is again attractive.

So far, though - the most attractive part of all was the stretch from Phoenix to Payson on 87! It reminded me very much of the road from Kingman to Phoenix - 89, through Wickiup and Wickenburg.

I don't know if you've ever done it, but the road '395' that runs south from Lake Tahoe to Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Lone Pine, etc in CA is something you should drive one day ... I plan to drive it again next month when I drive my mom back to CA for her return to UK (she's visiting for a long time ... ).
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Old Sep 30th 2009, 4:46 am
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Originally Posted by Steerpike
I am getting a bit tired of the ticky-tacky tourist row(s) in Sedona ... I think I need some good restaurant recommendations that are away from the t-shirt vendors ...
The most awesome place I've eaten in Sedona is at an Indian Restaurant (might be the only one in town!) located in the Bashas shopping plaza west of the main hubbub of Sedona (the main tourist strip). I think it was simply called India Palace or something generic like that...but OMG the food was fabulous. The Tandoori Fish was to die for.

Rene
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Old Sep 30th 2009, 12:06 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

I've been to Jerome, AZ. It was kind of hilly. Fun though. It would have been more fun if I hadn't eaten a dodgy jalepeno pizza late the previous night. I could write a tourists guide reviewing the toilets of Jerome.
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Old Oct 4th 2009, 7:42 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

I'm back! The drive there and back was fantastic; almost no 'boring bits' (just the parts approaching and leaving Albuquerque on the South/West side on the freeway). The highlights of the drive were the road from Phoenix to Payson on the way there (AZ-87) (gentle climb to about 5,000 feet through gorgeous cactus-laden hills), and (on the return) the road from Show Low to Globe (US-60) (dramatic descent from about 6,300 feet to 3,000 feet through a 'mini-grand canyon' (the Salt River Canyon) - this is one of the great hidden gems in the country - spectacular scenery!

Thanks to Kaffy and her family for the suggestions! The 'back road' through Zuni, Ramah, El Morro, etc in New Mexico was also fabulous and so restful.

While in Santa Fe (one of my favorite US cities/towns - each time I go I like it more), I lucked out and caught the Aspen trees turning vivid yellow - only about 20 miles out of the city center.

It got down to 37 degrees in Santa Fe (60s daytime) and was similarly cool everywhere outside of the Phoenix valley - what is so interesting about Arizona is, you can drive just a short distance out of Phoenix and be in MUCH cooler weather! Now it's a perfect 85 in Phoenix!

(1st picture below - Aspens outside of Santa Fe; 2nd: dramatic road switchbacks on US-60 in Salt River Canyon; 3rd: General roadside view; 4th: another roadside view; 5th: in the heart of the Salt River Canyon
Attached Thumbnails Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!-p1010192-sml1000.jpg   Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!-p1010290-sml1000.jpg   Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!-p1010306-sml1000.jpg   Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!-p1010247-sml1000.jpg   Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!-p1010309-sml1000.jpg  


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Old Oct 4th 2009, 10:05 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Google Map of the journey - just about 1,000 miles.
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Old Oct 4th 2009, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Originally Posted by another bloody yank
I've been to Jerome, AZ. It was kind of hilly. Fun though. It would have been more fun if I hadn't eaten a dodgy jalepeno pizza late the previous night. I could write a tourists guide reviewing the toilets of Jerome.
Did you use the haunted one?
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Old Oct 4th 2009, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Originally Posted by Steerpike
Google Map of the journey - just about 1,000 miles.
So glad that you had a great time!!!
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Old Oct 4th 2009, 10:18 pm
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Default Re: Driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe - suggestions please!

Originally Posted by Noorah101
The most awesome place I've eaten in Sedona is at an Indian Restaurant (might be the only one in town!) located in the Bashas shopping plaza west of the main hubbub of Sedona (the main tourist strip). I think it was simply called India Palace or something generic like that...but OMG the food was fabulous. The Tandoori Fish was to die for.

Rene
My parents rave about dinners at Garland's. Have you ever been? I have not yet. Apparently you can book there for dinner if their accomodations aren't full. I can't tell you how many times I've heard about their lamb.

They also think brunch at Enchantment Resort is a fantastic treat.

Edited to add ... my husband and I are fond of a roadside restaurant between Phoenix and Sedona. I want to say it's called Black Rock Cafe but that might be way off. I know they're known for their pies. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the food is very good, particularly if you've just flown across the country.

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