My daughter Maggie and I are planning a trip to Sierra Vista, AZ, this coming September. We will have the whole month to travel and do as we please.
We will be travelling out of Maggie's home in Quebec. We have been discussing changing things up a bit from a straight southwest route, to maybe taking small, or medium of the road detours along the way, here and there, to get a chance to meet some of the members from the Fire.
My main reason for the trip is to go to the cemetery where Cross is buried and pay my respects to him, and leave behind a little something in memory of a good man and a kind and loving friend.
Other than that we would like to experience the sights, and sounds, and tastes of Arizona, as the well seasoned travelers would say. Mind you, ho hum touristy stuff is not for us, we would prefer suggestions from folks who have live there, and go there, and who know the REAL people places to eat, see and lay their heads.
Any suggestions, travel tips, or thought processes, are truly welcome.
By the way, the roads in the Navajo Reservation are newer and finer than any in California. I guess it is about the only thing the Obama Administration has done right.
From the Acoma Pueblo I would take the roads (117 south then 36) to Quemado, and then 60 to Show Low. But if time was an issue, you could always double back on Interstate 40 to Holbrook ( and see the Petrified National Forest) and then to Show Low. From there you could take State 60 through the Fort Apache Reservation to Globe, and then 77 to Tuscon and on to Sierra Vista.
I admire your reason for this trip and hope you find more joy than sorrow on this journey. I still can't delete his pm's.
Well, you have Tombstone a few miles NE of Sierra Vista, and the Petrifide National Forest about mid state to the north. I visited Greg, but not Tombstone, don't know what you might find there. Toured the PNF years ago and it was very much worth the detour.
Give him my best regards please.
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
gregs place was just south of sierra vista, on the road down to miracle valley and palominas. Palominas known for a restaurant now closed. And the spot where john wayne crossed his cattle into the United States. Some of the characters from the O.K. corral were born around there. I sent a private email, but another thought, there are a couple of wineries in the sonita patagonia area east of nogales. The monsoons should turn that area pretty green that time of year. Include me in mudhen's(bens) comments.
miracle valley is worth googling, it has a long history. those mountains that run along the border are really beautiful and a not well known fact is there were apache running there that never surrendered into the 1920's. However not a place to be traversing the back roads unless familar with the social conditions in that area. there is a guy that posts on here or use to once in a while that owns a pretty big ranch just south of tombstone, if you want the name will provide by private email.
like rockin', give my regards to the old curmudgeon when you visit him.
I can second the thoughts on the Petrified Forest. And the Painted Desert. Not sure how much traveling you may have done in the West, but it is for sure WAY different than anything you can see back east. Plenty of stuff to see depending on your route to AZ. Stay north for awhile and cross the Rockies in various places then come down through Flagstaff as suggested? Turn south and come down through Colorado and New Mexico. The road from Gallup to Quemado is pretty cool if you want to see some lava flows.
If you come south before getting to the Rockies, then you have...............well, Texas. Believe me, if you come across TX from the Northeast to the SW corner of it you'll be tired of driving through TX! And once you're past Abilene there won't be much to look as I recall. Same Same all the way to El Paso. The Texan bunch can feel free to correct me as I haven't been through there since the 70's.
So many options I'd have a hard time figuring out my route. Depending on what the weather forecasts are I might head SE from your starting point, head to Sierra Vista, then head north and take a different route home. Avoid Chicago like the plague if you that.
Enjoy your trip, and if I didn't have a trip to AZ planned later in the year I'd try to make it Greg's resting place to meet up with you and the others. Retirement income doesn't allow for two long trips each year.
Glad to see you're still hanging around at times.
Geno
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
Well, you have Tombstone a few miles NE of Sierra Vista, and the Petrifide National Forest about mid state to the north. I visited Greg, but not Tombstone, don't know what you might find there. Toured the PNF years ago and it was very much worth the detour.
Give him my best regards please.
Tombstone is well worth the visit. I was amazed at how small the Bird Cage Saloon actually was. Ex wife and I stayed in a Bed & Breakfast directly across the street from it. It was a bright moonlit night and our balcony faced the Bird Cage. Didn’t see any ghosts. 😜
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
If you come south before getting to the Rockies, then you have...............well, Texas. Believe me, if you come across TX from the Northeast to the SW corner of it you'll be tired of driving through TX! And once you're past Abilene there won't be much to look as I recall. Same Same all the way to El Paso. The Texan bunch can feel free to correct me.
Geno
If you do drive through Abilene, be sure to stop downtown and visit the Frontier TX Museum. It’s mainly about the line of Army Forts that protected the early pioneers from the Comanches before the Civil War. Great authentic displays and gun collections too. His interactive media and holographic tour guides. And just a few blocks away is the Beehive Restaurant. One of the best Steak Houses in TX IMO.
Also, two of my favorite stops in the Southwest are Mesa Verde in the Four Corners Region of Colorado and not too far down the road from there is Monument Valley. It’s located on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Be sure to try some Navajo Fry Bread just down the road from there at a local restaurant.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
In preparation for the voyage, you could this quiet gem of a western. El Morro, Inscription Rock, is a McGuffin for the story of what kind of man leaves his impression on the people around him.
Believe me, if you come across TX from the Northeast to the SW corner of it you'll be tired of driving through TX! And once you're past Abilene there won't be much to look as I recall. Same Same all the way to El Paso. The Texan bunch can feel free to correct me as I haven't been through there since the 70's. 
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