visiting arizona (Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff: purchase, camp, restaurants)

[Bituin]

1. Can you please help us build a travel route. We will be staying in Flagstaff and would like to see the following: Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Meteorite Crater, Montezuma Castle and the Grand Canyon. What is the most time efficient way to do it? Are there any other points of interests close by to Flagstaff that we can squeeze in?

2. After a couple of days we will be travelling from flagstaff to Phoenix, then to Sierra Vista, AZ. Are there any point of interest that we might probably pass along the way? Any restaurants you can recommend....

3. From Sierra Vista, AZ we will be going to Las Cruces, New Mexico. I already have my itinerary for this phase of our trip, courtesy of NM forum.
I hope you can help us with the AZ side of our trip.

Thanks for all your input.

[AzDreamer]

What time of year are you making this trip?

[Bituin]

We are leaving end of this month. Just for purposes of planning I just want to know which point of interests are along the same area so we can group it together rather than going back and forth. We will definitey purchase a map when we get there, but right now I am using a company computer, and access for research engines like google maps or map quest is not allowed. Thanks for any input you can provide.

[Gretchen B]

How long will you be staying in Flagstaff? I like the drive "down" through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona on 89a (vs going "up" the canyon - you'll get better views of the Red Rocks as you come down the canyon). You could potentially do a round trip starting in Flag and going down through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. (A person could actually spend a day or more just in the Sedona area, depending on what all you wanted to do. There's lots of sight-seeing, hiking, jeep tours, shopping, art galleries, etc.) After Sedona, you could continue on Historic 89a through Cottonwood, Old Town Cottonwood, and stop off at Tuzigoot Sinagua ruins. Then you can continue up 89a to Jerome (an old ghost town on the side of the mountain that's getting a second life with shops/galleries). Once you're finished at Jerome (The Haunted Hamburger is famous for lunches), you can head back through Cottonwood and over toward Camp Verde on Hwy 260. There's an "Out of Africa" wildlife park about 1/2 way in between. (Of course, that takes several hours to do that. I haven't been there, but I hear it's really fun - getting to feed the lions, etc). Finally, at Camp Verde there's Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well. Then you can head back north on I-17 to Flagstaff. Of course, the problem is it would be impossible to do all this in one day, even though it's probably only about 100+ miles round trip.

PS - Be sure and dress warmly, especially up in the Flagstaff area. It will be cold and possibly snowy.

[ScoutAZ]

Stop at Montezuma Castle (milepost 289) on your way to Phoenix. As mentioned above, Out of Africa is 2-3 miles farther south on the west side of the fwy. Jerome is off the beaten track and if you go there you might as well just continue over Mingus Mountain and head to Prescott (Courtyard square, Granite Dells, Sharlot Hall Museum). If you do, check the weather report as 89A out of Jerome could be closed for snow. If you stay near I-17, stop at Arcosanti in Cordes Junction (about 25 miles further south of Camp Verde). Other then that your Flagstaff base of activities can be handled in 2-3 days (Grand Canyon 1-2 days). Also consider the Petrified Forest about 60 (?) miles east of Flagstaff on I-40 and the Museum of Northern AZ (Anthropological and archaeological) just a few miles north of Flagstaff

In Phoenix, the Heard Museum, which is near Central and ...McDowell?

In Tucson the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum about 15 miles west of downtown

Karchner Caverns near Benson but you probably need to make reservations.

Tombstone and Bisbee are both near Sierra Vista and worth a visit. Coronado National Monument and Ramsey Canyon are also near SV

[Bummer]

While in the Flagstaff area, the best way to see The Grand Canyon is a day trip (or overnight if time permits) on www.thetrain.com

Definitely worth every penny.

Also, as you head East towards Las Cruces from Sierra Vista a side trip to Bisbee and Tombstone is fairly easy.

Good Luck

[Bituin]

Thanks for all your input and Happy Holidays!!!!