Albuquerque to Phoenix--most peaceful, direct route? (Tucson, Mesa: hotel, safe, eat)

[crystalys]

Originally Posted by Ciszewski93

If your a scenic road kind of guy, then you can take I-40 through Gallup then exit off in Holbrook in AZ and drive southwest thru the scary and dangerous Arizona state routes that have absolutely no sholders and break-down lanes the rest of the way. but it's a pretty nice drive thru the forests.

If yr an interstate guy, take 40 all the way to flagstaff and down to phoenix and your there. Please dont take I 25 down to Las Cruces cause that'll take clear out of your way, unless you want to drive from Las Cruces to Deming 35 mi west Of LC and say hi to the hobos picking up trash at the gas station showin their cracks at ya. haha

I think Greta already made this trip in July of 2009. But I'm sure there are others, guys and gals, who would want info on the drive since then.

[RCR]

Originally Posted by Ciszewski93

If your a scenic road kind of guy, then you can take I-40 through Gallup then exit off in Holbrook in AZ and drive southwest thru the scary and dangerous Arizona state routes that have absolutely no sholders and break-down lanes the rest of the way. but it's a pretty nice drive thru the forests.

If yr an interstate guy, take 40 all the way to flagstaff and down to phoenix and your there. Please dont take I 25 down to Las Cruces cause that'll take clear out of your way, unless you want to drive from Las Cruces to Deming 35 mi west Of LC and say hi to the hobos picking up trash at the gas station showin their cracks at ya. haha

You realize the trip in question was made in July of last year, right?? I kinda think they found their way by now.....

[Jimrob1]

I'm taking this trip Sunday from Albuquerque to Phoenix. I am taking I-40 to Flagstaff and I-17 down to Phoenix. I don't care if its a longer route. I prefer the interstates in mountainous rural areas when I not familiar with the areas. Which at this time I am not. New Mexico and Arizona are all new places for me. Plus my vehicle though it runs very well, seems to have a very difficult time on long mountainous climbs. I have learned this driving thru Colorado. Perhaps vehicles need to be tuned differently in these mountainous regions of the USA.

[Goober13]

I make that drive all the time from Albuquerque coming from the Upper Midwest. Really the way virtually EVERYONE who regularly makes the trip (and that includes tons of retirees from the Upper Midwest, look at all the lines of cars with Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin plates) is I-40 to Holbrook, south on Hwy 77 which is the downtown Holbrook exit, 1 mile to Hwy 377, south on 377 to 260, west on 260 to Payson, turn left at Hwy 87 in Payson (Walgreens on corner) south to Shea Blvd in Fountain Hills, if you are going in the Phoenix direction, continue south on Hwy 87 if going to Mesa and the East Valley.

It is 420 miles, going to Flagstaff is waaaaay out of the way. No one goes that way. The trip shouldn't be more than 8 or 8.5 hours if you stop to eat.

The only caution I have is: Drive during the day. Leave Albuquerque at 7-8 in the morning, and the drive is no problem. It isn't scary. Just watch for deer in the stretch between Holbrook and Payson. Just drive the speed limit in that stretch which is 55 or 65. Even if you take the long way, you have to be alert for deer around Flagstaff. The altitude is high on parts of the whole drive, either way you take, and personally the roads are windier on I-17 from Flagstaff with higher speed limits. The Payson to Holbrook route is not narrow with cliff drop offs on the side. The route you DO NOT want to take is Hwy 191. I drove that once and will NEVER drive it again.

[fennec2009]

Originally Posted by Goober13

The route you DO NOT want to take is Hwy 191. I drove that once and will NEVER drive it again.

I drove the winding roads to the top of Mt Evans in Colorado, no guardrails, and loved it! AZ666 is on my to-do list

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Goober13

I make that drive all the time from Albuquerque coming from the Upper Midwest. Really the way virtually EVERYONE who regularly makes the trip (and that includes tons of retirees from the Upper Midwest, look at all the lines of cars with Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin plates) is I-40 to Holbrook, south on Hwy 77 which is the downtown Holbrook exit, 1 mile to Hwy 377, south on 377 to 260, west on 260 to Payson, turn left at Hwy 87 in Payson (Walgreens on corner) south to Shea Blvd in Fountain Hills, if you are going in the Phoenix direction, continue south on Hwy 87 if going to Mesa and the East Valley.

It is 420 miles, going to Flagstaff is waaaaay out of the way. No one goes that way. The trip shouldn't be more than 8 or 8.5 hours if you stop to eat.

The only caution I have is: Drive during the day. Leave Albuquerque at 7-8 in the morning, and the drive is no problem. It isn't scary. Just watch for deer in the stretch between Holbrook and Payson. Just drive the speed limit in that stretch which is 55 or 65. Even if you take the long way, you have to be alert for deer around Flagstaff. The altitude is high on parts of the whole drive, either way you take, and personally the roads are windier on I-17 from Flagstaff with higher speed limits. The Payson to Holbrook route is not narrow with cliff drop offs on the side. The route you DO NOT want to take is Hwy 191. I drove that once and will NEVER drive it again.

I wouldn't say "virtually everyone" who regularly makes the trip goes that way. Claiming that anything close to "everyone" does something is hard to defend as accurate. And, not everyone "regularly" makes the trip. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of people, regulars and otherwise, who will drive the extra fifty miles, at freeway speed, to stay on the interstates. I agree that the drive, either way, should be done during the day.

[Goober13]

If you make the drive often like I do, particularly in the snowbird season, you literally see car after car with Upper Midwestern plates taking that route, and that procession of cars extends on I-40 to Tucumcari NM, and up Hwy 54 through the Panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma to Interstate 35. Likewise with AZ plates coming back home. HUNDREDS of cars I count take that route. I've been driving that stretch for 8 years, and make the trip about 6 times a year back and forth.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by fennec2009

I drove the winding roads to the top of Mt Evans in Colorado, no guardrails, and loved it! AZ666 is on my to-do list

Hasn't AZ666 been renumbered to AZ191?

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Goober13

If you make the drive often like I do, particularly in the snowbird season, you literally see car after car with Upper Midwestern plates taking that route, and that procession of cars extends on I-40 to Tucumcari NM, and up Hwy 54 through the Panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma to Interstate 35. Likewise with AZ plates coming back home. HUNDREDS of cars I count take that route. I've been driving that stretch for 8 years, and make the trip about 6 times a year back and forth.

That;s not the way I go and I have done it more times than I can count. I get off I40 at Winslow and take 87/260 to I17 at Camp Verde. But then, I am coming to the west side of Phoenix. Many times, though, I just stay on the freeway. The OP asked for a peaceful route and the freeway is the most peaceful one with no towns and lights to navigate, two lane roads following midwesterners in RVs, people from Indiana who go all white knuckle on turns and hills, etc.

[Cyborg13]

It depends where in the Phoenix area you're going. If you're going to the west side, going through Flagstaff is faster. If you're going to Scottsdale or the southeast valley, going through Payson is preferable.

Hwy 666...that was in New Mexico running from Gallup up through Cortez, CO to Monticello, UT. It is now Hwy 491. The Arizona portion was changed to an extention of 191 back in 1992.