Modern Buddy

So I'm finally getting some much needed vacation time, and my wife and I thought a roadtrip was in order. Since you gang are spread all over the country, I thought I'd ask for a local's opinion of things to see on our route.

We'll be going from Portland, OR to Phoenix, AZ.

On the way down, we'll be taking I-5 through Cali, to I-10.
On the way back we'll be going I-95 to I-84.

We're going to Visit Sedona, AZ and see the Phoenix Ostrich festival(It was a blast last time we were there!) but what else is there to see?

Thats a LOT of ground to cover, there must be fun things to do!

Also, on a tangental note, since the Bud won't fit in the trunk of our Kia, is there a scooter rental place in Phoenix that anyone knows of?

You could pick-up I-15 and take the scenic route through Victorville, and follow Historic Route 66 apiece past the Bagdad Cafe and Emma Jeans (both movie shoot locations) then hit Amboy for the Amboy Crater, skirt Joshua Tree and pick-up the 10 again into Blythe!

Or just stay on I-10 and take a side-trip on the "scenic" side of the Salton Sea....cost you a few hours of detour is all....just south of Palm springs.

mattgordon wrote:You could pick-up I-15 and take the scenic route through Victorville, and follow Historic Route 66 apiece past the Bagdad Cafe and Emma Jeans (both movie shoot locations) then hit Amboy for the Amboy Crater, skirt Joshua Tree and pick-up the 10 again into Blythe!

Or just stay on I-10 and take a side-trip on the "scenic" side of the Salton Sea....cost you a few hours of detour is all....just south of Palm springs.

Ohh, thats a fantastic idea. I've always wanted to see Route 66. Kinda in my hotrodder blood I guess I'd want to convince the wife to drive one of my hotrods though, which wouldn't work as they're all manual everything cars, and she's tiny. But I'd at least get to see Route 66 Thanks for the suggestion!

Eagle Rider says they rent MP3s, but I know they quit renting them in Sedona, when the state closed the trike loophole. I don't know of any others, to tell the truth.

- Are you a baseball fan? Spring training starts up here shortly.
- Roundball more to your liking? The Blazers are in town 21st of March.
- I know you like cars. Every Saturday afternoon, there is a Custom/Hot Rod/Classic car show at The Scottsdale Pavilions. I've paid good money to see fewer nice cars than show up there every Saturday afternoon.
- Want to hang out with a few thousand strangers and eat turkey legs? The Arizona Renaissance Festival is in town now through March.
-If you're going to Sedona, I'd recommend Jerome. Known world-wide as an artist's community in an old ghost town, famous locally for the guy who alternated time between his office as elected Chief of Police, and his office in County Jail for growing marijuana. Either way, fantastic views.
- Oh, if your going to Sedona, PM Keys, maybe you can meet up.
- Ever heard of Arcosanti? I've driven past it probably a thousand times, funny I've only stopped in once.
- Going to the Grand Canyon? Like kitsch? Don't miss Bedrock City
- Five words: Los Dos Molinos adobada ribs.

There's probably more, if there's anything really noteworthy, I'll post it later.

Kaos wrote:

mattgordon wrote:You could pick-up I-15 and take the scenic route through Victorville, and follow Historic Route 66 apiece past the Bagdad Cafe and Emma Jeans (both movie shoot locations) then hit Amboy for the Amboy Crater, skirt Joshua Tree and pick-up the 10 again into Blythe!

Or just stay on I-10 and take a side-trip on the "scenic" side of the Salton Sea....cost you a few hours of detour is all....just south of Palm springs.

Ohh, thats a fantastic idea. I've always wanted to see Route 66. Kinda in my hotrodder blood I guess I'd want to convince the wife to drive one of my hotrods though, which wouldn't work as they're all manual everything cars, and she's tiny. But I'd at least get to see Route 66 Thanks for the suggestion!

Fit in an overnight in Palm Springs and you could rent a Buddy from Scoot Palm Springs and go for a desert ride!

whats wrong with arcosanti ?

If you like ancient American stuff. There is an amazing loop just outside of Flagstaff that takes you by Sunset Crater, a dormant Volcano, great views of the painted desert then goes to the Wupataki National monument. There are ancient ruins there that you can walk through, climb on etc.

http://www.nps.gov/wupa/index.htm

We go through there every time we go to northern AZ. And if you are going to Sedona the some of the best views in Arizona are as you drive through Oak Creek Canyon which is on Highway 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona. Don't miss it.
You can drive some of the longest remaining stretches of route 66 bewtween Kingman and Flagstaff then turn hit Oak Creek on your way to Sedona.

Howard

whats wrong with arcosanti ?

Nothing. I'ts just funny that given all the times I've driven past Arcosanti, I've only gone there once. Kinda like all the people who've lived here for decades, but have never gone to the Grand Canyon. That's all.

You can drive some of the longest remaining stretches of route 66 bewtween Kingman and Flagstaff

And if you do the Rt 66 route, you can travel the whole Arizona portion of the Route 66 song:

Flagstaff Arizona,
don't forget Winona (just a few miles east of Flag)
Kingman...

Hope you like high desert!

too bad you aren't coming this direction. I-15 goes near Yellowstone and that is the only place I ever want to go.

ERik3tb wrote:too bad you aren't coming this direction. I-15 goes near Yellowstone and that is the only place I ever want to go.

Yeah, thats one of America's major landmarks I've not seen yet. I'd like to do the Grand Canyon again, as I've not been there since before they built the sky bridge, and that would be awesome. I also wish I could see Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad New Mexico. That was the single most awe inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life. Unfortunately its quite a ways past Phoenix and I don't think we'll be able to go.

ERik3tb wrote:too bad you aren't coming this direction. I-15 goes near Yellowstone and that is the only place I ever want to go.

thats not a bad idea. if you have enough time, make a big loop instead of taking the same route back. I-15 passes through salt lake. you give me a date of arrival, dinner is on me for you and your family. i'll bring mine and we'll hook up. not sure whats going on right know but with an aprox date i could see what events are current. you ski? no need to find anything else.

bigbropgo wrote:

ERik3tb wrote:too bad you aren't coming this direction. I-15 goes near Yellowstone and that is the only place I ever want to go.

thats not a bad idea. if you have enough time, make a big loop instead of taking the same route back. I-15 passes through salt lake. you give me a date of arrival, dinner is on me for you and your family. i'll bring mine and we'll hook up. not sure whats going on right know but with an aprox date i could see what events are current. you ski? no need to find anything else.

Thank you very much for the kind offer!

According to Google Maps, going I-15 through Salt Lake is actually 1 hour SHORTER than the route we were planning on doing, which was taking US-95 to I-84, even though it looks like the actual distance traveled is slightly longer. I'll have to talk to the wife and see if that fits our plans.

We're sorta planning our route by what we want to see

On I-5 you will pass Mt. Shasta and see some beautiful county until you get south of Redding, CA. Be sure to take a picture in front of the sign for the town of Weed. If you have time take the highway 99 bypasses through Oregon, expecially where it runs by the Rogue River.

Sacramento has a nice historic district with a sweet railroad museum.

On I-10 in Cabazon, CA you can see the Cabazon Dinosaurs. Made famous in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Palm Springs is full of awesome mid-century archetecture.

You might want to check out the American Road Magazine site http://www.americanroadmagazine.com/index.html

I subscribe to the magazine. It's issued 4 times per year and is all about scenic drives on 2 lane highways with some very unique stops along the way. I've also received some very helpful suggestions via their online forum ... most recently when I took a weekend bike trip up through Wisconsin this past fall.

Rob

Kaos wrote:...I also wish I could see Carlsbad Caverns in Carlsbad New Mexico. That was the single most awe inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life. Unfortunately its quite a ways past Phoenix and I don't think we'll be able to go.

Have you seen Kartchner Caverns? I think Carlsbad is bigger, but I don't think there's a better preserved, publicly accessible cave in the US than Kartchner. It's just past Tucson off I-10.

Given all the replies, you've got about a month's vacation, right?

Syd wrote:Given all the replies, you've got about a month's vacation, right?

Heh, serious. Its been like a mini vacation just reading about all the places suggested