Red Rock - Route 66 Fall Spectacular - October 18-19, 2008

[richm]

The Phoenix SKY & Solstice Club would like to invite everyone who can make it to a weekend Fall Leaves and Route 66 run in Northern Arizona (just south of the Grand Canyon). We will start by picnicking at one of the most photographed spots on earth, Red Rock Crossing in Sedona at the foot of Cathedral Rock, and then drive up the oak-lined twisty roads of Oak Creek Canyon, ending up in the Aspens forests en route to the Snow Bowl Ski Resort in Flagstaff.

On day two, we will drive the what is possibly the most pristine and ruggedly western part of Route 66 that still remains, stopping at Oatman, a true ghost town with a higher of wild burros than people, finally ending up at Lake Havasu for lunch, taking a group photo on London Bridge, which finally did fall down, and was brought over to the US brick by brick and rebuilt at this lake on the Arizona-California border.

This event is OPEN TO EVERYONE. There is no fee to particpate. However, so that we can get an accurate count, please RSVP on the SKY-SOL site at this link:

TO RSVP, CLICK HERE

Below are the details so far:

8:30 AM - Those who live in Phoenix or Tucson will meet at Anthem Outlet Mall, and go over the plans for the day, put together lunch orders, and then depart.

10:30 AM - Arrive in Sedona at Heartline Cafe to pickup a take-out lunch. Heartline is a gourmet deli-style restaurant at 1610 West Hwy 89A in Sedona. We are working on a simplified boxed lunch menu so that we can put together our orders in Anthem and they will be ready for pickup when we get to Sedona. However, you may want to bring your own wine or other beverage for our picnic. For complete menus and more information, visit Home Page -- The Heartline Café, Sedona AZ.

SEDONA ACCOMMODATIONS: For those who are coming from out of town for this event, we recommend that you stay Friday night in Sedona if at all possible. In the early morning, take a short hike up one of the many canyon trails and watch the red rocks come alive. We do not have a group reservation in Sedona because most people (so far) are driving in Saturday morning, but when we last checked, you could still get a room at the Wildflower Inn for $103 through hotels.com which is about half the price of other Sedona resorts. Here is a link:

hotels.com - WE KNOW HOTELS INSIDE AND OUT.®

11:15 AM - We want to arrive early (before the parking lot gets too full) at Red Rock Crossing / Crescent Moon Ranch for a picnic and photos at one of the most photographed places in the world with Cathedral Rock reflected into the water. We will be walking back along the river a bit hoping to see some fall foliage, and along the way, each person should pick up a rock that "speaks to you" that we will use to create some rock stacks in the rock gardens. The Ramada was already reserved for the day, but there are a couple of other tables and a large grass area, so bring a picnic blanket if you can. The cost to park is $8 per vehicle.

1:00 PM - Drive up 89A through Oak Creek Canyon, a beautiful a twisty road between Sedona and Flagstaff. The oak trees are among the last to change color, which is why we are doing our trip in mid-October this year, so we should see the start of the oak colors and the end of the aspen colors. At the end of October, the oak leaves should be red and on fire.

2:30 PM - Arrive at Arizona Snow Bowl for the best view of the Aspens among the San Francisco peaks. During the past two years, we took the Sky ride up to the top, but this year, we are just taking the twisty Snowbowl Road up and making a pitstop.

Google map of Anthem to Snowbowl:
Google Maps

DAY TRIP RETURN - From Snow Bowl, we will likely split up into two groups, those that are doing this as a day trip and heading back home, and those who want to participate in Day two. For those who are heading to Phoenix, if Oak Creek Canyon was in full bloom, I suggest driving it again the other way, which will probably make the return trip about three hours, and if not, you can return via freeway in 2.5 hours.

Click here for map from Snow Bowl to Kingman via Route 66:
Google Maps

3:00 PM - Take I-40 to Seligman, the "official" start of Route 66, and then if there is time and it is warm, take route 66 to Kingman, which is about two hours of driving compared to one hour on I-40.

KINGMAN ACCOMMODATIONS: See next post...

6:00 PM - Dinner in Kingman, location TBA. We have asked the CVB for some dinner recommendations in Flagstaff, something appropriate for route 66 explorers.

DAY 2 - 8:00 AM - We will be gathering for breakfast at the Ramada. After breakfast, at about 8:30 or so, we will pack up our cars and then out out to one or two historic Kingman Route 66 spots and take some photos.

Click here for Google map of Route 66 From Flagstaff through Oatman to Lake Havasu:
Google Maps

9:15 AM - Leave Kingman for drive to Oatman, along a twisty and mostly forgotten segment of Route 66. Take it easy because there are some sheer cliffs and NO GUARD RAILS along this route.

10:30 AM - Arrive in Oatman and walk around this old west restored ghost town, pick up some route 66 souveniers, maybe stumble upon some wild burros left behind when the gold mines went bust. The town was used as the location for several movies such as <i>How The West Was Won</i>, <i>Foxfire</i> and <i>Edge of Eterni</i><i>ty</i>. For westward travelers, Oatman was the last interesting stop for Route 66 travelers before crossing the once-dreaded and desolate Mohave desert.

11:30 AM - The plan is to leave Oatman before the tourists arrive for the high noon gunfight (which takes place on the main road through town), and then drive down to Lake Havasu. Of course, if you would rather hang for hangings and shootings and all that cussin' and spittin', we could alter our plans just a tad, but speak out in the RSVP so we can confirm a lunch time in Havasu.

1:00 PM - Lunch in Lake Havasu, and then grab a photo of our vehicles crossing London Bridge. I have contacted the CVB for lunch suggestions, preferably something with a view of the water, so speak up if you know of something.

2:30 PM - After lunch in Lake Havasu, we will go our separate ways. The Phoenicians will drive South to I-10 East. Here are some total distances home from Lake Havasu:

• Phoenix - 200 miles
• San Bernardino - 250 miles
• Las Vegas - 170 miles

[richm]

Here is the updated info on the Kingman hotel accommodations for Saturday, October 18th:

We will be staying at the Hotel Brunswick (Hotel Brunswick - Kingman, Arizona, USA), built in 1909 and located on Route 66 in the heart of old town Kingman at 315 East Andy Devine, Kingman, AZ 86401. The hotel only has a dozen unique rooms that are being made available at a significant discount to our group. To reserve a room, call 928-718-1800 and tell them that you are with the GM Roadster group for the night of October 18th, and you will receive any of their available guest rooms for $55 (usually $66-95+), or one of their "Cowboy Rooms" for $30 (three rooms that share a large bathroom down the hall).

This hotel was the first three-story building in Northern Arizona, and in the late 1990s, was converted into a bed and breakfast with authentic turn-of-the-century furnishings, and then remodelled again in 2004. During Route 66 events, the Brunswick is always the first to go, so we were just lucky to be doing this on a weekend when nothing is happening in Kingman.

6:00 PM - Dinner in Kingman will either be at the Hubb's Bistro or Mulligans Bar, both downstairs inside the Hotel Brunswick. Hubbs is one of Kingman's only finer dining restaurants, and Mulligans is a lighter fare.

DAY 2 - 8:00 AM - We will be gathering for breakfast at the Hotel Brunswick, either just a continental breakfast or a hearty breakfast somewhere nearby. After breakfast, we will pack up our cars and head out out to one or two historic Kingman Route 66 spots and take some photos. Kingman has more than 60 nationally registered historic landmarks, most of them Route 66 related, so there are some great photo spots.