Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [82]
Flagstaff Nordic Center
Ground zero for cross-country skiing. The season is short so call ahead to make sure it’s open. Snow-showing trails nearby. 928-220-0550; www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com; Hwy 180, Coconino County; trail passes $10-15
Peace Surplus
The friendly, helpful staff are more than willing to share their knowledge of northern Arizona’s outdoor-action spots. 928-779-4521; www.peacesurplus.com; 14 W Rte 66, Flagstaff; 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm Sat, 8am-6pm Sun
Vertical Relief
Rock climbers should make this their first stop for gear and info. 928-556-9909; www.verticalrelief.com; 205 S San Francisco St, Flagstaff; day pass $15; 10am-11pm Mon-Fri, noon-8pm Sat & Sun
EAT
Bun Huggers
Meat-lovers adore the mesquite-grilled burgers. Ice-cold beer is on tap, as well. 928-779-3743; 901 S Milton Rd, Flagstaff; meals under $8; 10:30am-1am
Hip
Hip people serve good food that’s both meat- and attitude-free. 928-226-8636; www.hipvegetarianjoint.com; 117 S San Francisco St, Flagstaff; mains from $8; 11am-8pm Sun-Thu, 11am-9pm Fri & Sat
SLEEP
Dubeau Hostel
The private rooms are like very basic hotel rooms, but at half the price. Rates include breakfast. 928-774-6731, 800-398-7112; www.grandcanyonhostel.com; 19 W Phoenix Ave, Flagstaff; dm $18-20, r $41-48
Grand Canyon International Hostel
One of the best independent hostels in the state; it’s super clean, run by friendly people. More perks: big free breakfasts and a video lending library. 928-779-9421; www.grandcanyonhostel.com; 19 S San Francisco St, Flagstaff; dm $18-20, r $38-45
Weatherford Hotel
Eight snug, low-frills rooms (three share one bathroom) and two larger, spiffy ones. 928-779-1919; www.weatherfordhotel.com; 23 N Leroux St, Flagstaff; r $50-130
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.flagstaffarizona.org
LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
2 Motoring the Mother Road: Route 66
17 Photographing Monument Valley
24 Sedona Red Rock Adventure
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Return to beginning of chapter
Day Trips from Phoenix
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From rows of antique shops to the heart of cowboy country to the city of the future that looks straight out of Star Wars, the Valley of the Sun has many little worlds of adventure circling around it.
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PAYSON
Pack a Western novel by Zane Grey and drive up to the cooler climes of Payson. Home to the longes-running rodeo in the United States, buckaroos descend on the town in the middle of August every year to whoop it up. The capital of Rim Country, this is where the desert ends and the ponderosa pines and sheer cliffs of the Mogollon Rim begin. Check out the Rim Country Museum for a glimpse of Payson’s Wild West past and take a gander at Zane Grey’s reconstructed log cabin. Grab some chow at the Beeline Cafe – as small town and apple pie as you can imagine. Head north to the Tonto Natural Bridge – discovered by a miner on the run from Apaches – and hide out in the lush vegetation with your book. Read a few passages and you’ll soon see this beautiful country with the same poetic eye as Grey himself. Take Hwy 87, aka the Beeline, north for 90 miles. From Payson, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is an additional 12 miles north on Hwy 87. This last stretch is full of hairpin curves; they don’t call it the Beeline for nothing.
See also TRIP 19
WICKENBURG
A lot of places in Arizona will give you a taste of its pioneering past, but Wickenburg wins the award for most authentic. You won’t look at the cowboys in Wickenburg, you’ll get to play one, if even for just a day. Mosey along on the back of a horse for a few hours, take a jeep tour through the gorgeous desert – after rain the smell of the desert is inspiring, something you’ll never forget – or take a historic walking tour. For more of the Old West, take a self-guided tour of Vulture Mine, the hole in the ground that spat out “... tons of gold from the late 1800s until it was closed in 1942, and finish up with a stop at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.