The First 400 Miles

It is about 1600 miles from Tucson to Bozeman, and we planned to cover the most miles of our itinerary on the first day for three reasons.  We have driven the first 300 miles or so before so they aren’t new to us, about half the miles are on interstate highways, and it is still HOT in Arizona. We have driven to Phoenix many times, whether to the airport (it has many more flights than Tucson) or to see Tom’s sister, Nora.  Not long after we moved to Arizona in 2011 we drove northeast to Carbondale, CO (where my Dad and stepmother live) and on that trip we went further north, through Flagstaff and onto the Navaho reservation. That trip took us to Monument Valley and Arches National Park, and it was my first time in Utah.  Sunday the last 80 miles or so was new to us, but it was all interesting once we got beyond Phoenix.

We decided to take the back roads (AZ 77 and AZ 79) for the first hour.  During the first part of the trip, many saguaros – the iconic cactus with arms – were in bloom.  As we traveled north, I kept watching the saguaros to see if there was one with a bloom close enough to the road for me to photograph without risking stepping on a thorned hazard, and I glimpsed what I’m pretty sure was a peregrine falcon perched on top of a saguaro – it was magnificent.  Here is the link to the Wikipedia page if you want to see what the blossoms look like.  I didn't get a photo and I don't want to violate anyone's copyright by posting a photo that isn't mine.    

Between Florence and Route 10, we passed fields of cotton about 10 – 12 inches high.  Yes, Arizona is cotton country.  Pima cotton is named after an indigenous tribe from this area, and we live in Pima County.  After we got through Phoenix we headed up US 17 toward Flagstaff.  As we climbed out of Phoenix, at first the scenery was buff-colored grass dotted with dark green bushes scattered on the hillsides.  As we climbed past 6000’ we traveled through tall ponderosa pine forests.  I noticed the ‘miles before empty’ on my new Prius was indicating we had gas for about 65 miles, and we were about 50 miles from Flagstaff, but with a 75 mph speed limit and lots of hills, the new Prius was not making its usual 52 mpg.  It started to look like we wouldn’t make Flagstaff with the gas in the tank.  We had gone from exits every half mile in Phoenix to exits 20 miles apart, and there had been no services at the past couple of exits.  There is not much civilization beyond the highway and power lines in that part of the state. 

I started watching the ‘remaining gas’ indicator drop more quickly than the miles actually traveled, and was checking the Rand McNally atlas (from 2002 – I figured the date doesn’t matter. After all, how many new roads have been built in the last dozen years?) for upcoming exits and we got a little nervous about running out of gas as the exits we passed were simply roads heading into the wilderness.  We were about 30 miles south of Flagstaff, and the ‘gas remaining’ indicator read 20 miles, when we were saved by the little resort town of Munds Park (population of 631, it seems to be the dune buggy capital of AZ) with THREE gas stations.  Whew!  The car took 9.5 gallons (I think it is a 10 gallon tank), and we were vastly relieved not to face running out of gas on the highway.

As you come into Flagstaff, you can see Humphrey’s Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet.  It is home to Arizona’s primary ski area, Snowbowl.  It had been 105 ° in Phoenix, and it was still in the 90s in Flagstaff, although it had dropped to 86° in Munds Park.  We skirted Flagstaff to get to US 89, a two-lane road that periodically widens out on one side or the other to create a passing lane.  The road passes through the western edge of

the Navaho reservation, and you start seeing cliffs with reddish to white stripes, as well as what looks like piles of sand, often in shades of light to very dark gray.  Traditionally Navahos built hogans that are rounded, and you can still see some that are octagonal.  Part of the Navaho reservation goes on daylight savings time, while the rest of Arizona doesn’t (for reasons that I’ve never understood).

The road to Tuba City (which we took when we drove to Colorado) comes into highway 89 from the right, and as we approached the intersection, going straight through for the new part of the trip, a car pulled out to turn left right in front of us, causing a scare and a tumble of everything on the back seat onto the floor.  Luckily everything breakable was pretty safely wedged in.  When I looked in the rearview mirror, I couldn’t tell if the stop sign was missing, but even if it was, as Tom said, when there is a T intersection, the base of the T is supposed to stop.  It wouldn’t have helped to be in the right if we had a collision at 70 miles per hour.

You can tell you are entering the canyonlands at this point – red sandstone bluffs abound. 

We finally entered Page, AZ close to 5 PM, and crossed the bridge at the Glen Canyon Dam.  We stopped to look at the dam, and the wind was blowing at what I'm estimating to have been 50 mph.  There were whitecaps on the reservoir and it felt like the wind would blow my sandals off every time I lifted my foot.  We checked in at the Wahweap Marina Resort and had a lovely dinner overlooking Lake Powell and watched dusk come to Castle Rock across the water.  Monday is a day of enjoying the environs of Lake Powell.