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| Part of AZ Route 89A between Flagstaff and Sedona. |
I was trying to explain the fun of the Tail of the Dragon to a non-buff friend who splits his time between Phoenix and Chicago. (No dummy he: this was his first visit to Chicago since October.) Actually, he sort of gets the fun road thing: his first (and only) sporty car years ago was an MGA he bought himself as a college graduation present.
"You'd like Arizona 89A between Sedona and Flagstaff," he said. "It seems similar to the Dragon. When I have out-of-town visitors, I take them up there. We do Oak Creek Canyon and have lunch at Renee's in Sedona. I stop at the scenic overlooks."
So I checked Google Maps. Maybe I'll visit my pal in Phoenix. There aren't that many great drives in the States that combine twisties with limited entering side roads. Arizona 89A looks to be one of them.
Watchtower: did you drive this road?
4 comments:
Yes I've driven this road in a clapped out rental car, the scenery was awe inspiring, enough so that this road should be on everyone's bucket list imo.
As far as comparing the actual road to the Dragon, well I'd rate the Dragon a 10 out of 10 and the Hwy-89a from Flagstaff to Sedona a 5.
It does have some twists and turns in it but not to the point of the Dragon, but I'd still highly recommend driving it and I'd love to experience it again in a proper vehicle.
...hmmm... the Dragon is indeed 10/10, and there are other 5 out of 10's closer than "an easy 3 days" (6 round trip)... But I haven't been to AZ yet...
That would make for a great trip, Phoenix to Sedona, Sedona to Flagstaff, Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon to Monument Valley, UT, plus seeing your friend in Phoenix would be icing on the cake.
As if I wasn't in the mood to go someplace as it were...
Picture a young family.....on their way west to visit Grampa in Sun City......on a tight budget......in a 3-yr-old '72 Monte Carlo that was generating glass-in-a-box noises from the differential. A stop in Flagstaff confirmed the bearings were toast, but "had to order parts" response told us to push on to our destination, cautiously, where we could accept the car being laid up while visiting.
Then picture the navigator pointing to a road on the map that looked shorter than the freeway, where the diff would only overheat anyway at highway speed. So, confidently, the young driver pointed his unsuspecting city-folk passengers to a route that was full of sights and thrills, which deteriorated into a crumbling mountain switchback road in Jerome, AZ. After the adventure, back on the desert floor, he allowed himself to breathe again.
But, I'm sure it's better now..............
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