Road Trip Studios: Family-Friendly Adventures on Route 66 and Beyond in the Great Southwest

An inky river of asphalt, high speed metal and gripping tires, the Black Canyon Freeway, I-17, races from desert floor to alpine country, ascending over a vertical mile from Phoenix to Flagstaff. The highway cuts a path through the lush desert hills of New River, adorned with large, green saguaros and generous palo verde, affording sunset vistas worthy of the Wild West.  It grinds upward, past Rock Spring's ever warm and crusty pies, as it makes its determined climb to Black Canyon City. Here, skirting blast cut cliffs, semis grind in low gears past guardrails and steep overhangs against a backdrop of soaring Bradshaw Mountains. A downward glance offers a glimpse of the southbound serpentine stretch of asphalt, where calculated curves replace what would otherwise have been a steeper grade.  Shooting past ominous signs of Deadman's Wash, Horse Thief Basin and Bloody Basin, to wonderfully colorful towns of Rock Springs, Crown King and Bumble Bee, the traff

Yesterday, we hiked the 7 mi. roundtrip trail at Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park in Yarnell, Arizona. Memorial plaques, one for each of the 19 Hotshots who gave their lives protecting the community in the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013, are set in granite along the trail every 600 feet.  The trail ascends to an observation deck and tribute wall. From here, you can descend to the canyon floor where 19 stone-filled gabions encircle the memorial site. The trail recounts the path that the Hotshots took that day. As the State Park website says, the trail helps you to "better understand the experience of these men as well as to appreciate the beauty of the town of Yarnell and the surrounding areas." This trail is moderate to difficult with a 1,200 foot elevation gain. The first 2/3 of the trail is uphill. It flattens out a bit at a saddle, where you'll find the observation deck. The ascent back up from the canyon floor is

  Sheep Bridge, spanning the blue-green Verde River in Arizona's high desert, is a place not reached by many. The rugged hour and a half long trek from I-17 feels much like airplane turbulence as the road makes its rust colored, winding descent to the valley floor. Dipping through shady washes, it passes impressive cottonwoods (yellow in fall), and crests foothills dotted with cool green prickly pear and imposing saguaro. Blind curves occasionally give way to an oncoming side by side or other high clearance vehicle. Until you see one, you simply hog the road. The current Sheep Bridge is a replica suspension bridge constructed by the Forest Service in 1989. The original bridge, constructed in 1943 by the Flagstaff Sheep Company, protected sheep from the drive across the river to different grazing ranges and climate zones. The bridge was used for sheep drives until 1978 and demolished ten years later in 1988. Natural hot springs in the area are still used by some. Though remote, th

The Ash Fork Bainbridge Steel Dam (built in 1898), the first large steel dam in the world and only one of 3 built in the United States, lies less than a mile off a long forgotten Route 66 alignment near Ash Fork, Arizona.  A half mile to the east stands Ash Fork Stone Dam, built in 1911. Both were constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to create a reservoir used to power steam locomotives. Both dams seem untouched by time, minus the corrugated sheet metal backing on the Steel Dam (designed to keep visitors out) which has, for the most part, deteriorated and fallen away. The dams are accessible on the .35 mi. "Stone to Steel Trail," dedicated in 2016, and marked by charming metal signs created by a welding class and pretty stone benches. The trailhead kiosk has several photographs along with information about the creation of the trail, which was obviously done with a great deal of care and enjoyment by volunteers. The dams are also accessible by rough dirt r

The once ornate Gold King Mansion lies all but forgotten in the Hualapai Mountains south of Kingman. The concrete structure, with its unusual poured concrete ceiling, fireplace and elegant molding, dates back to 1929, having outlasted less permanent mining structures. Now remote, the Mansion was once connected to a county highway by a "splendid road," frequented by Cadillac. The mining corp owner's secretary rode shotgun (literally) as they carried the miners' payroll from LA. Today, the Mansion is accessible by the rugged Moss Wash OHV Trail or by hiking 1.5 mi. in from Blake Ranch Road (an "easy dirt road", partially unpaved, a high-clearance vehicle is recommended; four-wheel drive not necessary in good weather, per Arizona Highways "Arizona Ghost Towns"). In its day, the Mansion boasted copper screens on the windows and a fishing pond. When the mining corp struck a 3-foot-wide by 11-foot-long lead and gold vein in 1929,