Ajo and Gila Bend -
2/10/18
Just for a change
in scenery we decided a tour to the south would be interesting and
insure good weather for the drive. We made this same tour in 2016,
pretty scenery and something a bit different from our many tours to the
north of the Valley. There are no suitable restaurants in Ajo that can
take a group our size during their busy lunch period so this is a picnic
tour, bring your lunch in an ice chest.
The Gang gathers at the Love’s truck stop at
56th Street and Sundust Rd. at 9:15AM and we'll depart
at 9:30 AM.
To get to Sundust Rd., you will want to leave
I-10 at Exit 162 (which is also the exit for Firebird Lake and Wild
Horse Pass) Turn left under the overpass to get onto Sundust and the
truck stop will be on your right about a ¼ mile from the off ramp.
When we leave the
truck stop, follow the signs to Interstate 10, South, and drive
toward Casa Grande, get off Int. 10 at Sunland Gin Road exit #200, there
will be a Love's truck stop at the bottom of the off ramp on your right,
we’ll make a quick stop there to be sure the group is together. Make a
right turn out of the station and continue south to Battaglia
Drive where you will turn right. Continue west on Battaglia Drive
approximately 6 miles to Chuichu Rd. also called hwy 15.
Turn south on hwy 15 and follow it about 50 miles
to hwy 86. We will drive through the communities of Jackrabbit, North
Komelik and Santa Rosa . It will be about 8 miles from Santa Rosa to Hwy
86 a main waypoint. Turn right (west) and follow hwy 86 to Ajo, about 47
miles. We will pass through the communities of Covered Wells, Gunsight
and "Why." "Why" is where hwy 86 is renumbered to hwy 85, same road.
We will be having our
gourmet lunch at the
Bud Walker Park.
Go
to the Bud Walker link
and
you can print out a map that will make it easy for you to find the park.
We’ll be entering town on Hwy 85 toward the bottom right on the map.
Turn right on to N. Malacate St. and follow it to Cedar St. where you
will turn right again and in about 8 short blocks turn right on to W. 4th
Ave. In 2 short blocks you will be at Palm St. and the
park will be on your left, you can’t miss it.
There is a large parking lot there. The best way to get back on Hwy 85
after lunch is to go back to Cedar St. turn left and then turn right on
to West First St. and it will take you right back to Hwy 85. We’ll turn
right on Hwy 85 & proceed to Gila Bend, about 44 miles.
There are gas stations in Ajo and also Gila Bend
where we can get fuel, we'll decide and call it out on the radio. We
should be able to make good time on hwy 86/85 since it is not heavily
traveled. At Gila Bend we will pick up Hwy 238 which takes us back to
the town of Maricopa where we can pick up Hwy 347 back to Int 10 and we
can separate there and head for our respective homes. A rough
estimate is a 325 mile round trip and Including the time for lunch, a
fuel stop and comfort stops it will be a long day, probably 7 hours but
that's about average for our in state luncheon tours.
At the start of the tour, please have a full fuel
tank, club radio, club name tag and this guide. I have no idea if it
will be top down weather but we'll find out as the date approaches,
please bring appropriate clothing so you will be comfortable.
Please email
your RSVP so I will know who to expect at the starting point.
Paul Ebeyer, President
Arizona BMW Z Series Club
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