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ARIZONA BMW Z SERIES CLUB- TOURING THE FAMOUS CORONADO TRAIL
Saturday, May 14th, 2022 through, Monday May 16th 2022
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We will begin the tour by meeting at exit 198, Goldfield Road off east highway 60, We meet at the Chevron station just 50 yards south of the 198 off ramp. Plan to arrive between 9:00 and 9:15 AM with a full fuel tank, your club radio, this tour guide and your club’s name tag.
 
We suggest you also bring an Arizona map that clearly displays the route we're taking and you might want to put a yellow highlight on it. Also bring your membership cell phone list, always a handy item to have on our tours. Emailed to you previously.

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We'll depart Goldfield Road at 9:30 AM and head east on Hwy 60 to Globe which is about 72 miles, arrival time at any of our waypoints is not that critical, we have all day to get to our first overnight stay in Safford. At the far east end of Globe there is a gas station on the right side of the Hwy and we will stop there for a 20-minute comfort break and fuel if you need it, and we will be departing at about 11:30. When we leave Globe, we will continue east on Hwy 60 and a few miles out of town we will pick up Hwy 70 where the two highways meet. We'll continue east on Hwy 70 to Safford which is 77 miles from Globe and we should arrive there about 1:00 PM depending upon traffic. We will have a group lunch with reservations at Jerry’s Restaurant located on the north side of Hwy 70 at the west end of town, very convenient for us as we enter Safford. The address for your Garmin is: 1612 west Thatcher Blvd (also Hwy 70) Safford, AZ 85546. phone is 1 928 428 5613. We won’t all be seated together but they can handle us. after lunch we can check in to the hotel and freshen up a bit. At the Desert Inn Plus, or the hotel you select. A time will be established for those who are interested to meet up and take the tour to the top of Mt Graham, Directions. This is a beautiful sports car road, Click on the + in upper left corner of the link to make it bigger, you’ll love it.

Saturday evening everyone is on their own for dinner. It is important you fill your fuel tank in Safford Saturday evening so you will start out with a full tank Sunday morning, the nature of the Coronado Trail will increase your fuel consumption substantially. Gas stations on the Coronado Trail don’t exist, a full tank in Safford will get you to Show Low without worries. Along the Coronado Trail there will be elevation changes from 1500 feet to 9000 feet, the scenery in the lowlands is colorful, beautiful and interesting and driving through the forest is always a delight especially in top-down conditions.
 
The Coronado Trail is ranked as one of the most scenic drives in the United States and we're fortunate to have it so close to home. Please be sure you have very good tires on your car and that it is in top notch mechanical condition. You definitely do not want tire trouble or a mechanical breakdown anywhere along this route. Remain in radio contact with some of the other cars in the event you do need help or assistance of any kind. The cell phones may or may not work in remote locations so don't depend upon them.
 
When we leave Safford Sunday morning, we will split the group into two classes, the "A" class will be the drivers who will be driving faster than the "B" group who prefer to take it a bit slower, you decide which group you want to be in and if you wish, you can change groups anytime you like and we encourage you to drive at your own comfortable pace, never exceed your personal abilities.  we never leave anyone behind, when the "A" group arrives at a waypoint they wait for the "B" group to catch up so even if you're in the "B" group you are not all that far behind. The entire route is paved and in excellent condition. There are videos available on line and here is one example. "Spectacular" is the best way to describe it and there is very little traffic to contend with. 95% of the time the road is clear and slow drivers pull over and let us pass when they have room to do so, road courtesy is common.


Sunday morning in Safford, we will meet at the Desert Inn Plus hotel parking lot at 9:00 AM for a brief driver's meeting, then we'll start the Coronado Trail by driving east on Hwy 70 to where it intersects with Hwy 191 and we'll be branching off to the left on 191 north. the first stop is Clifton, / Morenci at 4000 ft elevation  and the open pit mine, it is about a 47 mile drive from Safford to Clifton / Morenci. The open pit copper mine in Morenci is the biggest open pit mine in North America and is quite a sight to see. We'll devote about 20 minutes to sightseeing and then continue north on 191 to Hannagan Meadows, which is 67 miles north where we will be at 9000 ft. We'll be ready for a stop and 15-minute comfort break.
 
The twisty portion of the Coronado Trail is about 90 miles from Morenci to Alpine with some straight sections giving you an opportunity to relax a bit before the next set of twisty roads challenges your driving ability We'll depart Hannagan Meadows for the next stop, 22 miles to Alpine, 8000 ft, where we will stop for lunch at the Bear Wallow Cafe.

The mountains and forest around Hannigan Meadows & Alpine are post card beautiful.
 
Following lunch  we head north on 191 where we will pick up hwy 249 about 5 miles north of Alpine and we'll be turning left. There should be a large sign at that intersection advertising "Big Lake" but in any case, we'll be heading west on 249, be sure you don't miss this turn, I am sure it will be marked by a highway sign prior to the intersection. Your Arizona map may not show hwy 249 and if it does it may show it as unpaved but it has been paved and some maps have not caught up with the improvement. We'll be driving through the towns of "Three Forks" and "Rainbow," probably nothing there but they do show up on the map. Then we'll pick up hwy 273 which will take us past Big Lake, Crescent Lake, Sunrise Lake and several miles further on, 273 intersects with hwy 260 which will take us through McNary, Pinetop/Lakeside and finally into Show Low which is 6300 ft. As best as I can determine the distance from the beginning of hwy 249 to Show Low is about 65 miles, I estimate our arrival time in Show Low will be somewhere around check in time which is 3:00 PM. You might take the time to look at the links provided that will preview the beautiful tour this is.
 
We'll be checking into the Holiday Inn Express in Show Low  and have time to relax and freshen up and then we'll have a group dinner at Luciano’s restaurant at 6:30 PM. This is easy walking distance from the Hotel so you don't have to drive your car.
 
Monday morning we'll meet in the hotel parking lot at 9:00 AM and depart for home. There are three choices for the return home. You can go back east on Hwy 60 to 191 and drive south on the same road back to Safford and Phoenix although I doubt if anyone is going to do that. The other two choices are either hwy 60 out of Show Low, south through the Salt River Canyon to Globe and then hwy 60 west to Phoenix, or Hwy 260 west out of Show Low to Heber & Payson and then hwy 87 south back to Ftn Hills and Phoenix, which is usually the most popular choice and also a very scenic drive as well. By the time Monday morning rolls around most of us have had a belly full of performance driving and are anxious to get home.

Paul & Carol Ebeyer


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REMEMBER - THE OFFICIAL CLUB POLICY IS TO OBEY ALL TRAFFIC LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND TO BE COURTEOUS TO OTHER DRIVERS