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05/24/08 Drive to Prescott for Lunch
At the bottom of this page are all the details of the May 24th club drive to Prescott and a return on the reverse route of the Skull Valley drive. Please print out the maps, where we have directed you to the Google Maps site, and bring the entire newsletter and maps with you on the tour; it will make your life easier : There's nothing worse for the individual or the caravan as a whole, than when one of the drivers gets, lost, confused, or suddenly disappears from the group. It becomes a major concern for the group and it is disruptive. Please bring along a state map of Arizona as well. You might want to take a look at it ahead of time, all these roads are on the map and it will give you a better perspective as you drive the route.
There is additional club info contained in the information below.
We hope to get a large group on this tour, I'm sure it will be a great drive and entirely different since we're doing it backwards. We would especially like to see some of our newer members so we can get a chance to meet and get to know them.
We will appreciate your prompt RSVP for the events discussed.
Thanks,
Paul Ebeyer, President
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REMEMBER - THE OFFICIAL CLUB POLICY IS TO OBEY ALL TRAFFIC LAWS AND REGULATIONS AND TO BE COURTEOUS TO OTHER DRIVERS
There will be a club tour on Saturday, May 24th , 2008. The destination is Prescott for lunch at the Gurley Street Grill and after lunch we will be driving the Skull Valley tour in reverse.
THE START
We'll meet at the Albertson's market on Carefree Highway, ¼ mile east of I-17 near the east end where the bank is. There are rest room facilities and coffee available in Albertson's.
Please have a full fuel tank when starting the trip and remember to bring your club radio. We do need your RSVP so we will have an accurate count for the restaurant. I have to provide this to them ahead of time so please, let's hear from you right away.
We will meet at 9:30 AM depart at 9:45 AM and head west on Carefree Hwy toward Wickenburg which is about a 40 minute drive. Right now, there is congestion at the intersection of I-17 and Carefree Hwy as they build the overpass. The last time we were there, we got separated and it took a while for the rear enders to catch up. We will ask the front runners to moderate their speed and allow the rear enders to catch up. We don't like to see a fragmented caravan on our tours. If we are really separated badly, the caravan can stop about 1 mile west of I-17 at the Arizona Game and Fish facility on the right hand side of the road. They have a big parking lot and that would be a great place to get everyone together if needed. Let's communicate by radio so we will know what action to take to get the caravan back together.
DO NOT SPEED IN THE VICINITY OF LAKE PLEASANT, as the Peoria police have "bracelets" that fit the wrists of all speeders. We will have a 15 minute stop at McDonald's in Wickenburg. Our approximate ETA at the Gurley Street Grill is set at 12:00.
When departing Wickenburg, we'll pick up Hwy 89 and head north to Yarnell Hill. There is a fork in the road about 10 miles out of Wickenburg. The left fork is Hwy 93 and will take you to Las Vegas, not Prescott. At this fork, you want to bear right and get on Hwy 89 North, it is plainly marked - just pay attention and you will be OK. From this point all the way to Prescott, the road is quite entertaining and most of the scenery is beautiful as we drive through the Prescott National Forest.
May trips on this route usually have a promise of cooler weather once we hit the town of Yarnell at an elevation of 4779 ft. If your top is up and you want to lower it, this is a good place to do it and we'll stop the caravan to accommodate this. Please keep your club radio tuned in for instructions.
The balance of the drive is pretty straight forward until we arrive at the outskirts of Prescott. Simply stay on Hwy 89. We will be entering the town from Hwy 89 which becomes White Spar Rd for a short distance and then becomes Montezuma Street. Stay on Montezuma Street past Goodwin St and Whiskey row on your left and the Courthouse will be on your right. At this point, we're headed to the Shell station but see the additional note below. The next street is Gurley, turn left and drive to Grove Street which is about 5 streets west of Montezuma St. Turn right on Grove and go past Western St and Sheldon St. Continue on approximately ½ block and you will see a Shell station dead ahead. We will use this same route when we depart the Grill after lunch and head for Skull Valley.
Here is the detailed info on refueling go to this site and print out the map and bring it with you.
Sometimes the fuel stop can be an element that unintentionally splits the group and someone gets lost or separated from the main body. However, you have detailed directions in this newsletter so you should be able to find the Grill. When you leave the gas station.
If you go to this link you can zoom in on the map and print it out as it shows the exact location of the Grill and surrounding streets. Navigation will be easy if you print this out and have it with you. It is easy to get confused and turned around in downtown Prescott if you are not familiar with it. The easiest way to get to the Gurley Street Grill from the station is to back track the same route and go back to Gurley St east to Granite Street. The grill is at Granite St and Gurley St. Make a left turn off Gurley St on to Granite and you will see a bank parking lot dead ahead of you to your left, the Grill uses this for parking on days when the bank is closed. If you get lost phone the Grill at 928 445 3388 or try to call up another club member on the club radio or cell phone.
In the event we are late for our arrival at the Grill, as we enter Prescott, we'll go directly to the Grill and delay the fueling until after lunch since we have to drive right by the Shell station on our way out of town. This decision will be called out on the radio. It is important we hit the arrival time at the Grill accurately since they are setting up the buffet for us. If we are ahead of schedule, in order to kill some time, we'll fuel first according to the directions provided in this newsletter.
AT THE RESTAURANT
We have reserved the room upstairs toward the front of the building, we have been there previously. They will have a sandwich buffet set up for us that includes a selection of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, sliced tomato, lettuce, cold slaw, etc. Eat as much as you like. The price per head is $13 and includes everything. They require one check so we will pay with a club check and each of us will pay the club $13 per person. It would be very helpful if you actually bring $13 in cash per person or $26 per couple, so we don't have to mess around trying to make change. The head count is important because they will charge us for the head count we give them in advance, even if the attendance is less, we don't want to throw away club money.
After lunch we will form up together in a caravan at the parking lot and go West on Gurley St back to Grove St., turn right and head back toward the Shell gas station and then bear slightly left which will put you on Miller Valley Rd. (Unless we are refueling after lunch in which case, we will stop and fill the tanks) This becomes Iron Springs Rd and begins the reverse route of the Skull Valley tour.
I have entered some approximate distances that were taken from a road map, I don't know how accurate these distances are but they are probably pretty close.
Skull Valley is the first community on the return trip and Kirkland is the second community. Somewhere in there, the name, "Iron Springs Rd". is dropped and it becomes Hwy 96. The next community is Hillside and there will probably be signs along the way but since we have never driven this in reverse, I really don't know. In any case, remain on Hwy 96 West and it will eventually intersect with Hwy 97. At that junction, 96 will take you to Bagdad, AZ so you want to turn left on Hwy 97 which will take you to Hwy 93. Turn Left on Hwy 93 (South) and head toward Wickenburg. As I recall, this is approximately 40 miles but it doesn't matter, you can't possibly get lost at this point.
We will stop in Wickenburg for a comfort break and fuel if need (probably not) There is a gas station and Quick Stop on Hwy 89 on the right side of the road as we approach town from the North, If we can spot it, that would be a good place for the stop, otherwise, we'll go to McDonalds. We will call this out on the radio one way or the other so everyone will know where we are stopping.
After Wickenburg, we head South on Hwy 93 to Hwy 74, the Carefree Hwy, and turn east and then head for home. This should be a great drive and something a bit different for a change.
WE WILL NEED YOUR RSVP ASAP FOR A HEAD COUNT
FUTURE STUFF
JUNE
I'm thinking of an evening dinner drive in June but I have not decided where to go. The Christmas Tree restaurant at Pinetop/Lakeside is always a good choice but there are some others as well. We'll see what we can set up and we'll get the details out to you. Our summer evening dinner drives are always very enjoyable events.
JULY
July fourth will be our traditional dinner at Dillon's in Glendale but this year we would like to combine that with go karting at Speed Street not far away. If possible, we will work in some kind of one day tour in July as well. Naturally, it will be north to cool country. Right now, I have the following names on the list for both the dinner and karting for the July 4th event.
It is very important that I get your RSVP on this because I have to set up the karting way ahead of time in order to get a time slot for us. Since we're having dinner afterward, it's important the schedules blend together. Otherwise we will have one hell of a mess with a fragmented event. I also need a head count for the restaurant so they can set aside a proper space for us.
Unfortunately in the past, getting the RSVP from some of you has been a real chore, some of you respond right away. It makes my job a lot easier if you get on this right away so I can lock in appropriate accommodations. PLEASE send me your reply promptly on all RSVP requests. THANK YOU, THANK, YOU, THANK YOU !!!! :
AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER
We are planning a 4 day tour of South Eastern Utah sometime in late August or early September. There are a lot of scenic, tourist locations and some fantastic roads that are a part of this tour. Details will be coming later. If we do this drive in Sept, we will probably have a one day tour sometime in August.
Although we don't have the dates decided upon, it would help us with the planning if you can give me an idea of whether or not you would be interested in the Utah tour.
OTHER IDEAS
We will have an event in Oct, Nov and Dec as well
We're considering a tour to Mount Graham in South Eastern AZ, one that we have never done before. We will try to get this on the calendar in 2008 if we can.
In summary, this is what we would like to receive from you at this time:
1) your RSVP on the May 24th Prescott tour 2) whether you will attend the July 4th dinner and karting, or just the dinner 3) please give us an idea, as best you can at this time, whether you might attend the Utah tour.
As you can see, we have a busy schedule of events planned for the next few months. We hope you can attend everything but we know that is not always possible.
We look forward to hearing back from you on all these events and we'll see you down the road soon.
Happy driving
ps………..March 2008 marked the 10th year anniversary of the club : We currently have 57 members and we're trying to recruit more.
pps………using the radio properly. Hold the mic of the radio about 4 or 5 inches from your face, press the talk button and pause about 2 seconds before speaking. Otherwise your first few words get cut off. Speak SLOWLY and try to apply proper diction. Many of the messages come through at 2000 miles an hour are garbled, and are impossible to understand. Slowing down the rate of speech helps a lot for old geezers like me who are losing their hearing. In addition, there is wind noise entering the mic and further confusing the transmission. If you have a voice activated system, please turn off that feature because wind noise opens the mic and prevents anyone else from transmitting until your mic is closed again.