The stretch of Highway 17 leading from Phoenix, Arizona to the cowboy/college town of Flagstaff passes through some of Arizona’s most beautiful terrain. As we zoomed up the curving highway, we could feel and see the effects from the altitude gain. Green shrubs and cacti dotted, then carpeted, the rolling expanse on either side of the highway. Past Oak Creek Canyon, pine trees and scrub proliferated on ever more verdant hills.
Unlike previous years, this time there were no December snow drifts—just a spare frosting of white at the very top. One by one, we spotted the turnoffs to Black Canyon City, Junction 69 (the turnoff to the former historic capital of Prescott), and Camp Verde (a small and funky town known not only for its Native American heritage and historic monuments, but increasingly by association with the up-and-coming Verde Valley wine region).
Though early into the drive, Black Canyon City necessitated one of those sudden off-the-highway detours that are—by most people’s estimation—the best thing about roadtrips. From a distance, we spotted an adobe-style building on a hillside, bearing the block lettering, “BAD ASS BBQ STEAKHOUSE.” Just below, two giant toys—an elephant and a giraffe—were arranged to look like they were either fighting or dancing on the hillside.
This sort of zoologically-inspired swap-meet kitsch, especially in conjunction with the promise of badassed barbecue, is not something the smart roadtripper ignores. We pulled off at the exit, and shortly were ensconced in a friendly, no frills saloon and barbecue joint where the special is $13.99 all-you-can-eat beef ribs—served all day and all night, with plenty of fixin’s, $3 bottled beers, and a pile of napkins.
The full name of the place is Kid Chilleen’s Bad Ass BBQ & Steakhouse, and it’s one of those classic Western hangouts where the daytime regulars gossip about who’s lyin’ and cheatin’, the waitresses call you ‘hon,’ and all the visitors coming through pin a dollar bill on the wall to leave their mark.
Further up the 17, the snowy mountain peaks took center spotlight as we drove toward Flagstaff, Walnut Canyon and Sedona. Just before the town of Flagstaff, we peeled off along the I-40 East for a long, quiet haul through the desert highlands of east Arizona and on into New Mexico. Dusk fell as we neared Navajo County. This is also the prairie and historic railroad country: trading posts and pottery centers create gaudy distractions along the highway, and peculiar attractions like Meteor Crater tempt explorers to veer off the beaten path.
Darkness falls early in winter though, and with 200 miles to go till Albuquerque, we chose to stay on the highway and cut through the grimy, poverty-stricken New Mexico borderlands into ever-welcoming Albuquerque.
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