Visit a ghost town, windswept desert plains, high canyon walls, spires, tall towers, wind caves, excellent mountain biking, and Arches National Park.
There are two routes to get down to Moab, Utah, from I-70 or U.S. 191. The latter way is the quickest especially if you are coming from the west, and it’s a fast half-hour blast through the desert. However, others not in a hurry and eastbounders should take Route 128 instead. Better yet, take one off ramp east of that, Exit 212, for the extra pleasure of Cisco. Not technically a tourist attraction, Cisco is a gloomy ghost town out on a windswept desert plain. It’s unclear whether there are any remaining residents of this eerie location, so stop and take a look, but don’t linger too long. Read more . . .
Think of the American Southwest and you’re likely to imagine the cactus-strewn beauty of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Seeing it on a picture postcard is one thing; going through it with a leisurely desert drive is quite another. Thirty minutes east of Phoenix is Route 79, a sun-bleached length of two-lane blacktop that links Florence Junction to Tucson. The 74-mile long route is lightly traveled, flanked by heat-ravaged countryside dotted to the horizon with giant saguaro cactus.