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Review
Arizona is a vast, wide-open place, so road rallies and tours often encompass many hundreds of miles. And contrary to most outsiders’ belief that Arizona is just one big dusty sandbox dotted with cactuses, it is actually an incredibly diverse state, in terms of climate and landscape.
Arizona is best-known, however, for incredible rock formations, made famous in old Westerns and Roadrunner cartoons.
Members of the Arizona Outlaws 356 Club and guests were treated to some of Arizona’s most-majestic features during the Javelina 100 tour, which took the band of Porsche drivers and companions from the Phoenix/Scottsdale area in the Sonoran Desert, through the thick pine forests of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced “muggy-yon”), and on to Navajo country and the spectacular greatness of Monument Valley.
A major autumn trek is a tradition for the Arizona Outlaws club, heading out to distant places with strong faith in the durability of our little air-cooled sports cars. Rarely do any of them let us down. The annual multi-day drive is titled the Javelina 100 for quirky reasons, especially since the drive is never as short as 100 miles. For those not in the know, javelinas are wild piglike creatures that run in packs all over Arizona and much of the Southwest.
The 2023 Javelina 100 was the second time the Outlaws made the Monument Valley journey to the Arizona/Utah border; the last time was in 2016. This year’s tour was arranged and organized primarily by Outlaws members Scott and Deborah Evans.
A grand tour, indeed, of more than 900 miles total over four days, and all the sturdy 356s made the speedy long haul without major issues. Not bad for 60- and 70-year-old sports cars. The trip included some impressive changes in elevation, starting off around 1,200 feet above sea level to more than 7,000 feet, with much of the tour spent at mile-high altitudes. After a scenic lunch stop, we arrived for an overnight stay at La Posada Hotel, located in the heart of Winslow, justly famed for the “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” lyric in the Eagles’ song. There is a quirky tribute to the song where you can stand on a certain corner along old Route 66 with your arm around one of two bronze rock-star statues. A vintage flatbed Ford is parked at the curb.
Completed in 1929, La Posada is just wonderful, a former railroad hotel designed by renowned architect Mary Colter, and beautifully restored with reverence for its history and legacy. The large building is decorated with intriguing artworks by Tina Mion. She and her husband, Allan Affeldt, own La Posada; Affeldt is mainly responsible for bringing the once-dilapidated grand hotel back to its original splendor.
The Outlaw gang headed due north the next morning, aiming for Mexican Hat, Utah, which is just across the Arizona state line from Monument Valley. A tiny place with a gas station, a scattering of motels and a couple of restaurants, Mexican Hat is so-named in reference to a striking nearby rock formation – a huge wind-carved feature that looks distinctly like a seated man wrapped in a serape and wearing a sombrero.
The road from Mexican Hat to Monument Valley starts off by crossing the San Juan River via a small but scenic bridge carrying a winding road through a lovely red-rock canyon. The shiny 356s looked and sounded fine as they swept up the adjacent hill.
The 2-lane road straightens out crossing a high-desert plain, so that as you approach Monument Valley, you see the colossal columns and ridges rise on the horizon, a classic image that is both familiar and surreal.
The grandness of Monument Valley, its massive monoliths jutting hundreds of feet above the dusty plain, never disappoints. The land is located within the Navajo community and is officially named Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Being there provides a small taste of Navajo culture, with the local people living in traditional ways alongside the many stunning park features that reach into the clear blue sky.
Our group enlisted a Navajo touring company that took us in a pair of open trucks into the back country of the endless park, to places unseen by most outside visitors. Our two drivers/tour guides regaled us with stories about the incredible locations, where wind and erosion have carved gigantic artworks out of the ruddy stone. One of the guides played a traditional flute for us, its lilting sound echoing off an arching rock wall. For anyone visiting Monument Valley, a guided Navajo tour is strongly encouraged – there are several local companies providing the service.
After the Monument Valley tour and a lunch stop, the Outlaw gang continued north into Utah for an unusual and adventurous trip, challenging the steep dirt-road switchbacks of the Moki Dugway, a winding 1,200-foot ascent on a trail that was carved into the rock walls. Although the Dugway (which means a carved-out road) seemed more appropriate for trucks and Jeeps, the 356s proved to be happy warriors that roared up to the summit at Muley Point – which boasts dramatic elevated views of the surrounding countryside, including Monument Valley – and back down with minimal fuss and nothing important falling off.
On the last evening of the Javelina 100, the group banded together for a happy-hour celebration on the motel’s pool deck nestled above the San Juan River. For the desert dwelling Outlaws, the sight of a flowing body of water is always a treat.
The gang broke up Sunday morning, with some of the participants starting the long drive home, while others moved on to other favorite attractions in northern Arizona, such as Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon and, of course, the Grand Canyon.
Bob Golfen