Expectation, anticipation, excitement in the air! The weekend approached to take a ride on the curviest road in America, and it was right here in Arizona all the time. I have heard tell of the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina, but The Coronado Trail aka Devil’s Highway aka The Curviest road in America must more than rival the Tail of the Dragon. There are 106 miles of twists, dips, rises and hairpin turns before the road even begins to resemble something that is not hazardous.

For some, the weekend began on a muggy Friday afternoon. We drove to the Noftsger Hill InnB & B in Globe,  Arizona where we met up with James and Deb from New Mexico. The Noftsger is a former school, and the classrooms have been converted into bedrooms complete with chalkboards and evaporative cooling. Even the janitor’s closet is a darling room that you can stay in. Our hostess Rosalee was very considerate and served breakfast at 7:30a.m., so that we could be on our way early to meet the group coming up from Phoenix on Saturday morning.

A large group of cars congregated in the parking lot of McDonald’s in Globe on Saturday morning. Anticipation hung like muggy heat in the air as we started our engines and headed for the meeting point in Clifton at the old Railroad Station. We arrived at the Railroad Station around 11:30 and met up with John and Jane and John and Mary Beth from the Tucson Roadsters Club. Under sunny skies we held a drivers meeting to discuss the charity Poker Run that we would use to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. Our first cards were drawn and we dashed off to gas up before stopping at the top of the Phelps Dodge copper mine in Clifton/Morenci. The breathtaking view held us in awe, but we had to tear ourselves away so we could enjoy our ride.

We raced up the highway on the Chase Creek switchbacks. Soon we located the Sardine Saddle Rest Area, chose our next card for the poker game and went to find picnic tables. Juanis provided the scrumptious sub sandwiches from which we had our choice of ham, turkey or roast beef. Other members provided wine, cheese, crackers, salami, pepperoni, potato salad, chips and dips along with a variety of delicious desserts like brownies, lemon bars and peanut butter cookies to name a few. Martin brought his car closer and turned up the radio to enhance our picnic experience.

The fluffy, white clouds that we watched all morning began turning ominous. Quickly we concluded our picnic and started out on the next 20 miles to Red Mountain Fire Vista for the next poker draw. About 2 minutes down the road the menacing clouds opened up and drip, drop, downpour! Blinding rain…Hail …Zero visibility…and the roadsters continued to take us safely to our destination. We made another stop to reconnect the groups and draw another card. We made a bee line to Hannagan Meadow for coffee and hot chocolate at the little lodge store. Juanis, the anchorman on this leg of the trip, found the Sky’s and Sols neatly organized under the Big Antlers of the Hannagan Meadow Store. Drivers and passengers were huddled on the store's front porch shivering in the light drizzle of 9100 feet elevation as the fine roadsters rested against the beautiful backdrop called Hannagan Meadow. While catching our breath at the lodges’ store, we opened our poker hands to reveal the winners.

Prizes included GMRoadster Teeshirts, Hwy 191 Teeshirts, GMRoadster memberships, $100 in parts and oil changes from Peroria Pontiac, Sky-Sol decals and more. Our small group raised $220.00 for the Make a Wish Foundation and it was a lot of fun. Thanks to Deb and James for folding and stapling 4 decks of cards for us to use for our game. Rodeo and Alice joined us at Hannagan Meadow for their return trip to Springerville, while John, Jane, John and Mary Beth stayed at Hannagan Meadow for the night.

With the dawn came a new day and a new adventure. James and Deb had to leave early to get home to NM. Some headed back to Phoenix early, while still others met for breakfast at the Rode Inn and decided to go the Springerville Airport to have our pictures taken in front of the sign and you will not believe what happened next…..

….With 15 roadsters in tow, Gary and Martin asked if we could drive onto the tarmac of the Springerville airport to have our picture taken in front of the airport sign. We were made to feel very welcome and parked our cars in front of the hangar. To show off the beauty of the machines, the pilots and people who were at the hangar brought out a few planes to park behind the cars. We got some great shots and Martin had a great idea…would it be possible to take a run on the runway with our cars? After thinking it over, Norm responded with a “how about you take a run down the runway and we will get a picture of the airplane in the air with the cars” … Too Cool!!! Those drivers that wanted to drive quickly went to one end of the runway and the airplane flew into the air. The plane, a hand built Fox, circled around and made several passes as the cars raced down the path. What a lot of fun. Many thanks go to Norm Moulton, Matthew Swartz, and Kimberly Jackson for their kindness. The kit Fox was built by Matthew’s grandfather and is an experimental plane. Ownership passed to Norm and he was the pilot of the plane. Sylvia was flying her plan called a Pitts Special and landed just for the photo shoot.

Juanis and AZWildcatSol waited until late Sunday morning for any Sols or Skys to show for the return trip south on AZ Hwy 191. But, the others were too busy playing at the airport. Soon the Tucson roadsters retraced the path of the previous day with high scattered clouds and sunshine.

We finished up at the airport and had to make tracks towards Phoenix. Our plan for lunch changed as we were too late to make our reservation at Kohl’s ranch. We had rain crossing the high country from Pine to Payson, but we got our tops tightly secured before anyone got drenched. In Payson we found a Bar and Grill called Macky’s. Lunch was a regular fare, but I hear the dessert was homemade and delightful. One table shared their Carrot Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie and Banana Cream Pie. Soon we were on our way again down the Beeline Highway headed toward Phoenix and home. What an incredible journey. Some of the nicest people I know are driving these cars…Happy Trails …until we meet again…