Burton Travel Log: Route 66 - 2012 -- getting to the end

In 2007, we first began our adventures along Route 66. We had heard a lot about it, and were ready to explore. (Those exploits can be found in the blog dated August, 2010)

We have tried several times to complete the remainder of the route, but weather and the births of new grandbabies have delayed the departure. We figured we weren't getting any younger, and this would be a good way to celebrate my 65th birthday.

Our neighbor came over the day we were leaving to take pictures of our departure.

We saw a pair of moose (look closely) outside Fairplay and took this as a good sign that our journey would go well.
(For those that haven't travelled with us, Ed is always wanting me to be on the lookout for moose.)

This was one of our many lunch stops along the way.

Always looking for unique sights -- we happened across this house (known as the castle) in Antonito.
The owner, a Vietnam vet, has built this entire complex from scrap materials (including the inside).

After crossing into New Mexico the second morning,
we stopped at Michaels in Taos for Huevos Rancheros.

While in Santa Fe, we were reminded of the
Adobe look we liked so well

Although an alignment of Route 66 passed through Santa Fe, we
joined the original route here. There is a small section
of Route 66 that enters Albuquerque from here.

Albuquerque, New Mexico is the largest city in New Mexico and owes its explosive growth to the economic boom that Route 66 brought to it during the golden age of the Mother Road. In 1946, Albuquerque had a population of 35,449 and every tourist accommodation possible. (http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66NMex/albuq.htm)

The entire ride throughout Albuquerque has
signs, businesses and plaques
acknowledging the historic Route 66

The El Vado Motel is
another icon of the past.

The Aztec was one of the original motels in Albuquerque.
Like others along the route, the
buildings have been removed or replaced.

This 50s style diner is located on Central Avenue
which is considered the original Route 66.

Albuquerque was founded in 1706 along the banks
of the Rio Grande River. Its old town
plaza represents the town's Spanish heritage.

Ongoing renovations are bringing the
theatre back to its original decor.

Built in 1927, the Kimo Theatre was
built as Southwestern-themed architecture.

We detoured from Route 66 to visit a couple of places in Albuquerque. Bev has been a collector of Hard Rock shot glasses since Ed took her to her first Hard Rock Cafe on their first trip to Cancun. Whenever there is one "in the neighborhood" it becomes a must stop. The Unser Racing team has also been a part of Bev's history since watching them race on television. Although Bobby was Bev's favorite, she did get to see Al and Al Jr race at the Indianapolist 500 when Al Senior won the race.

Hard Rock Casino

Bobby Unser's car when he
won the Pikes Peak Hill Climb

We left Albuquerque and headed west towards Arizona. Route 66 has largely been absorbed by Interstate 40. The route exits I-40 at the Laguna Pueblo, and follows a well-maintained 2-lane highway through the towns of Villa de Cubero, Grants, Thoreau before crossing the Continental Divide. Ernest Hemingway made a short visit to Villa de Cubero while writing his book "Old Man and the Sea."

Gallup, NM is another Route 66 town that caters to the traveler. In 1946 it had a population of 7,041 and all the accommodatings that a tourist would require. Being located in Indian Country, the large Kachinas represented the welcome sign for weary travelers. Part of the accommodations were available at the El Rancho Hotel, which has been serving travelers since the 1930s. Once known as the Home of Movie Stars, with many famous Hollywood names on its register. The charm of yesteryear can still be found within the hotel. The El Rancho is recognized as a National Historic Site. http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66NMex/gallup.htm

El Rancho Hotel

Kachina welcome to Gallup

The Indians soon learned that tourists were interested in their wares and set up trading posts along Route 66. The one at the Continental Divide is still in operation. The original site for Chief Yellowhorse closed; and another trading post was established at the border rest area.

Continental Divide

Chief Yellowhorse

Approaching the border, the route rejoins Interstate 40 until Holbrook. The area is spotted with more trading posts (including Fort Courage which was the inspiration for F-Troop TV show). The land is colorful and known as the Painted Desert. Entrance to the Desert joins with that of the Petrified Forest National Park outside of Holbrook.

As we were entering Holbrook, there was a police escort of more than 200 motorcyclists headed east. We later found out that this was the Rolling Thunder annual motorcycle ride to Washington, DC.

Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle rally that is held in Washington, DC during the Memorial Day weekend to call for the government's recognition and protection of Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs). The tribute to American war heroes started out in 1988 with 2,500 participants. Now approximately 900,000 participants and spectators are involved with this annual demonstration in Washington, DC. Rolling Thunder celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with expanded programming. http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/RollingThunder.htm

With the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest and Indian Reservations nearby, Holbrook became the tourist headquarters for Route 66 travelers. Every Route 66 guidebook of the day spoke of the things to do and see around this country. Remnants of the businesses that sprang up to service these travelers can still be found in Holbrook if one gets off the interstate to explore. http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66holbrook.htm

Because high winds were expected between Holbrook and Flagstaff, we decided to spend two nights in Holbrook -- giving us an opportunity to visit with many of the descendents of Route 66 owners. The first family were those that owned the Wigwam Motel. The owner indicated that there had been more interest in the Wigwam since the movie "Cars" depicted the motel in the movie. The motel had been closed when the original owner passed away, but the grandchildren have reopened.

Because of roadwork, Ed had to
be creative in entering the
parking lot of the motel

The area inside the tepee was quite
spacious -- bed, bathroom and
table with two chairs

Two known restaurants in Holbrook are right across the street from each other. We ate at Romo's for dinner. Although Ed had traversed the road construction in front of the motel to get coffees and roll from Safeway, we stopped in at Joe and Angie's Cafe for a late breakfast. We were able to talk with Joe and Angie's grandson, and he told us that Joe and Angie had been married over 70 years and both came to work in the restaurant each day. The children had left town to find themselves, but slowly returned to take over the family business. Members of the family are interviewed in the credits of the "Cars" movie.

Joe & Angie's Cafe

Romo's Restaurant

Leaving Holbrook, we continued on Interstate 40 towards Flagstaff. This picture gives you an indication of the landscape that we followed until entering the wooden area around Winona on our approach to Flagstaff.

Another symbol of Route 66 is the "Here It Is" JackRabbit sign announcing the JackRabbit Trading Post.

The next stop was Winslow. Notarity was given to this location when the Eagles recorded "Take It Easy" -- in which is the line "Standing on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona." La Posada Hotel has been in Winslow a lot longer. It was built by the Santa Fe Railway in 1929 for Fred Harvey Company. The Harvey Houses became better known when MGM did a movie with Judy Garland called "The Harvey Girls." http://www.laposada.org/hotel_history.html

Note the metal camel in the hotel photo. Camels played an important role in the development of the railroad throughout this region. http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66AZ.htm

We continued west on Interstate 40 until reaching the Winona turnoff (remember the line "Don't Forget About Winona" in the original Bobby Troop "Route 66"). Winona is now a bedroom community of Flagstaff. Before reaching the turnoff we visited Meteor Crater http://www.meteorcrater.com/ and then saw the remains of other trading posts of the past -- including Two Guns and Twin Arrows. The interstate now crossed the Canyon Diablo area -- said to have been wilder than Tombstone. http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/canyondiablo.html

Caused when an asteroid traveling at
26,000 mph collided with earth
approximately 50,000 years ago

What remains of Twin Arrows
trading post

The exit towards Winona leaves the desert terrain and turns towards the cool pine elevations of the Colorado Plateau before entering Flagstaff. Flagstaff is another town that has maintained recognition of the Route 66 lore.

A few years back Flagstaff changed the name of its main street, Santa Fe Ave, back to Route 66. Old cafes, motor courts, and the colorful downtown district all show evidence of the impact Route 66 had on this town. The Museum Club is a Flagstaff landmark that harkens back to Route 66. Once located on the outskirts of town, this old highway watering hole is a Route 66 throwback now surrounded by present day Flagstaff. http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66flagstaff.htm

Originally built in 1931 by a taxidermist to showcase his lifelong collection, this famous watering hole has taken on a history of its own. The day we visited, there was off-line betting for the Preakness. http://www.themuseumclub.com/ When we were leaving the parking lot, Nelson Riddle's instrumental version of Route 66 was playing on the radio.

Our original itinerary had us detouring from Flagstaff to Sedona and the African Wildlife Park. However, because of the high winds earlier in the week, we needed to remove a day from our itinerary. This put us back on interstate 40 towards Williams. Between Flagstaff and Williams is the town of Bellemont -- which has the distinction of being the highest town along old Route 66 (elev. 7,130).
http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66pine.htm Because of the original routing, I had not researched the town of Williams. We took the original route into town and were not disappointed. From here the tourists can board trains and travel to the Grand Canyon.

Williams, AZ

Ash Fork, AZ

Our first intinerary had us re-entering Route 66 at Ash Fork. Although the beauty shop is closed, the DeSoto remains on its roof. We leave I-40 at the Crookton Road exit. Crookton Road is a beautiful 17-mile drive along the old highway through rolling hills and plateau country into Seligman, a town that is proud of its Route 66 heritage. http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66seligman.htm It was while we were in Seligman that we met/saw many European motorcyclists that had come to the US and rented motorcycles to tour Route 66 and Grand Canyon area. It the short time we were there, we visited with travelers from Germany, France and the Netherlands.

Like Holbrook, Seligman is another Route 66 town that is claiming rights to the town in the movie "Cars." The movie town represents the many forgotten towns as the interstate passes them by. Angel and Juan Delgadillo are credited for bringing back the interest in these towns along Route 66. Juan passed away in 2004, and Angel has recently been honored by the State of Arizona for the impact he had in acknowledging this heritage.

Angel is a barber, who still gives a "shave and haircut" to any interested tourist. We stopped in, and when I told him "thank you for the work he had done in preseving Route 66", he had tears in his eye. He said that was the best payment he could receive from anyone.

Juan owned the Sno Cap Drive-In (which he built entirely with scrap materials), and was the jokester. That tradition is still carried on by his grandson when you stop in for an ice cream.

SnoCap Drive-In

Menu from Road Kill Cafe

The 150 miles from Ash Fork to the border at the Colorado River is the longest preserved section of Route 66. Although we crossed I-40 in Kingman, we would not rejoin it until we reached Needles. Leaving Seligman that morning, the gophers alongside the roadway were playing games with Ed -- he said "it was like driving through pylons and trying to avoid them."

The route turns north. In 1927, a woodcutter for the Santa Fe railroad thought he had discovered a gold mine -- instead, he discovered what is now know as Grand Canyon Caverns. The place is still open and tours are offered daily. The road continues on the Peach Springs -- which is the capital of the Hualpai Indian Nation. At one point in the road you can look into the Grand Canyon. Rafting tours are offered from here. The road continues onto Hackberry, where a stop at the General Store is a must. This is another business that is carried on by family members. As the owner told Ed, "My dad was the collector." The place is a museum within itself.

Hackberry General Store

Grand Canyon Caverns

The road turns south again, and soon you enter Kingman on Andy Devine Ave/Route 66. Andy was born in Flagstaff, but called Kingman his hometown. He is best known as Roy Rogers sidekick. Like other Route 66 cities, the history is represented with cafes, motels and old gas stations. The steam locomotive in the park represents its railroad history that began in 1883. http://www.kingmantourism.org/ Before having lunch at Mr D'z Diner, we visited the Route 66 Museum in the old Powerhouse Building.

Route 66 Museum

Mr D'z Diner

Leaving Kingman, the interstate begins its journey south to the Colorado River and the desert. Route 66 turns west towards Oatman. This requires crossing Sitgreaves Pass. A new alignment was built in 1953 that did away with the need to traverse the steep mountain grades. However, for the early travelers, this was not an option.

Sitgreaves Pass switchbacks

Display showing Early Travelers

Along with the winding curves and switchbacks, many of the vehicles needed to be driven backwards. (Due to the fact that cars did not have gas pumps, and the steep climb caused the gas to flow away from the engine.) It is said that many travelers would pay the locals to drive their vehicle over the summit.

Descending the pass, one enters the town of Oatman. Now for anyone who has not been here before, it is a true delight. It began as a tent camp soon after two prospectors struck a $10 million gold find in 1915. The town has become a tourist attraction, including a bank robbery, because of the newborn interest in Route 66 and Laughlin, Nevada being close by. There was a major fire in 1921 that destroyed most of the town. The Oatman Hotel, built in 1902, remained standing. Its notarity comes from when, in 1939, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married in Kingman; they honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel.

Sharing the street with the
Wild Burros

Oatman Hotel

Wild burros freely roam the town and can be hand-fed carrots and "burro chow". Though normally gentle, the burros are in fact wild and signs posted throughout Oatman advise visitors to exercise caution. The burros are descended from pack animals turned loose by early prospectors, and are protected by the US Department of the Interior.

It is time to take another detour from Route 66. We had previously driven the road to the border, so decided to try our luck in Laughlin. When we crossed the river from Bullhead City to Laughlin, a temperature sign read 114. Believe that was our warmest day.

We had made reservations at Harrahs. Heading to dinner, someone mentioned that the eclipe could be seen from the courtyard. It was difficult to see directly, but someone pointed out that if we used the reflection on the door, the eclipse was visible. After dinner we went to the evening show -- "Moonwalker - a tribute to Michael Jackson." The performance was quite good. Being in a large hotel, we were required to use bellhops to transport all our stuff to/from the room. After we had everything loaded the next morning, the bell captain came over and said he 'wouldn't have believed that we fit everything on the cart into the motorcycle.'

View of eclipse

Jackson 5 tribute

Michael Jackson

Everythings ready to be loaded!

We left early the next morning so we could avoid some of the heat -- we would be driving across the desert towards Barstow. We headed south first to Needles to pickup Route 66. Before entering Needles, we crossed into California. We drove through town, seeing the remains of another Harvey House. The route then heads north of the interstate to Goffs Road, which then turns west. In 1883, the construction of the Southern Pacific Railway in this area created a new route for travelers. http://www.desertusa.com/mnp/mnp_goff.html The route from here to Barstow is also known as the National Trails Highway.

Needles Welcome Sign

1 of 2 shady spots along the route

The route then turns south and crosses I-40. My image of the desert was "flat". However, as we crossed the interstate, I noticed that I-40 went north of the "hills" and the original Route 66 turned south. Until we reached Ludlow, there were few areas where I-40 could be reached. We found the two shady spots along the route. Amboy and Psgah craters can be seen along the route; these both are from volcanic flow. These had been tourist attractions for the earlier travelers along the route. Along the route is evidence of travelers that have stopped to contribute to the desert graffiti on the earth berms.

Between Ludlow and Newberry Springs the road was quite damaged, so we opted to return to I-40. A movie centering on old Route 66, called 'Bagdad Cafe', was filmed in the Newberry Springs area. The original cafe was located farther east in the town of Bagdad along the route. The original town has disappeared; and, the restaurant where the filming was made adopted the Bagdad Cafe name. The restaurant itself was a Route 66 survivor. We stopped here for lunch. It has also become a stop for tour busses in the area. After leaving Newberry Springs, we tried again to follow the original Route 66 but were surprised to learn that a Marine Corps Logistic Base was built in the area just outside of Barstow; requiring us to once again return to I-40.

Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs

Marines Logistic Base

Barstow is where the old trails meet. The Old Mormon Trail, now I-15, and Route 66, now replaced by I-40, come together here in the high desert. We arrived in early afternoon, to find that the motel pool was not open. We decided we had accumulated enough souvenirs that it was time to send a package home and to give the motorcycle a bath. Chores done, we relaxed in the air conditioned room until it was time for dinner. The old train depot across the street was converted to a food court; and, then after dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Barstow sunset

Barstow food court

The next morning we explored Barstow before continuing the journey. Barstow, like other towns along the route has murals placed on many of the businesses. We drove across the railroad bridge and saw the former Harvey House, Casa del Desierto, which now houses the Route 66 Museum and a Railroad Museum. The yard was filled with various types of railroad cars. Before leaving town, we stopped to see the El Rancho Motel -- which was built totally of railroad ties.

Mural

Casa del Desierto

Barstow Railroad Museum

El Rancho Motel

Route 66 continues through the high desert along the National Trail Highway towards Victorville. We had been in Victorville previously when we were headed to San Diego to see CSU in the Holiday Bowl. At that time we had stopped at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum (which has now been relocated to Branson).

We took I-15 south as far as Cajon Junction and then took a ride through the mountains to San Bernardino.

View of I-15 from Cajon Summit
(elev 4,260)

Silver Lake

Scenic Viewpoint

San Bernardino Valley

We rejoined historic Route 66 in San Bernardino and the first attraction was the first McDonalds (which is now a museum). From here to the Pier it was 84 miles of stop and go traffic. We did manage to avoid any of the LA Freeways. Time was catching up with us after Dodger Stadium, so we decided to digress from the original route and get to the motel. Unfortunately, Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica did not cross, and we added additional miles traveling through Beverly Hills. We turned and ended up on the UCLA campus, where a student was kind enough to bring up directions to the pier on his phone. All-in-all, the exercising Ed had done before we left paid off, because it was a long day getting to the pier. We checked into the motel, and then headed to Bubba Gumps on the pier for garlic shrimp and drinks to celebrate our arrival.