Travelers Retrospective #5: June 28, 2013

We left Fenders and got breakfast at a great place called the Wagon Wheel, Western motif, great food, great staff, very kitschy 66.  

What's wonderful about California is that original sections of 66 are still in place. I -40 isn't built on top of it. So outside of Needles we started chasing 66 through the Mojave. Luckily, my wife is a native Californian and wise in the ways of the Mojave, but we didn't need her expertise. But this section of 66 from Needles to San Bernardino was at one time frightening to travel. Cars had a hard time getting through the desert, and travelers too before A/C. Many travelers would travel through here by night, and it's not uncommon to see that suggested in old 66 guides. This is also the place where those canvas water bags that hung off the hood ornament use to be deployed. Luckily for newer cars this trip even in day time is no problem.

The road hits some legendary 66 desert towns, like Goffs and Essex, and makes it into Amboy. Amboy is a nothing place with a lot of surprises. The first surprise was the shoe tree, a tree with pairs of shoes hung by their laces, hundreds of them. Sadly on our last trip through the tree had been hit by lightening and collapsed into a wash, but I understand that a replacement may be found. 

Amboy is home to Roy's an old 66 landmark with a blue and red sign that sticks out in contrast to the bright brown glare of the desert. Roy's was a mid-desert tourist colony long ago, that provided gas, food, and lodging (small cabins). But over the past few decades had changed owners and now is rarely open if it is at all. It was closed on this trip. 

After Roy's you see a second surprise, a volcano. Yes a volcano in the middle of the desert. This is the extinct Amboy Crater, we didn't get too close on this trip but its a cool site, and a state park. 

After Amboy we pushed through Ludlow, and on to Newberry Springs. East of Newberry Springs we ran across a brown bar called the Bagdad Cafe, this is the spot the movie of the same name was filmed. I will talk about it in a later post. 

After Newberry Springs we where on to Dagget the home of a strange solar power plant that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. After that we go past Fort Irwin USMC logistics base and on to Barstow

Continued in part 2

Travelers Retrospective #4: June 27, 2013 Part 3

A lot to see in Arizona for Route 66.

We took old sections of 66 into downtown Flagstaff. We stopped at the Museum Club, another Route 66 classic. Of course we quickly found out that it was a bar and not a restaurant but the staff and customers where awesome and really nice, and took some time to talk to us. They where really cool, and also suggested a restaurant next door the Crown Railway Cafe, in the Howard Johnson. It was a great suggestion since Flagstaff was served by the Super Chief and is still served by Amtrak. My son loved it.

Flagstaff is about the size of a large Chicago suburb like Downers Grove, or Schaumburg. Meaning it does have traffic problems, especially on 66 which is a main drag in Flagstaff. We made or way out of town, but stopped off to see Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson. I'm not a motorcycle guy but they have cool Route 66 stuff, and the owner loves talking to 66 travelers. It was a nice experience. 

After that we headed into the hills by I-40, back here on red dirt roads are several old alignments of 66. I was glad I was driving a Jeep it was a bit harsh for a car. Here are sections from the 20's, 30's, and 40's, some still visible some not. It was really cool. 

Eventually we returned to I-40 and took a quick jaunt thought Williams, which had the opportunity for other adventures. After that we looked through Ash Forks, and later broke off to Saligman. We stopped in Saligman for a while and got some sodas at the the Snow Cap. The Delgadillo family still runs it and are a ball of laughs to joke with. Saligman is an iconic Route 66 town thanks to a Life Magazine photo taken of it in 1947. After Saligman is Hackberry and Peach Springs (basis of Cars Radiator Springs perhaps?), the we stopped for a bit in each town but it was getting late. 

We found our way back to I-40 bypassing Kingman, and Oatman, this time.  We got to Needles and stayed at Fenders Resort. It was a quiet little place on the Colorado River, and being tired from a long day of touring Route 66 Arizona we wished we could have stayed another day there. 

Pacific Ocean here we come!

Travelers Retrospective #4: June 27, 2013 Part 1

We left Holbrook that morning in a mad scramble. For a small town it has a busy rush hour on Monday mornings. It didn't take to long to get on to I-40 and we where on our way. Our first exit was exploring the route at Joseph City, and slowly making our way to the Jackrabbit trading post. "Here it Is" remarks the huge yellow sign with the Jackrabbit on it. If it looks sort of familiar it's because it was the basis for Lizzys Curio Shop in the movie Cars. Coincidentally, this is where we saw or first movie poster for Cars, keep in mind it was 2005 and the movie wasn't due out for another year. As far as I know the poster is still there as are the autographs of John Lassiter, and a few other celebrity's. 

Next up was Winslow, AZ. Feel free to sing the Eagles song Take it Easy since there is a street corner downtown dedicated to it. Winslow has a great visitors center to see, with helpful docents and cool stores nearby. We also saw the La Posada, an old Harvey House restored and making a life of its own. It's probably one of the most beautiful hotels we have ever seen.  

Immediately following Winslow we hit three more Arizona Route 66 attractions. The first attraction that we saw was Meteor City and of course it would be Meteor Crater. Meteor Crater is awesome and has a great visitors center dedicated to space exploration and meteors. Our son and kids in general love it rocks, and astronauts, what can I say.  

Next up are the Route 66 relics of Two Guns and Twin Arrows. Two Guns is now  in ruins (dangerous to explore), but back on the day was an tourist trap based on Old West lore. It had fake shoot outs, pony rides, rattle snake pits, and all the trappings of the late 40's through early 60's Western craze. 

Twin Arrows is a little further up. At that time we could see the two huge arrows sticking out of the ground on and angle,  but in following trips it was one and the remains of another sticking out of the ground. This is a really iconic place on

66 but has had a tragic recent past and fallen on hard times, and sadly is deteriorating quickly. I have heard that there is a restoration effort underway but I haven't seen much on it. 

After getting some photos there it was in to Flagstaff.

Continued in part 2