Day 19 - Joplin to Home Sweet Home

After working all day in Missouri, it was time to hit the road again and head for home. I took this quick shot of the St. Louis Arch by hanging my arm out the window while driving across an expressway bridge over the Mississippi river!


I finally got home close to midnight to barrel the car and trailer head first into my snow filled driveway. Ugh, home sweet home.... no more sunny beaches, no more beautiful national parks, no more fun Route 66 attractions. Just cold and snow. When do we leave on our next trip?

In the end, Millie and I logged 5900 miles in 19 days and saw 8 states. The Route 66 drive was not the nostalgic 1950's rose-colored glasses tour of Americana that the guidebooks promised, but a long, large journey of extreme contrasts-- deserts to farmlands, mountains to plains, the vibrant small towns where folks still hang their laundry outside on a clothesline in the afternoon and visit with neighbors from their front porch swing, contrasted to the decaying ghost towns filled with rusting thrown-away junk of a past generation; the affluent suburbanites with their strip malls and big box stores gobbling up and demolishing the historic old Route 66 landmarks in their path, contrasted to the forgotten homeless and working poor living in crumbling, dingy, converted motel apartments wondering where their next meal will come from. It was indeed hard to imagine that all of this could be the real America.

I can't imagine what this journey must have been like for our parents and grandparents in the 20's, 30's, 40's or even the 50's-- traveling in all the comforts of a non-air conditioned, non-power anything, non-cruise control car and wondering what kind of gas, food, and lodging loomed over the horizon in the pre-internet, pre-chainstore days. But, even with all of today's creature comforts, the trip is still a bona-fide adventure... with miles and miles to ponder what was, what is, and what might be America.

Day 18 - Amarillo to Joplin

After working Sunday evening and most of Monday at the KOA in Amarillo, I hit the road again in the afternoon to drive to Joplin, MO catching some of the east Texas panhandle sights that I'd missed on the way out due to the foggy icestorm.

The little town of McLean, Texas was a major gas stop in the early Route 66 days. Lots of old gas stations in town, including this restored gem--- the original Phillips 66 station for the state of Texas. Since my friend Natalie's husband works for Conoco-Phillips, I thought they'd enjoy these shots!



Not to be outdone by the restored Phillips station, this is the beautifully restored Conoco station in Shamrock, TX:


I didn't have time to stop, but this National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, OK looked like a very interesting place!


And, what a way to end the day, with yet one more T@B gawker... this time a bovine!

Day 17 - Holbrook to Amarillo

I had wanted to stay in different towns on the way back home, but it just didn't work out that way. So I stayed at KOAs again where I knew I'd get good wifi coverage.

As I left Holbrook, I just couldn't resist this real "Cars"-looking tow truck.

I also made a quick stop at the Painted Desert again in Petrified Forest National Park. Afterwards, it was time to put the camera away, and head for Amarillo.

Day 16 - Barstow to Holbrook

There was a large billboard sign welcoming me to Barstow, California, the "Gateway to Opportunity". Well, it's a gateway alright. But opportunity seemed a little questionable to me. I stopped at the McDonalds in town only to discover that it was a major bus stop for tour buses. About 20 of them had stopped to let their 1500 or so passengers try and all use the restrooms and order breakfast at the same time. What a zoo! Most passengers looked like poor inner-city hispanics and african-americans on their way to Vegas for the day hoping to better their luck.

As I drove out of the parking lot, I noticed a bearded man wearing an Army camouflage jacket digging through a McDonalds trash can. He discovered a half-eaten Egg McMuffin and devoured it in a few quick bites. I sure hoped to God he wasn't a war vet. How incredibly sad.

I was happy to finally leave the Gateway of Opportunity and get to drive the longest stretches of remaining original Route 66--- the drive from Newberry Springs, CA to Kingman, AZ. A couple hundred miles of pure 66. This sign on the road in the Mohave desert even proves it!

Here's the Bagdad Cafe of movie fame:


Along with another big 66 landmark, Roy's Motel and Cafe in Amboy, CA.

I watched a freight train travel along side of me for about 30 minutes through the Mohave desert, until the tracks passed over Route 66 and forced me to stop. Nothing else to do but take a picture!

The weirdest rocks I saw were also in the Mohave desert. These looked like chunks of torn up asphalt roadway, but they were actual black rocks, rather porous in texture, and almost volcanic looking. I had to laugh when I spotted this Century 21 sign in the middle of absolute nowhere out in the desert. It had to be a joke!

After stopping for lunch in Needles, CA, we crossed over the border back into Arizona for what was undoubtedly the most fun stretch of old route 66 for the entire 6000 miles! It was about a 90 mile segment from the border to Kingman, and it travels up over 3000 feet through a mountain pass.

Without a doubt, my favorite Route 66 town was Oatman, Arizona, an old restored gold-mining village where 66 becomes incredibly narrow with buildings edging the roadway and scads of tourists walking in the road. I was stopped for about 10 minutes waiting for a mock Cowboy gunfight to finish up. Then, as I inched my way through town, I was stopped again by....

an ASS IN THE ROAD! Well, actually, an adorable little white burro. Oatman has a dozen or so of these "wild" burros that roam through town being fed carrots and who knows what else all day long by the tourists. These little guys got it made!


East of Oatman, Route 66 hugs the moutainsides as it makes it's way up to the pass. It was a really fun drive.

On the other side of the pass, is a cute little restored gas station called Cool Springs, owned by a real estate man from Chicago. A neat retired lady was running the store and asked me to come inside after I shot my pictures. I was thinking she wanted me to come buy something in return for the pictures, but she actually wanted to find out more information about my trailer! Turns out, she and her husband used to RV with a big 5th wheel, but he died a few years ago and she hadn't been RV'ing since. But seeing my little trailer made her feel that she could easily manage something that size on her own. I took her out and let her look inside the trailer and gave her T@B's website address. She was so excited! My little T@B seemed to be opening the door up for her again to explore the country and get back to RV'ing. It's so fun to have a trailer that does that for people!

After getting to Kingman, I decided to continue on another 90 miles of old Route 66 to Seligman, Arizona. This stretch wasn't nearly as fun as the previous one, but it still had a few neat things to see like this old car with a sign that pointed to both LA and Chicago, and the old truck next to it.

And this neat old gas station in Hackberry:

As the sun began to set, a straight stretch of native 66 made the perfect photo to cap off a really fun day.

Day 4 - Holbrook to Kingman, AZ

Holbrook, Arizona is a terrific Route 66 town filled with lots of visual eye candy. Here's the Rainbow Rock Shop where one of the dinosaurs is munching on a lady mannequin.

And then, Holbrook's most famous attraction, the Wigwam Motel (where every room is in it's own concrete teepee!). Oprah and Gail stayed here on their drive across America last summer (they even brought their own sheets, wonder why!). But today, the motel was closed. Not sure if it's closed for good or just closed for the season, but the owner likes to keep his collection of classic cars out on the property in front of each wigwam, so it made for some great photos, especially with my recently converted infrared digital camera!


After taking in the sights of Holbrook, I backtracked a bit east to see Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona. Even though the midday light was not the greatest for photography, it was a very interesting geological park nonetheless.


There was once an ancient forest here millions of years ago. Rather than the large trees decomposing back into the soil, some of them hardened and stayed preserved, turning into petrified rock. The colors in these rocks are just amazing (even when there not yet polished like the scraps that some of the tourist shops sell just outside the park).


At the north end of the park is yet another twist of geology--- the Painted Desert range of brilliant red rocks that is in a lower-level plateau that stretches for miles. I believe this is the southern-most tip of the same kinds of rock that are found a few hours north in Monument Valley.


After my morning park tour, it was time to hit the road again. This time, doing some driving on the real 2-lane old Route 66. Here is a spot near Holbrook.


And one of my favorite shots of vintage Route 66 at sunset just outside of Seligman, Arizona.

Day 3 - Amarillo to Holbrook, AZ

Today, I got my first real taste of Route 66. First stop was the "Cadillac Ranch" in Amarillo where some eccentric millionaire rancher decided to plant a dozen Cadillacs in his pasture. The cars have all been stripped to the bone and spray painted continuously now, and urban sprawl is coming perilously close to taking this field over soon. But for today at least, the sun shined on the Cadillacs and all was good!

The next major Route 66 town was Tucumcari, NM. I had wanted to see it at night because so many of the old motels still have their original neon, but maybe I'll be luckier on the return trip. Here are two of the more-famous attractions--- the Blue Swallow motel, and Teepee Curios, as well as an old truck camper I found parked in town.




























Next stop was Albuquerque. I decided to drive the Route 66 street through town (Central Avenue). There were plenty of vintage Route 66 buildings, but also quite a few bums and crackheads wandering the sidewalks, so no good chance for any photo ops there. Not quite the charming city I had once remembered.

On the outskirts of town, I stopped for gas and saw a rancher's big open-top trailer next to me absolutely jammed with sheep who were "bahh-ing" and staring at me with their big sad eyes looking so inhumanely uncomfortable that I wanted to either kick the jackass rancher, become a vegetarian, or both. An hour later, as I was driving in a cold and blustery snowstorm over the continental divide, that rancher passed me going 70 mph hauling all those now bitterly wet, cold and half-dead sheep. Can people really be that cruel to animals? I guess they can.

Down the other side of the divide, was Gallup, NM all lit up in vintage Route 66 neon. Here's one of the signs that my buddy Jeanne & her husband Rex should like!

Day 2 - Litchfield to Amarillo, TX

So, today, I'm already getting the sense that this trip will experience extremes-- in weather, in social/economic terms, in testing my and Millie's endurance for sitting in a car for 5000 miles!

After thawing our frozen popsicle toes and getting on the road again, we drove through downtown St. Louis. I hadn't been through that route since I was a kid. It was the same spaghetti bowl of crossing highway overpasses that I'd remembered, but what I had not recalled was how poverty-stricken and depressed the town of East St. Louis, Illinois was. It's a rather stark contrast of "have" and "have nots" of our capitalistic society--- only a river and a quick ride over a bridge divides a city of wealth and comfort to a town of poverty and hopelessness.

Our journey through Missouri and Oklahoma was uneventful. We stopped in Oklahoma City for dinner and, little did I know then, we probably should have just stayed in Oklahoma for the night. As I reached the Texas border, it started to mist, and then sprinkle, and then ice, and then (just for fun) some really dense fog to go with the pitch black desolation of the Texas panhandle. I found a semi with really bright tail lights and followed him all the way to Amarillo, white knuckles and all!

Our oasis for the night was the KOA in Amarillo--- electricity (for good heat!), cable TV, wi-fi, and HOT showers....yee haw!!!

Route 66 or Bust!

This is my favorite T@B photo from the last adventure Millie and I took out West when were on the way to Moab, Utah. Well, after looking at this photo all winter long and then enduring a couple really cold weeks in Chicago, I couldn't take it any longer, and started planning a February snowbird adventure back out West.

The plan this time is to do a nearly 6000-mile, 3 week trip roughly following Route 66 out to California, where I'll then do a loop through Death Valley, Yosemite, and the central California coast before returning home via Route 66 again (catching sites I skipped on the trip out).