The Road Goes On…

Category: USA

Navajo, AZ to Meteor Crater, AZ

Despite truck fumes – some of the big guys let their trucks run all night- we had a good or maybe even better sleep. Breakfast was on a bench at a little park at the truck stop and a very peculiar man dropped by with not too clean clothes but one gold tooth and very white teeth. He had a lot of questions and some insightful comments, but we still did not exchange e-mail addresses.

Instead we took off for Petrified Forest National Park, now no longer accessible via Route 66 but in the 50s and 60s on the route. Our quick excursion took half a day! Painted Dessert, beautiful rock formations, petrified wood and the Painted Desert Inn at Kachina Point were of great interest.

The Inn was built in the 1920s and restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (a make work program for young unemployed people) in the 30′. Later it became a Harvey House http://harvey-house.info/arizona, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company. The architect for the reconstruction in the 30’s was a woman, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. We will meet her again in Winslow, AZ where she designed the beautiful La Posada Hotel. Her aim was to integrate her buildings into the landscape through shape and colour. Fred Kabotie, a very well known Hopi artist painted the storytelling murals.

Not quite as fancy as the Inn but nevertheless attractive was the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook and the old cars in front of each of them made it look even more authentic Route66.

The Jackrabbit Trading Post, no longer an attraction any more, was not that fascinating but Winslow definitely made up for it.

A railway town with connections to “The Eagles” and their song “Take it Easy” because one line in this song places them right into Winslow “Well, I’m standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona and such a fine sight to see”. We visited the corner, saw a statue in honour of the Eagles, listened to the song a dozen times because it was played over and over again at all stores.

We met three very dedicated people: Patrick the cyclist, Morgan the support cyclist and Mike the driver and organizer of this little outfit with a big heart. These three people are raising money for cancer research and help make a wish come true for some people with cancer, for example, a bicycle for a little girl in hospital.

Dinner was at a former trading post turned restaurant run by a young man and his former school teacher mother. Mexican food it was and it was delicious.

With renewed energy all three of us marched to the famous La Posada Hotel, another Harvey Hotel designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. Absolutely great, a bit of nature, a bit of Monastery and museum where dogs are allowed in. The prices for rooms are not even that bad and we wouldn’t mind spending some time there at our next visit.

Last but not least we visited the Meteor Crater. Quite impressive and the museum gives it a vast context, which makes this even more complex.

We limped very tired to the Meteor Crater RV Park.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 11, 2013
Grants, NM to Navajo, AZ

Hurray, we made it to Arizona! —-well, not until the evening and just past the State Border (ca. 20-30 miles in)

But first we visited the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants. They even had a reconstructed Uranium Mine and a very knowledgable retired mining expert as guide.

Now we really booted it towards Arizona, or that’s what we thought. We stopped 10 minutes later for some pictures of breathtaking scenery which Martin captured in one of his panoramas.

The we reached the Continental Divide and no, we didn’t pour water on both sides to see that it runs to the Atlantic on the Eastern side and to the Pacific on the Western side.

But we started our shopping spree of Navajo arts and we couldn’t stop the shopping accidents for quite some time. Even during our lunch break at Earl’s Family Restaurant at Gallup, where local craftspeople offered their art right at the table. A lot of deciding was done and some pretty items purchased, but the delicious burritos were still enjoyed very much.

Gallup is an interesting town with theatre, city hall, etc. but most prominent are the many, many stores of native art and western accessories. And yes, we had to purchase some of these … a cowboy hat for Martin and boots for both of us.

After a quick stop at Walmart, our favourite “watering hole” we finally left the state and entered Arizona at a time when the Visiter Centre was closed already. Now we are sitting at a gas station/truck stop with the big boys but we don’t dare to wear our cowboy boots yet!

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 10, 2013
Albuquerque, NM to Grants, NM

We were still unable, despite all our good intentions, to leave New Mexico! The motto of the State really seems to haunt us: Land of Enchantment, although some of the locals call it Land of Entrapment. But we are still enchanted and don’t feel the danger of being trapped yet, the RV was still moving west.

Driving through beautiful red rock formations, visiting a couple more abandoned gas stations and motels i.e. in Budville we made it to El Malpais National Monument where we crawled through a lava tube, not easy with two cameras and a scared dog that needed to be lifted down off some of the larger rocks by Martin.

After this sweat inducing endeavour we first climbed up the Bandera Volcano and looked into the immense crater and then had a chance to cool down at a nearby ice cave which has 20 feet thick ice all year round. Gusty wither winds and snow replenish the water which forms into ice and remains this way because of the rule, warm air rises, cold air falls. Summer heat never enters the cave. Ice cream time was to follow, which we really deserved since we were dusty, sweaty, tired and hungry.

The only flop of this great day, driving through forests in the 7.000 feet range in brilliant weather with great sights was the fact that we arrived at 5:15 pm at El Morro National Monument for 1/2 a mile hike to the petroglyphs depicting 700 years of human activity when the trail closed at 5 pm. We were so disappointed that we even refused to watch the movie. We retraced our steps back to Grants and stayed at a lovely KOA RV site with free breakfast and optional home cooked dinner delivered to the camp site at a reasonable price, what a treat!!! Turkey Dinner with all the fixings, HMMM!

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 9, 2013
Elephant Butte, NM to Albuquerque, NM

After a good night sleep due to our hot springs relaxation day we had a long talk with a gentleman from Britain who helped us to delay our departure from New Mexico yet again. He suggested we visit Chloride, a former Ghost Town turned open air museum through the initiative of Dana and Don who fell in love with this old silver mining town when they first saw it on a vacation trip. They began buying up the buildings and began the renovations of each and every one without the financial help of the government or any other organization. The greatest find was the old general store which was locked up and closed for ca. 50 years with all the merchandise, equipment, furniture, safe and ledgers still in it. Going into this store is like entering a time capsule.

From there we visited the small town of Winston which was buzzing with cowboys and cowgirls because it was fiesta time with country and western music, pulled beef and beans, belt buckles, Stetsons, cowboy boots and the occasional horse.
Now it was time to finally return to Albuquerque. We returned to Robert’s Neon Shop and started a great evening program. First we drove up to the Sandia Peak, 10,678 feet high and enjoyed the spectacular view and the cool breeze, a nice change after a long day in the heat of up to 38 degrees celsius.

Afterwards there was no time for beautification, we set out to go to Ned’s Bar and Grill to see and hear Robert’s friend Raven and her band singing the Blues (and a bit if Jimi Hendrix, thank you Robert!). After some Mexican Food and Jack Daniels we made it out of this place at 1:30am! Time to sleep at Walmart again.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 8, 2013
Elephant Butte, NM

Today we managed to cover a whole 26 kms but had a lot of fun.

After picking Cindy’s brain at the Cedar Cove RV park for things to do in the area we started with a brunch buffet at the Hodges Corner Restaurant. Kim, one of the waitresses there, recommended the Riverbend Hot Mineral Springs Resort and Spa right at the Rio Grande. They offer a Soak and Float package which includes an hour of soaking in their five hot spring tubs and an hour long float on an inner tube 6 miles down the Rio Grande. Wow, what a lot of fun!

Back to Hodges Corner Restaurant for dinner and the Cedar Cover RV park for the night where we expect to have an extremely relaxing sleep.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 7, 2013
Albuquerque, NM to Elephant Butte, NM

After spending the night on the Walmart parking lot, it was only fitting that we visit the store for breakfast at the McDonald’s inside.

Our packed day started with a 2-3 hour visit of the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History where we learned all about the Manhattan Project (first nuclear bomb) and nuclear materials in warfare, medicine and power generation.

Next was a visit to an older section of Albuquerque where we saw the KiMo Theatre, built circa 1927 in the Pueblo Deco style which reflects the cultural influences of Indian, Hispanic and Anglo of the area.

Also in the area is the Hotel Andaluz, a former Hilton property from 1939 where Conrad Hilton married Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1942.

We decided to do an excursion to White Sands National Monument in the south. On the way we passed the White Sands Missile Range where we found a plaque near the Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was tested. The actual site can be visited only twice a year.

Next came the Valley of Fires National Recreation Area which had nothing to do with the atomic bomb, but is an area of lava flow about 5000 years old. Many plants and animals live in this area now and a short interpretive trail helps visitors identify them.

Among the animals listed were lizards and Martin was complaining he didn’t see any of them. Evidently the lizards heard this and shortly thereafter two appeared.

Another thunderstorm loomed as we arrived at the White Sands National Monument where we arrived shortly before sunset. We only had 30 minutes or so before the sky turned completely back and the lightning flashes were close.

The weather report called for a severe thunderstorm with hail up to 1 inch. Not wanting to risk damaging the van, we decided to head back towards Albuquerque, about 4 hours away. Along the way were were stopped by the Border Control folks searching for illegal immigrants. They didn’t have any problems with Canadian tourists.

About 240 km from Albuquerque we stopped at the Cedar Cove RV & Mobile Home Park in Elephant Butte. What a fabulous place. The showers are huge, wheelchair accessible and absolutely spotless.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 6, 2013
Tucumcari, NM to Albuquerque, NM

The night was still a bit young and after writing last night’s blog we stopped by the campfire where we met up with Tom, one of the owners of the campsite, and a couple from England and had our first moonshine from Georgia. We talked about local politics, car racing and rich people in Bermuda who have to cut their cars in half in order to be allowed to buy a new one. There was some discussion of the benefits of having a BMW or Mercedes on an island that has a speed limit of 20 miles per hour.

The next morning we visited Tee Pee Curios and bought some interesting Mexican items.

The owner, Mike Callens, is an accomplished photographer and sells some of his prints in the store.

We drove on, mostly on I-40 since Route 66 is fragmented or dirt road in many parts of New Mexico. Just outside of Newkirk we came across remains of an old gas station and restaurant.

In Santa Rosa we visited the Route 66 Auto Museum.

Lunch was at a Mexican and American cuisine restaurant called the Silver Moon which was established in 1959. The food was great and the souvenir shop wasn’t bad either.

Santa Rosa is a very special city in that it has a collection of artesian springs in the area. The most famous is the Blue Hole which is more than 80 ft deep and 60 ft wide.

Back on our route, we were very happy we had decided not to go to Santa Fe when we saw the smoke from the forest fires. In the picture below, the you can see the smoke cloud caused by the fire.

We made it to Albuquerque and stopped at Absolutely Neon, only because it was one of the waypoints that we had on Route 66.

This was a good thing because we met Robert Randazzo, the owner of the store/gallery.

After talking for four hours about neon signs, politics and everything else under the sun, we decided to buy a small neon sign and then the three of us headed out for dinner at around 9PM. The Vietnamese restaurants we had intended to go to were closed by now so we ended up in an Italian restaurant in a very trendy area.

After pizza and beer we headed off to a nearby Walmart parking lot for a good night sleep. Those of you who watch Breaking Bad on TV (which is filmed in Albuquerque) might recognize our RV neighbour.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 5, 2013
Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM

It was a dark and stormy night….

The thunderstorm that started at around midnight and lasted until about 1:30AM was so strong that it shook our 4 ton truck. Fortunately no damage done. Needless to say, everything started a bit later this morning. Add to that the discussion about whether to take the Santa Fe loop or not.

Our first stop of interest was Vega. We stopped, not for a museum, but for a visit to the Boot Hill Saloon and Grill. Two ice teas were our ticket to have a closer look inside.

The words of wisdom for today: “Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.”

After seeing a couple more abandoned gas stations and motels we arrived at the Midpoint Cafe which is coincidentally located at the midpoint of Route 66. Dennis is the current owner, having bought it two years ago to fulfill his dream of owning a cafe on Route 66.

The burgers were the best on the trip so far, but the “Midpoint ugly pies” which he makes himself were the highlight.

The story behind the name is that the recipe was that of the former owner’s baker’s grandmother. The granddaughter, while learning to bake as a child, wasn’t able to make as nice a crust as her grandmother, so they got the name “Ugly Crust Pies” which became “Midpoint Ugly Pies” with the current owner.

A little further down the road is the virtual ghost town of Glenrio, Texas. We stopped to take some pictures of a completely deserted four lane road (part of Route 66), which our GPS cheerfully announced as I-40 Business Loop.

A fine opportunity to give the tilt-shift lens a go.

We said goodbye to Texas and the Central timezone and headed into New Mexico, headed back to Texas after missing the visitor center and then back to New Mexico and its visitor center. Loads of brochures and great plans to visit Santa Fe and Los Alamos only to have our plans altered because of forest fires in that region. We slowly feel that we’re constantly weaving our way through natural disasters on this trip!

Near Endee, at the Russell service center we stopped to visit a vintage car museum and Ruth again feel in love with a turquoise Bel-Air. There just happened to be one for sale at a good price in the miniature edition.

Our last stop was in Tucumcari (Two-Come-Cari) where we spent some time talking to Kevin and Nancy, the owners of the beautiful Blue Swallow Motel. The motel was built in 1939 and Kevin and Nancy have lovingly restored it in a 1950s style, with original furniture and decor. It may be the only motel that still has garages for the guests next to their rooms. Unfortunately they were all booked for the night.

On the side of the motel are beautiful murals of Route 66 which we will leave you with tonight.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 4, 2013
Shamrock, TX to Amarillo, TX

Today was a very exciting sightseeing day starting with the Art Deco U-Drop Inn building in Shamrock.

Next stop was the Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean which made us aware of the importance of all kinds of barbed wire, particularly for cattle containment but also for its military purposes. “Barbed wire gave us control of the land and windmills make the land habitable”. The was also a great photo and first hand account of the dust bowl in the 1930s.

Just east of Amarillo was a Peace installation designed by Richard Baker. Fascinating.

At point it was 3PM and our small breakfast had long worn off. Time to hit the Big Texan, home of the Free 72 oz Steak Dinner if you can eat it and three sides including a fully baked potato in 60 minutes. The current record holder accomplished this in just under 9 minutes! And yes, one brave soul attempted the feat but ultimately wasn’t successful. They even have a live webcam where you can watch the action as customers attempt the feat – http://www.bigtexan.com

Everything truly is bigger in Texas.

Free limo service to the restaurant is available in these fine vehicles:

On the menu – Mountain Oysters – “If you think it’s seafood, go with the shrimp” and “He was a bold man that ate the first Mountain Oyster”. And no, we weren’t that bold.

Last, but definitely not least was the trip the Cadillac Ranch just west of town. Several hours were spent here waiting for the tourists to finally go home so we could photograph the cars (and cows) in peace.

Tonight we’re staying at a campground near the site as it was dark when we finished the photo shoot.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 3, 2013
Guthrie, OK to Shamrock, TX

We cheated a bit today! But first we had a great breakfast as guests of our new camp site friends Wanda and Andy which was a lot of fun! Yes, and then we had to leave and still couldn’t go through Guthrie because of the flooding, which was sad because we had decided to visit this town because of its Victorian architecture and the drive-in movie theatre, both we were not able to enjoy, even today. Nevertheless we had a day full of new impressions. It began by cheating! We couldn’t take Route 66 as planned but had to take two faster highways to Oklahoma City, in a way a nice treat since we average only about 70km per hour on Route 66. Route 66 in Oklahoma City did not lead us into the modern city centre but even the outskirts were modern, impressive and cheerful. In some areas however neglect was predominant. We left Oklahoma City via 39th Street Expressway and came to Lake Overholser, named after mayor Ed Overholser, crossed the beautiful Overholser Bridge and drove along the shore of the lake.

Beautiful scenery and not much flooding there. In Yukon we caught sight of the very self assured statement “Yukon’s Best Flour – No finer or more modern mills in America” by Yukon MIlls & Grains Co. and fortunately we didn’t find any evidence of the Tornado that came down in the area on Friday.

Passing through El Reno however should a different picture. On a small section of our route through El Reno we could get a glimpse in the magnitude of destruction this section of the city has to deal with now.

Martin’s brother asked whether our tour gives us more the feeling of the old glory of Route 66 or rather a dreary look at harsh realities. Martin and I both see that the glory of Route 66 is in the past. However, off and on there are examples that give way to hope, that highway travel in the fast lane will still have an alternative in the future and will find people who will appreciate a way of travel that lets you get to know places and people of the area you drive through. One example of the attempt to recreate an icon of the past is Lucille’s Roadhouse. Lucille Hamons had her Gas Station and small restaurant in Hydro and was famous for sharing road stories with her customers.

After she passed away, her gas station and eatery were closed since her location on Route 66 was by-passed for a long time. However, a brand new Lucille’s Roadhouse opened in Weatherford. The architecture is similar and on the menu in the restaurant are some of Lucille’s dishes.

Another example are the Drive-Ins which could be found everywhere on Route 66, some old ones are still in business and a new chain is doing good business.

In Clinton we visited the Route 66 Museum – definitely a Must-Visit if you do this route. It shows the history of Route 66 starting from its planning through to its decommissioning.

The outside collection of buildings at the Old Town Museum at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City was a nice additional treat.

We then crossed into Texas and stayed at the West 40 RV Campground in Shamrock, Texas.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

June 2, 2013