Route 66 Redux

It's now been ten days since we arrived home safe & somewhat sound from our adventure. Looking at the pictures I've since developed makes me realize that those images, though plentiful (way TOO plentiful according to Cindy), only capture a very small amount of the spirit of Route 66. The trip really was so much more.

To backtrack, after arriving at Santa Monica and the end of 66, we looked around for a motel room, but we failed to realize that a room at Santa Monica beach would be neither cheap or easy to come by. We finally found a room at the Holiday Inn Santa Monica beach and paid WAY more than I would have liked. Since we had planned on a motel instead of a hotel, we didn't have anything in the car consolidated for a bell hop, so we were embarrased to get all our junk piece by piece out of the car while she looked disgusted and loaded it onto her cart for the trip up to the room.

The next morning we decided to take a look around LA. First stop was Santa Monica Pier. The pier has many shops, street vendors, and some amusements & rides. Chris got a Henna tatoo....temporary (thank GOD!).....but lasts about two weeks. We went down to the beach and waded in the Pacific Ocean. Our hotel was just across the street from the pier, so we had left our stuff in the room while we explored. We checked out, and headed for Venice Beach.

Chris loved Venice Beach. All up and down the boardwalk (made of asphalt actually) were small shops selling everything from sunglasses to CD's to tattoos and piercings. Chris got another Henna tattoo on his arm from one of the vendors. There were artists displaying their works under large umbrellas, and the thing Venice Beach is famous for, the bodybuilders at Muscle Beach. Along one section of the beach a movie production company was filming a music video. People watching here was fascinating.

When Chris had his fill of Venice, we headed for the hills of Hollywood. We saw the stars in the sidewalk on Hollywood and took a picture of the "HOLLYWOOD" sign up on the hill. Chris was hoping to see someone famous, but we didn't see anyone we recognized.

The rest of the day was spent driving around Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air, seeing the sights. We found the House of Blues on Sunset Strip & ate supper there.

Earlier in the day we had found a TraveLodge close to the airport, so we headed back there for the night. It was time to consolidate all our junk into the smallest number of bags possible for the airplane trip home.....it didn't prove as hard as I had imagined it would be.

The next morning we headed to the airport at 5:30 am. Dropping the rental car went without a hitch, and we checked our bags, which were loaded down with dirty clothes, souvenirs, and big hunks of petrified wood, with the Skycap at the curb. The plane, a huge 747 was packed full of travelers, but other than the typical crowded conditions, the flight was uneventful.

Our luggage all arrived at the baggage claim apparently undamaged, and we rented a couple of the airport luggage carts and headed for the train to the long term parking lot. Our car was there just as we had left it, and after loading the stuff into the trunk and back seat, we filled up with gas and hit the interstate for home.

The interstate through downtown Chicago was bumper to bumper as usual, but no major traffic tie-ups. As we turned east on I-80 and headed into Indiana, I swerved toward the center of the 8 lane interstate and hit the concrete median divider. The car stayed stable and just ground hard into the cement until I was able to stop it. Luckily, neither Chris nor I were hurt, and the air bags didn't blow up. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but at the time of the accident I had been listening to this comedian on a CD and had just been laughing really hard at a particularly funny part...maybe I hyperventilated, maybe I nodded off.....not sure. A police car pulled up almost immediately and took all the info from me. He asked if I had a cell phone. When I said I did he told me to go back to my car and call the wrecker. Fortunately, the damage to the car seemed confined to the left front fender, the door and the front tire which was destroyed. The engine compartment seemed intact, and I hoped I'd be able to drive the Aurora home to be repaired. My Triple "A" card had a toll free number which I called and within 45 minutes a wrecker was there who put my miniature spare tire on the back and moved the back tire up to the front drive wheel. As we pulled back into the lanes of traffic the car shaked and groaned and rattled, but did seem to be driveable. The steering wheel pulled hard to the left, but I was able to go about 55 mph and pulled into the garage at home at 11:00 pm.......what a day!

We unloaded the car and I dumped my bags in the office and bedroom, to be unloaded after a good night's sleep in my own bed.

Chris told Cindy HIS interpretation of some of the idiosyncrasies of his father that had been annoying on the trip, and of course, Cindy just fed right into that!

We ended our journey tired, safe, with many memories, souvenirs, and 21 rolls of film to be developed.

Someday.....who knows when.....I'd really like to do the trip again. Or maybe I'll explore another two lane highway. I have a few in mind I'd like to check out.......

See you on the road.

Joe
August 25, 1999

Today we were planning on just navigating through the Mojave desert and stopping in Barstow, but the desert driving went more quickly than we had planned, so Chris and I decided to drive the route all the way to the Pacific Ocean today.

We woke up early and rested, partly due to the great room we had for the night, plus also due to the time change. After a quick continental breakfast provided by the motel, we were off through the desert. Though the temp rapidly climbed to approximately 105 degrees, the car ran perfectly and didn't overheat at all. Along the way we stopped at Amboy, the location of Roy's Motel and Cafe. You can see that location on a current commercial for Honda and also one for Quest, an internet company. Keep your eyes peeled. It is in the middle of nowhere.

As we drove through the desert the road was empty, and the miles passed quickly. Along a 10-15 mile stretch of the road there was "stone graffiti". People had spelled their names or other words in stones along a sand bank by the side of the road. We stopped and added our names and "99" to the words there. Who knows how long those names have been there, and how long ours will stay there.

We saw some white lilly-like flowers growing along the shoulder of the road. I tooka picture of one to try to identify it when I get home. I wonder how such a large white flower can survive in this hostile environment. We saw a lizard dart across the road, and later, a snake coiled in the middle of the road. We didn't stop to check THAT one out!

The National Trails Hwy, Old 66 runs uninterrupted from just past Needles all the way to Barstow.

At about noon, we pulled into the Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs. The Bagdad Cafe was featured in a movie from the late 80's called, appropriately, The Bagdad Cafe. It was kind of a quirky, character based movie starring among others, Jack Palance. If you haven't seen it, try to rent it, or borrow my copy. ANYWAY, we HAD to eat there because of the famous location. It is located in the middle of nowhere in the desert. An old Airstream trailer with flat tires and no windows sits in a corner of the parking lot. There was a German couple in the booth next to us. As we ate, an old man with gray hair, a pony tail, and bad BO came and sat at the counter, checking us out in the process. I didn't think much of it, and we finished our lunch which, by the way, was excellent cafe fare.

After paying the bill, we got in the car and drove over to the edge of the large, dirt parking lot and I got out and began to take some pictures of the cafe, the old Airstream, and the closed motel next door. As I was taking a picture of the cafe, the old man who had been sitting at the counter came out and looked angrily at me, then approached me.

"Who are you with?" he yelled. I told him I was with my son. He said, "NO! I said, WHO are you with?" I said, "my son, Chris." He said that it wasn't safe to dress like Chris was and take pictures in "these parts." He told me his name was General Bob, that he was 95 years old, and that he was in charge of security for the whole area, including the military bases in the area. He had to keep an eye out for Nazis, you know. He said that 6 or more people disappear from the highway each week, shot and killed, never to be heard from again. Since 1957 he's been helping with national security by traveling to Europe and making sure the treaties are being enforced. It's also up to him to open and close the military bases and the Bagdad Cafe each day. If you're wondering, yes, he was certifiably crazy. I listened intently in the 105 degree heat and motioned for Chris to stay in the car. The guy was actually pretty entertaining in a crazy sort of way. I told him thanks for the warning about the shootings, and assured him that Chris wasn't a Neo-Nazi. He told me that he was only trying to warn me to be careful. We shook hands, and I said, "Nice to meet you, General Bob." Oh, by the way, he's five star general.........was a two star, but now is a five star.

Chris and I agreed this was the strangest experience of the trip so far.

We headed through Barstow, and it was only 1:45 pm, so we continued on. Next was Victorville (where I think some distant relatives live) then San Bernadino. San Bernadino certainly has had better days. There is another Wigwam Motel, but it looks quite run down and the sign said it all...."Do It In A Teepee". We kept driving through all the towns leading to LA. Actually, it seemed like one long strip mall most of the way. Many of the Route 66 businesses have obviously been torn down for strip malls. Every now and then we'd see a classic old motel or neon sign or restaurant. We passed through Rancho Cucamunga, Pasadena, and headed down Sunset Boulevard toward Santa Monica. We followed Santa Monica Blvd all the way to Ocean Blvd....the end of Route 66. Across Ocean Blvd there is a plaque stating it's the end of the Will Rogers Highway, Route 66. Right next to the park where the plaque is located is the Santa Monica Pier. We were both hungry, so we stopped at the Crocodile Cafe for supper, then found a room at the Holiday Inn Santa Monica Beach after stopping at several full motels.

Chris decided HE needed the nice bed, and stuck me with the friggin' sofa bed. What's wrong with THIS picture?

Exhausted, I didn't even write the journal until tomorrow (Fri, the 13th).

We completed the drive down Route 66 in 13 days--driving over 2900 miles in the process.. We can now both recognize the old road when we see it, can pick out classic 50's and 60's signeage and businesses, and we've both grown to dislike interstate highway travel. Though we both got on each other's nerves at times, we've had no major fights......amazing, don't you think? I was going to wax philosophical on ya here, but I really don't know how to summarize the experience in a sentence or two. It is definitely an experience different from all others. I highly recommend it.

I reckon it's time to hop the plane for Chicago. Oops---Chris says now that we're in LA we can't say "reckon", "y'all", or "yee-haw" anymore. Oh well. Back to reality.

After checking out of the Route 66 Inn, we headed out for the western part of northern Arizona. We had to drive a short while on the freeway (about 10 miles), but the rest of the day was all old 66 two lane.

The road headed northwest and the landscape became more and more desert-like. Our first stop was Seligman. There are two places famous amongst Route 66 "roadies". Angel's Barber Shop is owned by Angel Delgadillo, a 75 year old lifelong resident of Seligman. Angel is retired from barbering except for tourists that make a special request of him. He is also the founder and past president of the Historical Route 66 Association of Arizona, and in addition to his barbershop, he has a gift/souvenir shop attached. When we arrived, a minibus full of Japanese tourists had just arrived and had filled the gift shop, asking Angel to autograph T- shirts, Route 66 signs, etc. We waited patiently in his barbershop. When the Japanese left, he came in and I asked him if he could give Chris a haircut. He said "no, I can't give him a haircut." I looked disappointed and he said, " I don't GIVE haircuts away, you have to PAY for it! " smiling. He continued to crack jokes as he got Chris up in the old while and chrome barber chair. Chris isn't the easiest person to please when it comes to haircuts, and Mr Delgadillo was MORE than patient with Chris' requests. As Chris was getting his hair cut, a croup of German tourists came into the shop and watched as the hair cut proceeded. When all was said and done, the haircut turned out quite nicely.....Chris was happy. The charge was only 8 bucks, cheap by haircut standards these days in Michigan. I gave him a 10 and Chris & I both shook his hand and said "thanks." He put his arm around Chris and told him the value of fathers.....I liked that part.

We next went next door to the SnoCap Drive-In, run by Angel's brother Juan, who I believe is about 79 or 80 years old. Juan is the jokester of Route 66, While we were waiting to order, a couple of girls from Germany were trying to get ice cream cones. They didn't speak good English, so Juan;s jokes were all the funnier. When they asked for ice cream, he brought out a cup of ice with a small amount of soft serve ice cream on top....they looked puzzled. He pointed to the ice and said "Ice" and then the ice cream and said "cream". They said no, they wanted all ice cream. He then asked if they wanted a half or whole. He brought out a cone cut down the middle for the half, and a cone with the bottom cut off for the "hole". They said, no just a regular ice cream cone. He then brought out an ice cream cone with a second cone pushed on top of the ice cream part. Again they looked puzzled. He said, I though you said "together". Well, after a number of more jokes, they finally got their ice cream. We ordered a cheeseburger ("do you want cheese on your cheeseburger?") and Chris got a chili dog. When he asked if we wanted napkins, he pulled out a pile of used napkins. Then he asked if we wanted ketchup and he squirted one of those joke ketchup bottles that string comes out of instead of ketchup. Made me jump. He's quite the jokester, and it was a fun stop.

On our way out of Seligman we knew we had met another two special people on the route.

The old road runs uninterrupted by freeway from Seligman through Kingman and on to Oatman, Arizona. Along the way we passed the Grand Canyon Caverns, which if my memory serves me correctly, I visited 30 years ago this summer with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was at those caverns that my aunt slipped and broke her arm, I think. We passed on the caverns today, but I did take a picture of the Tyrannosaurus out front.

We next stopped at Hackberry which consists only of a general store. For many years it was run by a hippie-type refugee of the 60's names Bob Waldmire. He left a couple of years ago and a couple named John and Kerry Pritchard bought the place. When we went in the store, John and Kerry were seated in a booth in the middle of the store. They asked if we'd like coffee or some apple crisp they'd made today......on the house. Since it was already over 90 degrees (and I don't like coffee anyway) and we had just eaten at the SnoCap a little while earlier, we said "no thanks." I was wearing a T-Shirt from New Orleans, and John and I talked for a while about New Orleans and how much fun it is there. He seemed to have a southern accent, so I asked him where he was from. Turns out he's from Baton Rouge. They were so friendly and laid back it was easy to talk and visit with them. As Chris began to get impatient, I said we better go, so we bought some bottled water and some postcards of their place. I took some pictures outside, which is a Route 66 museum in and of itself. I found the desert sign with the skull there (Linda), and took a picture of it to prove I found it.

We then continued on through Kingman which is surprisingly thriving. It was the first town across Arizona I could really say that about. We then began the ascent up the Black Mountains to Oatman. The road had many hairpin turns without guardrails, and steep drop-offs right next to the road. At one of the pull off we counted 5 white crosses just below the road, and looking over the edge we saw 4 cars in various stages of deterioration that had obviously not made it around the curves. A sobering thought. The drive, though scary at times, was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Seagreaves Pass at 3200 feet and began the descent around more hairpin turns into Oatman. The valley seemed more and more desert in appearance.

Oatman is a town that looks as though it could still be in the late 1800's, a genuine western town. Wild burros (donkeys) roam the streets looking for handouts. By the time we hit Oatman it must have been over 95 degrees. After making friends with some of the wild burros, we went to Cactus Joe's Cantina. This place was made of old plywood and corrugated tin. A large cactus protruded from the center of the room through the roof, as did a Joshua Tree along one wall. The waitress said the cactus was estimated to be 600 years old. I had a Navajo Taco, which is a piece of Navajo fry bread with ground beef, refried beans, and the other taco-type stuff on it. Ice water was 50 cents because all drinking water has to be trucked into Oatman. Because the restaurant was open to the air it was VERY hot in there, and the flies were terrible. Still, it was a fun experience.......authentic, as we say.

Leaving Oatman we saw one of the desert sagebrushes decorated with tinsel and ornaments....a desert Christmas tree. Cacti of various types were omnipresent for the first few miles, then just as suddenly as they had appeared, no cacti. We drove on through Topock and across the Colorado River into California.

Tonight we're staying in Needles, California at the beginning of the Mojave desert. The owner of the Super 8 Motel where we're staying said it's been a cool summer, only 3 or 4 days over 120 degrees. He said today had been cool.....only 104 degrees. After checking in, we unloaded the car and immediately hit the pool........felt GREAT!

Tomorrow we traverse the Mojave desert.....it's supposed to be over 115 degrees tomorrow out there. Cool.

The trip will be over in 3 more days. It's going too fast. Chris and I are both having experiences that will stay with us forever. The people we've met have been wonderful. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home.

We're spending another night in Williams, Arizona tonight after a full day at the Grand Canyon. The people here in Williams are as nice as the rest of the folks we've met along the way. We saw the gunfight in the street tonight as well as one in the morning before our train left.

We boarded the Grand Canyon Railroad at 9 am after cruising through the gift shop at the depot and picking up more film. I think I've taken WAY too many pictures, but, hey, this may be the only time I am able to make this complete trip. The Grand Canyon Railroad has been in operation since the early 1900's until 1968 when it went out of business due to lack of travelers. It served as a freight train to the Grand Canyon for a few years after 68, but then stopped running completely. In the mid 80's the line and railway was purchased by a businessman here in Williams, and he began to rebuild the railway business. The line has been back in operation since 1989 and the passenger traffic on the railway continues to grow. Today the train had 12 train cars full of passengers. The train was pulled by a steam locomotive (2-8-2, Uncle Dick) that was built in 1923. We had an upgraded ticket which allowed us to travel in the parlor car. That was the last car on the train and had big cushy chairs, continental breakfast with fruit, muffins, and danishes, and on the return trip, crackers and cheese and drinks. All that, plus, unlike coach which had "open window air conditioning", OUR car was air conditioned.

During the ride musicians played as they strolled through the cars, and the "marshal" dressed in full cowboy apparel including six shooters walked through welcoming the passengers. Chris and I were able to sit by a large window with panoramic view facing each other both ways on the trip.

The trip to the Grand Canyon from Williams is 65 miles each way, and takes about 2 1/4 hours. Upon arriving at the Grand Canyon Village, we boarded a bus for our tour. First stop was Bright Angel Lodge where we were served a delicious buffet lunch. From our seats, we could look out the window and see the edge of the grand canyon less than 20 feet away! After eating, we walked along the rim in front of the lodge and were in awe of the canyon's size, beauty, and majesty. There were scattered clouds in the sky today moving over the canyon which cause sunlight to dance over the layered colors of the cliffs, mountains, and crevices that comprise the vista. Our tour took us to each of the lookouts on the west and the east rim over the course of 3 hours. We really had a great experience seeing it this way, in that we basically saw all the views from the rim within that time, plus we didn't have to find parking or wait for anything. Our tour guide, Albert, was informative, and also very funny. He made the tour a pleasure. As we boarded the bus after our last stop on the tour, the sky opened up and rain poured down, but only for about 10 minutes. By the time we reboarded the train, the rain was stopped and the sky sunny again. Along the tour we saw wildlife including deer, squirrels, condors, hawks, antelope, and of course, the Grand Canyon mules.

The trip back was just as good as the trip to the canyon. After about the first 1/2 of the trip, Chris and I went outside the car and stood on the back platform which was the end of the train as we continued toward Williams. Somehow, the train seemed more authentic out in the open air, with the sound of steel wheels clanking over the tracks and the smell of the smoke from the steam engine taking us back in time to the early 1900's when this was open range. We saw more antelope in the distance grazing and ignoring our passing.

All of a sudden the train slowed, then stopped! A band of three outlaws on horses came riding up beside the train and stopped it! Oh, no! We were outside the train on the platform, so had a great view of the whole ambush. Two of the bandits boarded the train and began harassing the passengers. Of course, it was all acting in fun. The "marshal" who rides the train was able to apprehend the outlaws before anyone was hurt, thank GOD!!!!! :)

After de-training (like de-plaing???) we went back to the motel to crash for a bit.....but not much time for rest, for the outlaws were back in the street for a gunfight.

Dinner was at diner called Cruisers Cafe 66----lots of retro stuff and old authentic gas station signs, pumps, etc and great murals painted on all the walls. Once again, great food and friendly staff made it enjoyable. After eating, Chris walked back to the motel, and I went for a walk in Williams to look in the gift shops and check out the neon in town. This town is really trying to come back from some lean times, it appears. Though there are a few empty store fronts, most of the businesses seem to be succeeding quite well and the whole downtown has a historic look to it.

Tomorrow we head on the longest continuous stretch of remaining 66 in Arizona between Seligman and Oatman, before ending up in Needles, California where we'll spend the night before taking on the Mojave Desert.

Sleeping in a wigwam last night was way cool! I mean that literally. The air conditioning just about froze us to death.....even for me who likes it a bit on the cool side. A strange thing about the concrete teepee.....sound was close wherever you stood. For instance, the TV sounded like the speaker was directly above your head no matter where one stood in the room. I got some great pictures of the Wigwam Village.

This morning we ate breakfast at Joe and Aggie's Cafe, a Route 66 fixture for over 35 years according to their signs. Fresh, delicious, and reasonably priced food as we've been finding throughout our travels.

In Holbrook, a number of the buildings had murals painted, most having to do in some way with Route 66. One that caught my eye was above the door for Julien's Roadrunner Shop. After taking a picture of the mural, Chris and I went in to see what the shop was like. There we met Ted Julien, the proprietor. The shop primarily sells porcelain metal signs, like the ones in our game room. They have many that are available exclusively there. Ted told us how he had been an aerospace engineer who retired to Holbrook over 30 years ago. He opened a shop selling Indian-themed souvenirs, and gradually shifted his emphasis to signs over the past few years as collecting has become more popular. He told us of a night last year when all the historic route 66 signs along the road and on the buildings in Holbrook were stolen by some thieves in the middle of the night. Whiting Brothers Gasoline Stations was headquartered in Holbrook during the heyday of Route 66. After the brothers made their "millions", they moved away and just abandoned their business and several dozen gas stations scattered from Flagstaff, Arizona to Amarillo, Texas. I was able to purchase a porcelain sign for Whiting Brothers, a Burma-Shave sign, a Bob's Big Boy sign, and a Santa Fe Railroad logo sign. All very nice. I just have to find a place on our game room wall(s) to put them up. Ted liked to talk, and the longer he talked, the more signs I liked and bought. Chris got bored, and it was a good reason for us to get going before I spent any more money.

We also checked out the Dinosaur Rock Shop in Holbrook. It seems as though most of the stores in Holbrook have something to do with either dinosaurs or petrified wood. This shop had several large dinosaurs positioned outside. Signs read that it cost 25 cents to take a picture of the dinosaur.....yeah, right.

After leaving Holbrook, we headed west on the route. The overcast sky spit some rain drops at us, but we seemed to be driving into bluer skies and sunnier weather. The next stop the Jackrabbit Trading Post. In its day, the Jackrabbit signs featuring a black rabbit on a yellow background with red writing stretched from Amarillo to the California border. When one arrives at the Jackrabbit, the large sign shouts "Here It Is" with the same rabbit in the center and a number of smaller rabbits along the top of the two sided billboard. There is a large 6 foot tall rabbit in the parking lot, suitable for placing children upon and taking their pictures. Inside much of the same trading post souvenirs, but also some unique ones which Chris and I hadn't seen so far on the trip. I got a few small things, including a Snapple Lemonade, and Chris got a Snapple Whippit and some GummiBears.....yuck!

Meteor City has nothing to do with meteors and it's not a city. It's just a glorified souvenir shop within a large white dome shaped building. Indian souvenirs, Route 66 souvenirs, petrified wood......same ole same ole......

Next stop was Meteor Crater which is just that--a Meteor Crater. Surprisingly, it is not part of the National Park System, but is privately owned. Meteor Crater was formed some 50,000 years ago when a meteor hit the Arizona desert, forming a 1.75 mile diameter and 1/2 mile deep crater. There is a museum, a film to watch, and of course, a souvenir shop. Chris got another piece of meteorite, and I got a post card.

At Two Guns, Arizona, I explored the ruins of an old Route 66 tourist trap of the same name. Now all that remains are stone ruins of the various buildings. A bridge that was part of the old 66 stretches across Canyon Diablo just past Two Guns. I say, "I explored", because there were "No Trespassing" signs everywhere and gate which prohibited the car getting close to the ruins, and in light of some recent personal difficulties with trespassing with Chris, he opted out of risking getting caught trespassing. I did take his picture by the No Trespassing signs, however. One of the old buildings still had "Mountain Lions" painted on the deteriorating surface.

Just past Two Guns the landscape changed from sage covered desert to juniper trees as we began our climb toward Flagstaff. The San Francisco peaks (mountains) loomed in the distance as we ascended in altitude. We stopped at an old cafe in Flagstaff, but didn't really sightsee any more than that.

The Route 66 guides vary on recommendations for driving from Flagstaff to Williams. We opted for the oldest route, as far away from the expressway as we could get. Much of the road passed through pine forests and up and down the mountains. Some of the road was badly deteriorating pavement, and some was dirt. We made it to Williams without getting back on the freeway---success!

Williams is a town with a population of about 5000 that is obsessed with Route 66. We're staying at the Route 66 Inn. The owners, Mike and Amy are particularly nice. I couldn't sign on to send this email, so I talked to Mike and he gave me a special adapter to use with the digital phone system so I could. He told me if it didn't work I could come to the motel office and sign on on his private line. They also arranged our train tickets for tomorrow's trip to the Grand Canyon.

Outside our motel tonight in the street was a gunfight! Yep, an old western gunfight. Unfortunately, right at the time it was supposed to happen there was a torrential downpour which didn't seem to let up, so we ran to the car and headed to "Twisters 50's Soda Fountain" for a light supper. Gunfights occur in Williams every night at 7 pm, so we'll catch one tomorrow night. Twisters was an authentic 50's style soda fountain. Chris had nachos and I had the Roy Rogers Sandwich, roast beef with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Yum.

I'll sign off for now, because we have an early am tomorrow. We're taking the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon Railroad runs every day to and from the Grand Canyon. During the summer, it uses an old steam engine. I'll let y'all know all about it tomorrow. We'll be spending another night here in Williams tomorrow before heading off to California on Wednesday.

There was one experience yesterday that I didn't talk about that was incredible. In a wide sport in the road in New Mexico about midway from Tucumcari to Albuquerque there is a town, and I use that term loosely, called Cuervo. Just past town there is an old, old alignment of Route 66. You have to angle off the frontage road by the expressway and pass a "Dead End" sign and you end up on this mostly paved pot holed washed out "road" with tall grass growing up between two tracks for your tires. The grass in the middle had to bee 2 feet tall, with taller grass encroaching from each side. In several spots the road was washed out over 1/2 way, and you had to be careful not to drive into a deep hole. There wasn't any traffic on the road at all. About 6 miles down the road we stopped under a large tree and shut off the car. Silence. Not just quiet. COMPLETE silence. No cars. No road noise. Nothing. Silence. The only place I've ever heard that deafening a silence was many years ago when I was camping up in northern Ontario in the remote backwoods on a canoe trip. Chris had never heard that type of silence.

We continued on until we once again met blacktop and were transported back to the 90's.

We passed through Cubero today. It consisted of a store/gas station and a boarded up cafe. The significance of this place is that Ernest Hemingway wrote "Old Man and the Sea" here. Didn't see an old man.....certainly no sea here.

Some red cliffs began to loom in the north as we continued toward the Arizona border. We passed through Grants, NM which used to be a center for uranium mining. Now the "Uranium Cafe" and a mining museum are the only vestiges of its past.

As we continued to climb in elevation, we came to the continental divide at 7552 feet elevation. There were several "Indian trading posts" there. We dropped some money at one. Let's just say Squaw feathers has a new drum. For those of you who don't know Squaw feathers, ask Cindy for an explanation.

At the Arizona border we stopped at Fort Yellowhorse, an authentic Indian trading post with a display of actual cliff dwellings and buffalo. Chris had never seen a real buffalo, or so he said. We bought some trinkets with our wampum and saw the exhibits. True kitsch.

The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest has intrigued me since my grandparents brought some petrified wood to me after visiting there many years ago. The part consists of a 26 mile out and back road which has occasional stops for observation. Lot's of driving. Not much to see in all honesty.

Our guidebook which tells us how to find old alignments of Route 66 has unfortunately not always been accurate. This was the case once again today. We tried to find an old section of the road next. As we followed an old section of pavement we came to a bridge. As I drove across it I noted holes in the pavement. Now, these weren't just holes in pavement....you could see all the way down to the dry river bed. At some points the hole would extend almost across half the bridge width. Of course, being stupid, I didn't go back but just drove across....I figured that was the easiest way to get off this obviously dangerous bridge. We continued on about another 1/2 mile until the "road" was nothing much more than a mud track. Wrong way I figured. Turned around. Then back over the bridge. Guess what? The bridge was even WORSE now. Parts of the bridge where we had driven were actually depressions in the pavement. Slowly I crept across the span, dodging the holes the best I could. WE MADE IT!!!!!! Close call, though.

As we approached Holbrook we saw the Petrified Wood store on the north frontage road. There were mannequins in the front parking lot greeting us, and large poorly designed dinosaurs outside the building. As we approached the door, a small blue car pulled up rapidly and a woman came up to the door and unlocked it. Though the sign said open, the door to the shop had been locked. The shop was filled with all kinds of rock....petrified wood, fossils, dinosaur fossils, and fragment of meteorite. Chris wanted a piece of meteorite and we found out that a small fragment smaller than a dime cost 10 bucks. A piece the size of an egg goes for over 300 bucks. Gazell Stewart, who was the owner and opened the shop showed us how the true meteorite pieces could be picked up with a magnet due to their high iron content. She showed us a business card with Jerry Seinfeld's signature on it. On a rainy day last month, Jerry stopped in and bought a $2500.00 meteorite fragment for himself, and a $300 meteorite for his nephew. He put it on his charge, and she had him sign his autograph on a business card. I bought a couple of pieces of petrified wood and a postcard of her store and she gave Chris a free polished piece of petrified wood. Chris bought his fragment of meteorite.

We then stopped at the Dinosaur Museum & Rock Shop and saw some awesome life size dinosaur models next to the road, and some more live bison.

Tonight we're staying at the Wigwam Village. Our wigwam has two double beds, A/C of course, and cable TV. No phone, though, so that's why you're getting two newsletters in one day. The furniture seems authentic western. Just a wonderful, unique place.

Tomorrow we'll see Meteor Crater, pass through Winslow and Flagstaff on our way to Williams, Arizona.

We stayed up entirely too late last night watching TV. After getting not quite enough sleep we checked out of the Blue Swallow and stopped at Del's Restaurant for breakfast. Chris had some pancakes and sausage and I had a ham & cheese omelet. Now, THAT'S food that will stick to your ribs, or at least to the inside of one's arteries.

We drove from Tucumcari to Santa Rosa, another town that has seen better days. Many of the old gas stations and motels are also closed, sitting vacant and showing the tolls of time and the New Mexico sun. We headed up to Santa Fe along the old 1930's alignment. The land went from open range and mesas covered with sagebrush to mountains over the next 90 miles. We both noticed the extreme apparent poverty in the homes and trailers that dotted the landscape in the villages we passed through or by. As we approached Santa Fe, the buildings all began being constructed of adobe. I don't mean just most of the buildings, I mean ALL of the buildings. It was hard to tell what was a shop, a government building, or a residence. All in all, Santa Fe was pretty, but the shops looked pretty pricey. We opted out of shopping and headed out for Albuquerque. long the old road from Santa Fe to Albuquerque once again poverty was very apparent. I saw a billboard that stated "New Mexico, #1 in Poverty, #1 in Nuclear Weapons---coincidence?" Not sure what it meant, but I guess both are true.

Central Avenue in Albuquerque is classic Route 66. Old motels line the boulevard. The neon is spectacular, like nothing I've seen before. We're staying at the El Vado Motel, a motel court built in 1939 of adobe ( go figure!). Each room has a carport to keep your car cool and protected from the New Mexico sun.

We looked for the Atomic Energy Museum today , but couldn't find it. Chris wanted to go see a movie tonight, the Blair Witch Project, but I told him it was too scary and I'd give him 10 buck if he'd wait & see it in Midland when we get back to Michigan. He reluctantly agreed.

For supper we ate at the Route 66 Diner here in Albuquerque. It had a retro theme, but one could tell a manufactured retro, unlike many of the authentic diners we've been in so far. The food was still good, however.

Tomorrow we will finish New Mexico and get to Arizona where we'll tour the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. We'll be staying in a Teepee tomorrow night, and from what I've read from people on the Route 66 Mailing list, there aren't phones there, so I won't be able to send or receive email. I'll update y'all when we get to Williams, AZ on Monday.

Doin' the route...

Tonight I'm writing from the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. This motel was built in 1948 and is a Route 66 classic. Until a couple of years ago it was owned and by a lady named Lillian Redmond who died last year. She was 90-something years old at the time. The motel has a neon sign with a blue swallow (bird) on it. The motel court itself is adobe painted pink and each room has a garage with a turquoise painted garage door. The inside of the rooms are also textured plaster with coved ceilings, but the ubiquitous cable TV is here. The bathroom is tiled in black and white ceramic with a large shower. All this for under 30 bucks!

We got up kind of late today in Amarillo and ate a continental breakfast (free) at the Big Texan Motel before leaving. As we traveled across the Texan panhandle the land became flatter and flatter until we were driving in a completely straight direction on completely flat land as far as the eye could see. We could even make out the curvature of the earth ever so slightly in the far distance. As we approached the New Mexico border, at about the last 10 miles the topography of the land began to change to some small undulating hills with flat topped mesas scattered over the landscape.

At the Texas-New Mexico border there is a ghost town named Glenrio. The town is completely deserted and straddles the border as it runs through the middle of town. The only activity was some dogs wandering through the deserted streets and the empty decaying gas stations and other buildings. Great pictures......Chris told me to knock off taking all the pictures.

Just west of Glenrio the route turns into a dirt road for the next 18 or so miles. As we drove through the ranch land we were once again aware of times past and how desolate this part of the country is. The road was muddy as it had rained the night before, and in spots the traction felt as if some Michigan slush was beneath the wheels of our car. Two roadrunners (birds) darted in front of our car....the first time either of us had seen this bird except on Warner Brothers cartoons with Wylie Coyote. They were smaller than I expected.

Tucumcari Mountain loomed in the distance as we left San Jon and headed to our destination for tonight. The town of Tucumcari has long been a stop on the itinerary of the Route 66 traveler. It boasted "2000 Motel Rooms" and "Tucumcari Tonight" on billboards scattered in both directions from the town along the route. The town has a new Route 66 sculpture/memorial at their "convention center". The sign there said "Welcome Rattlers Reunion" What does THAT mean?", we wondered. Turns out that's the high school mascot here....the Tucumcari Rattlers. Because we got here early in the day we had time to explore the town. The area appears very economically depressed. Most of the homes are poorly maintained with lots of junk and old vehicles, etc in the yards. A majority of the homes are made of adobe-like material. Landscaping is pretty much nonexistent. Tucumcari's had better days, I think.

We ate supper at a genuine Tex-Mex/Mexican restaurant called La Cita. Delicious food. Chris had the enchiladas, I had a tostada-type dish called Chalupa.

Tonight after it gets dark we're going to drive down Tucumcari Blvd. to look at the neon signs. There are old neon signs on most of the motels and restaurants along the "strip." It's another thing the town is known for along the route.

Tomorrow it's off to Albuquerque via Santa Fe........a bit of a longer drive than today. We passed the 1/2 way point today (Yes, another picture, Chris!). 1339 miles to go.

Yeeeeeeeeeee-hawwww!

Hi Y'all. Chris & I arrived in Amarillo late this afternoon after driving from Clinton, OK. Sadly, we had to say good-bye to the Elvis room,

Across the road from our motel was the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. It is only a couple of years old, and follows the development and use of the road from the 20's through 70's when it was finally decommissioned. It was really well done and had lots of great old signs, photos, and old cars there. We spent almost an hour there, much to Chris' dismay....he doesn't like museums. After leaving there, we finished following the rest of the Oklahoma route. In Elk City, about 20 miles past Clinton is another Route 66 museum called the "National Route 66 Museum" Chris was sleeping by this time, so I went through it on my own. It was nearly as nice as the OKLAHOMA museum in Clinton.

At the Oklahoma-Texas border there is a ghost town, called Texola. Lots of old abandoned buildings. Took more pictures. Chris is getting tired of my photography. Tough.

As we drove into the Texas panhandle we noticed the land beginning to change. It got gradually flatter, and all of a sudden we realized it.......no trees.....just miles and miles of prairie.......

We drove through a couple of torrential downpours. No tornadoes though. I told Chris that I could outrun one if we saw it.

Tonight we're staying at the Big Texan Motel. We ate at the Big Texan Steak Ranch....absolutely great food. They have a deal where if you eat an entire 72 oz steak in an hour or less along with all the trimmings, ie salad, potato, etc. We passed on that deal and just got "normal" size steaks.

This motel has a pool shaped like the state of Texas. We're going to go swimming a little later.
Right now we're watching Lethal Weapon 4 on HBO. It's pretty good.

Tomorrow we pass the 1/2 way point in Vega, Texas.....and then on to New Mexico!

Today the air was so thick with humidity that when I first took my camera out of the car to take a picture, it instantly fogged up. Evidently, it rained overnight, but it had stopped by morning. We stayed in Claremore, Oklahoma as I said yesterday. We went to the area of the Will Rogers museum looking for a statue of him (Will Rogers, that is) in order to take a picture. Well we took a picture of a statue of a guy, but I'm pretty sure it's NOT Will Rogers. Oh well, I'll label it "not Will Rogers". We passed on the Will Rogers museum because we wanted to get going on the road, and Chris wasn't interested in learning more about Will. I told him he will need to write a paper on Will Rogers next year in school. He says, no, he still wants to write a paper on the Times Beach Government Conspiracy thing he's convinced is going on.

The drive through Tulsa was pretty dull, though we saw lots of old motels, gas stations, and other vacant buildings sitting empty, slowly deteriorating.

After Tulsa, we were able to follow a number of short sections of original 1920's route. These sections would wind away from the more "modern" route through farmlands and countryside, over old rusted bridges with trees sometimes forming tunnels over the road. Once again we noticed the 45 degree curbs along these sections. The difference in Oklahoma is that the old concrete roads have an almost orangish-red color. This no doubt comes from the fact that the dirt here in Okie-land is RED....no kiddin'.....RED!!! I've never seen anything like it.

We even traveled down a section of Route 66 that was the route for only 2 years--1925 & 26 that was dirt.....not gravel.....just red dirt.....cool.

In Arcadia we stopped at the "Round Barn". The story is that this is the only round barn in Oklahoma. The guy staffing at the barn was "Butch." He was a guy probably in his early 60's who lived next door to the barn. He was full of stories about the restoration of the structure which had taken place several years ago. On one wall in the lower level of the barn there were many pictures of round barns from around the United States and the world, actually. I told him I was from Michigan, and he said there's one round barn in Michigan that he's been trying to get a picture of for years.....guess where.......EVART!!!!! Yep, less than 20 miles from home. I told Butch I'd get him a picture of that barn as soon as possible after I get home. Upstairs, he said that's where the man died......yep, died going round and round trying to find a corner. (It was a not-too-funny joke) They hold dances, wedding receptions, and other functions in the upstairs round room. There were some T-Shirts for sale that had been dyed with that red Oklahoma dirt......on the back they said "older than dirt". I was going to get one for Cindy, but my better judgment prevailed, knowing how sensitive she is about her age, so I passed. I bought a couple of postcards and gave Butch the money, and he said he'd give me my tax back, and he put a "wooden nickel" in my hand, along with a card with a picture of the barn and his address on it. All in all, a great guy. Chris wasn't too impressed with the round barn, but the talk with Butch made it all worthwhile.

As we continued through Oklahoma we continued finding old alignments, or routes, of the highway. Oklahoma City was a major pain to navigate through. I had wanted to see the Murrah Building memorial, but after fighting my way through traffic trying to follow inaccurate directions from 2 different sources, I gave up.

After Oklahoma City, it was on to Yukon, hometown of Garth Brooks....didn't see Garth. Yukon was otherwise not interesting.

In El Reno we were going to stay in the Big 8 Motel which was featured in the movie Rain Man. Unfortunately, the Arab owners changed the name of the motel to the Deluxe Inn and said there is "no more Rain Man room" (speak this with an arabic accent) Thank goodness we had canceled this reservation, because this place was now a MAJOR dive.

From El Reno it was on along more old, old road.....like a step in time back to the 30's or 40's along miles and miles of old portland concrete....still orange.

In Hydro, Oklahoma we stopped a a Route 66 landmark....Lucille's Historic Route 66. Lucille Hamon is an 86 year old woman who has owned this small store/gas station on Route 66 for 57 years. She's well known along the route and has had numerous articles written about here in different publications. Though in ill health, she still runs the store all by herself. It looked closed at first, but as we began to pull away, Lucille came out from her house behind the store and unlocked. We then spent over 45 minutes talking with her about her store, her life on the route, and our travels. She was wonderful to talk to....she's going to be inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma. We bought a couple of pops, and some postcards, a bumper sticker, and a T-shirt. She autographed a postcard, the bumper sticker, and a magazine put out by the Oklahoma Route 66 Association that has a picture of her store in it. I then took a picture of her with her arm around Chris, and another with her in front of her store.

People like Butch and Lucille and the Henry's are what makes this road special. It's not a rush, fast food world out here, but a road very much alive with people who care about what they're doing and take the time to talk to people. In each of the places today we signed the guest books and looked through who else had signed, seeing signatures from people from Denmark to California to France to New York.

After leaving Lucille's, we headed on into Clinton, Oklahoma where we checked in to the Tradewinds Motel, room 215.......why room 215 you ask? Because THAT's the room where Elvis stayed on several occasions when he passed through this way. This room is unbelievable. It's decorated in cheesy 1960's kitsch----red velvet bedspread on the king sized bed, a large curved black Naugahyde couch/seat where Chris is currently sleeping, and white French provincial-styled furniture. Even the curtains are red velvet. (say the following like Elvis) Thank ya, thank ya very much! I am the kang!

Tonight I took Chris to his very first drive-in movie. The theater was showing Deep Blue Sea, a new "Jaws"-like movie about sharks eatin' people. The air was hot, humid and hung in the car like a blanket. It was really warm, and the rental car couldn't be started to turn on the A/C because the headlights come on automatically.....bad drive-in etiquette. Instead of the old drive-in speakers, we tuned into a special frequency on the FM radio and heard the soundtrack in FM stereo surround sound! Drove back to the motel along old 66 again, this time in the dark doin' 65 mph. Quite an experience. Didn't pass one car the whole 15 miles.

Tomorrow it's the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, then on to Texas with a stop in Amarillo for the night.

It was another beautiful day weather-wise along Route 66 today. We've really been lucky in that its been sunny every day. We may be getting some rain tomorrow.

We were planning on going just under 200 miles today, but because of the lack of stops today, we got to our reserved motel at 3 in the afternoon, so we decided to go on to make tomorrow less of a long drive. Instead of staying at Boot's Motel in Carthage, Missouri, we're at Motel Claremore in Claremore, OK, birthplace of Will Rogers. When Cindy set up my reservations along the way (what a sweet, sweet woman and loving wife she is, too, by the way) the old guy at Boot's Motel said we were "lucky" to get a room there because there were going to be fifty to sixty thousand "Vietnamese" in town that day. Well, I don't know where he got his information, but when we drove through, I sure didn't see groups of Vietnamese there....maybe I wasn't in the right part of Carthage, but as small as the town was, I think it would be pretty hard to hide that many orientals in southwestern Missouri.

Anyway, it's just as well we didn't stay at the old Boot's Motel, because it looked as though it had better days.

Earlier in the day, we stopped at Route 66 Motors in Rolla, Missouri. It is a shop with lots of old metal signs, gasoline station memorabilia, and some old cars for sale to boot. Chris fell in love with a 1971 black Mercury Cougar convertible for a mere $ 5950.00. It appeared to be in almost mint condition, and he couldn't understand WHY we couldn't buy it!!!! I did get him some black fuzzy dice, however.

We took a wrong turn going out of Rolla and ended going about 15 miles down the wrong road. When I finally figured out things didn't look right, we turned around and got back on track. I didn't even lose my temper......amazing.....this road must have magical soothing powers.

Some of the old road had curbs on it poured in the 30's. the purpose of the 45 degree angled curbs was to push the car back on the road should it start to go off the road. Unfortunately, with the cars of the day, most of the time it just served to tip the cars over. It was like going back in time driving down some of the old road through arches of trees covering the road. In many stretches, we were the only car around. We saw many abandoned gas stations, motels, and shops......we even explored on foot one set of old abandoned and deteriorating cabins.

Just past Waynesville, Missouri, we passed an abandoned old store called "Hough's Market". Needless to say, we stopped to take some pictures of the place. Chris & I thought it was weird.........Waynesville then Hough Market........get it? (For those of you who don't know, my dad's name is Wayne)

We drove on two sections of old old Route 66 that were only paved 9 feet across. The government didn't have enough money to pave a full two lane road in this part of Oklahoma, so it paved the narrow portion. It was really amazing finding that old unmarked portion of the route.

We also saw the LARGEST TOTEM POLE IN THE WORLD tonight in Foyil, Oklahoma. It is 90 feet tall. It was made in 1948 by a native American, Ed Galloway who was trying to preserve his native American ancestry in this way. I tried taking a picture from the base and Chris said I should get down on the ground for a better picture. So here I am, lying flat on my back at the base of the totem pole looking like an idiot.....got the picture, but then Chris just burst out laughing saying he was only putting me on about getting on the ground....the jerk!

The battle of the CD's in the car between Chris and I continues to heat up....me wanting to listen to things like Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones, versus his desire to hear Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Stained, and the like. I'll tell you, some of the bands he listens to really need to chill out a little.......they really seem a little too excitable!

So far we've been really happy with our rented Grand Am. It's run flawlessly, and seems to be getting pretty good mileage. It's comfortable, quiet, and the A/C continues to work great.

Tomorrow it's off to explore more of Oklahoma....we'll be going through Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and ending up in Clinton, Oklahoma.

Til then....

Hi, Y'all!

We're resting in the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri tonight. It's been another great day on the road. This motel doesn't have a phone in the room, so I can't send this email until tomorrow night.....sorry.

After sleeping in again, we checked out of the 66 Motor Court and drove about a mile to the Route 66 Cafe. It's an old restaurant on the old route....been there since the 30's. The parking lot was full of pickups (interpreted as locals) so it looked like it must be good. We weren't disappointed. Though old and fairly barren inside, we were greeted by a waitress with bright red lipstick who waited on us like we were kings. We each ordered a stack of pancakes with a side of sausage. Chris and I are seeing who can have the highest cholesterol by the end of the trip.....I'm sure I'll win. There was a woman behind us chain smoking sitting at a video poker machine while the ceiling fans slowly churned the smoke.

Leaving at about 9:30 am, we headed down between high walls of corn along old railroad tracks and old, abandoned roadway slowly being reclaimed by the earth, grass poking up from the cracks at the seams in the portland cement and from each side.

As we were heading through Staunton, Illinois, we came upon Henry's Rabbit Ranch. Since it had a Route 66 seal on the sign, we decided to check it out. There we met Rich and Linda Henry, two of the nicest people I've met. Linda talked to Chris and I about their weekend trip to Michigan this last weekend...they drove from 260 miles south of Chicago from their home in Staunton up to Michigan, along the west Michigan shore, through the U.P., and down through Wisconsin back to their home from Friday afternoon, arriving back home Sunday night. Talk about a road trip. We talked about Mackinac Island....they didn't have time to go there since they were rushed for time....no kiddin'. We asked where the rabbits were. Not RABBITS the animals, but Rabbits the VW's. They have over 30 VW Rabbits around their place in various stages of repair and disrepair. Rich likes to work on VW Rabbit Diesels. After we checked out the Route 66 souvenir shop and had our picture taken in front of the old gas pumps in front of their store, they took us into their pole barn and showed us their collection of cars, old coke machines, and various other types of old stuff. There was a 72 Corvette in one corner, two old 1930's trucks along another wall, a Yamaha Route 66 edition motorcycle, a 63 Buick, and about 8 VW Rabbits---a convertible, a special edition, one with over 350 thousand miles, etc. Chris had purchased a VW license plate in the souvenir shop and told the Henry's that he liked VW's. They told Chris if he ever bought one, they'd like him like to bring down & show them. As I signed the guest book, I noticed the last entry in the book was July 16th. I hope the Henry's make it in their business. They're great people.

After leaving Staunton, our next goal was the now abandoned Chain of Rocks bridge. It used to carry the Route 66 traffic across the Mississippi. It's been out of use since the mid 60's. It's now closed except on weekends when they allow bicycle traffic across it. It's unique in that it has a 45 degree bend right in the middle of the bridge. Looking at how narrow it is, I can see why they didn't use it longer as a two lane bridge.

On to St. Louis. We stopped at the Gateway Arch and walked to its base. The tram to the top had a 2 1/2 hour wait, so we passed on that.

Following the old route out of St. Louis was moderately easy due to the Historic Route 66 signs. We next stopped at Ted Drewe's which is a frozen custard stand that's long been a famous Route 66 landmark. We each got a "Concrete" which for lack of better description, is kind of like a "Blizzard". Delicious. While there, a little kid, about 3 years old or so, ran under my feet and my knee kind of hit him and he kind of fell down, crying. I apologized profusely, but Chris just rubbed in my clumsiness the rest of the day. Poor lil kid.

As we followed the route on out of St. Louis, we passed Times Beach, a community that was completely evacuated in the early 80's because of dioxin contamination in the soil. We tried to get into the area, but the whole town is fenced off and gated with armed guards and government type people. We saw lots of unmarked white and black Suburbans and SUV's. Chris is convinced the people in the town were all killed after failed biological experiments. I told him once later in the day there was a black Suburban following us....you shoulda seen him jump!!! :)

We toured Meramac Caverns........a cave's a cave.......still interesting.......and a cool 60 degrees.

The Wagon Wheel Motel where we're staying tonight is run by an elderly couple. They must be in their 80's. The office is actually their living room. The motel is made of cottages made of Missouri cut limestone rocks. No phone, but there is cable TV.

Tomorrow we will be in Missouri all day, through the Ozarks. The scenery is much more varied here than in Illinois, where it was all flat farmland. Now we're in rolling dark green hills.

Later, dudes.

We slept in until about 9 am today, because we were both shot. After showering and packing up, we had to get the motel manager to get the lovebirds to move their double parked car. He tried to tell me the car wasn't for a registered guest, but once I described them, the maid knew which room to try.

We ate breakfast at Lou Mitchell's. It is this wonderful restaurant/bakery near the start of Route 66 that's been around for over 75 years. This old woman was walking along the line of waiting customer's with a basket of freshly made donut holes with powdered sugar, telling anyone who would listen about the history of the restaurant and about Lou Mitchell who's been dead for a few years, but actually worked at the restaurant into his late 80's. The food was fresh and delicious, and Chris said it's the first time he's ever had a waitress call him "Hon."

After breakfast, it was off on the "Route." Route 66 through Illinois we found is very well marked with Historic Route 66 signs. We had a couple of maps and sources for directions, but the signs were actually the best way to follow the old road. We ended up driving less than 8 miles of freeway out of over 250 miles today. We became adept at seeing old traces of even older road than we were driving on either running parallel to or angling away from the current "old road". There was almost no traffic on our trip today once we left the Chicago area. Though the road was the freeway frontage road for part of the today and we could see the freeway traffic less then 100 yards away, it somehow felt like a better way to travel alone on the two lane at our own pace.

We traveled through the capital of Illinois, past the state capitol building along the 1926 alignment of the road. We arrived at our Litchfield about 6 pm, pretty well shot. We were going to go see a movie at the drive-in here in town, but even Chris was too tired for that tonight. I didn't fight with him about going to bed early. We ate supper at another Route 66 famous location, the Ariston cafe. Chris gave it a 6 out of 10 rating....which might have been a little generous.

The 66 Motor Court where we're staying tonight could be called "authentic", but "seedy" might be a little more descriptive. Chris was most upset there wasn't a door on the bathroom, just a folding type thingy that doesn't latch. Yeah, the wallpaper might be peeling from the walls and the dark brown paneling an orange shag carpeting a little dated, but hey, it's only 33 bucks a night and it's the only motel on the old road here in Litchfield. The air conditioning works well...I think I have the room cooled down to about 60. Cindy...you'd love it, I know.

Tomorrow it's off to St. Looey, the Gateway Arch, and the Missouri Ozarks. It'll be good to see some hills after the flatness of Illinois.

After getting up too late and some last minute packing, Chris & I finally hit the road about 8:30 instead of the 7:00 I had hoped for. The trip to Chicago was uneventful until we hit I-94 just west of downtown where it turned into a parking lot. For the next hour we were pretty much as a slow crawl and standstill. The Aurora was missing badly, and the "check engine" light came on, and I kept watching the temperature gauge as it crept toward the red line. I must say though, I DIDN'T LOSE IT!!!!! Good for me. Chris can verify this.

We found the "Economy Parking" lot a long way away from O'Hare and picked a spot for the Aurora. We had noticed the National Car Rental place was just a few blocks up the street, so we decided to walk. Once again, we underestimated the distance to the office, but after the 6 hour ride, the walk felt good....even the in 95 degree heat (yeah, right!). We picked up a white Grand Am. Chris was dismayed to see it didn't have a CD player, but we rigged one up with a power and cassette adapter so now we can listen to Limp Bizkit and Snot and Godsmack for the next two weeks (I'm serious, those are really CD's he has). I was able to get him to listen to some Steve Dahl in Chicago. He's a talk radio/comedian and he was on an extended phone call with his wife. Steve's wife was ragging on him about how he didn't do anything around the house and how he was always grumpy, and how he wasn't spending enough time with her or the family, and how he was spending money just on the things he wanted, etc. Chris said, "Deja Vu". I wonder what he meant by that......

Anyway, the trip downtown was much faster. We were able to get in the express lanes of the freeway and see all the poor suckers waiting at a dead stop.

Next stop was our place of lodging for the night in downtown Chicago....the world famous "Ohio House." It was run by an Arab with an attitude. He was none too friendly and none too helpful. But we were able to get our room. Kinda seedy, but OK. The A/C worked, THANK GOD!!! We ate supper at the Hard Rock Cafe, then took off for the Tom Petty Concert. I got a LITTLE lost, but found the place in plenty of time. He was playing at an outdoor venue called the "New World Music Theater about 30 miles south of Chicago. The warmup band was Lucinda Williams. Chris & I both thought she sucked. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were absolutely great, though. They played for almost 2 1/2 hours. In spite of the seating at the amphitheater, I was surprised to see everyone stand up through the whole show. Got my toe-toes a little tired....but there we were, dancin' & jammin'. Great show.

Got back to our hotel about midnight, only to find NO PARKING PLACES AVAILABLE. The Arab guy said...."sorry for your luck" (say with an Arabic accent) in so many words. I double parked and notice a young couple crawling all over each other. The woman obviously had her car there along with the guy. Well anyway, my car was blocking her car, and they both came and sat on the lip of the trunk until almost 1:30.....I stayed in the car, because I couldn't leave it double parked. Chris went up and went to bed....the louse.....didn't care if his dad had to spend the night in the car. FINALLY, the two lovebirds asked me to let them out, so I did & immediately took her parking place....only to find her blocking ME in the next am, by the way.

I had to pound on the window to wake Chris up to let me in, but finally hit the sack about 2:00 am Chicago time.......long day.......great concert.

We start Route 66 tomorrow am.

This is an account of a two week journey down Route 66 from Chicago to LA in the summer of 1999, by a dad and his 16 year old son. These are their stories.......