| s/y Nine of Cups Roadside Americana - Route 66 (and other quirky stuff) Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona August 2012 |
| National Parks and Monuments? American Odyssey - Part I? (Las Vegas to Denver) American Odyssey - Part II? (Denver to Boston) American Odyssey - Part III? (Boston to Vegas) More Roadside Americana? Birds of North America? Wildflowers of North America? |
| Route 66 ... the Mother Road ...Main Street of America ... Will Rogers Highway ... stretches from Chicago to LA for 2,448 miles. We picked it up in Oklahoma where it merges with and/or stays parallel to US 40. We followed it all the way through Texas, NM and Arizona. Each state touts the stretch of Route 66 that meanders through its borders and we found plenty to see. |
| We saw highway signs for National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague and thought this might be interesting. It was not. It was a Catholic church with a statue out front. |
| Classic historic Lucille's ServiceStation near Hydro, OK, built in 1929, was run by Luclle Homan, aka Mother of the Mother Road. |
| Every place along this famous stretch of road used its location to best advantage. |
| Will Rogers was an American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist and social commentator of the 1920-1930s. |
| Marty & Buzz...best known travelers of Route 66. |
| The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK was quite the place. We wandered through the lobby and gift shop, but didn't have time for a longer visit. Their collection of Route 66 memorabilia and "iconica" was amazing. |
| The State of Oklahoma went out of its way to induce tourists to stop at everything along Route 66. They even provided a rather large, classy brochure with a listing of each possible stop and titillating description. There were some interesting sights to see that were not Route |
| 66-oriented such as the Liquid Mud Sales sign (we're in oil drilling country) and the painted war ponies at one of the truck stops. Then, of course, we arrived at the National Route 66 museum (differing from the Oklahoma museum) in Elk City and we were back on track again. We missed the Roger "King of the Road" Miller museum in Erick, but hey, you just can't see everything. |
| Route 66 continues through the Texas Panhandle. Left, a restored Conoco station in Shamrock, TX was the inspiration for the gas station in the animated Pixar/Disney movie Cars. We did a double-take when we saw this cowboy kneeling near his horse in silent meditation until we figured out it was a metal silhouette. Still...it was a fine sight. Del's Restaurant in NM is one of those iconic restaurants that line Route 66. |
| Seligman is all about tourism now. The 1959 Edsel was a Lemon Cab with the number Beachwood 45789. The Rusty Bolt featured James Dean and Elvis, Marilyn and Bogart. The Roadkill Cafe (You kill 'em; we grill 'em) is a hoot and then there's a bit of politics! |
| Further along Rte 66 in New Mexico, even McDonald's joins the Rte 66 game and in Tucumcari, an old Texaco station has been preserved though it deals in memorabilia rather than petrol now. |
| Knowing that no one was going to let us store petrified wood in their attics, we had to make a difficult decision ... 1/2 pound of petrified wood FREE! at the Petrified Wood Co in Holbrook, AZ or using that space and poundage for taking boat parts back to Tasmania. Hmmm...tough decision. |
| Just beyond Joseph City, AZ is the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. "Here It Is" the sign proclaims, but there ain't much there. Marcie did find a bunny to ride, however. |
| In Holbrook, the Navajo County Jail was now part of the Visitor's Center. |
| I was standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona ...nothing special on my mind. Now if the Eagles were here, they'd have some different thoughts. This is the famous "corner" from the song, "Take It Easy". |
| Route 66 runs through 3 time zones. |
| It was John Steinbeck who proclaimed Route 66 "the Mother Road" in his novel, Grapes of Wrath. depicting life during the Great Depression. The road was commissioned in 1926 and it has since been immortalized by the song Get Your Kicks on Route 66 and, of course, the TV series Route 66. Following the Great Depression, 200,000 people traveled the great road, migrating to California...in search of the new life. |
| Holbrook was also home to the Wigwam Motel where folks could sleep in wigwams for the evening. |
| In Flagstaff, several old neon motel signs graced the downtown area though the old motels were long gone. Next came Williams, gateway to the Grand Canyon and generally a pleasant little town. The historic downtown includes a Visitor's Center with a little museum where the last stop light on Route 66 is displayed. |
| Ash Fork was an interesting little town...Flagstone Capital of the USA. Originally a stage depot stop, Ash Fork was also considered a major transportation hub for the area at one time, but now it's a poky, tired town with a nice little museum, friendly folks and lots and lots of flagstone. |
| Seligman claims to be the "birthplace of Historic Route 66". Angel Delgadillo owned a barber shop on Route 66. In 1987, he launched a grassroots effort to save the Mother Road and was successful. His barber shop remains, converted by his grandkids into a Route 66 gift shop. No waiting at the barber shop now...but no haircuts either. Next door is the Snowcap Drive-In cobbled together with scrap lumber back in 1953 by Angel's brother, Juan. |
| From Seligman, Rte 66 heads north to Valentine, Peach Springs and Hackberry, away from US 40. We kept to 40 to Kingman, where it joins with 66 again. For us, the end of the line as we headed north to Vegas. |
| We knew we were back in Vegas when we saw this billboard! |