The Last 2 Days : On Route 66

 

The final chapter of the adventure!

The morning began at the Route 66 Car Museum in  Victorville, California. Talk about saving the best for last!

The museum at Victorville

Three hours later, the group cheered as we reached the end of Route 66 at the Santa Monica Pier. 

We each had a photo taken

We ate dinner, then watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. Chicago was a distant memory. 

 

Smile!  We have done it!

The next day, we ate breakfast at The Original Farmers Maret in LA, toured Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and a major film studio. 

The Hollywood Tour

That night we shared drinks and memories of our trip together. 

At night, there is energy in the air.

As we parted company, it felt like saying goodbye to people I wished I could see again.

A bit hazy, but the iconic sign is there.

My partner and I usually travel on our own. However, with so many miles and so much to see, we opted to tried a tour.  It was a great experience. 

Coca-Cola - it’s the real thing…
(Though this mock set is not!)

We soon formed a friendly, sharing team. The mornings began early. We breakfasted together, rolled the miles away, learned a lot, and waved to one another on the sidewalks of the towns.

In the evenings, we shared photos on our Facebook page and greeted one another like long-time friends in restaurants.

A perfect end to the trail.

And you know what? 

That is what Route 66 has done and continues to do for the many people who travel the “Mother Road.” 

It draws traveling companions closer and even strangers share the camaraderie of touching a part of living history.

That’s it - the end of this adventure!

Day 13 - Down to the River

Place your bets!

Las Vegas - City a-go-go! What happens in Vegas, stays there. That being the case, I shall skip the dirty details of who in our party got married and how many danced on the tables. 

Oh look, a Casino!

Instead,  three of us went “merrily, merrily, merrily” down the stream. I mean, rafting in Black Canyon on the Colorado River. 

The Hoover Dam created Lake Mead.

The Hoover Dam Rafting Adventures van arrived at the hotel. An hour later we climbed onto the raft.

Our guide & pilot, Sarah, cast off and soon the dam towered above. She described its construction then steered us downstream. Red ridges of earth rose steeply to flanked the green-glass water. 

The Black Canyon is actually more red colored.

Wet towels, soaked in the 50°F river, felt good as the temperature hit the mid-nineties. Along the way we saw wildlife and rock formations that took away every thought but wonderment. 

Two desert big horn sheep

The ride was exhilarating. Near noon, we stopped to picnic on a small beach. One of our group even swam in the fresh water. My feet tested the icy water and that sufficed! 

The water is very clear.

Too soon, it seemed, we landed at Lake Mojave. We knew that the glitter in Vegas could not compete with that beautiful canyon carved by time and the forces of nature.

The red shapes are barrel cacti.

Tomorrow we’ll return to Route 66, but tonight we find ourselves contemplative.

Click here for the day that we reach the end of Route 66

Day 12: The Mother Road

   

Route 66 - The Mother Road -

 where dreams still ride into the sunset 

We returned from the Grand Canyon more than pleased to have taken the first of two deviations from Route 66 that our tour company had planned.

Historic Route 66 in Williams, Arizona

That evening, in the town of Williams and the iconic neon lights seemed all the merrier for the way the evening glow contrasted with the daytime beauty of nature.

Classic Neon

Historic Route 66 runs through the heart of this town. At the intersection with North 3rd street, you will discover the Sultana bar where a curious tradition has sprung up. For visitors from afar, a stapler and a sharpie pen are available to use, so that they can sign a dollar bill and staple it to the wall. 

The walls are nearly covered in dollar bills!

There must be at least a thousand dollar bills stapled to those walls! We cheered as some of our companions added their own “John Hancock” to this ersatz wall paper.

The Roadkill Cafe in Seligman.
Where the slogan is: “You kill ’em, we grill ’em.” 

In the morning, we visited the Williams Route 66 museum. A couple of hours later, Seligman provided the panache for the final route 66 Arizona town on our tour. 

Whimsical relics of the road

The day ended at our second detour from Route 66 get ready hold onto your hats, my friends we’re in… Las Vegas!  Let’s roll.

Beep! beep!

To keep on rolling, click here!

Day 11 - A Natural Wonder

 

This was a day that took one’s breath away.

Arizona. The sun threw soft morning light across Bill Williams Mountain. A sweet perfume of Ponderosa pines and white fir trees filled the air.  The cool was welcome after the warm lands of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Jeans replaced shorts. A light jacket was a good idea.

The viewing room gave me goosebumps
 and taking photos became obligatory!

A friend said, “Careful, there’s a big hole out there somewhere. Don’t fall in!” We were on our way to one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Yes, the Grand Canyon.

In these layers of color, lay the bands of time - millennia captured and revealed to the world.

Now, technically speaking, we were on a tour of Route 66, and the Grand Canyon is not on the route! However, this side trip was billed as a highlight not to be missed. I can assure you this is true. 

A local resident surveyed our picnic
 lunch with interest.

We drove through the beauty of high country pinyon pine trees and Utah junipers. In silence, we watched the widening rift in the landscape unfold.

The South Rim stands 7,545 feet above sea level. We gazed across an unfathomable chasm, 18 miles wide in places, to the North Rim which is 8,000 feet high. The colors, contours, and layers are strikingly beautiful. 

It wasn't just water that created this canyon:
the Colorado tectonic plate rose and cracked
 8 million years ago, and the river ran between
 it to carve out the space left behind.

A mile below, the Colorado River was a blue-green ribbon. How many pioneering travelers must have wondered how to they would get across this 277 miles long canyon?

My words are insufficient and so I will only say, the sight is worth the voyage.

Tomorrow, we’ll get back on Route 66 and continue west. 

Click and continue!

Days 9 & 10 Westward Ho!

Our journey through arid lands, reveals a stark kind of beauty. 

 We left the town of Albuquerque on Route 66.  The road rolled through the desert, made colorful by plant life and geology. The cake-like layers of sandstone, clay, and manganese were beautiful. No wonder it became known as the Painted desert.

 

A passing storm intensifies the colors.

Soon, we had crossed the continental divide.  This invisible geologic feature runs from the Bering Strait down to the tip of South America. All  rivers on the eastern side run to the Atlantic or into the Gulf of Mexico and to the west of the divide, all rivers empty into the Pacific Ocean. 

We rode on across the land, mesmerized by its immensity.

 

The Navajo Indians, known as "coders", used their unwritten language to send important messages in times of war. For example, their bird names were used to designate different types of aircraft.

Gallup, New Mexico is considered the capital for the many native tribes in the area and has an impressive cultural center. 

Planters decorate the entry
to the Cultural Center in Gallup.

We paid tribute to the song performed by The Eagles and Jackson Browne by standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona. 

The small town of Winslow became famous
because it was mentioned in a hit song.

The scenery changed and temperatures dropped as we arrived in the mountainy town of Williams. The Main Street is a time capsule for the fans of Route 66. The old center has kept the look and friendly feeling of a bygone era.

I love the colorful advertisements that
brighten many a corner on Route 66.

Next stop - we’re off the Route to explore a famous spot.

To discover that spot, click here!