Route 66 Part Two

Several months ago we drove The Mother Road (Route 66) from Chicago to Oklahoma. 

Before Ike launched the Interstate Freeway system in the 1950s, US 66 was the only
continuous road connecting middle America (Chicago) with the west coast. 

We had so much fun on the route, we decided then to return one day, and finish the trip.

 This time we picked up the road in the Texas panhandle. 

Everyone's heard of the Cadillac Ranch, but did you know there's also a 

Bug Ranch east of Amarillo, with a bunch of VWs stuck in the ground?

 If you traveled with her, you'd know it!

 I know what you're thinking, but they were 

sprayed like this before we got here!

Hey!  I know it's not a VW, but still....

 Now that's a cool car. No, not the old Rolls Royce,

the blue Mustang way over there!

 Back on the Road

Amarillo's skyscaper, the Santa Fe building

  We've been through Amarillo a bunch of times, but this time 

we knew what to look for (thanks to my friend, Dr Steve Newbie)!
For dinner, we ate at the Country Pride restaurant. Mmmm!
Choose either the chicken fried steak, or the enchiladas!

Both were great!  Then, next morning we headed for Sixth Street:

First stop, the Natatorium:

Inside the Nat, now it's an antique mall!

After some shopping, it's time for lunch.  How about...

The GoldenLight Cafe!  Thanks again Steve! 

Inside the GoldenLight. Yeah, our kinda place. This place
would almost be worth a drive to Amarillo all by itself!

 This section of Sixth St really embraces their connection to Rt 66.

 

 

 We could have stayed longer, but...

 So, we're off again!  Look, the original Cadillac Ranch!

Adrian Texas, which is half way between Chicago and LA. But since Rt 66 

goes through LA on to Santa Monica, and ends at the Santa Monica pier, 

some other towns also argue for the distinction of being the mid point of the Road.

Who cares? Nobody else has this cool sign!

An old Phillips 66 station. Notice the similarity 

in their sign and the Route 66 sign...

 And in case you need directions... 

 The Midpoint Cafe, notice the shields, one for each state on the old route.

 A man, a highway, and a motorcycle.  Wait, where's my motorcycle?

 Since we made this trip in February, the weather was more winter than spring!

As we got closer to Tucumcari, NM, we saw more and more snow. 

We stayed at the historic Route 66 Motel, where some guests fly in!

 We awoke to 18 degrees, and about 4 inches of snow!

 Snow plows had worked since the wee hours, so the roads were not bad.

Isn't America great? God bless the first amendment!

We stopped for breakfast at Joseph's cafe in Santa Rosa, 

which is rather well known among Rt 66 travelers.

 After chow, we headed west again.

 The Hiway House Motel, in Albuquerque NM, 

where "sleep is their business"!  It sits on 

Central Ave (Rt 66) in the Nob Hill part of town. This is 

walking distance to UNM, and the entire area shows the 

influence of  college life- lots of cafes and night spots.

 But since it was still before lunch, we decided to drive out to the 

Route 66 Hotel and Casino, where we had tickets for Gordon Lightfoot 

the next night, just to make sure we could find the place.

The place was very nice, a big Las Vegas style casino, with all the games.

 I got up a few dollars at craps, while Linda relaxed at the slots. 

When the table slowed down, I took a break on a Tabasco slot machine.

 Never played Tabasco before, usually like Double Diamonds, but I learned

 one thing:  This little line-up pays 200 smackers!  Whoo-hoo!

After a late lunch at the Casino buffet, we headed back to our neck 

of the woods. We explored town a little more, before returning to our motel.

It was evening now, but we couldn't even think about eating! 

So, we walked just next door to Kelly's, which is a popular 

watering hole for the college crowd.

 

I asked about their outdoor seating, and the waitress was cool with it, 

but we opted for a table inside. Just something cold to drink, please.

Maybe we'll see a menu later.    Naaah!

Overnight, it snowed again, 6 to 8 more inches, 

so we left the car, and hoofed it down the block.

 I'm sorry we didn't get a picture of them, but we met a young couple 

out walking... in snow shoes!  In Albuquerque!

You know, they look like tennis rackets, on you feet?!

 Aaah, just a little something to set you right on a cold morning.

 Linda had read about a section of town called Old Town, 

which has been preserved to honor some of Albuquerque's heritage.

 Most of the buildings are maybe a century old, or built to look like it.

 The area is full of shops, art galleries and cafes, all laid out around 

the square, with this old church and a park in the center.

 The park... 

Finally time to head back out to the Route 66 

Hotel and Casino for the show.

 The venue was a nice size, and our seats were good!

 That's Gord in the red jacket, He performs with just four

 other guys, but they filled the room with music!

 That was a good night! 

Next morning we headed west, and crossed the 

continental divide, on our way to Gallup, NM.

 No more snow, but the clouds are setting low...

Gallup New Mexico.  We'd heard about this historic hotel 

from a lady back in Tucumcari..The El Rancho!

 

This place became famous back in the 1940s and 1950s, 

when Hollywood was churning out westerns.  It seems that all the 

big stars of those days stayed here while they were filming!

Inside is the two-story lobby, and all the walls are covered 

with pictures of the famous celebs!

 King of the westerns, "Duke" Wayne!

 Just a sample, but notice the framed pics along these two walls, 

and multiply by about 20!  It was truly amazing!

So long New Mexico, Hello Arizona! 

At the border is this Indian Trading post... 

and halfway up the cliffside, look closely

Yep, animal statues!

 
This looks like a good place to stop and rest for a while.

The  Painted Desert

This used to be a lodge for overnight guests within the Painted Desert
Nation Park. Now it's just an information station.

Linda planking...

Check out the various shades of strata in them thar hills.

God at work!

And the Petrified Forest. This natural bridge was formed long ago 

by a fallen tree, which has since petrified, turning as hard as stone!

I don't think this guy was petrified, but he was as hard as stone.

"You talkin to me? You talkin to me?  Well, I'm the only one here."

Those chunks out there are more pieces of petrified trees.

After that, we cruised through Holbrook, Az. on our way to Winslow.

The historic Wigwam Motel. Have you ever slept in a tee pee?

Even the cars are antiques!

In addition to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, this area contains 

several dinosaur relics, so the locals are all about prehistoric stuff!

And we're less than 100 miles from the Grand Canyon!

But on to Winslow, and La Pasado Hotel. This was an original 

Harvey House Hotel, built in the 1920s, and still beautiful today!

Or beautiful again! Some time back, the property fell into disrepair, 

and the city fathers of Winslow mounted a plan to restore the old hotel, 

and reopen it in the Harvey House tradition.

  And they've done a masterful job!

In this same way, Winslow jumped on the opportunity that was presented 

to them when The Eagles gave them a shout-out with "Take it Easy".

As you can see, we're standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona.

That's me with Jackson Browne, friend of The Eagles, and co-author of the song.
. He's the one in bronze.  I'm the guy in the cool shades.

It's a girl, my word! and a flatbed Ford...

This Ford F500 stays parked beside the statue, day and night all the time.

Even if you're not an Eagles fan, you gotta be impressed!

We spent the night in Winslow, then headed to Flagstaff in the AM.

We had planned to dart straight up from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon 

(about an hour) but as we climbed to Flagstaff (elevation 7300 ft above sea level, 

that's a half mile higher than Denver!) the snow started again.

So after breakfast, we bailed on the plan and started heading back 

down the mountain. This stretch of Arizona really embraces the Mother Road!

All the shop owners proudly display the 66 shield.

We arrived in Kingman before lunch, so we "antiqued" for a while. 

Hey, check this out: 

"Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man, that he didn't, didn't already have."

What does that even mean?

Historic Route 66 winds its way right through downtown Kingman, 

and past Mr. Dz's diner, which I heard, is a favorite of Oprah's

 So we stopped for lunch, and it was good!

We tooled around town some more, and actually rested in our motel room a bit.

Then we had dinner at the Garlic Clove restaurant, where you build you own Pizza!

Here's a couple of old school neon Motel signs that 

beckon weary travelers along Rt 66.

What fun! Next morning we leave Arizona and head to Nevada!

Welcome to Lost Wages!

 Our home away from home for the next three nights, 

the Excalibur Hotel and Resort! 

 It sets on one of my favorite corners, where Las Vegas Blvd crosses Tropicana Ave.

This is home to the Excalibur, the Tropicana, the MGM Grand, and New York New York.

Wait, is this sign for gamblers, or for anybody crossing Las Vegas Blvd?

After settling into our room, Linda snapped this view out the window.

Our next door neighbor, NY NY from the 33rd floor.

 

Then we hit the Strip. This one intersection is so busy, they've built elevated 

bridges at each corner to allow foot traffic to cross both streets without ever 

interfering with the cars on Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Avenue. 

It's the only way anybody can get anywhere!

I never know how she snaps so many pictures.  And I don't understand 

how she gets a midday photo of the Strip without one single car!

Since we're ready for lunch, we headed to New York New York,
where they have a food court that's built like a section of Greenich Village,
complete with tree-lined streets and every kind of eatery! 

If you can find it in the real Big Apple, you can find it here!

My favorite is probably Greenberg's Deli. 

They build this sandwich called the New York Skyhigh, 

with corned beef, turkey, pastrami and provolone...

and for the health-conscious... Cole slaw!

Man, that's a high sandwich, and enough to share!

After lunch we found this section of  Cheeseburger slot machines

at the Excalibur and gave back some of our winnings from Route 66.

Oh well, easy come...

Later that evening we drove downtown for dinner at Binion's, 

and then hung out on Fremont Street for a while.

The Fremont Street Experience is music and lasers and lights! 

They even have ziplines that run three blocks long - awesome!

Now back to our neck o' the woods:

NY NY by night

The MGM Grand

And my sentimental favorite, the Trop!

Back in our room at The Ex, the same window as earlier, only after dark!

Next day we headed to The Bellagio, and their marvelous atrium! Like 

Fremont Street and In & Out Burgers, this is a place we always try to visit.

 They change the display several times a year, to coincide with the 

seasons. Right now, it's Chinese New Year!

 The little sign says "The Flower Lady", so naturally...

 What fun, and what imagination!

After a visit to Caesars, we head back to the Excalibur, and I hit the tables.

This fellow playing next to me had some complicated, multi-roll bet going,
that I'd never seen before. The dude needed a boxcar (double sixes) and a
Snake-eyes (doubles aces) in order to win some big money, so when I hit that twelve,

the table started to pay attention. After a couple more rolls, the snake-eyes came in,
and he did this crazy dance!  To tip me, he threw four nickels (five dollar chips)
to the stickman and said, "Bet all the hard ways for the shooter!"
And you know, I hit the hard ten (double fives)! That one roll paid me $45,
which was a nice tip for the work I'd done for my new BFF.
Oh yeah, he was betting the hard ten for himself, too. 

We're back up a fair amount now, so it's time to see a show!  

That evening I had a hot date for Ka, at the MGM Grand.

 

In some cultures, Ka means "fire", while at other times it's that inner part of us 

that lives forever (the soul?)  Since it's Cirque du Soleil, who knows?!

 If she lets you play, you gotta take her out!

I think his secret is in his hair...
 (yeah, he's holding them both off the ground with his arms and his neck!)

Next day was a walking day, and we hit NY NY, The Luxor, and Mandalay Bay.

 

We took a few pics inside the pyramid, to show its vastness, but like 

the Rockies or the Grand Canyon, "bigness" never translates as well in pictures.

 

It's our last evening in Las Vegas, so we head to one of our favs!

The Bar at Times Square (inside NY NY) with David, the Sax Man, 

singing, playing and making sure everybody has a good time!

                                                                            

Next day we headed down to Needles, Arizona, before we cross the Mojave desert.  

Needles best known resident, and Snoopy's brother, Spike! 

Storied Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, 

home to the Little Ol' Lady from...aaaw, you know.

It was Friday night, and the desk clerk recommended this local mall,

the Americana at Brand.  It's LA's version of Southlake Town Center!

 Life is different here...

 Saturday morning we drive Santa Monica Blvd, past Hollywood,

past Beverly Hills and Rodeo Dr, 

 all the way to Santa Monica Pier, 

and Pacific Palisades Park. Where's Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon now?

Oh, he's stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel!

 
And now, ladies and gentlemen...

But wait! There's more...

We weren't quite ready to stop, so we drove down to Long Beach

and rode the Catalina Express the 26 miles out to Santa Catalina Island!

Like the song says, "Santa Catalina, the island of romance!"

It was a beautiful day, and the setting was equal to the weather. 

Here's a view of the bay, with lots of sailing vessels.

When I heard the beautiful rotundra building was The Casino, 

naturally I was pumped.  But it's actually the movie theater!

Maybe it used to be a casino?!

 

It's a small island and the locals want to keep it simple, 

so no cars are allowed here (except a few taxis). People drive golf carts!

This is not a golf course, it's a public street, with parking along the curb.

 

I think Linda liked the ocean air.

Of course there were plenty of shops for the tourists! 

 

 Oh, look! A bunch of people we don't know. I think we were 

trying for that white mansion on the hill.

  Aah, there it is!

We ate a late lunch of fish and chips, in Anthony's Seaside Cafe

 Linda spotted these old roadside signs over in the bar area of the cafe. 

It seemed very apropos at the end of this trip, because when 

Route 66 was the main drag, these babies lined the road!

 Like all the rest so far, it was a good day indeed!