The complete road itself no longer exists but parts of it are being rediscovered as “Historic Route 66,” especially in small towns that were bypassed when the Interstate Highway System rolled out in the 50’s.
Soon after we left Santa Barbara, we jumped on I-15 near Victorville. Ever since, we have driving east along interstate highways that pretty much parallel the old Route 66; often within a mile or two.
Judy and I have been able to get off the interstate at any point along our journey and have a coffee or lunch break in the one of the old buildings and admire the architecture of the gas stations, diners and motels built during the glory days when John Steinbeck dubbed Route 66 “The Mother Road.” The architecture is classic mid 20th century Americana with lots of neon, streamlined walls and eye catching statues such as concrete teepees and dinosaurs.
Just after merging from I-15 onto I-40 in Barstow a crow flew into our truck, shearing off the driver side mirror. Was that a sign? Don’t look back now?
After driving across the Mohave Desert, famous for Joshua Trees, we spent the night in barren Needles. The next morning, we crossed the state line into Arizona and passed legendary Route 66 towns such as Kingman, Seligman and Williams on our way to Flagstaff.
Flagstaff really celebrates it’s Route 66 heritage but we had other interests, like the Lowell Observatory and the gorgeous scenery of Northern Arizona. Spending three nights there allowed us to explore Walnut Canyon National Monument, Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona.
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| Walnut Canyon Cliff dwellings |
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| Safe, dry and warm! |
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| Incredible red rock formations in Sedona |
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| Sedona's Chapel of the Holy Cross |
We were also able to swap out our damaged rental truck for another one, with a functioning mirror. As a bonus, this one had 4 wheel drive (that we hoped we wouldn’t need).
As we left Flagstaff, driving east on I-40 we suddenly found ourselves in the remnants of Hurricane Polo. Yeah, I know, a hurricane in Northern Arizona? What’s up with that? Well it proved to have an impact on our next week.
We first wanted to explore Petrified Forest National Park to see the Painted Desert but the heavy rains meant it was mostly a drive by.
We stopped for the night in Gallup, New Mexico. This cool old railroad town was memorialized in the lyrics of the 50’s pop tune made famous by Nat King Cole, Get your Kicks on Route 66.
We had planned to arise early the next morning and drive north to Chaco Culture National Historic Park, a "Must See" for us. It is only accessible by dirt roads and the hurricane remnants were causing massive flooding so the park had closed. Thus our new plan was to spend another night in Gallup and check the road conditions the next day.
Surrounded by magnificent red rock formations, Gallup bills itself as “The Heart of Indian Country.” We visited a couple of museums and learned a lot, including the story of the Navaho Codetalkers - bilingual Marines who served in the South Pacific during WWII as radio operators. They used their native language to communicate between units, baffling Japanese eavesdroppers.
Gallup also has a number of trading companies that deal in Native American handicrafts such as pottery, jewelry and rugs. We were fascinated to learn that this source of revenue to the local tribes really took off with the creation of Route 66 in the early 20th century. The trading companies must be treating the craftspeople right because, for over 100 years, it is still the best way to secure high quality items at reasonable prices.
We left Gallup for Santa Fe on I-40, again paralleling Route 66. With the dirt roads to Chaco still closed, our new plan was to wait there while the mud dried. Walking along the Rio Grande, we repeated our travel mantra, "Be flexible and patient."
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| The river was really flowing from the floods |
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