First some pics from where I left off. My Pops on the old road The Bagdad Cafe We left the Bagdad cafe and headed east on the old road. I recommend NOT taking that section after the Bagdad. Get back on the I-40. The section of old road east of the Bagdad is in terrible shape. It about rattled every bolt out of the Riv. Diehards... Have fun and drive REALLY slow. So... First chance we got, we got back on the 40. Beautiful east California desert and bright blue skies. Traveling in the Rivi was great. The smell of old car interior, A few whiffs of V8 burned gas and the smooth tone of the nailhead rumbling along. Amazing! Good for the head and the soul. And lots of water. She doesnt have air conditioning. And it was hot. On to Arizona we roll. Beautiful mountain landscapes and passes through them. Many times looking over the road and the land we thought "Wow!!! Imagine what it was like driving west in the old, old days. The days before many parts of the road weren't paved. And even when they where... It was a shared two lane winding and rolling. Think about high desert heat, twisting and turning, Long distances between gas stations and extra cans of gas and water strapped to the bumpers or running boards of say a Model A sedan. And on top of that... Every truck and bus heading to or from California is passing next to you or running with you. It must have been quite the ride. When you travel on some sections of the old road... it makes you think when you run into areas with tight curves and narrow bridges. So back to the trip.. Rolling into Arizona is a beautiful sight. Carved rock faces of many different colors of red, orange, gold, brown and a beautiful blue sky with some white clouds in the distance. Its postcard material. And some left over ruins of closed gas stations and old motels that have been lost along the way. There where some serious clouds forming in the distance and we welcomed them. The smell of fresh rain coming our way and some cooler air after a long drive through the desert recharges and refreshes you. And a decent light show from the lightning in the distance. We got lucky and passes between to pretty bad storms. And the cooler temp felt great. The next stop was one of our favorites. Seligman AZ. What a cool town! On the old road and FULL of photo op's and great people. Rollin slow through town to take it all in I spot a pink 59 Edsel 2dr. We where laughing. My first car was a mint green and med- Green 59 2dr Edsel Ranger. HAHAHA! (A real piece of junk that i bought from my shop teacher) but thats a whole other story. So, we gotta stop and take pic's of the Rivi with the Edsel for laughs and... theres another 59 Edsel across the street done up as a taxi! We couldn't believe it. Over the whole trip we seen around 6 Edsel's 58 thru 59. I said to my Dad "I think Route 66 is were Edsel's go to die" HAHA! Anyway, back to the town. So we pull up to the Rusty Bolt. A Route 66 gift store that is full of everything you could want for gifts and what not. The two woman working in the store came out to see the Rivi. Lexi (The young daughter) is kind of a gear head and loved the Riv. So while taking pictures of the car and having some great laughs, I told her stand next to the car and I take a picture and email it to you. She was stoked. Then we just had to go inside and buy some gifts for my daughter, the family, and ourselves. It was great fun and great people. Then about a block away is the Snow Cap. What an amazing place. Full of pranks, jokes and gut bursting laughs. Another must stop place. And... bring your common sense when trying to open the door. There's two sets of knobs. hahaha I fell for it and walked around to the other door and did the same thing. haha. This place is full of picture opp's, gags and memorabilia. You could spend one whole day walking through this small town and get amazing pictures. From old gas stations to Motels and small shops and restaurants. It is a must stop if you travel RTE 66. Lexi and Baby Blue The Snow Cap Back to the open road. We headed out toward Flagstaff. I didnt get any pictures because it got to dark but we found a good oldies station and took in some cool cruisin. Once we got through flagstaff, We headed toward Winslow and figured "Cool... Lets stay here" It was late when we got in. Kind of a ghost town but also the old part of town seemed a little schetchy. There is two parts to the road in Winslow. One heads east. and one block to your left, it heads west. We decide to drive up and down through town and what the hell. Maybe stay at one of the old hotels. hahaha! Wrong! I think the poor woman and the Management door looked at all my tattoos and thought "Nah" . "Do you have any rooms available?" No.. No we dont, And shut the door. There was one car in the parking lot. haha oh well. But, An older man walked up in a big hurry and needed help. He rode the train in and they had let him off one stop early. Who knows why but, it was around midnight, He was legally blind, had a suitcase and a plaque stating his condition. He need to find a Super 8 motel because his work would cover the cost. Me and my old man seen one when we first rolled in. So, we gave em a lift. It seemed like a tough town and I wouldnt have felt right leaving him alone in that town. Adventures of the road. After that we decided to get back on the road and find another hotel. The next exit turned out to be the promise land. Decent hotel. Safe for the Riv and breakfast included for less than a hundo. First complete day under our belts. tired and ready to sleep. More about day 2 tomorrow. I hope you enjoy our tales Dave and Lou
I live a couple miles off the mother road and some day I'll drive all of it. Great pics, keep em coming.
Here's a set of Dad's pics.What a time we had!Thanks,Dave http://s897.photobucket.com/albums/ac172/kool66/Route66 1Aug2010/
kool pix . Don't get no gooder, you & your dad. I live afew off 66 . When coming through kansas give us a shout . enjoy guys , it don't happen every day . drive safe.
Bowtie-I went to my photobucket account opened the album and copied the url line in the window above the album.Let me know if you need more. Lou aka Kool66
Awesome pics and great trip. Thanks for taking us along with you. Keep driving. I did the trip about 12 years ago with my college roommate in a '65 Catalina convertible. Best road trip I've ever been on by a long shot. It was hot, but man, was it cool!!!
Hey Pop. See if you can get the URL for the album and post it. That link takes you to they're home page.
Looks like you missed getting off on Exit 1 and going through Oatman and the canyon with all the switchback turns.
More of my Dad & I's trip down Route 66 CA to IL Since you went from CA to IL, you went UP Route 66. I know, I know, what a nitpicker. Done it 3 times. Sure lots of neat stuff to see
dont know where your at as of now, but hit me up as you come into mo. if youd like, or need, ive got a full shop and would love to meet you if you'd like. im in joplin mo.
The Jalopy Journal
