Wagons Ho! A New Rt. 66 Road Trip to Viva & the Round Up Adventure!

After leaving the Jackrabbit, our stomachs were growling so we focused on making it to Winslow for a bite to eat. But, being the true roadies that we all were, we couldn't resist the opportunity to have our pictures made "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona".



It was such a fine sight to see!







Afterwards, we made it over to the La Posada Hotel in town where we found us something to nibble on in the Turquoise Room.





Anne had this corn and black bean soup concoction.



Then she & I shared their bread pudding.



Ah, the ambience!

 

With the sun setting in the west, we revisited Two Guns, AZ.



Two Guns has quite a history. Rather than going into detail, I'll let you read about it here: www.roadsideresort.com/stories/two-guns-arizona.

Man's own coriosity once lured him off the highway and into this place.



The cages in back that once housed exotic animals now lay in ruins.



This 1910 bridge once carried Route 66 traffic over Canyon Diablo.



Once the caretaker's house, it, like the rest of Two Guns, lay in ruins.



Stevan inspects the view of the canyon from a window that has long ago served it purpose.



Across the canyon lies the site of the Apache Death Cave and the buildings erected to host visitors who shelled out their money to view it.





This year, for the first time, I hiked across the canyon floor over to the Apache Death Cave. Here's a view of the canyon floor as I made my way over to the cave.



Over my shoulder, the sun was casting shadows from the caretaker's house.



This bridge once carried the foot traffic of coriosity seekers who vied the Apache Death Cave.



A view of the lookout that once stood over the caves.



Finally, the cave itself.



Stepping inside, it was rather small. Maybe six feet by eight feet. Tall enough that it was easy to stand upright. If the legend is true of the cave, this would have been the Apaches last view of the world before meeting their demise.



Before leaving the site, I inspected what appeared to have been where someone lived who possibly guarded the cave.



With darkness approaching, after leaving Two Guns, we set our sights on Flagstaff, AZ. with the intent on spending the night. But, since this trip was as much about traveling Route 66 as it was about Viva Las Vegas, once we got to Winona, (I bet you forgot Winona, didn't you?) we jumped off onto the old alignment of the Route leading into Flagstaff. As on our last trip, we once again took in the 1922 steel truss bridge over Walnut Creek that was used in the filming of Forrest Gump.





While in Flagstaff, we once again was lured off the highway by the twinkling of the neon of the Western Hills Motel. The perfect place to put the memories of our travels of Day 4 to rest!

 

i dont know how we missed you guys we hit most the same places in a 32 cdillac powerd chevy and 60 impala from PA to vegas awsome trip. put on 5800 miles 425 gallons of gas worth $1700 and i would do it again in a hartbeat

 

Great pics and looks like you all are having a lot of fun. Those pics of I-40 with the snow heading into Albuquerque are basically around where I live. I am about 1.5 miles off Rt 66 and drive on it everyday I go to work or head into town.

 

This would have to be one of the best road trips I've never been on! Thank you. Please, please, please keep the updates and photos coming. Maybe next year (fingers crossed) the wife and I will be over there doing the VLV/LSRU thing ourselves. Then we can travel the iconic Route 66 and visit all these amazing places too.

Again, thank you.

Brad

 

We woke up to Day 5 of our trip with the sole intent of making Las Vegas at some point in the day. We'd already made reservations for the night at the Gold Coast Casino. So, with still a lot of Route 66 to cover during the mean time, we checked out of the motel . . . . . . .



And loaded up the wagons . . . . .



And pulled out from the parking lot with breakfast on our mind before leaving Flagstaff. After doing the full breakfast thing at the Galaxie on the west end of town, and before heading on up the road, Stevan slapped on the "Here it is" plate that he'd gotten at the Jackrabbit Trading Post the day before.



Just a few miles west of Flagstaff, in Bellemont, there is an old alignment of Route 66 where the old cabins sit that was filmed in the movie Easy Rider where Peter Fonda & Dennis Hopper asked for a room but were turned away. We revisited the cabins & gas station.



From there, our next stop on the Route was in Williams, AZ. We were met by a familiar character.



Obviously, Williams takes note of their Route 66 heritage.



On of the stops that we knew that we'd be making was at Jim Walker's garage again. We'd first stumbled upon Jim's place on our trip last year and were really glad that we stuck our head in the door. This year we were greeted with the same hospitality and given a brief rundown on what he and his son, J.P. have been up to. Jim hasn't sold the '50 Merc and still has the Anglia and two Mustangs. During this shot, Stevan & Jim were in a discussion about Ford FE blocks.



From Williams, we traveled on west, through Ash Fork, making our next astop in Seligman, AZ. A stop at Angel Delgadillo's Barber Shop is a must!



If you recall, when we passed through the area on our trip last year, Stevan got Angel to give him a haircut. Unfortunitely, Angel was in the shop on this day, so his chair sat empty.



We still poked around in his place though and checked out some of his treasures. I'm thinking that these need to be in MY garage!



Now here's a rare item: an old Route 66 marker sign! It must have served a dual purpose as you can make out a ghost sign beneath the Route 66 lettering.



Ah, the number of times that Angel must have looked out at the traffic on the Mother Road from this window.



If you are a fan of American Restoration on the History Channel, then you may recall when Rick and his crew picked up this old juke box and restored it for Angel. Well, there's more to the story than what was portrayed on the show. It seems, according to the lady behind the counter at Angels, the true cost of getting it restored was an extra five hundred dollars over the original estimate of five grand. Yes, that's money that Angel actually had to pay. It's not an amount made up for the show. And the kicker is, it doesn't work! She was really trash talking Rick, saying they've been after him to come complete the job but he keeps ignoring them. Oh, and the time it took to restore it from the time that they picked it up to the time they delivered it? Six months! They make it seem a lot shorter on the show, huh? So much for reality t.v.!



After leaving Angel's shop, a tall cold drink was in order, so we walked the half block to the Snow Cap Drive In for a root beer and some of Frank's antics.



Wouldn't you like the have the money that this cash register has seen through the years!



Even though Juan Delgadillo, Frank's father & Angel's brother, has been gone for a few years now, his humor can still be found scattered around the restaurant.





How about this old tourning body perched in a tree?



Kinda liked this shot.



Even though it's not HAMB material, one of the nicest finds of the day was this '69 Camaro Indy pace car convertible sitting in back of the place.

 

Juan sure made the Snow Cap colorful, for sure!



While walking back from the Snow Cap, we did a little shopping. I spotted this sign and really wanted it but couldn't figure out how to get it in the wagon!



I'm seeing the makings of a ramp rod here.



It just seemed like the perfect opportunity to snap another picture of the '59.



Afterwards, it was time to scoot on up the Route to see what other adventures she had in store for us.



While facing a strong south wind, we made it on to Peach Springs, AZ., where we whipped over to do another photo shoot at this old station.



Even though we'd stopped here the year before, we had another wagon to get in the picture this time!



Blazing on up the road, we stopped in for another visit at hackberry, AZ., and the Hackberry General Store.

 

The Hackberry General Store is always a fun place to visit. We were lucky this time through as we found them open. That meant some great photo ops on the inside as well! How about this old 1939 juke box?



These booths bring back memories?



I think she sensed that I was married as she was sure giving me the cold shoulder!



The owner had quite a collection of old car parts hanging inside the store. I thought this headlight bar was a cool addition.



Then it was time to head back outside to explore the grounds one more time.











Ok, I'm a wagon man. What can I say?!





I liked the patina on this old Dodge truck.





Barn find! Out back, this old Model T truck was found sitting is an open shed.



Just a few of the items shelved in the same shed.



Rust was the color of the day as evidence by this vintage tin.



And even more rust! Doesn't that color go good with just about anything!



Nope, not a rock garden. A RUST garden!



Even had a steer skull drying in the sun! (I'm feeling thirsty!)

 

Awe inspiring....one day, if I'm lucky.

 

After leaving Hackberry, we made it on up the road to Kingman, AZ where we had a quick bite to eat at Mr. D's. Our original plan was to go as far as Needles, CA. but time got away from us and we had to squelch that idea as it was already five o'clock and we knew that nothing in Oatman would be open. So, bucking what seemed to be gail force winds all the way, we drove on into Las Vegas. The rooms at the Gold Coast casino would be our safe haven for the next couple of days.



We'd made it to Las Vegas! We'd met our goal. Or, at least one of them. The other being the Lone Star Round Up. Or, as Stevan put it, "We're halfway." True dat!

Goodnight, Day 5 of our adventure. Sweet dreams!

 

The nice part about Day 6 was after we woke up and realized that we didn't have to jump up and repack the car! It was just a matter of chillin' out for a little bit in the hotel room before we had to go down to find a car wash to hose off five days of road grime. Luckily, Terrible Ernst was just down the street.



After the wagon presentable, we made our way on over to the Orleans and registered for the show. Unlike last year, we were in! And, we weren't going to take a chance of a repeat of last year either. We were going to let the cars sit and take the shuttle back to our hotel.



I'm not going to spend a lot of time describing the rest of the day or day after, which was the car show itself. Not that I subscribe to the old adage, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. Check 'em out here:

www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=690810&highlight=high+heels

 

Total envy about your guy's trip. Route 66 has always been on my bucket list. Thanks for the great post and super cool pics!

P.S. I WILL own a wagon someday soon too.

 

stoked! I love a good wagon road trip! get ready to follow our 7 week cross country trip in June/July!

 

It was cool to read this old thread. I missed it the other year , so it was fresh to me. I'm glad all the pics are still working too. Nothing makes me crazier than a good thread with broken pic links !

Surfcalifornia - if you take pics and post a thread , I'll be watchin' !