SW Adventure: Day 1

Chris is back from Pattaya and wants to go somewhere. He bought a new Nikon D800 and a new laptop. He has a much thicker wallet than I do! We decide on Route 66, Canyon de Chelly, Four Corners, Mesa Verde and a stop at Arches NP on the way back. We are taking Chris's Mercedes so I get over to his house at 7am. We head out and first stop is Kingman AZ. This is the start of Route 66 for us. We go into the small Historic Route 66 Museum to chat with the lady behind the desk, get a map, a few photos and head out on 66.

First stop is Hackberry. The Hackberry General Store is why everybody stops. We walk around and see plenty of Harley Davidson's pulling in. I chat with one guy and find out he is from France. A group of them had leather jackets made and came to the US to ride Route 66. They rented the bikes in San Francisco, $200/day. Down the Calif. coastline, over to Vegas, now riding Route 66 East. They spoke OK English and were going to spend a pile of money to make their Route 66 dream come true.

We got our outside shots, went inside and popped a few more. I had been here before with Allan & Gail, UK TP members that I drove to the Grand Canyon years ago. Chris had never been on Route 66 so he wanted to see what all the fuss is about.

After Hackberry, we head for Grand Canyon Caverns. We discuss going on the cave tour, but after talking to the guide and a few that have been on the tour before us, we pass. It is a dry cave and not that much to see. I don't need the stress on my knee unless it is worth it. They do tell us about the largest, oldest, deepest, darkest, quietest motel room in world! Since Chris was not excited about going on the cave tour either, we head out for Seligman.

There is a small Inn & restaurant by the turnoff that has been set up to look like Radiator Springs, from the movie 'Cars'. I pop a few pics and we head for Seligman.

Seligman is probably the best place to spend your time while on this section of Route 66. Plenty of buildings from the 50s and several places to eat. The famous? Roadkill Cafe is here as is the Snow Cap Drive-in. Started in 1953 by Juan Delgadillo, the Snow Cap has been feeding and entertaining customers for almost 60 years. Jokes and attitude with your food. Behind the Snow Cap is Juan's Garden. Plenty of old cars and kitsch. The Delgadillo brothers were given movie credit for helping on the movie 'Cars'. We walk around Seligman for 30 minutes, get our photos and head for Flagstaff.

I thought we should stop at Williams, but Chris was not interested in the train depot and I have seen it all before. We gas up in Flagstaff and Chris wants to eat. I pass as he picks Chipotle Mexican Grill. I have a granola bar and just keep him company. I don't eat Mexican and can wait until we get to Holbrook. Back on I-40, we hit a real thunderstorm a few miles out of Flagstaff. The motorcycle guys would need to slow down or find shelter. It really came down hard for about 10 minutes and I would not want to be on a bike in that downpour. We pull into Holbrook and look at motels. I made a list of those under $50 and we head over to the Econo Inn. Using my AARP card, we get a room for $50 with tax. Chris wants to go back to Jim Gray's, the petrified wood store we hit last time were in Holbrook. Well, we have plenty of time as were are not going to the Petrified Forest NP this trip. I take plenty of photos and look at the prices. One table was $4,500, one chair I saw was $3K. A bit out of my price range. Chris buys a nice piece of PW for his display case.

After the store, I suggest we stop at Denny's for dinner. Chris is not hungry, but I have eggs & pancakes for $6. Hard to beat Denny's IMO for decent food at a decent price. Not for everybody, but I get what I want and don't spend very much. Back to our room, I shower and watch the Olympics. Chris would rather edit his photos on his new laptop. At about 11pm I had enough and called it a night. Day one is over.