Route 66

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Today was a long drive, so after a quick breakfast we headed out to Kingman, Arizona.  The transition of the landscape was very interesting.  At first, we were driving along the flat plain and red rocky mesas that we had seen from the North Rim yesterday.   One area we passed had odd boulders, several of which were turned into homelike structures.   Much of this land belongs to the Navajo Nation and there were quite a few places one could stop to purchase jewelry, pottery, etc.  At the point where we crossed the Colorado River there was a place to pull off the highway and walk across a pedestrian bridge spanning the river.  Most of the ride was across flat desert with miles of straight highways, and temperatures reaching into the 100’s F.

We picked up Route 66 starting from Flagstaff, Arizona. To break up the monotony of the drive we stopped in Seligman, AZ.  Route 66 was created in 1926 and is a 2,448-mile-long road that runs from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.   Route 66 has been called the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America”.  There was even a TV show called ‘Route 66’ from 1960 through 1964, but we are dating ourselves.  We had lunch at a place called Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In that has been serving food since 1953.  It is known for playing practical jokes on its customers.  When I ordered our turkey burgers they squirted fake ketchup on me, which I’m embarrassed to admit caught me off guard, twice.  Then when I ordered a small drink they gave it to me in a miniature plastic cup.  The place was filled with quirky signs and junk, and the door you entered to place your order had two doorknobs.  Even the bathroom had its unique charm.  The place also appeared to be popular with the motorcycle crowd, including one group of French bikers.

We then took a quick walk down the hot and windy street and visited a few of the Route 66 shops.  Dan had purchased a colorful t-shirt from the Snow Cap, and I picked up my own Route 66 t-shirt.  Now we are comfortably settled in our Best Western hotel for the night. Tomorrow we are off to Jessica, Joey, Bria and Mickey’s home in Agoura Hills, CA.  We plan to make a stop to see London Bridge along the way.