We had a great time on our trip. Too much to do in the three weeks we had. Had to completely cut out the North rim of the Grand Canyon, Utah, and Northern Nevada. :( We saw a lot though and now have a good idea of where we want to go back and spend more time. Maybe even some ideas for a future move. For those who did not see the questions beforehand about planning a trip, this was our honeymoon trip. We got married in Cape May , Nj and headed out across the country, generally traversing old route 66, hitting the grand canyon, Mojave trail, and death valley in the middle of that leg. Then South to San Diego and back a more southerly route, Tombstone, Waco, New Orleans and up. I had built a sleep platform for the jeep which worked out great! We did not take the tent, cot, or canopy out of the jeep once. Unfortunately, we could have used that space but, live and learn. This was our first trip of this size. I couldnt believe how much great public land is available for adventure out west! wow! Its tough to find much out our way. Anyway, here are some stats from the trip followed by some of what we saw. Hope it inspires, helps, or just even entertains a few of you. (Warning: It's long)
Thank you to everyone who offered input when i had loads of questions when planning this trip! It is most appreciated!
A few stats from our trip.
Number of miles traveled. 7.918
Days on the road: 21
Number of states (other than PA). 17
Fuel purchased. 544.6 gallons
Highest price paid for fuel. $3.89/gal
Lowest price paid for fuel. $1.68/ gal
Highest price seen for fuel. $4.55/gal (Shoshone , Nv)
Total fuel cost: $1,210.05
Highest temp: 112 in LA, Ca
Lowest temp: 30s, BLM land on the Plains of St. Augustin, near Socorro, Nm
Snakes seen: 2 (rattler let me know I was too close, and a green snake)
Scorpions seen: 0 (better luck next time)
Tarantulas seen: 0 (better luck next time)
Mountain lions seen: 0 (but was worried and thought we were being stalked twice)
Biden signs seen: Our area and many California coastal towns
Trump signs seen: Everywhere else
Masks being used: Both coasts, New Mexico, our area
Shortages seen in grocery stores: Nowhere but our area
High prices for grocery items: Nowhere but our area
Traffic seen: California, especially the LA area, some major cities in TX, our area
Riot evidence seen: St louis and New Orleans (purposely did not start in Chicago due to this)
New wildlife seen: Pronghorn deer, Javelina
Best food: The fried green chile and onions cheeseburger at Delgadillo's Sno Cap in Seligman, Az... a route 66 classic!
A Memorable moment: Maggie asking if those are clouds up in the sky with the stars. Nope... that's the Milky Way. What a sight!
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The List.
Lake Erie –I’ve never been to a Great Lake. It looks like looking out over the ocean, but with no waves. Huge.
Gemini Giant , Wilmington , Il – This was the official start of our Route 66 portion of the trip. Downtown Chicago is the actual beginning of route 66 but we had no desire to go there, especially with the craziness going on there right now. This space themed “muffler man” stands guard over an old Route 66 restaurant called the Launching Pad. It had gone out of business several years ago but has thankfully been restored and reopened! Unfortunately, it is temporarily closed due to the Wuhan virus. We met an older couple here who were touring the route from west to east. Very nice people who told us about their younger days traveling in an outfitted school bus with their kids.
Bridlewood zoo – This is a sculpture garden right down the street from the Gemini Giant. Also the place where we fist spoke to a local in a gas station who said that no one around here wears those masks. The start of a stretch of freedom that would last all the way to New Mexico. She was also getting married in a couple of weeks and was planning on a honeymoon in the Poconos!
Gardner two cell jail (1906) and other assorted gas stations and cafes – More Route 66 goodness. Loads of historical buildings along this stretch to see. The road was tough to follow at times as it winded this way and that through suburban neighborhoods now.
Route 66 Museum and Hall of Fame , Pontiac , Il - Housed in a historic firehouse, this facility tells the story of the people and places related to Route 66. The museum displays significant Illinois artifacts from along Route 66. It is also the home of the Bob Waldmire Experience exhibit and Bob's famous Road Yacht and VW Bus. (Bob is a well known artist of Route 66 subjects). Painted on the back of the building is the famous gigantic Route 66 shield mural. Unfortunately, this too was closed due to Wuhan. But the building, and area of town around it, is surrounded by many incredible murals. Definitely worth it to just check out the artwork!
The Cozy Dog drive inn – Since 1946. The birthplace of the corndog. The corndog was very bland and boring, historic or not. This place was owned by the parents of Bob Waldmire (referenced above).
St Louis – The first ‘Big city’ we have visited. Our first encounter, over the bridge from Missouri was a prostitute in the middle of the highway, then a lot more in cars at a park right down the street from an old Route 66 bridge we were trying to access. What a great welcome, right? We then headed into downtown St louis to check out the Gateway Arch. Along the way we started to encounter large cement barriers which directed traffic to single file, first to the left on this block, then the right on the next, and so on. Stopped at a light, a local asked about the Jerry can on the side of the jeep and we asked her about town. She said this was rush hour now ( hardly any traffic compared to philly, or even the suburbs!) and she also said we should be fine here as long as we get out of town by dark… riots were still ongoing here. So we visited the arch… its massive… and then headed out of town before dark.
Meramec Caverns - Located in the Ozarks of Mo. Supposedly, legend has it that Frank James and his gang used these caverns to lay low after robberies. The caverns have been a route 66 staple since the mid 30s. You will see signs advertising the caverns starting about 100 miles away. They are pretty entertaining. Sort of like the “South of the Border” , but a much cooler destination.
Fanning outpost- Home of the world’s largest (42 foot tall) rocking chair! Well it was until 2015 when a 56 foot chair was built in Illinois. The chair originally rocked but the owner was worried someone would kill themselves and had it welded still. You can still get a picture on the chair once a year on the aptly named ‘Picture on the chair day’. The outpost itself was full of great souvenirs of all sorts. They also carry something like 300 types of soda! We met another couple in a motorhome traveling the route as well and talked with them a bit. All in all, we didn’t meet too many people making the trek. We thought there would have been more along the way. Maybe we just missed them? Chalk it up to bad timing I guess.
Uranus fudge factory - yep.. the puns just keep coming. Very cool little roadside attraction though. In addition to the fudge factory there were vehicles, space memorabilia, dinosaurs and of course… the World’s Largest Belt Buckle! We have finally seen it all. (no we didn’t try the fudge).
Galena, Ks – a town steeped in mining history. This was a very cute ‘small town, usa’ type of place. A couple of old garages and gas stations along the route were decorated with full size characters from the movie “Cars”. Supposedly the team coming up with the design for the movie arrived at this one gas station in Galena where an old, beat up tow truck sat. Yep.. Tow Mater! And we were able to see him in all his rust covered glory!
1926 ribbon road, Miami, Ok – Also called the ‘sidewalk highway’. This is one of the original portions of route 66 that can still be seen, and driven on. The road was made only 9 feet wide. When the city received a grant for the new highway there was a debate about how wide the road should be made. Oklahoma was barely a state at that time and did not have a lot of cash to spend on a highway. They came up with two options. One was for a double wide road, and the other was for a single wide road, but at twice the length. The debate centered on the ‘fad’ of the automobile. Half of the town didn’t think they would catch on and so wanted a longer road that would be wide enough for horses and wagons. They did not see a need for a double wide road for these new fangled autos, which would probably just be a passing fad. And so that is how we got a 9 foot wide , ‘sidewalk’ highway in Oklahoma. The road was just barley wide enough to drive the jeep on and Maggie kept going off to the side, where a ‘normal’ road would be. After driving a bit on this portion of the road, we turned around and she drove off into the sunset, just like they may have done almost 100 years ago.
The Blue whale of Catoosa – a classic roadside attraction that has been around since the early 70s. It is one of the most recognizable attractions of Route 66. It was built as an anniversary gift for a woman who collected whale figurines. It became a favorite local swimming hole. You used to be able to go down a slide in the tail of the whale into it’s pond. I wouldn’t go near that water now. Yuck. We got there after dark but we had it all to ourselves and it was still quite a sight to see.
The U drop inn and café – The iconic neon lit café that inspired Flo’s place in the movie “Cars”. We pushed really hard to see this at night, all lit up, and it was totally worth it. We were able to get a room in the retro motor lodge across the street, and as I told the night clerk about our cross country trip, he offered to ‘upgrade’ us to the best view in the place… a room overlooking the U Drop. Very nice! This was the start of out jeep O2 issues as well. Right before arriving the engine light came on and scared the heck out of me. I checked the code and reset it the next morning. We were about to find out that the jeep would not like the gas in the western part of the country. The engine light would come on every other day or so and then go out after a few hundred miles from here, to California, and back to Louisiana where it would go off for good with no further issues. At least I am guessing it was something to do with the gas out there. I met a couple of fellow route 66 travelers in the parking lot that morning as I was working under the hood resetting the codes. One offered an app that guided you along old route 66. Another traveling with his wife had decided one day to go visit his brother a few hours away, and they just continued traveling and had been on the road for almost a month at that point. They were retired and said they would get back home eventually. What a great adventure that would be!
Cadillac Ranch , Amarillo, Tx – A public art installation in the middle of a farmer’s field on the edge of town. 10 classic Cadillacs half buried in the ground and painted by anyone who brings their own paint can. So these cars are continuously repainted and the paint can be several inches thick at this point. It’s been here since 1974. Iconic!
The Mid point café, Adrian Tx – Geographically the mid point of route 66…. 1,139 miles to Chicago and to Santa Monica. There is a wide white stripe painted across the road that you can get a picture of yourself standing on. (of course we did). I had a chili cheese dog and BBQ pulled pork. It was SOOO good! It’s all Route 66 kitsch, but I have to recommend it just for the food!
Santa Fe, Nm – I had heard about how this was a quaint and artsy town with Native American vendors in the streets selling handmade jewelry, blankets etc. It was quite a letdown. It was a city, like most others. Crowded, cramped, and really nothing special. It was cool to see the architecture of the adobe looking buildings … but it was almost every building and they all started to look the same. The additional requirement of having to wear a mask, even in public, was not something we were enamored with either. And everywhere you went there were signs saying they didn’t want non residents there. It was said that they were checking IDs for camping and casinos and places like that. We didn’t have a problem with after hours camping at a campground, but it didn’t make us feel welcome at all so we decided to high tail it out of there. Good riddance to them.
Winslow, Az – yes, that was us standing on the corner. It was a fine sight to see, and we saw a girl, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at us. Well, the truck was actually parked on the corner (and always is I am sure). Maggie went into the Eagles themed shop while I tried to book an Eagles themed B&B with no luck. But that was ok, since we found a city park campground that was one of the highlights of our camps on this trip! The corned also had a huge Route 66 shield painted on the intersection, which we of course had to take our picture on.
Giant Meteor Crater National Monument – I have no idea where this was. We were on our way to the Grand Canyon and I saw the signs. Typical roadside attraction stuff. It looked like it was right off the highway so I gave it a try on impulse. Then we saw the signs saying it was like 10 miles away! We were going to get back onto the highway but I just had a feeling. I wanted this to be cool. So we drove all the way to the place and it was a decent sized building and lot. It had just opened for the day and we paid (yes.. it is privately owned apparently and our Nation Park pass does not work). And we walked up the looong ramp, and many, many stairs to view it from the top. It really was amazing. It was the impact crater of a meteor that hit the early however many billions of years ago. Not sure on the story as we didn’t have the time to sit through the explanation movie and all the displays in the building telling all about it. I would like to go back and spend a day though. It was just so immense… and to think it was a rock from space that just hit at this place. What a sight that must have been. And the aftermath! They had some spotting scopes set up aimed on certain places in the crater.. .one was a guy standing by a fenced off mining shaft (apparently they mined the place at some point)… he was so tiny we had not noticed him before. We could not even see him now that we knew he was there! It just made the place feel that much larger. Glad we stopped.
The Grand Canyon – This was a departure from our route 66 agenda. About an hour and a half north of the route. Grand is a severe understatement. We had seen the pictures, and videos. Nothing prepares you for what it actually is though. It really is awe inspiring. Leaves you speechless. It was amazing. I really wish we had more time and could have… camped, hiked to the bottom, camped at the bottom, done a river tour, all kinds of things. It is just so immense and you just know there are so many hidden wonders down there. Too many to ever see them all. Maggie was even nervous to stand near the edge.. or when I stood near the edge. There were people with their kids, stationing them literally on the edge. It was uncomfortable to watch! The colors and formations are otherworldly and so incredibly beautiful. Looking forward to going back for an extended stay someday.
Twin Arrows , Az , Sno Cap Drive in and Seligman, Az - A few more stops back on Route 66 before getting off again for some side trips to the desert. Twin arrows is now just a bunch of empty buildings and pumps alongside the highway, but with a couple of (twin) giant arrows sticking into the ground. Nice phot op. Seligman, Az had a load of sights to see. A lot of old shops and gas stations which have been turned into museums and gift shops. One of the highlights though was pretty original… (juan) Delgadillo’s Sno Cap Drive in. A little burger joint type of place with the BEST Green chile and onion cheeseburger! My favorite food stop of the whole trip! Yum! Built in ’53 and continuously run by the same family to the present day. Juan’s brother Angel owns a barbershop now turned gift shop a few buildings down. Angel is credited with taking up the fight to get Route 66 back on the map and turning it into the historic drive it is today. Both brothers are acknowledged in the credits for the movie “Cars”. Again.. best burger ever… go!
And this is where we head off into the desert of Arizona and California. The real wilds of the west.
Mojave Trail – The trail began as a path used by native Americans. It was used by Indians to transport goods from the southwest to trade with the Chumash and other coastal tribes, this route later was used for westward expansion. Military forts were established along the route to protect key water sources and provide assistance for travelers. The trail is 135 miles through a vast volcanic desert-of mountains, canyons, and mesas. We were on the road for two days. I am surprised it was not longer. We did have a guidebook but I use the term “guide’ very loosely. There were a couple of sections that were very confusing to traverse, but my wonderful navigator stuck with it and we persevered. There were so many sights to see. So many side trips we did not have time to take. This is definitely a place we have to return and spend a month or so on the trail exploring! Heading down into a wash here was the first time we have had the jeep on just three wheels (and it felt like almost on two as well!). It was not the best feeling. Thankfully, I had time to stop and think about where we were and what to do and was able to bring it back to all four wheels and continue down into the wash. We found an open place to camp where we could see scorpions or rattlesnakes coming from miles away. Or people for that matter. The skies were dark, the stars were bright, and our campfire was mesmerizing. I think the desert was probably some of the most relaxed sleep we have ever had. The next day brought more challenges. First off I had made a mistake and downloaded only half of the topo map for the area. I thought I had the whole preserve selected but apparently I did not. And so without cell service we were “electronics blind”. This meant we would have to rely on the guidebook and outdoors sense. We made it to a dry lake which was the first unknown. When the lake gets rain, It becomes unpassable. You don’t always realize it until you break through the thin, dry upper crust and sink into a trap of peanut butter like mud. As far as I could tell there had not been rain for at least a week. Due to Wuhan, the ranger stations and visitor centers had remained closed so we couldn’t inquire before setting off on the trek either. We got there and tentatively started across the dry lake. It seemed all good and we continued on. In the middle of the lake is what’s known as the Traveler’s Monument. It is a pile of ricks with a plaque at the top. You are supposed to bring a rock from home, add it to the pile, and climb up to read the plaque. But I can’t tell you what the plaque says.. that’s the catch. Only those who make the trek and climb the rockpile know what it says, and under penalty of death we are not to disclose the contents of said plaque. Sorry. But if anyone wants to do a group trip sometime we can get you there now. After that we continued onto the “deep sand” portion of the trail. People worry about getting stuck in this part… not us. This was nothing compared to the sugar sand of the Pine Barrens that we are used to! So this was actually a relief to see. But the trail was very hard to follow and we made some wrong turns, and a lot of wondering about if we went thr right way until we saw the next marker. The ‘markers’, by the way, were rock cairns on the RIGHT side of the trail, and sometimes blank boards sticking out of the sand. So… was that a rock cairn? Or was it just a pile of rocks? A marker board? Or just a board of a fence or sign, broken and lying in the sand. Loads of fun. Yeah, right. Eventually we came to where there were not really any markers, and the book was not at all clear. There was a railroad though, and we knew from watching youtube videos that the trail should follow it at least some of the way because we were supposed to pass a couple of the rail bridges. So we follow the tracks and finally get to the end of the trail. Well, the last obstacle really… where the end of the trial is right on the other side of it… the Mojave River. A river crossing that can be anywhere from a foot deep to 5 or 6 feet deep or more! This was what had caused me most of my anxiety and lost sleep. I really didn’t want to have to backtrack for 20 miles or so to go around. And on unmarked trials and with no gps to boot. I had thought about adding a snorkel to the jeep before the trip. But I figured why? Just for this one crossing? Seemed silly. Didn’t seen so silly sitting there looking at the river flowing across this last 100 yards or so of the trail. So there was only one thing to do. Put on the water shoes and get wet. Yep. Walk across the river to judge just how deep it was. Who knows that was lurking in that water. I waded across, submerging more and more of my body. Things unseen jumping from the reeds on the side of the trail, into the water in front of me. Thankfully I didn’t feel anything swim past me under the surface! I had to stop a few times as my shoes were getting stuck in the muddy bottom to put them back on my feet. The water finally hit the zipper on my shorts and continued up just a little bit further… and then the water started to lower again. Whew! Not quite up to my waist. Little less than 4 feet deep it looked to be. That was good news! I got to the other side, set up the gopro, and set off back to the jeep. This time, walking closer to the middle of the river to see if it was deeper there. It wasn’t any deeper, but I did feel stone and rock under my feet. So that was good too! I got back into the jeep and circled around to take the river straight on. Maggie looked VERY nervous. Just like I saw in a youtube video on how to do a river crossing (you can learn to do anything on youtube!) I started in slow and steady. As we started to sink lower into the water, up to the wheel, then the side steps, then the door; I saw a wake that had been created in front of the jeep. Just like in the video! Woohoo! It was working. That pushed the higher water a foot or two out from the hood… that way it would not go into the hood and into the intake and kill the engine! Yes, stakes were high and I made the bet. The water finally got up to over the wheels and a little more than half way up the doors of the jeep. By far the deepest water we ever crossed…. And then the water started to go down. Relief immediately washed over me and I knew we had made it! We pulled up the far bank, I grabbed the gopro and we headed for the campground at the end of the short trail on that side. We took some pictures and headed off… to Death Valley! Out of the Frying pan and into the fire!
Death Valley, Ca – We were running late and it looked like camp would be after dark. This is the day I found out that Maggie really doesn’t like getting to camp after dark. She likes to know what her surroundings look like. Especially in the middle of nowhere. I can’t blame her. Our next camp was.. unsettling. The old, Old abandoned Ibex Mine and ghost town. It was more of just a little mining community related to the mine I think.. not a whole town. But we turned off the highway and onto the rocky, dirt road to the mine. I was surprised it was so far down the road. GPS said 9 miles. It seemed closer in the videos. So it got dark quick. It was the only real time I got to use the flood and spotlights, but they sure came in handy out here in the middle of nowhere. Well, tt was already the middle of nowhere when we pulled off the highway.. then it got even more remote! I don’t know how many deep washes we eventually went through, but pretty close to the start of the trail we went down one that seemed like it was almost straight down. Maggie thought we were going to be able to breakover and go up the other side which was immediately after the downhill portion.. like a V. But we did. There were many other washes. Some were crumbling away with almost not enough room to cross with the jeep, and some where you go down on one side and had to juke over to a trail that wasn’t directly on the other side of where you went in. It probably wasn’t so bad in the light (it wasn’t the next day.. not bad at all), but In the dark it was unnerving. We finally mad it to the camp. We could see frames of buildings, and dilapidated , falling down remnants of other buildings. And lots of brush. And an oasis! That’s where Ibex Spring was apparently. I found a nice level and somewhat open spot on a plateau next to the burnt out frame of an old building and parked there. We started to make camp and I got this very uneasy feeling about a mountain lion being out there, just out of view. On this little plateau , even in the light, it would be challenging to see a lion coming up on camp. And in the dark , every sound was a threat of course. So much so that we only stayed up a short while and went right to bed. I even decided to close up the back window of the jeep most of the way since it was a nice eide opening for a big cat to jump right up into! And it was cold. The first decently cold night we had encountered since hitting ‘the west’. When the sun came up ( or before it came up actually) I got up and started some coffee and tea. I was taking pictures of the sunset next to/ through the frame of the building next to camp when I hear this buzzing. I though it was some kind of bug. I go back to what I was doing and hear it again. Then it dawns on me.. the buzzing is a rattle! I look down and (thankfully) a rattlesnake is slithering away into the foundation of the building, probably about 3 feet away from me. I was able to see a couple of feet of snake, including the rattle. I was pissed that I wasn’t able to get a picture of it though. I wanted to see a rattler while we were out and there we go. Check! Maggie gets up, we have breakfast and we pack up. She thinks we are heading out… nope. We are heading up! To the mines! I get her to get out when I find a hole in the wall of a cliff but it turns out it seems to just be an explosive room .. where they kept the dynamite. Nothing in it now. After that she elects to sit in the jeep , with the AC on (its already like 85 at 8am) as I hike up the remaining roads in search of a mine. At first I find an addit and a hole in the ground, both fenced over for no access. Cool, but I want to go in the mine. So I continue on up the side of the mountain. I finally find a faint trail that goes around the side of the mountain. Loose scree typeof rock, but not too hard to navigate. I get around the corner and there is a huge wooden structure where mine carts would come out of the mountain full of ore to dump into waiting carts. Very cool! So I know there must be an addit here. I get all the way around and sure enough there is. I’m able to go in. The timbers are still standing solid after all these decades… dry and dusty. There is an opening in the floor at one point where I can look down into a couple of levels below this one where the workings of the mine must have been. There are chutes coming from a level higher up where ore could have been dumped down into a cart on my level. One of the high points for me. THIS is HISTORY! This is what the old west was! Amazing! I didn’t go too far alone. Just a few hundred yards. One branch was completely caved in so that was a grim reminder of what could happen. I picked a few pieces from the walls to bring home to the kids and headed out and back to the jeep. And then the coughing started. It had been a talc mine mainly.. like baby powder. You know how you can get that in your lungs? Like drywall dust? Yep. Just like that. So I was coughing up a storm for a couple of miles, but it went away before long. Definitely worth it. Another place we need to return to to explore a lot more. I know there are more mine entrances up there and I really want to check that out!
Death valley Preserve and Shoshone, Ca – This is a tiny little spec of a town in the middle of nowhere. We hit it about 20 miles after leaving Ibex mine and it was about 60 miles from the Death Valley National Preserve (a park located in Death Valley). A post office, motel, gas station, sheriff office and “World Famous Pub”! So the sign says. We had lunch there (later as we came back through) and it was some really good food. Patty melt, fries, and rattler chili. All excellent! We continued through to the preserve were we stopped at the visitor center. We were greeted by a very large stop sign that said “Stop…do not walk after 10am!”. Really… it gets that hot there. I think it was up to 108 degrees while we were there.. probably around 11 am. This was the center at Furnace creek… an oasis in Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in North America at 232 feet below sea level….where the hottest temperature everr recoded in the US happened…. 130 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, we drove a trail that took us past a bunch of mud caves. I got out for a closer look but it looked to sketchy to go in deep. Then we stopped for gas. I was surprised.. only $3.71. Shoshone had been $4.55 a gallon! I wonder if the government subsidizes the gas since its on national parkland. Hmm. Then we took a hike ( I know.. STOP.. don’t hike!) up to a beautiful lookout over land created through volcanic processes. Lastly we drove along a trail called 20 Mule Team Canyon… named for the famed twenty mule team wagons that brought Borax from Death Valley to the rail lines to the south (in what is now Mojave National Preserve). Maggie commented on how the drive here felt like one of those amusement park antique car rides that drove on rails. You know, how they follow the rail and when they come too close to the rail, they bounce over to straighten out and continue on. It was like that because the trail was nice and flat, but there was a tall bank on either side, so it kind of kept you on the trail. Or so the theory goes. In one very picturesque section I let go of the wheel and was trying to take a picture when all the sudden the jeep “hopped the rails”. We went right up one of those steep sides and off the trail, bouncing all the way! She got upset of course and started to yell because she thought I did it on purpose. Not this time I didn’t. At least now I know she can be mean. After that we headed out of the preserve. We didn’t even scratch the surface of what there was to see. Yep, another place to go back and explore when we have more time. So much more there to do.
San Bernadino, Ca – We were off to the coast now. We headed through the Cajon pass this is where they highway started. California highways are the worst! So many lanes, so much traffic, such high speeds, and such reckless drivers… Just as I remembered it. But we hopped right off the highway and we were now ending the route 66 portion. We got back onto route 66 and hit Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch. I whimsical place where Elmer had created art with glass bottle of all sorts. He has mounted metal bars into the ground with branches coming out from the center stalk, all of which hold bottles of all shapes , colors, and sized. There must have been a hundred of these trees. Some were just a collection of random bottles, but other had themes, such as one particular brand of bottle, or color, or geographic area, or whatnot. Sadly, Elmer died recently and we were worried that the ranch may have been closed. Luckily it was not. I hope that his family, or someone with a love for his art, has taken it over and it will continue to be displayed for the public to enjoy! Then we made a beeline to our accommodations for the night… the Worl famous (really) Wig Wam Motel! Motel rooms shaped, and painted like Teepees. You may remember the motel in the movie “Cars” as rooms made to look like traffic cones. This is one of the two “Wig Wam” motels still standing. One is in Holbrook, Az (they were booked when we went through), and this one in San Bernadino is the other. A very interesting place with a lot of history. Stay there at least once if you get the chance.
In the morning we headed out to see a couple more Route 66 sights before the end of the Mother Road. First was the McDonald’s Museum which is located in the building which was the original McDonalds Self Sever Restaurant! Maggie is a big Mickey D’s fan so I knew we had to stop and check it out. It really was interesting. All of the display items were given to them by people who came through or had heard about the museum. They even had international items from many countries overseas. The manager told us about how McDonald’s actually disowns them because the owner had purchased the building… the original McDonald’s, with the original golden arches and all… and it was not under control of the McD corporation. It seems the whole story is told in a somewhat recent movie on Netflix titled “Founders”. We had never heard of it, and still need to check it out. They had toys, Styrofoam containers, promotional materials, even playland equipment from back in the day! And old photos.. did you know that at one time McD’s was turned into a BBQ? Neither did I. All very interesting. Then we stopped and saw an orange stand, shaped like and orange, which Bono’s Restaurant (still there) used to sell orange juice roadside to Route 66 travelers. The only stand left of several that had existed.
We finally reached the terminus. Santa Monica Pier. The end point of the Mother Road. We walked the pier, walked to the end, out over the Pacific Ocean, and back to take a selfie at the “End of the road” sign. It was brutally hot and Maggie wasn’t going to last long so we headed back to the cool AC of the jeep. As an aside, before we left, I didn’t even know if the AC worked in the jeep. I had never tried it. I had just planned on keeping the top down like I do around here. I did get it checked and it seemed fine, though they tested it on a 70 degree day so they couldn’t be sure it would be the same with a much harder load on it. But It worked just fine. Who knew? Good thing though.. as you will see. You think 108 is bad? Ha!
LA, Griffith Observatory, and Hollywood, Ca – We then headed off to the City of Angels. Traffic. OMG. I forgot how bad it really was. The highways suck! Did I say that already? They really do. I think it’s the drivers. But what can I do? I mostly just stayed in the slow lane and let them try to kill themselves. Crazy. So we head up to Griffith Observatory where many films have been filmed. Rebel without a Cause (James Dean of course), The Rocketeer, Terminator, Transformers, and on and on. We get out of the Jeep and Maggie has to pee. Shes heading to the little girls room , walking across the parking lot and I say ‘ see, there it is’. She thinks I am pointing out the bathroom and continues. I say it again and she started to get annoyed I think. And I say ‘No… there’. She finally looks where I am pointing and there it is.. the Hollywood sign. She got very excited then. It IS cool. No doubt. No matter how many times you see it… the gigantic letters up there on the hill top, overlooking the valley. And It’s a great view of the sign from the observatory. That’s all we got though since it was WAY too hot to hike over to it. You can’t get all that close anymore anyhow since they put a big fence around it. And its monitored 24 hours a day so not even worth chancing it these days. But it is still an iconic sight , even from here. Then we check out the view from the observatory. The smog and smoke from the forest fires mixed makes it pretty hazy, but you can still see Los Angeles spread out below. Pretty impressive. We head down the hill and I start a guided tour through the city… the Fox building (Die hard building), Franklin High School (Grease). We go by a Geleson’s Market (grocery) on Hyperion market. You know what was on that location? The ORIGINAL Disney animation studio.. Snow White, Cinderella, all the classics! All from th comfort of the jeep… because it was 112 degrees out!! We did go to Paramount Ranch and got out for a quick walk. Unfortunately, most of it burnt down recently. Still standing though was a church (church from Westworld as well as numerous movies). Paramount Ranch was where many of the old spaghetti westerns were filmed back in the day. Would be cool to hike out into the canyons there, but no time right now.
Back downtown and we are on Hollywood boulevard. The Star walk, Chinese theater and all. Maggie wants to get out to take a look and it’s a bit cooler now so we find a place to park and head out on foot. You have to pay 5 bucks now to get access to the interior of the walk where the handprints and footprints of the stars is located. Not sure if that’s just a Wuhan thing or what… but it sucks. Used to be able to walk right up. But at least there was a quick tour of the theater itself included. Very decadent looking on the inside. Looks like you stepped back into the 20s / 30s. Beautful theater. And they still show movies there today! They also had several costumes on display.. a Marilyn Monroe dress from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and a bunch of Star Wars costumes. We looked at all the handprints and then headed out to look at the stars on the walk. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to get out of the city and closer to our next stop so we headed off to Tustin, Ca … where I had been stationed 30 years ago. Found a motel and the night clerk recommended a coupe of restaraunts in Orange, just down the road. We found a fancy little Italian place with outdoor dining and had a great meal. And we even had entertainment… it seems that there is a roller derby club that rolls around town on occasion having ‘theme’ nights. Tonight was “Biker night”… cheesy mustaches and leather gear. Lucky for us they rolled by twice. What a sight.
Tustin, Ca – I used to be stationed here at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin. We had helicopters. CH 46s, 53s, Cobras. Stuff like that. Some of the work space was located in two giant blimp hangers. They had been built to service and repair blimps in 1942 during wartime. Over 17 stories high and 1000 feet long, they are still two of the largest wooden structures ever built. They are about all that is left of the base. The base was shut down and sold off.. it is mostly condos and strip malls now. Only the land the hangars sit on remains, which includes the control tower and a handful of other dilapidated service buildings. But I was able to show Maggie where I lived and worked for the majority of my years in the military.
La Jolla, Ca – We headed south along the Pacific coast highway toward San Diego. Once in San Diego County, but not quite into the city, you come to La Jolla. A rich little beach town. The thing that sets this place apart are the coastal residents… Sea lions and (occasionally) seals. Along the coast is a park where you can get up close and personal with the wildlife. Literally standing 5 feet from a basking sea lion. You can watch them playing and fishing in the ocean, or lying out in the sun and barking on the rocks of the beach. At low tide you can also explore a couple of sea caves in the face of the cliffs of rock where the sea lions bask above. Tidal pools of clear water abound as well. The smell isn’t that great, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get that close to wildlife like that. I don’t know of anywhere else you can do that in the world. Pretty neat.
Valley of the Moon, Border Wall – That does it for the westward leg of our trip. Now we start to head east. We are planning to camp not a mile from the border wall at the Valley of the Moon. It looks pretty remote and we expect to not see anyone other than border patrol (they are everywhere here). It didn’t exactly work out that way. It seems that earlier that afternoon , someone in a Toyota Sequoia decided to take on the trail and didn’t do too well. There was an SOS sent out when they turned the wrong way coming down a smooth , gravelly rock surface and ended up hangin over the edge of a cliff. So around dinner time jeeps and other offroad vehicles of all types started to roll in looking for them. We were camped not far up from the trailhead when the first stopped and told us what was going on. I guess they finally got him sometime in the middle of the night as a whole train of 4x4s came rolling past us at around 2 in the morning. Hopefully they were ok. The next morning we decide we are going to hike up a bit to see if we can see over into Mexico. It is a much more winding and elevated trail than we first thought. We got maybe a coupe of miles and Maggie had had enough. She sat in the shade while I continued ahead, hopeful that the view I was looking for was ‘just around the corner’. Nope. I walked another mile or so and didn’t see any end in site and so turned around. Again I got that uneasy feeling about being stalked by a mountain lion. Its not a great feeling. And it is totally possibly out in the wild , rocky terrain. You really shouldn’t go anywhere alone. For the most part it seems they wont attack two people. One adult, maybe.. if they are desperate. A kid of dog alone.. definitely. But I had my K bar so I was at least armed and had a fighting chance. But nothing emerged. Whew. While we walked down , all of the sudden a guy comes up behind us. He was super quiet. Then said hello when Maggie noticed him maybe 50 yards behind on the hill. So he asks if we have seen anyone on the trail. Maggies mind goes into overdrive of course and she thinks hes an illegal who is going to kill us… hes asking if there are any witnesses around. We say no, and he says he came up for a hike with his sister at 3am, they got separated, and he cant find her now. Story makes no sense. So we say no and wish him good luck and he disappears in front of us. Weird. True? Who knows? Seems ridiculous to come out to a place like this at 3 am… with your sister… to go for a hike.. but whatever. We pack up camp and go driving , looking for a road to the border wall. We passed a couple of access roads that went to the wall, but all said ‘Restricted” in big , scary, red letters. Not that I cared, I would have used it anyway, but my navigator would not have it. Eventually we made our way the couple of miles back to Jacumba springs and I found what looked like a dirt road that when beside a couple of houses… definitely not a driveway… and took it. Bam! Right to the wall. Once there we looked at the new section (huge), and the old section (not so huge) and I wanted to see (of course) what was over the hill. Only problem was that there was a border patrol SUV sitting at the top of the hill in a little carport shelter obviously used for shade on patrol. So what did I do? Said, what the hell.. what can they do? Ask me to leave? Big deal. So up the hill we go with Maggie scared we are going to be detained for days the whole time. We get up there, we look at him, he looks at us, he gives us a thumbs up, I give a nod, and over the top we go. There was nothing to see… just another valley and another hill. I would guess that goes on for miles and miles. So we turn around and head back. Once up to the BP car we see a few dogs hanging around it. Obviously not K9 units. Then we look over at the wall and there are dogs running through a hole to the US, then to Mexico, and then back again. I guess that’s why BP is here… to make sure no people get that idea. The old wall is short, looks about 10 foot tall, corrugated metal, holes patched in it. Minimum deterrent at best. The new wall next to it looks pretty stout. About twice as tall, with (hopefully solid) metal bars ground to top, spaced about 6 inches apart, so BP can even see through it to see whats going on on the other side. What got me though, was that there was a gate in the new section! What would we need a gate for? It has a couple of solid bars running through a square piece with Padlocks on it. I assume BP can unlock the padlocks, pull the bars up, and swing the gate open. So what would the need be? Maggie’s idea was that the corrupt agents would take bribes and they can let people in. Idk, those guys have always seemed pretty serious about their job. I guess maybe you never know. And maybe we will never know the reason for the gate. On the way back toward Valley of the Moon on our way out we passed the trailhead which now was a full parking lot with a whole bunch of BP and Sheriff cars and several offroad vehicles. And there was the guy who followed us down the mountain , talking to the officers. I guess his story was true, or he was at least desperate enough to save whoever the girl was that he got the law involved. That area was extremely inhospitable… I hope it turned out that she was found and ok. Its not a given in places like that.
Slab City, USA- Last free place on earth- Or so their sign says. Its an old Marine Corps base, Camp Dunlap, which was dismantled and destroyed except for the concrete slabs of buildings that were left in the Sonoran desert to crumble. Basically it’s a squatter community. Anyone who wants can show up and claim space and set up camp. We saw houses, trailers, RVs, tents, canopies strewn across trees and shrubs. All types. People go out there to get away from the rules of the rest of the country. At one time at least, it was a place where anything goes. There is no police and no law. Sort of like a commune from the 60s they just hoped that you would be neighborly to each other. These days it seems there are a lot of rules. Signs to keep out, signs about wearing masks, signs about not walking here or there. I think its lost some of the original ‘Freedom’ luster. Even so, it’s a place people go to get away from civilization at large. And it seems to do a good job. It looks like everyone pretty much gets along, or at least leaves each other alone. They do have art communities, displays, a volunteer library, even a stage for get togethers and celebrations together. Maybe it’s a good idea, but it is also a very tough life. There is no power, no water, no sanitation, no sewers.. you are completely and utterly ‘offgrid’. But it has been this type of community since at least 1984 when the population surged due to an article printed in RV Life and Trailer living.
Wickenburg, Az – We stayed with friends for the night , catching up. What a great time. We went to breakfast the next day as they showed us around Wickenburg. Wickenburg is pretty much how I pictured Santa Fe as being. A quaint little town, old buildings, artsy places, saloons and bars, general store, wide open space. I liked this a whole lot better than Santa Fe! Want to go back when we can stay longer and explore much more!
Tombstone,, Az – A real ghost town. Much of tombstone has been restored, or kept, to what it was back in the times of the wild west, when the Earp brothers brought the law to this town. The main street used to be 16 blocks long, and had dozens of brothels, saloons, and shops of all types. Today Tombstone is just a scant three blocks long. But the history packed in those blocks is immense. The old Oriental Saloon, of which Wyatt Earp became part owner is there. The buildings where the Cowboys took revenge on the Earps are standing. Locations are marked where all manner of gunfighter or innocent bystander where shot down in the street. The Earp family walked on these streets. They worked and played in these buildings. As did Doc Holiday, Johnny Ringo, the Clanton brothers, and the Cochise County Cowboys. Did you know that in the 1870s, the term ‘cowboy’ was just coming into use. The men who drove cattle for a living were called cowhands, drovers, or stockmen. The name cowboy was synonymous with “Rustler”. The Cowboys would routinely go across the border to Mexico, rustle cattle, drive them back to the US and sell them.
The OK corral is nothing but a tourist trap today. The whole corral is walled and fenced so that there is no way to see anything of the inside without paying admission at the adjacent store. Pretty shitty if you ask me. But it’s ok with me since the shootout was supposed to have not actually taken place there, but nearby where there is a park today.
We had dinner at Big Nose Kate’s saloon before heading to the original Birdcage Theater for a ghost tour. We heard all types of history as well as ghost stories. Nothing ‘paranormal’ happened while we were there but with all the dead packed into that small area, I wont doubt its possible. We stayed across the street at the Mechantile and Hotel, in a small original room , sharing a bathroom and kitchen with everyone else on the floor (4 or 5 rooms). Hotels weren’t what they are today. But the history of it all was top notch! Would love to revisit!
VLA – St Augustin Plains, Nm – From Tombstone we made a long drive to the Plains of Augustin where the Very Large Array radio telescope farm lives. This is a group of 28 radio sattelites positioned in a Y pattern across 26 miles. These telescopes perform research on the radio frequency of interstellar objects. They were prominently featured in the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster. We are at an elevation of almost 7,000 feet at this point. And there is nothing for many miles in every direction. It was the darkest sky I have ever seen, and the stars the brightest! We saw so many shooting stars! And at one point Maggie had asked If those were clouds in a line along the stars and I said Nope, that is the Milky Way… it was clear as day to see. Amazing! Another highlight of the trip for me. On the downside, due to the elevation it got down into the 30s that night and was not the most comfortable to sleep. I think that was getting down to our limit without coming up with some type of heating solution. In the morning we packed up and headed over for a closeup look at the dishes. On the way we had the luck to see an actual cattle drive! A long line of cattle, and we could see three cowhands on horses along with at least one dog keeping them together and moving. That was a real treat! Then off to the dishes. They are huge! The jeep was dwarfed next to them. You really have to see them in person to appreciate how large they are… 25 meters across. That is 82 feet. And each weigh 209 metric tons! They are moved by putting them on railroad tracks and pushing them to a new location. Amazing the technology available to us today!
Waco, TX – Next up was a very long drive across Texas. VERY long. On the way we came across the Valley of Fires, a very cool park consisting of volcanic lave flows. We stopped and had a short hike to the flows. Again though, no rattlers, scorpions, or tarantulas were spotted. Very sad. On the way we also went through Roswell, Nm. I pictured this as another quaint little town, maybe a couple of buildings and then nothing but desert. Nope. Let down again. (as New Mexico often did). It looked just like any suburb outside of a big city… overfranchised, overcrowded, and in this case, overmarketed with alien kitsch. I tried to find a good local restaurant for lunch. First one was closed. Not sure if it was permanent or temporary. Then we found another promising place across the street. Also closed, just closed, until 2pm. This was right at lunchtime. Guess maybe they adhere to siestas here? I don’t know, but was severely disappointed and ended up eating at a Long John Silvers that looked like it hadn’t been touched since the 70s… peeling paint and all. Food was pretty good though… almost always is. So out of New Mexico we headed, as fast as we could, and into Texas. We started to see oil rigs, and you could even smell the oil coming from the ground. Very interesting experience. We saw that for a couple of hours until we started to come to more populated areas, and the traffic associated with them. We eventually pulled into Waco at the Silos. It is a shopping complex that is founded by Chip and Johanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, a reality tv show based on his skills for building / remodeling, and hers for design. It was a very quaint looking place housed inside what used to be an industrial farming complex of some sort. Unfortunately a lot of the place was not open. Some due to construction, and some due to Wuhan. They also have a restaurant nearby that I did not realize only serves breakfast and lunch. Maybe we can try it next time we are through there honey.
New Orleans, La – We fell in love with this town two years ago when we first experienced it. There is so much history and artistry here. A beautiful city.. at least the historic district. We arrived just a day ahead of hurricane Delta. The place was bracing for the storm. Sandbags out, shutters clamped shut, and pretty much empty streets. We had it to ourselves for the most part. Many shops and eateries were still open thank fully. We headed straight for Café Beignet for some fried beignets. They were sooo , sooo good. It’s a small square of fried dough with powdered sugar on top, sort of like funnel cake. Then we walked Bourbon street for awhile.. shopping , drinking (you can drink in the streets here!). We then headed over to a restaurant to pick up some authentic cajun cooking… to go… for later. Then we were off to a town an hour northwest of the city, St Francisville. This is the location of many of the old mansions still standing today. We stayed at the Myrtles Plantation, which is supposed to be haunted (of course). We didn’t really have any experiences this time around, but it is a beautiful Bed and Breakfast and it was a wonderfully relaxing stay!
Memphis/Nashville, Tn – trying to beat the storm we headed northeast toward home. We came first to Memphis , Tn, Home to Graceland. We parked and walked along Beale street, checking out the sights, and listening to the blues emanating from various clubs. It was early, so still pretty empty. Next up we headed to Nashville. Nashville was hopping! Even with the rain and early hour it looked like practically every club had a live act performing and they all sounded great. We walked up and down Broadway checking out all the clubs and then Maggie wanted to hop on a city tour bus. We did the hour and a half tour and hopped off for some food at the Johnny Cash Kitchen. Served cafeteria style (like a prison, get it?) we had fried chicken, rice, cornbread, sweet potato mash and more. And it was all so good! All the while listening to some great live country music!
And that was pretty much the end of the trip. All that was left was to make the mad dash back to home so that Maggie could get to work Monday morning. (some of us took a couple of cushion days off.. haha). It was a wonderful trip. Maggie keeps saying it was ‘once in a lifetime’ and I keep insisting that there is no way I will let it be that. I want to go back to many of the places we were just able to touch on, and to do other trips like it to other locations as well! I would rather say it’s the ‘First’ trip of a lifetime! Much more to come!
Thank you to everyone who offered input when i had loads of questions when planning this trip! It is most appreciated!
A few stats from our trip.
Number of miles traveled. 7.918
Days on the road: 21
Number of states (other than PA). 17
Fuel purchased. 544.6 gallons
Highest price paid for fuel. $3.89/gal
Lowest price paid for fuel. $1.68/ gal
Highest price seen for fuel. $4.55/gal (Shoshone , Nv)
Total fuel cost: $1,210.05
Highest temp: 112 in LA, Ca
Lowest temp: 30s, BLM land on the Plains of St. Augustin, near Socorro, Nm
Snakes seen: 2 (rattler let me know I was too close, and a green snake)
Scorpions seen: 0 (better luck next time)
Tarantulas seen: 0 (better luck next time)
Mountain lions seen: 0 (but was worried and thought we were being stalked twice)
Biden signs seen: Our area and many California coastal towns
Trump signs seen: Everywhere else
Masks being used: Both coasts, New Mexico, our area
Shortages seen in grocery stores: Nowhere but our area
High prices for grocery items: Nowhere but our area
Traffic seen: California, especially the LA area, some major cities in TX, our area
Riot evidence seen: St louis and New Orleans (purposely did not start in Chicago due to this)
New wildlife seen: Pronghorn deer, Javelina
Best food: The fried green chile and onions cheeseburger at Delgadillo's Sno Cap in Seligman, Az... a route 66 classic!
A Memorable moment: Maggie asking if those are clouds up in the sky with the stars. Nope... that's the Milky Way. What a sight!
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The List.
Lake Erie –I’ve never been to a Great Lake. It looks like looking out over the ocean, but with no waves. Huge.
Gemini Giant , Wilmington , Il – This was the official start of our Route 66 portion of the trip. Downtown Chicago is the actual beginning of route 66 but we had no desire to go there, especially with the craziness going on there right now. This space themed “muffler man” stands guard over an old Route 66 restaurant called the Launching Pad. It had gone out of business several years ago but has thankfully been restored and reopened! Unfortunately, it is temporarily closed due to the Wuhan virus. We met an older couple here who were touring the route from west to east. Very nice people who told us about their younger days traveling in an outfitted school bus with their kids.
Bridlewood zoo – This is a sculpture garden right down the street from the Gemini Giant. Also the place where we fist spoke to a local in a gas station who said that no one around here wears those masks. The start of a stretch of freedom that would last all the way to New Mexico. She was also getting married in a couple of weeks and was planning on a honeymoon in the Poconos!
Gardner two cell jail (1906) and other assorted gas stations and cafes – More Route 66 goodness. Loads of historical buildings along this stretch to see. The road was tough to follow at times as it winded this way and that through suburban neighborhoods now.
Route 66 Museum and Hall of Fame , Pontiac , Il - Housed in a historic firehouse, this facility tells the story of the people and places related to Route 66. The museum displays significant Illinois artifacts from along Route 66. It is also the home of the Bob Waldmire Experience exhibit and Bob's famous Road Yacht and VW Bus. (Bob is a well known artist of Route 66 subjects). Painted on the back of the building is the famous gigantic Route 66 shield mural. Unfortunately, this too was closed due to Wuhan. But the building, and area of town around it, is surrounded by many incredible murals. Definitely worth it to just check out the artwork!
The Cozy Dog drive inn – Since 1946. The birthplace of the corndog. The corndog was very bland and boring, historic or not. This place was owned by the parents of Bob Waldmire (referenced above).
St Louis – The first ‘Big city’ we have visited. Our first encounter, over the bridge from Missouri was a prostitute in the middle of the highway, then a lot more in cars at a park right down the street from an old Route 66 bridge we were trying to access. What a great welcome, right? We then headed into downtown St louis to check out the Gateway Arch. Along the way we started to encounter large cement barriers which directed traffic to single file, first to the left on this block, then the right on the next, and so on. Stopped at a light, a local asked about the Jerry can on the side of the jeep and we asked her about town. She said this was rush hour now ( hardly any traffic compared to philly, or even the suburbs!) and she also said we should be fine here as long as we get out of town by dark… riots were still ongoing here. So we visited the arch… its massive… and then headed out of town before dark.
Meramec Caverns - Located in the Ozarks of Mo. Supposedly, legend has it that Frank James and his gang used these caverns to lay low after robberies. The caverns have been a route 66 staple since the mid 30s. You will see signs advertising the caverns starting about 100 miles away. They are pretty entertaining. Sort of like the “South of the Border” , but a much cooler destination.
Fanning outpost- Home of the world’s largest (42 foot tall) rocking chair! Well it was until 2015 when a 56 foot chair was built in Illinois. The chair originally rocked but the owner was worried someone would kill themselves and had it welded still. You can still get a picture on the chair once a year on the aptly named ‘Picture on the chair day’. The outpost itself was full of great souvenirs of all sorts. They also carry something like 300 types of soda! We met another couple in a motorhome traveling the route as well and talked with them a bit. All in all, we didn’t meet too many people making the trek. We thought there would have been more along the way. Maybe we just missed them? Chalk it up to bad timing I guess.
Uranus fudge factory - yep.. the puns just keep coming. Very cool little roadside attraction though. In addition to the fudge factory there were vehicles, space memorabilia, dinosaurs and of course… the World’s Largest Belt Buckle! We have finally seen it all. (no we didn’t try the fudge).
Galena, Ks – a town steeped in mining history. This was a very cute ‘small town, usa’ type of place. A couple of old garages and gas stations along the route were decorated with full size characters from the movie “Cars”. Supposedly the team coming up with the design for the movie arrived at this one gas station in Galena where an old, beat up tow truck sat. Yep.. Tow Mater! And we were able to see him in all his rust covered glory!
1926 ribbon road, Miami, Ok – Also called the ‘sidewalk highway’. This is one of the original portions of route 66 that can still be seen, and driven on. The road was made only 9 feet wide. When the city received a grant for the new highway there was a debate about how wide the road should be made. Oklahoma was barely a state at that time and did not have a lot of cash to spend on a highway. They came up with two options. One was for a double wide road, and the other was for a single wide road, but at twice the length. The debate centered on the ‘fad’ of the automobile. Half of the town didn’t think they would catch on and so wanted a longer road that would be wide enough for horses and wagons. They did not see a need for a double wide road for these new fangled autos, which would probably just be a passing fad. And so that is how we got a 9 foot wide , ‘sidewalk’ highway in Oklahoma. The road was just barley wide enough to drive the jeep on and Maggie kept going off to the side, where a ‘normal’ road would be. After driving a bit on this portion of the road, we turned around and she drove off into the sunset, just like they may have done almost 100 years ago.
The Blue whale of Catoosa – a classic roadside attraction that has been around since the early 70s. It is one of the most recognizable attractions of Route 66. It was built as an anniversary gift for a woman who collected whale figurines. It became a favorite local swimming hole. You used to be able to go down a slide in the tail of the whale into it’s pond. I wouldn’t go near that water now. Yuck. We got there after dark but we had it all to ourselves and it was still quite a sight to see.
The U drop inn and café – The iconic neon lit café that inspired Flo’s place in the movie “Cars”. We pushed really hard to see this at night, all lit up, and it was totally worth it. We were able to get a room in the retro motor lodge across the street, and as I told the night clerk about our cross country trip, he offered to ‘upgrade’ us to the best view in the place… a room overlooking the U Drop. Very nice! This was the start of out jeep O2 issues as well. Right before arriving the engine light came on and scared the heck out of me. I checked the code and reset it the next morning. We were about to find out that the jeep would not like the gas in the western part of the country. The engine light would come on every other day or so and then go out after a few hundred miles from here, to California, and back to Louisiana where it would go off for good with no further issues. At least I am guessing it was something to do with the gas out there. I met a couple of fellow route 66 travelers in the parking lot that morning as I was working under the hood resetting the codes. One offered an app that guided you along old route 66. Another traveling with his wife had decided one day to go visit his brother a few hours away, and they just continued traveling and had been on the road for almost a month at that point. They were retired and said they would get back home eventually. What a great adventure that would be!
Cadillac Ranch , Amarillo, Tx – A public art installation in the middle of a farmer’s field on the edge of town. 10 classic Cadillacs half buried in the ground and painted by anyone who brings their own paint can. So these cars are continuously repainted and the paint can be several inches thick at this point. It’s been here since 1974. Iconic!
The Mid point café, Adrian Tx – Geographically the mid point of route 66…. 1,139 miles to Chicago and to Santa Monica. There is a wide white stripe painted across the road that you can get a picture of yourself standing on. (of course we did). I had a chili cheese dog and BBQ pulled pork. It was SOOO good! It’s all Route 66 kitsch, but I have to recommend it just for the food!
Santa Fe, Nm – I had heard about how this was a quaint and artsy town with Native American vendors in the streets selling handmade jewelry, blankets etc. It was quite a letdown. It was a city, like most others. Crowded, cramped, and really nothing special. It was cool to see the architecture of the adobe looking buildings … but it was almost every building and they all started to look the same. The additional requirement of having to wear a mask, even in public, was not something we were enamored with either. And everywhere you went there were signs saying they didn’t want non residents there. It was said that they were checking IDs for camping and casinos and places like that. We didn’t have a problem with after hours camping at a campground, but it didn’t make us feel welcome at all so we decided to high tail it out of there. Good riddance to them.
Winslow, Az – yes, that was us standing on the corner. It was a fine sight to see, and we saw a girl, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at us. Well, the truck was actually parked on the corner (and always is I am sure). Maggie went into the Eagles themed shop while I tried to book an Eagles themed B&B with no luck. But that was ok, since we found a city park campground that was one of the highlights of our camps on this trip! The corned also had a huge Route 66 shield painted on the intersection, which we of course had to take our picture on.
Giant Meteor Crater National Monument – I have no idea where this was. We were on our way to the Grand Canyon and I saw the signs. Typical roadside attraction stuff. It looked like it was right off the highway so I gave it a try on impulse. Then we saw the signs saying it was like 10 miles away! We were going to get back onto the highway but I just had a feeling. I wanted this to be cool. So we drove all the way to the place and it was a decent sized building and lot. It had just opened for the day and we paid (yes.. it is privately owned apparently and our Nation Park pass does not work). And we walked up the looong ramp, and many, many stairs to view it from the top. It really was amazing. It was the impact crater of a meteor that hit the early however many billions of years ago. Not sure on the story as we didn’t have the time to sit through the explanation movie and all the displays in the building telling all about it. I would like to go back and spend a day though. It was just so immense… and to think it was a rock from space that just hit at this place. What a sight that must have been. And the aftermath! They had some spotting scopes set up aimed on certain places in the crater.. .one was a guy standing by a fenced off mining shaft (apparently they mined the place at some point)… he was so tiny we had not noticed him before. We could not even see him now that we knew he was there! It just made the place feel that much larger. Glad we stopped.
The Grand Canyon – This was a departure from our route 66 agenda. About an hour and a half north of the route. Grand is a severe understatement. We had seen the pictures, and videos. Nothing prepares you for what it actually is though. It really is awe inspiring. Leaves you speechless. It was amazing. I really wish we had more time and could have… camped, hiked to the bottom, camped at the bottom, done a river tour, all kinds of things. It is just so immense and you just know there are so many hidden wonders down there. Too many to ever see them all. Maggie was even nervous to stand near the edge.. or when I stood near the edge. There were people with their kids, stationing them literally on the edge. It was uncomfortable to watch! The colors and formations are otherworldly and so incredibly beautiful. Looking forward to going back for an extended stay someday.
Twin Arrows , Az , Sno Cap Drive in and Seligman, Az - A few more stops back on Route 66 before getting off again for some side trips to the desert. Twin arrows is now just a bunch of empty buildings and pumps alongside the highway, but with a couple of (twin) giant arrows sticking into the ground. Nice phot op. Seligman, Az had a load of sights to see. A lot of old shops and gas stations which have been turned into museums and gift shops. One of the highlights though was pretty original… (juan) Delgadillo’s Sno Cap Drive in. A little burger joint type of place with the BEST Green chile and onion cheeseburger! My favorite food stop of the whole trip! Yum! Built in ’53 and continuously run by the same family to the present day. Juan’s brother Angel owns a barbershop now turned gift shop a few buildings down. Angel is credited with taking up the fight to get Route 66 back on the map and turning it into the historic drive it is today. Both brothers are acknowledged in the credits for the movie “Cars”. Again.. best burger ever… go!
And this is where we head off into the desert of Arizona and California. The real wilds of the west.
Mojave Trail – The trail began as a path used by native Americans. It was used by Indians to transport goods from the southwest to trade with the Chumash and other coastal tribes, this route later was used for westward expansion. Military forts were established along the route to protect key water sources and provide assistance for travelers. The trail is 135 miles through a vast volcanic desert-of mountains, canyons, and mesas. We were on the road for two days. I am surprised it was not longer. We did have a guidebook but I use the term “guide’ very loosely. There were a couple of sections that were very confusing to traverse, but my wonderful navigator stuck with it and we persevered. There were so many sights to see. So many side trips we did not have time to take. This is definitely a place we have to return and spend a month or so on the trail exploring! Heading down into a wash here was the first time we have had the jeep on just three wheels (and it felt like almost on two as well!). It was not the best feeling. Thankfully, I had time to stop and think about where we were and what to do and was able to bring it back to all four wheels and continue down into the wash. We found an open place to camp where we could see scorpions or rattlesnakes coming from miles away. Or people for that matter. The skies were dark, the stars were bright, and our campfire was mesmerizing. I think the desert was probably some of the most relaxed sleep we have ever had. The next day brought more challenges. First off I had made a mistake and downloaded only half of the topo map for the area. I thought I had the whole preserve selected but apparently I did not. And so without cell service we were “electronics blind”. This meant we would have to rely on the guidebook and outdoors sense. We made it to a dry lake which was the first unknown. When the lake gets rain, It becomes unpassable. You don’t always realize it until you break through the thin, dry upper crust and sink into a trap of peanut butter like mud. As far as I could tell there had not been rain for at least a week. Due to Wuhan, the ranger stations and visitor centers had remained closed so we couldn’t inquire before setting off on the trek either. We got there and tentatively started across the dry lake. It seemed all good and we continued on. In the middle of the lake is what’s known as the Traveler’s Monument. It is a pile of ricks with a plaque at the top. You are supposed to bring a rock from home, add it to the pile, and climb up to read the plaque. But I can’t tell you what the plaque says.. that’s the catch. Only those who make the trek and climb the rockpile know what it says, and under penalty of death we are not to disclose the contents of said plaque. Sorry. But if anyone wants to do a group trip sometime we can get you there now. After that we continued onto the “deep sand” portion of the trail. People worry about getting stuck in this part… not us. This was nothing compared to the sugar sand of the Pine Barrens that we are used to! So this was actually a relief to see. But the trail was very hard to follow and we made some wrong turns, and a lot of wondering about if we went thr right way until we saw the next marker. The ‘markers’, by the way, were rock cairns on the RIGHT side of the trail, and sometimes blank boards sticking out of the sand. So… was that a rock cairn? Or was it just a pile of rocks? A marker board? Or just a board of a fence or sign, broken and lying in the sand. Loads of fun. Yeah, right. Eventually we came to where there were not really any markers, and the book was not at all clear. There was a railroad though, and we knew from watching youtube videos that the trail should follow it at least some of the way because we were supposed to pass a couple of the rail bridges. So we follow the tracks and finally get to the end of the trail. Well, the last obstacle really… where the end of the trial is right on the other side of it… the Mojave River. A river crossing that can be anywhere from a foot deep to 5 or 6 feet deep or more! This was what had caused me most of my anxiety and lost sleep. I really didn’t want to have to backtrack for 20 miles or so to go around. And on unmarked trials and with no gps to boot. I had thought about adding a snorkel to the jeep before the trip. But I figured why? Just for this one crossing? Seemed silly. Didn’t seen so silly sitting there looking at the river flowing across this last 100 yards or so of the trail. So there was only one thing to do. Put on the water shoes and get wet. Yep. Walk across the river to judge just how deep it was. Who knows that was lurking in that water. I waded across, submerging more and more of my body. Things unseen jumping from the reeds on the side of the trail, into the water in front of me. Thankfully I didn’t feel anything swim past me under the surface! I had to stop a few times as my shoes were getting stuck in the muddy bottom to put them back on my feet. The water finally hit the zipper on my shorts and continued up just a little bit further… and then the water started to lower again. Whew! Not quite up to my waist. Little less than 4 feet deep it looked to be. That was good news! I got to the other side, set up the gopro, and set off back to the jeep. This time, walking closer to the middle of the river to see if it was deeper there. It wasn’t any deeper, but I did feel stone and rock under my feet. So that was good too! I got back into the jeep and circled around to take the river straight on. Maggie looked VERY nervous. Just like I saw in a youtube video on how to do a river crossing (you can learn to do anything on youtube!) I started in slow and steady. As we started to sink lower into the water, up to the wheel, then the side steps, then the door; I saw a wake that had been created in front of the jeep. Just like in the video! Woohoo! It was working. That pushed the higher water a foot or two out from the hood… that way it would not go into the hood and into the intake and kill the engine! Yes, stakes were high and I made the bet. The water finally got up to over the wheels and a little more than half way up the doors of the jeep. By far the deepest water we ever crossed…. And then the water started to go down. Relief immediately washed over me and I knew we had made it! We pulled up the far bank, I grabbed the gopro and we headed for the campground at the end of the short trail on that side. We took some pictures and headed off… to Death Valley! Out of the Frying pan and into the fire!
Death Valley, Ca – We were running late and it looked like camp would be after dark. This is the day I found out that Maggie really doesn’t like getting to camp after dark. She likes to know what her surroundings look like. Especially in the middle of nowhere. I can’t blame her. Our next camp was.. unsettling. The old, Old abandoned Ibex Mine and ghost town. It was more of just a little mining community related to the mine I think.. not a whole town. But we turned off the highway and onto the rocky, dirt road to the mine. I was surprised it was so far down the road. GPS said 9 miles. It seemed closer in the videos. So it got dark quick. It was the only real time I got to use the flood and spotlights, but they sure came in handy out here in the middle of nowhere. Well, tt was already the middle of nowhere when we pulled off the highway.. then it got even more remote! I don’t know how many deep washes we eventually went through, but pretty close to the start of the trail we went down one that seemed like it was almost straight down. Maggie thought we were going to be able to breakover and go up the other side which was immediately after the downhill portion.. like a V. But we did. There were many other washes. Some were crumbling away with almost not enough room to cross with the jeep, and some where you go down on one side and had to juke over to a trail that wasn’t directly on the other side of where you went in. It probably wasn’t so bad in the light (it wasn’t the next day.. not bad at all), but In the dark it was unnerving. We finally mad it to the camp. We could see frames of buildings, and dilapidated , falling down remnants of other buildings. And lots of brush. And an oasis! That’s where Ibex Spring was apparently. I found a nice level and somewhat open spot on a plateau next to the burnt out frame of an old building and parked there. We started to make camp and I got this very uneasy feeling about a mountain lion being out there, just out of view. On this little plateau , even in the light, it would be challenging to see a lion coming up on camp. And in the dark , every sound was a threat of course. So much so that we only stayed up a short while and went right to bed. I even decided to close up the back window of the jeep most of the way since it was a nice eide opening for a big cat to jump right up into! And it was cold. The first decently cold night we had encountered since hitting ‘the west’. When the sun came up ( or before it came up actually) I got up and started some coffee and tea. I was taking pictures of the sunset next to/ through the frame of the building next to camp when I hear this buzzing. I though it was some kind of bug. I go back to what I was doing and hear it again. Then it dawns on me.. the buzzing is a rattle! I look down and (thankfully) a rattlesnake is slithering away into the foundation of the building, probably about 3 feet away from me. I was able to see a couple of feet of snake, including the rattle. I was pissed that I wasn’t able to get a picture of it though. I wanted to see a rattler while we were out and there we go. Check! Maggie gets up, we have breakfast and we pack up. She thinks we are heading out… nope. We are heading up! To the mines! I get her to get out when I find a hole in the wall of a cliff but it turns out it seems to just be an explosive room .. where they kept the dynamite. Nothing in it now. After that she elects to sit in the jeep , with the AC on (its already like 85 at 8am) as I hike up the remaining roads in search of a mine. At first I find an addit and a hole in the ground, both fenced over for no access. Cool, but I want to go in the mine. So I continue on up the side of the mountain. I finally find a faint trail that goes around the side of the mountain. Loose scree typeof rock, but not too hard to navigate. I get around the corner and there is a huge wooden structure where mine carts would come out of the mountain full of ore to dump into waiting carts. Very cool! So I know there must be an addit here. I get all the way around and sure enough there is. I’m able to go in. The timbers are still standing solid after all these decades… dry and dusty. There is an opening in the floor at one point where I can look down into a couple of levels below this one where the workings of the mine must have been. There are chutes coming from a level higher up where ore could have been dumped down into a cart on my level. One of the high points for me. THIS is HISTORY! This is what the old west was! Amazing! I didn’t go too far alone. Just a few hundred yards. One branch was completely caved in so that was a grim reminder of what could happen. I picked a few pieces from the walls to bring home to the kids and headed out and back to the jeep. And then the coughing started. It had been a talc mine mainly.. like baby powder. You know how you can get that in your lungs? Like drywall dust? Yep. Just like that. So I was coughing up a storm for a couple of miles, but it went away before long. Definitely worth it. Another place we need to return to to explore a lot more. I know there are more mine entrances up there and I really want to check that out!
Death valley Preserve and Shoshone, Ca – This is a tiny little spec of a town in the middle of nowhere. We hit it about 20 miles after leaving Ibex mine and it was about 60 miles from the Death Valley National Preserve (a park located in Death Valley). A post office, motel, gas station, sheriff office and “World Famous Pub”! So the sign says. We had lunch there (later as we came back through) and it was some really good food. Patty melt, fries, and rattler chili. All excellent! We continued through to the preserve were we stopped at the visitor center. We were greeted by a very large stop sign that said “Stop…do not walk after 10am!”. Really… it gets that hot there. I think it was up to 108 degrees while we were there.. probably around 11 am. This was the center at Furnace creek… an oasis in Badwater Basin, the lowest spot in North America at 232 feet below sea level….where the hottest temperature everr recoded in the US happened…. 130 degrees Fahrenheit. After that, we drove a trail that took us past a bunch of mud caves. I got out for a closer look but it looked to sketchy to go in deep. Then we stopped for gas. I was surprised.. only $3.71. Shoshone had been $4.55 a gallon! I wonder if the government subsidizes the gas since its on national parkland. Hmm. Then we took a hike ( I know.. STOP.. don’t hike!) up to a beautiful lookout over land created through volcanic processes. Lastly we drove along a trail called 20 Mule Team Canyon… named for the famed twenty mule team wagons that brought Borax from Death Valley to the rail lines to the south (in what is now Mojave National Preserve). Maggie commented on how the drive here felt like one of those amusement park antique car rides that drove on rails. You know, how they follow the rail and when they come too close to the rail, they bounce over to straighten out and continue on. It was like that because the trail was nice and flat, but there was a tall bank on either side, so it kind of kept you on the trail. Or so the theory goes. In one very picturesque section I let go of the wheel and was trying to take a picture when all the sudden the jeep “hopped the rails”. We went right up one of those steep sides and off the trail, bouncing all the way! She got upset of course and started to yell because she thought I did it on purpose. Not this time I didn’t. At least now I know she can be mean. After that we headed out of the preserve. We didn’t even scratch the surface of what there was to see. Yep, another place to go back and explore when we have more time. So much more there to do.
San Bernadino, Ca – We were off to the coast now. We headed through the Cajon pass this is where they highway started. California highways are the worst! So many lanes, so much traffic, such high speeds, and such reckless drivers… Just as I remembered it. But we hopped right off the highway and we were now ending the route 66 portion. We got back onto route 66 and hit Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch. I whimsical place where Elmer had created art with glass bottle of all sorts. He has mounted metal bars into the ground with branches coming out from the center stalk, all of which hold bottles of all shapes , colors, and sized. There must have been a hundred of these trees. Some were just a collection of random bottles, but other had themes, such as one particular brand of bottle, or color, or geographic area, or whatnot. Sadly, Elmer died recently and we were worried that the ranch may have been closed. Luckily it was not. I hope that his family, or someone with a love for his art, has taken it over and it will continue to be displayed for the public to enjoy! Then we made a beeline to our accommodations for the night… the Worl famous (really) Wig Wam Motel! Motel rooms shaped, and painted like Teepees. You may remember the motel in the movie “Cars” as rooms made to look like traffic cones. This is one of the two “Wig Wam” motels still standing. One is in Holbrook, Az (they were booked when we went through), and this one in San Bernadino is the other. A very interesting place with a lot of history. Stay there at least once if you get the chance.
In the morning we headed out to see a couple more Route 66 sights before the end of the Mother Road. First was the McDonald’s Museum which is located in the building which was the original McDonalds Self Sever Restaurant! Maggie is a big Mickey D’s fan so I knew we had to stop and check it out. It really was interesting. All of the display items were given to them by people who came through or had heard about the museum. They even had international items from many countries overseas. The manager told us about how McDonald’s actually disowns them because the owner had purchased the building… the original McDonald’s, with the original golden arches and all… and it was not under control of the McD corporation. It seems the whole story is told in a somewhat recent movie on Netflix titled “Founders”. We had never heard of it, and still need to check it out. They had toys, Styrofoam containers, promotional materials, even playland equipment from back in the day! And old photos.. did you know that at one time McD’s was turned into a BBQ? Neither did I. All very interesting. Then we stopped and saw an orange stand, shaped like and orange, which Bono’s Restaurant (still there) used to sell orange juice roadside to Route 66 travelers. The only stand left of several that had existed.
We finally reached the terminus. Santa Monica Pier. The end point of the Mother Road. We walked the pier, walked to the end, out over the Pacific Ocean, and back to take a selfie at the “End of the road” sign. It was brutally hot and Maggie wasn’t going to last long so we headed back to the cool AC of the jeep. As an aside, before we left, I didn’t even know if the AC worked in the jeep. I had never tried it. I had just planned on keeping the top down like I do around here. I did get it checked and it seemed fine, though they tested it on a 70 degree day so they couldn’t be sure it would be the same with a much harder load on it. But It worked just fine. Who knew? Good thing though.. as you will see. You think 108 is bad? Ha!
LA, Griffith Observatory, and Hollywood, Ca – We then headed off to the City of Angels. Traffic. OMG. I forgot how bad it really was. The highways suck! Did I say that already? They really do. I think it’s the drivers. But what can I do? I mostly just stayed in the slow lane and let them try to kill themselves. Crazy. So we head up to Griffith Observatory where many films have been filmed. Rebel without a Cause (James Dean of course), The Rocketeer, Terminator, Transformers, and on and on. We get out of the Jeep and Maggie has to pee. Shes heading to the little girls room , walking across the parking lot and I say ‘ see, there it is’. She thinks I am pointing out the bathroom and continues. I say it again and she started to get annoyed I think. And I say ‘No… there’. She finally looks where I am pointing and there it is.. the Hollywood sign. She got very excited then. It IS cool. No doubt. No matter how many times you see it… the gigantic letters up there on the hill top, overlooking the valley. And It’s a great view of the sign from the observatory. That’s all we got though since it was WAY too hot to hike over to it. You can’t get all that close anymore anyhow since they put a big fence around it. And its monitored 24 hours a day so not even worth chancing it these days. But it is still an iconic sight , even from here. Then we check out the view from the observatory. The smog and smoke from the forest fires mixed makes it pretty hazy, but you can still see Los Angeles spread out below. Pretty impressive. We head down the hill and I start a guided tour through the city… the Fox building (Die hard building), Franklin High School (Grease). We go by a Geleson’s Market (grocery) on Hyperion market. You know what was on that location? The ORIGINAL Disney animation studio.. Snow White, Cinderella, all the classics! All from th comfort of the jeep… because it was 112 degrees out!! We did go to Paramount Ranch and got out for a quick walk. Unfortunately, most of it burnt down recently. Still standing though was a church (church from Westworld as well as numerous movies). Paramount Ranch was where many of the old spaghetti westerns were filmed back in the day. Would be cool to hike out into the canyons there, but no time right now.
Back downtown and we are on Hollywood boulevard. The Star walk, Chinese theater and all. Maggie wants to get out to take a look and it’s a bit cooler now so we find a place to park and head out on foot. You have to pay 5 bucks now to get access to the interior of the walk where the handprints and footprints of the stars is located. Not sure if that’s just a Wuhan thing or what… but it sucks. Used to be able to walk right up. But at least there was a quick tour of the theater itself included. Very decadent looking on the inside. Looks like you stepped back into the 20s / 30s. Beautful theater. And they still show movies there today! They also had several costumes on display.. a Marilyn Monroe dress from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and a bunch of Star Wars costumes. We looked at all the handprints and then headed out to look at the stars on the walk. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to get out of the city and closer to our next stop so we headed off to Tustin, Ca … where I had been stationed 30 years ago. Found a motel and the night clerk recommended a coupe of restaraunts in Orange, just down the road. We found a fancy little Italian place with outdoor dining and had a great meal. And we even had entertainment… it seems that there is a roller derby club that rolls around town on occasion having ‘theme’ nights. Tonight was “Biker night”… cheesy mustaches and leather gear. Lucky for us they rolled by twice. What a sight.
Tustin, Ca – I used to be stationed here at Marine Corps Air Station Tustin. We had helicopters. CH 46s, 53s, Cobras. Stuff like that. Some of the work space was located in two giant blimp hangers. They had been built to service and repair blimps in 1942 during wartime. Over 17 stories high and 1000 feet long, they are still two of the largest wooden structures ever built. They are about all that is left of the base. The base was shut down and sold off.. it is mostly condos and strip malls now. Only the land the hangars sit on remains, which includes the control tower and a handful of other dilapidated service buildings. But I was able to show Maggie where I lived and worked for the majority of my years in the military.
La Jolla, Ca – We headed south along the Pacific coast highway toward San Diego. Once in San Diego County, but not quite into the city, you come to La Jolla. A rich little beach town. The thing that sets this place apart are the coastal residents… Sea lions and (occasionally) seals. Along the coast is a park where you can get up close and personal with the wildlife. Literally standing 5 feet from a basking sea lion. You can watch them playing and fishing in the ocean, or lying out in the sun and barking on the rocks of the beach. At low tide you can also explore a couple of sea caves in the face of the cliffs of rock where the sea lions bask above. Tidal pools of clear water abound as well. The smell isn’t that great, but it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to get that close to wildlife like that. I don’t know of anywhere else you can do that in the world. Pretty neat.
Valley of the Moon, Border Wall – That does it for the westward leg of our trip. Now we start to head east. We are planning to camp not a mile from the border wall at the Valley of the Moon. It looks pretty remote and we expect to not see anyone other than border patrol (they are everywhere here). It didn’t exactly work out that way. It seems that earlier that afternoon , someone in a Toyota Sequoia decided to take on the trail and didn’t do too well. There was an SOS sent out when they turned the wrong way coming down a smooth , gravelly rock surface and ended up hangin over the edge of a cliff. So around dinner time jeeps and other offroad vehicles of all types started to roll in looking for them. We were camped not far up from the trailhead when the first stopped and told us what was going on. I guess they finally got him sometime in the middle of the night as a whole train of 4x4s came rolling past us at around 2 in the morning. Hopefully they were ok. The next morning we decide we are going to hike up a bit to see if we can see over into Mexico. It is a much more winding and elevated trail than we first thought. We got maybe a coupe of miles and Maggie had had enough. She sat in the shade while I continued ahead, hopeful that the view I was looking for was ‘just around the corner’. Nope. I walked another mile or so and didn’t see any end in site and so turned around. Again I got that uneasy feeling about being stalked by a mountain lion. Its not a great feeling. And it is totally possibly out in the wild , rocky terrain. You really shouldn’t go anywhere alone. For the most part it seems they wont attack two people. One adult, maybe.. if they are desperate. A kid of dog alone.. definitely. But I had my K bar so I was at least armed and had a fighting chance. But nothing emerged. Whew. While we walked down , all of the sudden a guy comes up behind us. He was super quiet. Then said hello when Maggie noticed him maybe 50 yards behind on the hill. So he asks if we have seen anyone on the trail. Maggies mind goes into overdrive of course and she thinks hes an illegal who is going to kill us… hes asking if there are any witnesses around. We say no, and he says he came up for a hike with his sister at 3am, they got separated, and he cant find her now. Story makes no sense. So we say no and wish him good luck and he disappears in front of us. Weird. True? Who knows? Seems ridiculous to come out to a place like this at 3 am… with your sister… to go for a hike.. but whatever. We pack up camp and go driving , looking for a road to the border wall. We passed a couple of access roads that went to the wall, but all said ‘Restricted” in big , scary, red letters. Not that I cared, I would have used it anyway, but my navigator would not have it. Eventually we made our way the couple of miles back to Jacumba springs and I found what looked like a dirt road that when beside a couple of houses… definitely not a driveway… and took it. Bam! Right to the wall. Once there we looked at the new section (huge), and the old section (not so huge) and I wanted to see (of course) what was over the hill. Only problem was that there was a border patrol SUV sitting at the top of the hill in a little carport shelter obviously used for shade on patrol. So what did I do? Said, what the hell.. what can they do? Ask me to leave? Big deal. So up the hill we go with Maggie scared we are going to be detained for days the whole time. We get up there, we look at him, he looks at us, he gives us a thumbs up, I give a nod, and over the top we go. There was nothing to see… just another valley and another hill. I would guess that goes on for miles and miles. So we turn around and head back. Once up to the BP car we see a few dogs hanging around it. Obviously not K9 units. Then we look over at the wall and there are dogs running through a hole to the US, then to Mexico, and then back again. I guess that’s why BP is here… to make sure no people get that idea. The old wall is short, looks about 10 foot tall, corrugated metal, holes patched in it. Minimum deterrent at best. The new wall next to it looks pretty stout. About twice as tall, with (hopefully solid) metal bars ground to top, spaced about 6 inches apart, so BP can even see through it to see whats going on on the other side. What got me though, was that there was a gate in the new section! What would we need a gate for? It has a couple of solid bars running through a square piece with Padlocks on it. I assume BP can unlock the padlocks, pull the bars up, and swing the gate open. So what would the need be? Maggie’s idea was that the corrupt agents would take bribes and they can let people in. Idk, those guys have always seemed pretty serious about their job. I guess maybe you never know. And maybe we will never know the reason for the gate. On the way back toward Valley of the Moon on our way out we passed the trailhead which now was a full parking lot with a whole bunch of BP and Sheriff cars and several offroad vehicles. And there was the guy who followed us down the mountain , talking to the officers. I guess his story was true, or he was at least desperate enough to save whoever the girl was that he got the law involved. That area was extremely inhospitable… I hope it turned out that she was found and ok. Its not a given in places like that.
Slab City, USA- Last free place on earth- Or so their sign says. Its an old Marine Corps base, Camp Dunlap, which was dismantled and destroyed except for the concrete slabs of buildings that were left in the Sonoran desert to crumble. Basically it’s a squatter community. Anyone who wants can show up and claim space and set up camp. We saw houses, trailers, RVs, tents, canopies strewn across trees and shrubs. All types. People go out there to get away from the rules of the rest of the country. At one time at least, it was a place where anything goes. There is no police and no law. Sort of like a commune from the 60s they just hoped that you would be neighborly to each other. These days it seems there are a lot of rules. Signs to keep out, signs about wearing masks, signs about not walking here or there. I think its lost some of the original ‘Freedom’ luster. Even so, it’s a place people go to get away from civilization at large. And it seems to do a good job. It looks like everyone pretty much gets along, or at least leaves each other alone. They do have art communities, displays, a volunteer library, even a stage for get togethers and celebrations together. Maybe it’s a good idea, but it is also a very tough life. There is no power, no water, no sanitation, no sewers.. you are completely and utterly ‘offgrid’. But it has been this type of community since at least 1984 when the population surged due to an article printed in RV Life and Trailer living.
Wickenburg, Az – We stayed with friends for the night , catching up. What a great time. We went to breakfast the next day as they showed us around Wickenburg. Wickenburg is pretty much how I pictured Santa Fe as being. A quaint little town, old buildings, artsy places, saloons and bars, general store, wide open space. I liked this a whole lot better than Santa Fe! Want to go back when we can stay longer and explore much more!
Tombstone,, Az – A real ghost town. Much of tombstone has been restored, or kept, to what it was back in the times of the wild west, when the Earp brothers brought the law to this town. The main street used to be 16 blocks long, and had dozens of brothels, saloons, and shops of all types. Today Tombstone is just a scant three blocks long. But the history packed in those blocks is immense. The old Oriental Saloon, of which Wyatt Earp became part owner is there. The buildings where the Cowboys took revenge on the Earps are standing. Locations are marked where all manner of gunfighter or innocent bystander where shot down in the street. The Earp family walked on these streets. They worked and played in these buildings. As did Doc Holiday, Johnny Ringo, the Clanton brothers, and the Cochise County Cowboys. Did you know that in the 1870s, the term ‘cowboy’ was just coming into use. The men who drove cattle for a living were called cowhands, drovers, or stockmen. The name cowboy was synonymous with “Rustler”. The Cowboys would routinely go across the border to Mexico, rustle cattle, drive them back to the US and sell them.
The OK corral is nothing but a tourist trap today. The whole corral is walled and fenced so that there is no way to see anything of the inside without paying admission at the adjacent store. Pretty shitty if you ask me. But it’s ok with me since the shootout was supposed to have not actually taken place there, but nearby where there is a park today.
We had dinner at Big Nose Kate’s saloon before heading to the original Birdcage Theater for a ghost tour. We heard all types of history as well as ghost stories. Nothing ‘paranormal’ happened while we were there but with all the dead packed into that small area, I wont doubt its possible. We stayed across the street at the Mechantile and Hotel, in a small original room , sharing a bathroom and kitchen with everyone else on the floor (4 or 5 rooms). Hotels weren’t what they are today. But the history of it all was top notch! Would love to revisit!
VLA – St Augustin Plains, Nm – From Tombstone we made a long drive to the Plains of Augustin where the Very Large Array radio telescope farm lives. This is a group of 28 radio sattelites positioned in a Y pattern across 26 miles. These telescopes perform research on the radio frequency of interstellar objects. They were prominently featured in the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster. We are at an elevation of almost 7,000 feet at this point. And there is nothing for many miles in every direction. It was the darkest sky I have ever seen, and the stars the brightest! We saw so many shooting stars! And at one point Maggie had asked If those were clouds in a line along the stars and I said Nope, that is the Milky Way… it was clear as day to see. Amazing! Another highlight of the trip for me. On the downside, due to the elevation it got down into the 30s that night and was not the most comfortable to sleep. I think that was getting down to our limit without coming up with some type of heating solution. In the morning we packed up and headed over for a closeup look at the dishes. On the way we had the luck to see an actual cattle drive! A long line of cattle, and we could see three cowhands on horses along with at least one dog keeping them together and moving. That was a real treat! Then off to the dishes. They are huge! The jeep was dwarfed next to them. You really have to see them in person to appreciate how large they are… 25 meters across. That is 82 feet. And each weigh 209 metric tons! They are moved by putting them on railroad tracks and pushing them to a new location. Amazing the technology available to us today!
Waco, TX – Next up was a very long drive across Texas. VERY long. On the way we came across the Valley of Fires, a very cool park consisting of volcanic lave flows. We stopped and had a short hike to the flows. Again though, no rattlers, scorpions, or tarantulas were spotted. Very sad. On the way we also went through Roswell, Nm. I pictured this as another quaint little town, maybe a couple of buildings and then nothing but desert. Nope. Let down again. (as New Mexico often did). It looked just like any suburb outside of a big city… overfranchised, overcrowded, and in this case, overmarketed with alien kitsch. I tried to find a good local restaurant for lunch. First one was closed. Not sure if it was permanent or temporary. Then we found another promising place across the street. Also closed, just closed, until 2pm. This was right at lunchtime. Guess maybe they adhere to siestas here? I don’t know, but was severely disappointed and ended up eating at a Long John Silvers that looked like it hadn’t been touched since the 70s… peeling paint and all. Food was pretty good though… almost always is. So out of New Mexico we headed, as fast as we could, and into Texas. We started to see oil rigs, and you could even smell the oil coming from the ground. Very interesting experience. We saw that for a couple of hours until we started to come to more populated areas, and the traffic associated with them. We eventually pulled into Waco at the Silos. It is a shopping complex that is founded by Chip and Johanna Gaines of Fixer Upper, a reality tv show based on his skills for building / remodeling, and hers for design. It was a very quaint looking place housed inside what used to be an industrial farming complex of some sort. Unfortunately a lot of the place was not open. Some due to construction, and some due to Wuhan. They also have a restaurant nearby that I did not realize only serves breakfast and lunch. Maybe we can try it next time we are through there honey.
New Orleans, La – We fell in love with this town two years ago when we first experienced it. There is so much history and artistry here. A beautiful city.. at least the historic district. We arrived just a day ahead of hurricane Delta. The place was bracing for the storm. Sandbags out, shutters clamped shut, and pretty much empty streets. We had it to ourselves for the most part. Many shops and eateries were still open thank fully. We headed straight for Café Beignet for some fried beignets. They were sooo , sooo good. It’s a small square of fried dough with powdered sugar on top, sort of like funnel cake. Then we walked Bourbon street for awhile.. shopping , drinking (you can drink in the streets here!). We then headed over to a restaurant to pick up some authentic cajun cooking… to go… for later. Then we were off to a town an hour northwest of the city, St Francisville. This is the location of many of the old mansions still standing today. We stayed at the Myrtles Plantation, which is supposed to be haunted (of course). We didn’t really have any experiences this time around, but it is a beautiful Bed and Breakfast and it was a wonderfully relaxing stay!
Memphis/Nashville, Tn – trying to beat the storm we headed northeast toward home. We came first to Memphis , Tn, Home to Graceland. We parked and walked along Beale street, checking out the sights, and listening to the blues emanating from various clubs. It was early, so still pretty empty. Next up we headed to Nashville. Nashville was hopping! Even with the rain and early hour it looked like practically every club had a live act performing and they all sounded great. We walked up and down Broadway checking out all the clubs and then Maggie wanted to hop on a city tour bus. We did the hour and a half tour and hopped off for some food at the Johnny Cash Kitchen. Served cafeteria style (like a prison, get it?) we had fried chicken, rice, cornbread, sweet potato mash and more. And it was all so good! All the while listening to some great live country music!
And that was pretty much the end of the trip. All that was left was to make the mad dash back to home so that Maggie could get to work Monday morning. (some of us took a couple of cushion days off.. haha). It was a wonderful trip. Maggie keeps saying it was ‘once in a lifetime’ and I keep insisting that there is no way I will let it be that. I want to go back to many of the places we were just able to touch on, and to do other trips like it to other locations as well! I would rather say it’s the ‘First’ trip of a lifetime! Much more to come!
