FLAGSTAFF, AZ — A flat in Flagstaff. Good thing my Mini has run-flat tires. The flat tire indicator didn’t alert me to the fact until the car was safely parked at the motel where I’m staying and I was headed out to dinner. I can think of worse places for it to happen.
Today was a spectacular day for driving. It was also the second day in a row I wore shorts. The Southwest sun has finally decided to stick around for a while.
I just had the Mini washed yesterday in Albuquerque, NM, and before taking it through some serious 66 motoring again I decided to take its picture next to a cool store sign that appears as you head west out of Gallup, NM.
In the border country between New Mexico and Arizona, Route 66 winds past sage brush and mesas…
…as well as sheer outcrops that tower almost directly over the road.
There is very little original Route 66 roadway left in New Mexico and Arizona. For stretches at a time, I-40 runs right on top of the original pathway in both states. The “Here It Is!” Route 66 maps incorporate frontage road and business loops to recreate the ride as precisely as possible and to take motorists through the same towns where motorists got their kicks back in the day.
Near Joseph City, AZ, I spotted this horse shading himself from the 70-degree sun.
Signs for dead and long-running enterprises also appear in the small towns of Arizona.
PT's nightclub, still serving drinks, Winslow, AZ.
Radiator & Marine, gone but not forgotten, Winslow, AZ.
As does the sign Route 66 Adventure Handbook author Drew Knowles calls “the most famous billboard on all of Route 66.”
Here It Is sign, Jackrabbit Trading Post, Jackrabbit, AZ.
Thus began my Arizona journey. Most of today’s ride was swift, given the broad overlapping of I-40 and the original Route 66 here. Such was not always the case last Friday, when I crossed into the starkly beautiful state of New Mexico from Texas.
For about the first one-fourth of the New Mexico trip you’re on frontage road almost exclusively. Cattle grates appear more frequently. Through Tucumcari, NM, my ride was a dusty blast.
The Palomino Hotel caught my eye. (Check out the current rates!)
West of Palomas, however, the going got tougher. Asphalt gave way to gravel and dirt in spots as the meandering route demanded my full attention.
Crossing under I-40 on frontage road, I was very glad I was driving a Mini.
That is, until the heavy rains from the day before required me to backtrack for 10 miles and hop on I-40 to get around this:
Small setbacks can also bring small rewards on the Mother Road, however. The turnaroud afforded me another chance to photograph cattle by the roadside that had caught me by surprise on the first pass.
Finally arriving in Santa Rosa, I was convinced by this beautifully restored motel sign to call it a day.
Day two in New Mexico was one marathon feast of diversity. Leaving Santa Rosa Saturday at 9 AM, I took the pre-1937 alignment of Route 66 north, which traces part of the historic Santa Fe Trail as it twists and climbs into Santa Fe. No worries on that well-paved excursion. However, my tight schedule only allowed me enough time to grab lunch and snap a few photos on or close to the Plaza.
Back on flat road meandering on or in the shadow of I-40, I paused to record these images…
Building signage, Thoreau, NM.
Tractor and mesa, Continental Divide, NM.
…before finally ending the day in Gallup, home of the annual Intertribal Indian Ceremonial gathering and a haven for collectors of fine Native American art, jewelry and handicrafts.
I got a room at the El Rancho Hotel.
Here’s how my post for Saturday evening began:
GALLUP, NM — I’m in the lobby of the El Rancho Hotel here in Gallup. It’s one of the most unusual hotel lobbies I’ve ever seen. You feel like you’re in a large hunting lodge, and the architectural touches and decor are distinctly American Southwest and Native American.
Yet there’s a touch of old Hollywood elegance to the place as well. That’s because the hotel, built by director D.W. Griffith’s brother and opened in 1937, had as its guests some of the biggest stars of yore. Bogart and Bacall stayed here, as did Ida Lupino, Jimmy Stewart, W.C. Fields, Lorraine Day, James Cagney and many others. Each guest room is named after a silver screen legend who slept here during the days when Gallup regularly provided the backdrop for many western films. I’m in room 204, the Robert Mitchum room. What a trip!
El Rancho is very reasonably priced, considering its history (my room cost 67 bucks without a reservation), and naturally there’s a lounge and restaurant on the premises. I can’t imagine W.C. Fields staying any place where a bar was further than a sleepwalk from his room.
The Wifi in the lobby is not the greatest, so I won’t be posting photos today.
The Wifi signal then weakened still more, prompting an on-the-spot decision. W.C. Fields, Bogart and John Wayne all drank here, dammit. How could I pass up the opportunity to savor a glass of wine in the lounge and revel in that history?
Thank you, modern technology!
(Special thanks to “Wicked AZ Coffee” for providing the caffeine kick to motor me through this post.)
Route 66 Dispatch 