Day Seven

Day Seven was a lot of fun! I think Arizona has to be one of the coolest states on Route 66, with beautiful scenery, silly buildings and other stuff, national parks, you name it. Right now I am sitting in a lodge in Grand Canyon National Park, and just scored a permit to hike down into the canyon and back up the next day. I was on the waiting list, so I had to show up at 6:30 to see if my name was called. Anyway, back to Day Seven. After leaving Gallup NM I drove as far as Flagstaff on the Route, and then headed south to Phoenix for some much needed R&R. I hung out with my friend Stephanie in Phoenix, who was an awesome host and took me for a drive through the beautiful Superstition Mountains. Pictures of that to follow in the next post.

An old fighter (F4?) outside Gallup Municipal Airport.


Defunct tourist store.


A cool old bridge over Querino Canyon, on a now-unpaved section of the route.



Some ruins at the east end of the bridge.


Another abandoned gas station.



And an old sign. Mmm. Martinis.


Reach out and touch someone.


A couple of picturesque wrecks.





The (open for business) Apple Dumplin.


Arizona's Painted Desert.


Historic Painted Desert Lodge.


More Painted Desert.






Leaving Painted Desert National Park and crossing over into the adjacent Petrified Forest National Park I ran into a little Route 66 memorial. It had this old car and a plaque with a pretty good little text on 66. I quote:

"You are standing near old Route 66. The line of the roadbed and the telephone poles in front of you mark the path of the famous "Main Street of America" as it passed through Petrified Forest National Park. From Chicago to Los Angeles, this heavily traveled highway was not only a road. It stood as a symbol of opportunity, adventure, and exploration to travelers.

A trip from Middle America to the Pacific could take about a week - no interstate speeds here! For many, the journey was not just across miles, it was across cultures and lifestyles - from the most mundane to the exotic. Of course, getting to your destination was important, but the trip itself was a reward. From the neon signs of one-of-a-kind motels to burgers and chicken fried steaks of the multitudes of restaurants, from the filling stations that served as miniature oases to gaudy tourist traps, these mote than 2,200 miles of open road were magical.

Gaze down the long road and listen. You may hear echoes of the past - echoes of Route 66."


Evil Trees!


A familiar sight, far from home.


Newspaper Rock. Natives carved these petroglyphs into the rocks many years ago to keep one another abreast of the latest news.



More of Petrified Forest NP.



The Agate Bridge. An arroyo formed below this petrified Agate tree when the softer soil washed out from underneath it.













Wacky dinosaurs and an old trading post in Holbrook AZ.




The Wigwam Motel, also in Holbrook. The Cozy Cone in Cars was based on this motel.






Driving.


I have seen WAY too many of these signs. My car hates me.


I think this was part of a campground.


The famous Jackrabbit Trading Post.






The Falcon Restaurant. Had fantastic quesadillas in this vintage diner (in business since 1955).





Meteor Crater AZ, the first proven meteor crater in the world and former Apollo program training site.



This is a REALLY long shot of the little square you see in the middle of the crater in the previous photo. Note the waving astronaut.


Ruins at Two Guns AZ. This town has a weird little history, which is related here.


While poking around here I ran into a guy who told me he remembered passing through here as a kid and seeing mountain lions, coyotes, and snakes all cooped up in cages. I asked him whether they did shows or anything, and he said "nah, they just kind of suffered."



One of the mountain lion enclosures.



And, uh, a couch.


Old bridge in "Don't Forget" Winona.