The Last Day

The best way to start the day is with a filling meal and that it was.

I have to admit they have the best Biscuits and Gravy I have ever had.

This is the Wagon Wheel, if you couldn't tell from the picture. It is a iconic spot on Route 66 that is located in Needles.

We attempted to stop here in Barstow but it was closed. This however is our only picture from Barstow so admire it if you choose.

When in California always stop at In-n-Out burger.

In San Bernadino we stopped at the first McDonalds which is no longer a McDonalds but a museum.

And to end the day...

Santa Monica pier.

Almost Finished

Something we don't have any photos of:  The drive post-Kingman to our room in Laughlin, NV.  We deviated from the overall route in order to be able to afford a hotel room.  Needles, California may be the most over-priced place on the planet for everything.

It was dark when we left Kingman, and we had two options: 1)Winding mountain road, or 2) Interstate to Needles and up something called the Needles Hwy/River Road.  We opted for the second choice.  What we didn't know was that this area was desert that was the same color as the road (hard to differentiate in the dark) and full of large dips that were always preceded by the sign "Flooded".  It was a stressful hour and a half as we made our way to the hotel (which was also a casino, as are all hotels in NV, methinks).  Gwen navigated this stretch turn by turn.  We were both frazzled by the end, but we made it safely. 

The next morning, we drove back the same way in the light.  It was a much better experience.  Nevertheless, I must say that I recommend not ever taking that road.

So ended the 2nd to last day of the Route 66 drive.

Four Song Locations in One Day

We neglected to post the photos of me standing on a corning in Winslow, Arizona.  I'll save that for my post that sums up the whole trip.  But, on this particular day, our entire trip seemed to consist of running from one town from the song to the next.

On the stretch between Flagstaff and Kingman, Gwen took the wheel for a while again. We made two stops along the way: One in Seligman and another at Grand Canyon Caverns.

Seligman was a town along Route 66 that was championed by two brothers, one who ran an ice cream shop, and another who had a barber shop more or less next door.  The ice cream shop is called Snow Cap and it is super-eclectic in its design elements.  Behind the shop are such things as a fire truck, a dog house with a (fake) corpse in it, a set of outhouses with the words "Air Conditioned" on them, and humorous signs covering everything.  We each had a malt.  Gwen had a Root Beer Freeze Malt.  I stuck with Butterscotch.  Neither of us had the "Dead Chicken" that was listed on the menu and the building itself.

The barber shop is still operational.  Angel (the barber brother) was giving someone a straight-edged razor shave while we were there.  We weren't there for trims ourselves, just the gift shop.

Next was Grand Canyon Caverns.  It was the appointed place where we were to switch drivers, so we weren't really there for many of their attractions (i.e. Ghost tours, caverns, dinosaurs).  We did stop for 9 holes of mini-golf on what very well may be the hardest putt-putt course I've ever played.  Also... It was guarded by dinos!  Fun!


The final stop of the night, before heading to our hotel, was in Kingman.  We had dinner at a diner called Mr. D'z.  It was named for Andy Devine (as was the town's main street).  Upon doing some research, we discovered that he played many roles in westerns back in the day, and to us was the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animated "Robin Hood".  The food was good.  The service was ridiculously slow. 

One other thing about the stop.  This is the only place we found a Saguaro cactus along our entire drive.  Now, granted, the bit between Kingman and Needles, CA was driven in pitch black darkness due to how long dinner took, but as far as I know, there is only one Saguaro Cactus in all of Arizona, and it is in Kingman, next to their Parole Board's building.

Don't forget Winona!

Okay... so, at the prompting of Gwen, this post is second (following the order of the song), but in truth, Winslow comes before Flagstaff.  It also is a town that would never be famous for anything if Bobby Troupe hadn't needed a rhyming lyric.  At least they've now tried to capitalize on their one line of celebrity with this lovely bumper sticker:

Flagstaff, Arizona

The next town along the way, according to the song, is Flagstaff.  Here's the town's welcome sign.  We didn't take any other photos while there.  Largely because we didn't do anything in Flagstaff other than buy gas.

Here It Is

We made it to the iconic Here It Is sign on the start of day 8.

We stopped at the Jackrabbit Trading Post to start our day.

A big hole in the ground, a lightning strike, and a fire?

Yup that was the entirety of day 7, thanks for reading.

No no no, stop worrying we are fine. But it sure was interesting. What am I talking about? Our trip to the Grand Canyon of course.

Now if you don't know what the Grand Canyon looks like here this is for you. As with every national monument located in the desert we have been to it rained. I would like to point out it said there was a ten percent chance of thunderstorms and our building got struck by lightning. So refer to the picture above for a dry Grand Canyon, and now here is one right after a thunderstorm.

That's right there's a rainbow. Now if you've seen the Grand Canyon before I bet you haven't seen it with a rainbow. Now this was the only beauty after the storm. After we left the building we heard several sirens as the fire truck and ambulances came to address a possible lightning fire in the building. That was day seven, the longer version.