More Route 66 adventures - the first 2013 trip
Discussion
I have posted a number of threads about Route 66 over the last couple of years, as i run on parts of it every six months or so. The latest trip ended last week. 5200 miles and 14.7 MPG round trip from Toronto to Scottsdale AZ, including a detour to Monument Valley. I will concentrate here on the new experiences of the this trip. I will eventually post an end-to-end guide with a logical flow when I have a chance.
It did not start well. As usual, I left the 2008 Cayenne S in for a service, knowing I would be towing a trailer back with an SL500 on it. I got a call from the dealer - Oil leak. New rear pads. New rear disks. Brakes were no surprise. The pads had lasted 65,000 miles, with a lot of trailer miles. It was all downhill from there. Engine dropped three times, main seal failure, lots of issues. Anyway, a week and $8700 later it was ready to go. My mate and co-driver was already out West, so I decided to do a solo drive to Arizona, with long drives through the boring or familiar parts. Day 1 was a 4am start and a 973 mile run to Lebanon, Missouri. I hit a 90 mile single-lane roadwork on I-70 in Indiana, a serious truck accident with a Kenworth on fire, and later an RV slewed across the highway, so time was OK.
Having been on this route often, I wanted to find a few of the more obscure sights.
Late in the afternoon I hit Newburg MO, maybe 100 miles South of St Louis. Here, on a completely abandoned stretch of old 66, closed at both ends, sit the remains of John's Modern Cabins, slowly rotting away. They will be gone in the not too distant future. Yet, once, the was an infamous Juke Joint, where the segregated black people came to drink, hook up and play music. From 1935 to 1965 it operated, the cabins with no plumbing and a single outhouse at the back. It has no markers beyond a small plaque requesting that it not be vandalized. Standing there in the cool evening sunlight and looking at the silent remains, it is hard to imagine those bad old times before people finally gained civil rights A little of the neon from 1951 still clings to the sign which is standing to this day.
Not too far beyond John's , in Lebanon MO, the Munger Moss Motel offers authentic 1950s clean, very basic accommodation. For $53 a night you want Cappuccino?. Originally it was constructed as a motor court, a semi circle of cabins, each with an individual garage for your car
. The place was modernized in the fifties and the owner is more than willing to discuss the history in the Motel office which sports a large collection of old tin toys. Nearby is an original general store which had not opened on my early departture. Food is not exactly Haute Cuisine in the area, but there is a very good catfish BBQ place within ten minutes. Like many of this type of restaurant alcohol is not served.
A quick run down through the 13 mile strip of 66 in Kansas ( the shortest in any state) brought me to Galena , home of a well -known sight, the truck used as the inspiration for the tow truck in the animated movie " Cars". The more interesting find was a very,very rare and easy-to-miss strip of original 9 ft wide Route 66 from its earliest days, when some states could only afford very basic links. Here you can see the original concrete of 66, much of it obscured by gravel. The weather here can be very harsh. Hard to imagine making this trek in a clapped out Model T, but people did it.
Through Oklahoma I barely stopped apart from lunch in Stroud at the well known Rock Cafe, beloved by bikers, and a brief run into Erick, ( home of roger Miller of King of the Road fame) where there is the well -preserved old West Winds motel, now a private residence, and the mad Sand Hills Curiosity shop, which was closed, (growl), but is a must-see on my next trip. Through Texas with a late overnight in Amarillo I went, then up to Santa Fe, of which I have posted before. If you are into art, this is the place to be. Also has one of the most expensive belt shops I have ever seen. Good enough for GW Bush. You can spend $6000 on a titanium belt buckle here!,
However , my objective was a gas station/museum on the Taos loop about 40 mins from SF. Up here the road parallels the Rio Grande which will eventually, far away, become part of the Texas/Mexico border. More to come later
Ah..forgot to post a brief stop in Texas..at Adrian, a hamlet where the Midpoint Cafe marks the half-way point on 66 between Chicago and LA. I have been there before - they do a good simple omelette for breakfast and good coffee. Its a long tgerm instution with photographs of its past on the walls, a pickup outside marked with the greetings of thousands of visitors......
then a brief stop at Glenrio , the ghost town on the TX-NM border....
the old cafe..long closed:
Old gas station:
Santa Fe even has Starbucks...
It did not start well. As usual, I left the 2008 Cayenne S in for a service, knowing I would be towing a trailer back with an SL500 on it. I got a call from the dealer - Oil leak. New rear pads. New rear disks. Brakes were no surprise. The pads had lasted 65,000 miles, with a lot of trailer miles. It was all downhill from there. Engine dropped three times, main seal failure, lots of issues. Anyway, a week and $8700 later it was ready to go. My mate and co-driver was already out West, so I decided to do a solo drive to Arizona, with long drives through the boring or familiar parts. Day 1 was a 4am start and a 973 mile run to Lebanon, Missouri. I hit a 90 mile single-lane roadwork on I-70 in Indiana, a serious truck accident with a Kenworth on fire, and later an RV slewed across the highway, so time was OK.
Having been on this route often, I wanted to find a few of the more obscure sights.
Late in the afternoon I hit Newburg MO, maybe 100 miles South of St Louis. Here, on a completely abandoned stretch of old 66, closed at both ends, sit the remains of John's Modern Cabins, slowly rotting away. They will be gone in the not too distant future. Yet, once, the was an infamous Juke Joint, where the segregated black people came to drink, hook up and play music. From 1935 to 1965 it operated, the cabins with no plumbing and a single outhouse at the back. It has no markers beyond a small plaque requesting that it not be vandalized. Standing there in the cool evening sunlight and looking at the silent remains, it is hard to imagine those bad old times before people finally gained civil rights A little of the neon from 1951 still clings to the sign which is standing to this day.
Not too far beyond John's , in Lebanon MO, the Munger Moss Motel offers authentic 1950s clean, very basic accommodation. For $53 a night you want Cappuccino?. Originally it was constructed as a motor court, a semi circle of cabins, each with an individual garage for your car
. The place was modernized in the fifties and the owner is more than willing to discuss the history in the Motel office which sports a large collection of old tin toys. Nearby is an original general store which had not opened on my early departture. Food is not exactly Haute Cuisine in the area, but there is a very good catfish BBQ place within ten minutes. Like many of this type of restaurant alcohol is not served.A quick run down through the 13 mile strip of 66 in Kansas ( the shortest in any state) brought me to Galena , home of a well -known sight, the truck used as the inspiration for the tow truck in the animated movie " Cars". The more interesting find was a very,very rare and easy-to-miss strip of original 9 ft wide Route 66 from its earliest days, when some states could only afford very basic links. Here you can see the original concrete of 66, much of it obscured by gravel. The weather here can be very harsh. Hard to imagine making this trek in a clapped out Model T, but people did it.
Through Oklahoma I barely stopped apart from lunch in Stroud at the well known Rock Cafe, beloved by bikers, and a brief run into Erick, ( home of roger Miller of King of the Road fame) where there is the well -preserved old West Winds motel, now a private residence, and the mad Sand Hills Curiosity shop, which was closed, (growl), but is a must-see on my next trip. Through Texas with a late overnight in Amarillo I went, then up to Santa Fe, of which I have posted before. If you are into art, this is the place to be. Also has one of the most expensive belt shops I have ever seen. Good enough for GW Bush
. You can spend $6000 on a titanium belt buckle here!, However , my objective was a gas station/museum on the Taos loop about 40 mins from SF. Up here the road parallels the Rio Grande which will eventually, far away, become part of the Texas/Mexico border. More to come later
Ah..forgot to post a brief stop in Texas..at Adrian, a hamlet where the Midpoint Cafe marks the half-way point on 66 between Chicago and LA. I have been there before - they do a good simple omelette for breakfast and good coffee. Its a long tgerm instution with photographs of its past on the walls, a pickup outside marked with the greetings of thousands of visitors......
then a brief stop at Glenrio , the ghost town on the TX-NM border....
the old cafe..long closed:
Old gas station:
Santa Fe even has Starbucks...
Edited by RDMcG on Thursday 2nd May 15:01
There is a loop from SF to the skiing and resort town of Taos, and I was curious to visit an old gas station/.museum about 40 minutes from SF. Decided to do the mountain loop back to SF and onwards to Gallup NM.
It was closed when I arrived, sadly. Took a few pics. What is is with Packards?..they show up al along Route 66 for some reason:
The Rio Grande runs alongside the Taos loop
Breakfast in Taos..a cop recommended Michael's kitchen...good it was.
There is a 1000 year old Pueblo here, a UN world heritage site, still inhabited:
On the way back to SF
The town of Moriarty NM sat on old 66, but the original road is buried under the highway, Stopped on the way back, truck stop overrated,
However, I took a five minute stroll across the street to a toy museum, (no time to explore it), but there was a huge collection of old vehicles outside behind a fence which obscured them, to pics not very good as camera was held over my head.
Truck stops also equal trailers...and some odd stuff does show up:
And so...on to Gallup, NM
It was closed when I arrived, sadly. Took a few pics. What is is with Packards?..they show up al along Route 66 for some reason:
The Rio Grande runs alongside the Taos loop
Breakfast in Taos..a cop recommended Michael's kitchen...good it was.
There is a 1000 year old Pueblo here, a UN world heritage site, still inhabited:
On the way back to SF
The town of Moriarty NM sat on old 66, but the original road is buried under the highway, Stopped on the way back, truck stop overrated,
However, I took a five minute stroll across the street to a toy museum, (no time to explore it), but there was a huge collection of old vehicles outside behind a fence which obscured them, to pics not very good as camera was held over my head.
Truck stops also equal trailers...and some odd stuff does show up:
And so...on to Gallup, NM
TaRD said:
Brings back memories, I loved Galena. Its amazing to see how much we missed. When we do it again I'll have to look out for the part by Newburg.
Ps Where is the road near Newburg?
Here is a video tour...beside Vernelle's MotelPs Where is the road near Newburg?
http://route66news.com/2011/12/30/a-tour-of-johns-...
Gallup is a railroad town and also has a lot of 66 history. The Railroad and the street are parallel, and 24 hours a day the trains rumble through, horns blaring. There are numerous motels and hotels, but the best is El Rancho, Founded in 1937
by a guy called Griffiths who used the celebrity of his brother, the legendary director DW Griffiths to attract movie stars. Each room is named after a movie star. Amusingly, when Mr. Griffiths died it transpired that he had no blood relationship whatsoever to DW Griffiths. Now owned by Armand Ortega, this charming gentleman sits like a Don on the front porch and people come to visit. Beggars know him by name and he seems to have a roll of dollar bills as they give him a slight bow. The rooms are not modernized. Late time I stayed I had a Great Dane and a Poodle, so my room was clean, but a little tired. I joked with the receptionist that there might be a better room this time. "Well", he said " it'll cost you".
"How Much?"
$53 extra.
That's how I ended up in the Ronald Reagan Presidential suite
Armand Ortega- proprietor
Gallup is famous for its trading posts and pawn shops. The most famous is Richardson's which has very high quality stuff, though if you want an Albino bison they will oblige:
Cheap motels abound...and not that much changes:
Here is a shot from this trip and one from 1995
2013
1995
There are some great surviving signs here:
by a guy called Griffiths who used the celebrity of his brother, the legendary director DW Griffiths to attract movie stars. Each room is named after a movie star. Amusingly, when Mr. Griffiths died it transpired that he had no blood relationship whatsoever to DW Griffiths. Now owned by Armand Ortega, this charming gentleman sits like a Don on the front porch and people come to visit. Beggars know him by name and he seems to have a roll of dollar bills as they give him a slight bow. The rooms are not modernized. Late time I stayed I had a Great Dane and a Poodle, so my room was clean, but a little tired. I joked with the receptionist that there might be a better room this time. "Well", he said " it'll cost you".
"How Much?"
$53 extra.
That's how I ended up in the Ronald Reagan Presidential suite
Armand Ortega- proprietor
Gallup is famous for its trading posts and pawn shops. The most famous is Richardson's which has very high quality stuff, though if you want an Albino bison they will oblige:
Cheap motels abound...and not that much changes:
Here is a shot from this trip and one from 1995
2013
1995
There are some great surviving signs here:
Coming into Arizona the usual tourist trading posts show up...Geronimo is one that has plastic tepees and lots of tat, mixing perfectly with magnificent and very real petrified wood:
Most of the petrified wood shops use plastic dinosaurs to attract buyers.....
A quick stop in Winslow Arizona, immortalized in the Eagles song. It has built a whole " standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona" display
and lots of tat here too...
It was time to complete the Western leg take two days' break pick up the SL and trailer. - the return detour would be Monument Valley.....
Most of the petrified wood shops use plastic dinosaurs to attract buyers.....
A quick stop in Winslow Arizona, immortalized in the Eagles song. It has built a whole " standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona" display
and lots of tat here too...
It was time to complete the Western leg take two days' break pick up the SL and trailer. - the return detour would be Monument Valley.....
The local town, Cave Creek, is quite colorful, with an excellent hot sauce establishment:
Cactus were in bloom
However, there was work to be done. We had to pick up the trailer which had been stored all winter and have it serviced, bearings packed, and inspected. It was about an hour away, so my co-driver and I set out at 7am to hook it up. We arrived.
"Got the trailer keys?'
"No, YOU have the trailer keys"
Aargh...
Finally got it over to the dealer and had it serviced and inspected. realized we had left the heavy duty jack at the storage facility.
"@%!!&** let's leave it there."
So, we hooked everything up to start the drive to Monument Valley which is inside a reservation the size of France. distances are great there and traffic is light.
We had rented the greatest bargain anywhere. Fully-equipped three bedroom, two bathroom apartment at Goulding's lodge. Stove, fridge,microwave, dishes..the lot. Magnificent view. $170 regardless of the number of people or dogs. WE brought our own food and wine in a cooler.
Out beyond Tuba city on a lightly travelled road...BOOM!...tire blew out, and taking out the wiring of an trailer indicator light. No jack.
After some humming and hawing my co-driver got the answer. We would use the dead wheel as a jack stand and drive the trailer up on it. It worked and we were on our way.
We arrived in Monument Valley in the late afternoon. It is simply magnificent, awe-inspiring, unique, and unforgettable,
In the morning the air was cool and crisp
We took the long trek through Farmington NM , stopping where we had to until we got home..no adventures>
Filthy and fly-encrusted, the trusty Cayenne had done its job. That's all for now, 66. I'll be back.
Cactus were in bloom
However, there was work to be done. We had to pick up the trailer which had been stored all winter and have it serviced, bearings packed, and inspected. It was about an hour away, so my co-driver and I set out at 7am to hook it up. We arrived.
"Got the trailer keys?'
"No, YOU have the trailer keys"
Aargh...
Finally got it over to the dealer and had it serviced and inspected. realized we had left the heavy duty jack at the storage facility.
"@%!!&** let's leave it there."
So, we hooked everything up to start the drive to Monument Valley which is inside a reservation the size of France. distances are great there and traffic is light.
We had rented the greatest bargain anywhere. Fully-equipped three bedroom, two bathroom apartment at Goulding's lodge. Stove, fridge,microwave, dishes..the lot. Magnificent view. $170 regardless of the number of people or dogs. WE brought our own food and wine in a cooler.
Out beyond Tuba city on a lightly travelled road...BOOM!...tire blew out, and taking out the wiring of an trailer indicator light. No jack.
After some humming and hawing my co-driver got the answer. We would use the dead wheel as a jack stand and drive the trailer up on it. It worked and we were on our way.
We arrived in Monument Valley in the late afternoon. It is simply magnificent, awe-inspiring, unique, and unforgettable,
In the morning the air was cool and crisp
We took the long trek through Farmington NM , stopping where we had to until we got home..no adventures>
Filthy and fly-encrusted, the trusty Cayenne had done its job. That's all for now, 66. I'll be back.
Matt Harper said:
I absolutely love your trip reports, Ronan. They never fail to capture the romance and quirkiness of 'back-roads America'. Thanks for the great read/view!
Hi MattThe road always has adventure for me, whether it be running the autobahns, Irish country lanes, Rajasthan desert drives, or 66. You never know what you'll find. As a European, I have never gotten bored with the vastness and variety of the US. Always amazes me when people think if it as one place. Vermont is a about as similar to New Mexico as Sweden is to Italy. There is an amazing freedom in knowing that you can effectively drive forever. Watched road movies as a kid and it never left me. I doubt that it ever will.
[quote=TaRD]Ahh the El Rancho, we stayed in the Doris Day Room, and as it was Sunday they didn't serve alcohol unless you were eating. We found a great palce call the Coal Street Pub and got quite tipsy.
You missed nothing - the bar is a huge empty place with big screens and a few locals , it appeared.
You missed nothing - the bar is a huge empty place with big screens and a few locals , it appeared.
bad company said:
Excellent pictures, thank you.
Mrs BC & I are flying to Chicago to start the route in 2 weeks time.
Have fun!..if you have not already done so I recommend the E-Z guide to Route 66 which is spiral-bound and the 8 map series , both from Jerry McLanahan. They have been invaluable over the years.Mrs BC & I are flying to Chicago to start the route in 2 weeks time.
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