In search of Route 66 - the trip West

[RDMcG]

It was all the fault of the Great Dane. When Canadian winters sometimes look like this (my street), walking the dogs for 90 minutes a day is unpleasant, so my wife decided it was time to buy a winter place in Arizona. Of course, the plan was to ship a car, fly the dogs out, and all would be well. It turned out that there was no practical way to fly the Dane short of renting a private jet which is obviously unaffordable.. She was too big and too old.






So, I decided to drive the dogs 2400 miles, from Toronto to Scottsdale, and tow her car at the same time. my mate Phil volunteered to co-drive.
This trip would take us through Ontario , Michigan,Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and into Arizona. Because of business committments in Las Vegas, the return will be through Nevada,Utah, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois.
The main route to the West follows roughly the old Route 66. Long decommissioned, 66 was the main migration path during the Depression and the dustbowls of the thirties,into the optimistic days of the post war period, and millions travelled on it. When the great interstates were build, it was overbuilt or abandoned. Still, it is possible to find many pieces of the old route. With its thousands of motel rooms, neon, tourist traps, it was a magnificent monument to the kitsch of the fifties.

PREPARATION AND DAY 1 -from Toronto to Missouri

I had the Cayenne fully serviced. Its a V8 and this will be needed. The trailer was inspected, the bearings repacked, all tire pressure checked, and the SL loaded. Its a heavy beast, and the combined rig weighs about 10,000 lbs. We loaded up and set out before dawn. We brought food and water, dogfood, and headed out into the cold Ontario fog which lasted until the US border in Michigan, which was happily quiet. After a few cursory questions we were on our way through a sunny Michigan Fall. Although we would hook up with 66 in Illinois, we planned a long first day, and drove 900 miles to the small town of Rolla, Missouri. The Cayenne was quite easily able to handle to load, though on long hills it would change down much earlier than usual. We had brought extra oil, but it would turn out to be unneeded. In Rolla we checked into the Super 8 Motel, which takes large dogs. Its cheap and clean. We ate at a barbeque place that has a binary wine list ( red or white?)








Michigan has the laxest trucking laws, to you see these multi wheelers everywhere



DIxie truck stop, Normal,Illinois





We rolled by St Louis with its arch, no time to stop



DAY 2. - from Rolla, Mo., to Amarillo, Tx

A lot of Route 66 still exists down here, and we stop at the nicely restored Munger Moss Motel on the old 66 in Lebanon,Mo.. We had wanted to stay here, but they take no dogs. Efforts have been made to preserve some of the old Motels. and this one is excellent, and original.





We head for the Oklahoma border,



and stop at Afton Corners, Oklahoma, a true piece of Route 66



There is a converted filling station here, (admission free) where a collector has his Packards ,and a gift shop. (excellent for Route 66 literature)













Two versions of Packard









Saw a couple of derelict cars on the street.....






and back to the main highway, under the world's biggest McDonalds



Wonder what these cars are?



The terrain begins to flatten as we head for the Texas Panhandle



and we cross the Texas border onto the endless, flat,windy Panhandle. The wind is strong and we are constantly blown sideways as we pass trucks.Its constant correction and quite tiring to keep in a straight line.



Returning back to old Route 66, there is a beautifully restored cafe and filling station



I notice a fenced in scrapyard:













..and we head for Amarillo........

Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 6th November 16:34

Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 6th November 16:36

Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 6th November 16:52

[RDMcG]

The wind is vicious towards Amarillo



We pass another ROute 66 eccentricity


and arrive in Amarillo at sunset



We check into a ratty Super 8 motel and head for the Big Texan steakhouse for dinner, (home of the free 72 oz steak)







if you eat it in an hour, that is:





I order a 16oz filet ( only $26), and cannot finish it)




Its freezing next morning as we leave Amarillo



and head for the Cadillac Ranch, right out in an unmarked field. Its so cold I can barely hold the camera:











the place is littered with discarded paint cans:




and we run towards the New Mexico Border, where it turns more desert like:

Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 6th November 16:41

[RDMcG]

Just before NM is the ghost town of Glen Rio, (there are many, as ROute 66 was abandoned)







Millions once travelled this road..hard to believe:


IN NM we get back on 66....
See this very nicely restored motel in Santa Rosa


an old Pacer


and more abandoned motels on the same route



The flatness continues:



and we hit a kitschy but fun Route 66 auto museum



nice Auburn for sale for $45000.

[RDMcG]

We head up the loop to Santa Fe....utterly empty.would love to have my RS here:












Towards Western NM, we hit the first sign of red rocks



We check into the El Rancho Hotel, in Gallup N, one of the only surviving big Route 66 hotels

[RDMcG]

Day 4, last day, we head for Scottsdale Az:

Conspiracy theorists advertise:


The land is so flat you can see whole trains:



and then we see Arizona in the distance:


We got through Flagstaff without stopping and head South through the twisty Oak Creek Canyon. We are still 6000 ft up so to high for Cactus:







and stop for lunch in Sedona, a beautiful location:





Quick side trip as we hit Scottsdale: Saguaros can grow to 50ft and absorb a ton of water each in a heavy rainfall:

Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 6th November 16:32

[RDMcG]

We drop the trailer and uncouple the SL..free at last


but next day is time for Snake Training..Arizona is full of Rattlers and the dogs are not acclimatized.

SNAKE TRAINING????


We arrive at the Snake Trainer's ranch:


get a lecture on snakes,. She reaches into the bucket with her bard hands, and pulls out......

a rubber rattler:



However, there is cage full of real rattlers. The dogs are fitted with shock collars and as they sniff at the cage they get a sharp electric shock. you run way with the dog and comfort it, and after that it will avoid the unique smell of a rattler. We try to persuade them to return to the cage, but nothing doing:;


The ranch is deeply eccentric..she has a longhorn that she rides, and all sorts of exotic animals:




it is still unseasonably cold:

[RDMcG]

This week we are going to visit the aircraft boneyard at Davis Monthan in Tucson, the Pima Air museum. and many roll down to Tombstone...who knows?...I will post a separate thread on the air stuff, and later on a thread on the trip East

[RDMcG]

Door to door the trip was 2419 miles. We averaged 11.2mpg, and the only problem was the brake controlled occasional grabbing the brakes, which has to be looked at here.

[RDMcG]

*Al* said:

Firstly thanks for sharing that! Fantastic road trip, i've been to Oz and i now need to go stateside and drive some or all of route 66. Moodly looking skies in the last few pics, did it rain?

Very little rain, but we hit a dust storm first night.......beautiful now. Will pos more as things develop this week

[RDMcG]

AV12 said:

Thank you RD. That's why I love the States.

Love the pictures and the write up, but snake training is a new one on me, although I do know the US is overlooked when it comes to it's snake population...

I think I read that there 53 different species in N. Carolina alone

But great stuff, done a bit of travelling around Utah and Arizona and I fancy a trip to a warplane graveyard!

Good stuff!

I will do the warplane stuff as its own thread and will link here. Off to do some offroading today. Its muddy and wet today, unusually. Should be fun

[RDMcG]

Here is a link to a subtopic...took the Cayenne out in the desert yesterday.........

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[RDMcG]

clonmult said:

+1

I'm reckoning that something like this should be on the cards in a few years time, when my oldest (currently 10) is at an age to hopefully be able to appreciate it.

Research pays off. I got a series of books on Route 66, and also a set of maps by state showing all of the important remaining sections , with exit instructions and a description of each site. You would never find them yourself, and it helps if you are time constrained to choose the particular places that interest you. I barely scratched the surface, and missed some places that I really wanted to see. Next time.

Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 8th November 12:27

[RDMcG]

A few pics from Az. Its has developed a lot since I started coming here in the eighties:

This is Wickenburg, now...and an old pic I took:





Tubac, South of Tucson was originally quite a nice old place but now extensively developed. Still, saw a couple of nice cars...













while Scottsdale is hugely changed:



Sill AZ has the greatest skycapes

[RDMcG]

mig25_foxbat2003 said:

Amazing thread and great pics - I'm off to read the aircraft ones now!

Davis Monthan was just stunning

[RDMcG]

XitUp said:

Ouch.
Was the return trip without the trailer? Be interesting to see how much that brought your mpg down by.

Looks like a great trip. My girlfriend and I are planning a US road trip in a few years time.

When I was younger we had a family holiday in the states. My dad drove from my grandfathers house in Titusville PA (first place oil was ever drilled for) to my uncles in Seattle in about three days.

I think I posted it on the return thread, but as I recall it was about 19.6. However, a lot of travel was very fast with a few stretches at 130 leptons....

[RDMcG]

As you can see from the number of threads I posted I have done this a number of times. My next trip will be to tow the OH's car and deliver the dogs back to AZ in November. There are still some really quirky places and people down the route that I haven't yet photographed