Day 21 - The Final Countdown (Part 2)

We weren't waiting long before the shuttle arrived. As it turned out there were only about 6 people getting on it, so we were easily accommodated. The check-in desks at the airport were fairly empty, so we were quickly sorted out and made our way outside and in another door (?) to proceed to security.

A woman asked to see our passports and boarding cards. Fine. We then followed the marked out zigzag about 40 feet, to a guy, standing about 10 feet away from the woman. Yes, you guessed it, he also wanted to check our boarding passes!  Security was no less painful, with everything having to come off (well not everything, but you know what I mean) before we entered the body scanner. There were no alarms for Catherine this time round, so we grabbed our stuff and made our way towards the gate.

We had a couple of hours to kill at the gate, so I did some of my blog, whilst Catherine went off to see what she could spend the last of our dollars on. The battery on the laptop is useless, so it wasn't long before I had to shut down. Catherine came back without a purchase, so we've brought back about $15. Sure I know a couple of people who might take them off our hands.

We were seated at the rear of the aircraft, a brand spanking new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, so were able to board first. First of the plebs, that is. We had two seats of the middle three, so Catherine (I don't do strangers!) had a guy next to her. Turned out he was something to do with film making and he and his colleague had been rushed out on business. Catherine didn't get any further info though, so no scoop for you.

Boeing 787

Slightly later than published we were up in the air, heading out over the bay, a 9 hour something flight ahead of us. We were told we'd arrive earlier than scheduled, either because of the jet stream or maybe the new aircraft was faster, I'm not sure. The data readout for the flight did show us travelling in excess of 600mph, which is bloomin' fast.

We had dinner (not all that nice, to be honest) and I settled down to watch the Hobbit trilogy. I managed to get through two of the three, before my eyes cried enough. after little over an hour, I was awake again and they were serving breakfast. We had about 90 minutes to go till touchdown.

When it came, at dull and cloudy Heathrow, touchdown was a rather bumpy affair and the aircraft was squirming left and right for a while before the pilot got it under control. I'm not going to say my life flashed before my eyes but I think there may have been a slight tightening down below!

As usual it took ages to disembark but security was painless with the new passport scanners. Even collecting the bags went smoothly enough and we were soon outside at the collection point for the car park. There was a bus already at the stop, so I had to wave to get his attention, else we'd have had a wait for the next one. Not something I wanted, as I was still in my T-shirt and this wasn't t-shirt weather. It never ceases to amaze me, that a few hours flight away, everything can be so different. 38 degrees different, in this case!

Back at the car, the fun AND the rain began. 3 weeks in an automatic had me pressing the brake pedal and wondering why it wouldn't go into gear. Aah, yes you have a left foot and another pedal Neill. DOH! By the time we got onto the M4 motorway, it was lashing down, a distraction in itself. Add to that, jet lag, lack off sleep and it's easy (I think) to explain how I totally missed (forgot even) the turn off to the M25. It was only when I saw a sign saying Wokingham, that my brain started to work properly. By this time though, the next junction off the M4 was Reading, making it about a fifty mile detour, back to the M25. Double DOH!

There was no letup in the rain, in fact it was getting harder and visibility was very poor. Clearly my concentration levels weren't that great anyway, so I decided to pull off at the service station with about a third of our journey (excluding detour) to go. After a quick toilet visit, we both reclined the seats and went to sleep. We awoke about 75 minutes later, not exactly feeling refreshed but at least feeling awake enough to continue the journey.

We arrived home at my place about 30 minutes or so later, without further misadventure. Baggage unloaded, Catherine picked up some bits she'd left at mine and I ran her home. I got back to mine, sorted though a mountain of post, then flopped down in front of the TV, cursing, as I discovered my expected recordings hadn't happened. Still lots to catch up on though.

And that my friends, is the end of our Route 66 adventure. I'm back at work tomorrow, though working from home, so I don't have to get up too early.

Soon as I get time, I'll sort through my photos, some 2000 and add some to Flickr. You'll then be able to access them from the blog, by clicking on the shield. I'll let you know when, so keep watching.

Till then.



 

Day 21 - The Final Countdown (Part 1)

A bit like Groundhog Day, the alarm woke us and the sun was beating down once more. That's not to say we haven't seen rain, just not really very much. Great for us from the UK, not so for the Californians suffering years of drought.

We readied ourselves for the day and finished our packing. Carol was picking us up at 10am, so we dropped our cases at left luggage and went out front to await her arrival. And arrive she did, bang on time. Carol drives a 12 year old Infinity Q35, which surprised me a little, as it's a big car and she's so petite. It is well spec'd, with leather interior and heated AND cooled seats, amongst the toys. I sat in the front, as Carol drove us to our destination, Manhattan Beach. The towns around here seem to take their name from the beach, if you get what I mean, the town is Manhattan Beach, not Manhattan.

It's about 20 minutes from the hotel to MB and we were soon there. Carol pointed out some things of interest along the way, including a street a little way from the seafront, where her son lives. MB is a bit of a rich man's playground, by the looks of it, so it seemed Carol's son must be quite successful. A proud mum revealed he is, being able to retire at 40!  I wish :-(

As we search for a parking space, the place is heaving already, we spotted where we were going to have breakfast, Uncle Bill's. They were queueing in the street. No big deal though, as the sun was blazing and the temperature was already approaching the nineties. Parked up we made our way round to Bill's and added our name to the list of those waiting. The girl said it would be 30 minutes, so we walked along the main street to kill some time. Passing an estate agents (realtor), we were intrigued to see what was on offer. I don't remember all the details but I recall seeing 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, plus the price, $6.5m!

Back at Bill's, we sat in their waiting room, some white plastic chairs on the sidewalk. Catherine went up to check how much longer it would be, just as the girl called out her name. Perfect timing. We were shown to an outside table where we studied the menu. In the main we've been having fairly light breakfasts, so I just had 2 eggs and pancakes. Unlike in Winslow though, these pancakes were 'normal' size. Not like our UK pancakes, that we'd have on Shrove Tuesday but several millimetres thick, almost like a Scottish pancake. On the side, I had some bacon. I don't know what it is but I do like their crispy bacon.

I forget what Catherine had, possibly just eggs and hash browns but I do know she wasn't happy with her toast, pale brown one side, just pale the other, so she sent it back. Also, she had ordered rye bread, which, everywhere else we had had it, was a dark brown, with a slight aniseed flavour to it. This was just a white bread, as far as we could see.

Having finished, Carol insisted on treating us, which was kind, so we put down the tip. We then made our way down the hill to the small pier, with its oddly named roundhouse aquarium at the end.  Odd because the building is octagonal. I guess round was easier to say than build, eh?

Carol & Catherine, Manhattan Beach Pier

With one eye on the time, parking was for 2 hours only, we made our way back up from the seafront and back to the car. Catherine was like a cat on a hot tin roof, as she sat in the car, the leather was scorching. It certainly was a great day to be at the beach.

It wasn't long before we were back at the hotel. Hugs and kisses abounded as we said our goodbye to Carol. It was really nice to be able to see her again and we shall definitely try to meet up, if her and Dean come back to London. We had about 90 minutes to kill before 3pm, our planned departure time for the airport but after collecting our bags and sitting in the lobby for a while, I noticed there was quite a queue for the shuttle bus, so we decided we'd be better off getting on that, sooner rather than later and waiting at the airport, than at the hotel.

Day 20 - Los Angeles Sightseeing (Part 3)

On the South side, the first thing to really stand out is the El Capitano Theatre. Now owned by Disney and showing Disney films exclusively, it opened in 1926. Before converting to a movie house, the likes of Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth and Douglas Fairbanks Jr, all trod the boards here.

El Capitano Theatre

A little way down the street, your attention is grabbed by a huge T-Rex atop the roof of a 1920s building, originally used as offices and apartments. Now, it is home to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. The tour guide shows the T-Rex with a clock in its mouth but that has gone and it now sports sunglasses and a camera around its neck. Right next door is the old Hollywood Theatre, housing the Guinness World Records Museum. Out front stands a model of the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow, who stood 8 feet, 11 inches tall.

Terry Rex

Further along, there is the Pig and Whistle Restaurant and the Egyptian Theatre. The restaurant was one of a chain of family restaurants. It opened in 1927, with pipe organ music welcoming the diners. Now you don't get that in McDonalds! The theatre was originally going to be a Moorish palace until Howard Carter stumbled across the tomb of King Tutankhamen and the building was hastily rebuilt to resemble an Egyptian temple. Opened in 1922, the decorative ceiling inside, modelled on Tutankhamen's tomb is still there for all to see. That is, unless they have an event going on when you visit and not even the old Neill charm and an English accent can gain you entry! We moved on, somewhat disappointed.

The Egyptian Theatre

With another side stroll, we came to a building shaped like a cruise ship, with a globe on top of the mast, Crossroads of the World. Originally a shopping mall, it and its surrounding buildings, now look like private dwellings. When it opened in 1936 it was the city's first cosmopolitan shopping mall.

The Crossroads of the World

Back on the boulevard, we were starting to flag. The sun was still beating down and we'd been on our feet for a good many hours.

Pressing on, back towards Hollywood and Vine, the boulevard took on a rather seedy look. The highlight of this area and no doubt why it is now mostly filled with, shall we say, lingerie shops, is Frederick's. This 1940s store, with its pink awnings was the first of its kind, selling 'unmentionables'. Today, those around it are selling far worse! At this point we decided to call it a day and made our way back down into the metro station.

3 trains, red, blue and green, later and we were back at the station, at which, we had started our day. As we walked back under the flight path once more, we stopped again to watch the aircraft landing, counting the sets of lights twinkling in the sky, on the approach.

Back at the hotel, we did some packing, before heading out to Denny's again, for our dinner.

Tomorrow will be our last day, as we fly out at 6pm. Before that though, we have a breakfast date with our friend Carol, who is taking us to Manhattan Beach. Should be nice, as the weather is predicted to be scorching again.

Day 20 - Los Angeles Sightseeing (Part 2)

Stepping out of Hollywood and Vine station, the heat and sunlight hit us once more. This was going to be hard work.

Armed with my second printed tour/map, we set off. This one is a bit easier to follow, as, apart from the odd side walk (north or south) it is a walk along one street, Hollywood Boulevard, East to West. Incidentally, if you fancy doing these walk yourself, the website is;
http://www.angelswalkla.org/walks.html

Starting on the North side of the boulevard, we came to The Pantages Theatre. Built in 1929, like most of these old building, it has seen better days. In deed, it was the home of the Oscars during the 1950's. Passing the Capitol records building, which looks like a stack of vinyl records, a side stroll north took us the the Knickerbocker Hotel. Now private apartments, as a hotel, it had quite a dark history. Actress Irene Gibbons slashed her wrists here and jumped from the 11th floor (for good measure), whilst film director D W Griffith dropped dead under the chandelier. Although apartments, we were able to gain access and view the afore mentioned chandelier.

Knickerbocker Hotel Lobby

Further along the boulevard, there's the 1927 Warner Pacific Theatre and the Janes House, the oldest house on the boulevard, having been built in 1903. It's described as the last Victorian Queen Anne house on the boulevard. make of that what you will. It has been moved back from the road and is now practically unreachable, certainly from a photo point of view. Least they haven't knocked it down, though it doesn't sit well with the sports bar now in front of it!

The Musso and Frank Grill, is a 1919 restaurant. My friend Carol had said we would like this place. It was nearing lunchtime, so we popped our heads inside. It retains that old world charm but is very much a silver service establishment, with waiters in proper uniform. The prices on the menu reflected its up market status and needless to say, we did not partake. I can see Carol prefers the finer things in life ;-)

Another side stroll on, Highland Avenue, took us to the Methodist Church, which featured in the 1952 War of Worlds Movie. Further up Highland is the Hollywood Bowl but this was a stroll too far in the heat, so we returned to the boulevard and continued, stopping of at McDonalds, where Catherine found they did a veggie wrap.

Back on the boulevard, we came to the busy end and the Kodak Theatre, the new home of the Oscars. This is very strange, as it is embedded in the shopping mall, so not obvious from the street. I'm not an avid Oscars watcher but I'd never guessed from the red carpet shots I've seen that it was like that. Up in the mall, there's the only real view of the Hollywood sign up on the hillside. It's an awful long way off but full zoom gets a decent enough photo. Right next door is Grauman's Chinese Theatre, with its hundreds of hand and footprints of famous actors and actresses in the pavement/sidewalk outside. Another Route 66 vintage place, opened in 1927.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Reaching the La Brea Gateway, a tribute to the women of Hollywood, we started the trek back along the South side of the boulevard.

Day 20 – Los Angeles Sightseeing (Part 1)

Woken by the radio alarm, that a previous occupant of the room had set, we nonetheless managed a slight lie in, before heading out onto the streets of L.A. (be careful out there!).

The metro/transit line stop, for the airport, is about a mile from the hotel. If you think that’s bad, then it’s over twice that from the airport itself, though there is a shuttle bus form there. We walked. The walk took us right under the flight path of those aircraft landing and right behind the end of the runway from which they were taking off. We watched a few leave and arrive as we walked down.

Cabin Crew Prepare for Landing

At the station, we purchased two TAP cards (like our Oyster only a lot cheaper) and then loaded it up as a day pass, total cost $8 each. We hadn’t been on the platform long before the train arrived, the first of 3 to get us to destination. This was the green line, heading East. Six or so stops and we changed to the blue line, heading North. Finally, in downtown L.A., we took the red line east again, to Union station.    

Before we had left, we had printed some self guided walking tours. The first was for the Union Station area, the L.A. pueblo and surrounding civic area of downtown. The station is quite interesting. Inside there are murals, waterfalls and even a small aquarium. The waiting room is something straight out of a black and white movie, heavy wooden and leather seating. It’s not hard to imagine Humphrey Bogart sitting in one reading a newspaper, smoke filling the room. The ceilings are decorated and adorned with big chandelier lighting.

Union Station Aquarium Resident

Leaving the station we made our way to the pueblo. The tour paperwork wasn’t too clear, so we missed the oldest house but walked by the oldest church. The sun was beating down by now and there was precious little shade. Any there was, seemed to be occupied by down and outs, sleeping rough.  Catherine was feeling the heat, so it was slow going but at least I had worked out where we were on the map. Several times this trip we have seen directions that say head west, etc. OK if you know which is North, not so helpful to us limeys who are not used to the grid street system. Don't go all boy scout on me and talk about using the sun as a guide either, I only did 2 weeks in the cubs!

We passed the court buildings, the civic hall and the L.A. Times building, before making our way through a small park to the Disney Theatre. The Disney Theatre is quite impressive, vast curving roof segments, of stainless steel (I think), almost interlocking like the scales of some reptile. With the blazing sun shining off it, it was quite blinding!

Walt Disney Theatre

Along the street, we noticed the road was blocked off by the police and we could here music thumping out. The sidewalk was open, so we ambled down. There was some event on, maybe, we thought, a pre Emmy awards event. Catherine asked one of the guards. Turned out to be a preview day for a new museum, by invitation only.  If only we’d told them we were in town! ;-)

By this time, Catherine was desperate for a shade break, so we made our way back to the metro. We took a train back to Union Station, fully intending to do the China Town tour we had but as we sat, cooling down, a train arrived heading towards Hollywood, our third tour, so we jumped on that, heading for Hollywood and Vine station. 

Day 19 - San Bernadino to Los Angeles

The final day on the road.

This last section crams quite a lot into a relatively short distance. We had about 80 miles to cover but it was going to be a long and gruelling 80 miles. Another hot day greeted us, as we set out to our first stop, Bono's restaurant and orange stand. The restaurant is currently being renovated and should re-open shortly. The orange stand, is a giant orange, from which, oranges were sold to the passing motorists, back in the day. There are few remaining examples left, so it's good that someone has taken care of this one.

Bono's Historic Orange

A gas station and a park, with and old section of the Old Trails Highway, latterly Route 66, were next up and a few hundred yards down the road, The Sycamore Inn, 1848 vintage and the Magic Lamp restaurant, about 100 years later.

A pioneer mother statue ( commemorating the women pioneers), some signage for a recently defunct drive-in (2001), now a college, an old AAA gas station and an Aztec styled theatre were next to provide a photo opportunity. These were followed by a Windmill diner and an old 11 mile milestone, from the early 1900s, before the spectacular Colorado Street Bridge. This is a lovely concrete structure, curving majestically across the valley. Probably the best stop of this particular journey, though it's hard to get a good photo. We did drive across it though.

Colorado Street Bridge

Another theatre, the Rialto, now little more than  a shell and we were in the home straight, passing through Beverley Hills we eventually, after some hairy, yet slow moving freeway driving, arrived at Route's end, Santa Monica. This was bitter sweet, not least because they stiff you (and motorcycles) for $12 to park!

We took to the pier, did the photos by the End of Trail sign, then went up to the gardens overlooking the beach, so Catherine could get the Will Rogers Memorial stone photo too. Then it was back to the beach for a paddle. I didn't bother this time but insisted Catherine did, as she may never see the Pacific again.

Catherine, in the Pacific Ocean

By then it was time to head for the hotel. Taking to the crawling freeway again, we jumped across into the car pool lane (possibly illegally) but that didn't really move any faster! The plan was to stop outside the hotel, check in, then take the car back. Mr jobsworth out front wouldn't let us stop and directed us to the 30 minutes free car park under the hotel. OK, except to get to P6 and then back up to the lobby, took over 15 minutes. Explaining to the girl on check-in and telling her we wouldn't be paying $9 if we went over our 30 minutes, she gave us an override pass to get out again.

We dumped our stuff, jumped back in the car, fuelled her up for the last time and ran the mile up the road to drop her off. They offered a courtesy bus back to the hotel but it is less than a mile from the car drop, so we walked.

Unpacked and freshened, we went out to dinner, at a Denny's diner. Catherine was catered for, so there were no issues there.

Tomorrow is sightseeing day, when we plan on taking the metro/transit train into the city. Should be an experience.

Day 18 - Needles to San Bernadino

Our penultimate driving day, of approximately 245 miles, started with a trip back into Arizona to fuel up. OK, so we only saved 30c per gallon but many a mickle makes a muckle, as we say in blighty.

First stop was at Goffs, a near ghost town. The general store/diner is quite remarkable, as there are even plates on the tables, left with the knife and fork on them and the food stains still visible. One last meal before shutting the doors forever maybe?

A few miles down the road, we pulled in to the Oasis service station. Luckily, we didn't need fuel, as they take full advantage of being the last fuel stop for miles, by charging $4.99 per gallon! We'd parked near a water feature they have there and whilst watching the fish, Koi Carp I expect, I noticed a humming bird at a flowering bush nearby. I've only ever seen one once before, in 2013 on the Wild West tour. That time I was too late in getting my camera out. I wasn't going to make that mistake again. With the camera on multi-shot I fired off a number of times, hopeful of getting something. I can say now, with some pleasure, that I did.

Spot the birdie!

  Within a few yards of leaving the Oasis we came upon a road closed sign for Route 66. Use Kelbaker Rd, it said. I had no idea where that was, so just told Tomtom to avoid roadblock for the next mile. I was half expecting a road closure but not this soon. A guy on Facebook had said the road was passable by going around the collapsed bridge, off road. We were sent up the interstate one junction before heading down Essex Road. Back on Route 66 we continued, the only vehicle heading West. We saw a couple of trucks coming the other way and even a cyclist. So it seemed the road was passable. Sure enough, we came to the blockage and a track led off to the desert floor and around. It was hard packed, so we took it and back on tarmac the other side. Thinking we had got ourselves a result, another blockage appeared a number of miles further on. This looked to be the one I had read about, with the bridge gone and as the guy had said, there was a track to bypass it. On we went and finally reached our first stop, the Patton memorial, commemorating the US Army training camp, set up by Patton for WWII. We would have missed this and our next stop, Cadiz summit, if we had gone to Kelbaker Road.

Cadiz summit is famous, infamous, in Wild Hog circles, as the place in 2010, where Dudley and I joined Gary, in mooning the Eagle Rider touring group! The Mojave Moon! Well, it seemed only right to recreate that moment! Dudley's bandana came out too, to be pictured atop the R66 shield on the road.  

Dudley, Cadiz Summit

Catching some old cafe signs, we passed the end of Kelbaker Road just before arriving at Amboy and Roy's gas station. The station is still open and was having a delivery as we arrived. It was also being used by a film crew for what looked to be a teen programme/film, as all the 'actors' were teenage guys and girls. After a brief stop, we made a stop at the Amboy Crater, well the car park, at least. The trail board for this volcanic crater said it was over a mile to the crater's base and a 3 hour round trip. Maybe some other time, eh? We met a couple from Wisconsin in the car park, who were travelling the Route themselves and were also staying at the Wigwam Motel tonight. We would see them later, at the motel.

Amboy Crater

Some miles on we made a brief stop at Bagdad Cafe, named after a film of the same name, which was shot there. There were two coaches there as we arrived, so it's clearly popular, though I'm not too sure why. An old market and hotel building photo stop later and we were entering Barstow. The Harvey House Railroad Depot makes an interesting stop. Unfortunately the R66 museum was closed, so we hit the road again. Another fuel stop, at $2.99, a dollar cheaper than anywhere else in the town and we we were heading for Elmer's bottle tree ranch.

Elmer's is as it says. Basically, loads of steel poles, fashioned into trees, with bottles decorating them, along with other things, guns, typewriters. You name it, pretty much everything you can think of. It's about twice the size it was when I visited in 2010, so clearly popular.

A few miles down the road is the Iron Hog Restaurant. Built in 1931 the building is still going strong today, as a real bikers bar/eating place. There are tributes to famous bikers, Evel Knievel and Dennis Hopper, together with local bikers, who have met their end one way or another. There was a group of German bikers wandering about, who had lined their Harleys up outside.

Iron Hog, Bikers Only

With a 1930s truss bridge photographed, we were onto the interstate heading down from Victorville into San Bernadino. I can honestly say, I was more nervous in the car, than I was on the Harley back in 2010. Some roadworks made things even worse but eventually we were pulling up outside the Wigwam Motel, just behind our new friends from Wisconsin.

Wigwam Village No.7 is nicer than No.6. It's ten bucks more but we both agree it is worth it. There's nothing close by food wise suitable for Catherine, so we've ordered in some pizzas.

Tomorrow we have a short drive, mileage wise, into Los Angeles and the finish at Santa Monica. Catherine will get her first view of the Pacific Ocean. I might have a paddle, without my footwear on this time ;-)

Day 17 - Williams to Needles

After 2 weeks on the road, some people are finding it hard to get going in the morning!

One way of getting her up! 

Once up and breakfasted, we packed up and took a drive a few blocks to the Grand Canyon Railway. A train was just coming in as we got there. Catherine grabbed the opportunity again, to jump aboard and have  photo taken with one of the staff! We took some photos of the old steam locomotive, then hit the road. Stopping briefly, at an old bridge over the railroad, we arrived in Seligman, home of Angelo (Angel) Delgadillo the founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and the owner of the Snow Cap ice cream parlour, plus the barber's and souvenir shop next door. I'd been here before and actually met Angel back in 2010. He wasn't around today, which is a shame, as I could do with a hair trim. Shaven before we left blighty, I'm now like an old tennis ball! Probably good job Angel wasn't around, with six coachloads of people swarming around!  We took a look around and decided to have an ice cream. The Snow Cap was closed last time round, so it was something I wanted to do. The parlour used to be run by Angel's brother, a practical joker, who died in 2004, so it was no surprise when I asked for a cone, that the young lady behind the counter produced a small orange traffic cone! The ice cream was really nice, when we finally got it.

The Snow Cap

From Seligman, we dropped by The Grand Canyon Caverns (not much to see unless you actually go underground), an old gas station and trading post, plus a training school, which used to be a boarding school for Indian children. This wasn't like boarding schools back home though. Google Truxton Canyon Training School for more info.

Moving on from Truxton, we came to Hackberry and the famous store. If you have ever seen pictures from Route 66, odds are you've seen the Hackberry store with it's 1950s red Corvette outside. It's very famous and a real attraction along the Route. The full car park, was testament to that. I've been here twice before. The last time was in 2013 on the Wild West Tour, with my pal Dudley (Bill Walker). At that time I took a picture of him, resting on one of the wooden seats under the canopy. Today, his bandanna took his place, for another photo call. Rest in peace Dud!

For Dudley

A photo call at a giant Easter Island type head, led us to Kingman. We stopped here to check out Mr D'z, a diner, where I had eaten lunch back in 2010, interesting for the artwork on the entrance to each restroom, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. It was packed, another coach, parked up outside. Also on the agenda, just across the street, is a huge Santa Fe railroad locomotive. Catherine really liked this one, particularly as she was able to climb aboard. It really is massive. I probably said as much in my 2010 blog.

Leaving Kingman, we were soon into the Black Mountains, making a quick stop at Cool Springs, before taking the tight and twisty road up and over Sitgreaves Pass. Just before the summit, there is a pullout and some steps leading up the mountain side. These lead to a small rock pool, fed by a natural spring, which at times apparently, contains gold fish. There were none today though.

Over the pass we entered Oatman. This is an old gold mining town, inhabited these days, by a number of wild burros or donkeys. Once, these animals pulled the wagons in the mine but when the mine closed, they were turned loose. Now, all these years later, they roam free, seeking out any tasty morsels they can find in the town. We walked up and down the main street, a scene right out of the wild west, with wooden boardwalks, taking photos of the donkeys, some only a few months old! Aaah, so cute.

Baby Burro

Leaving Oatman, it wasn't long before were were crossing the Colorado River and entering California, our eighth and final state on the tour. First thing we noticed as we entered Needles, was the price of fuel. A gallon in California is more than a dollar more than that in Arizona. We paid $2.55 on our last fill up in Winslow. The cheapest in Needles is $3.99, with some over $4! Might be worth driving back over the state line!

Tomorrow we cross the Mojave desert on our way to San Bernadino and our second Wigwam motel, village number 7. Temperatures when we arrived in Needles were just shy of 100, at just before 6pm, so we're expecting a hot one tomorrow.

Come back soon, to see if we survived the journey.


 

Ms Dozey's Daily Diary - 7

Day Fifteen

Gone with the Wind?  After a night in a surprisingly spacious Wigwam (fairly basic but functional and good value) we travelled through the National Park of the Painted Desert.  This is a petrified forest with evidence of primitive people through art and simple dwelling places. However, between leaving the park and arriving at the Wigwam, I found my cotton shawl had disappeared.  We can only think that the high winds caught it from the seat and carried it off.

Although it had little monetary value, I bought it in Egypt in 2000 and will miss it and have now had to use something else to line the nylon car seat. 

Day Sixteen

Our room in Williams is in a western themed hotel – we had the “movie”room complete with a Winchester over the headboard, dynamite on the shelf, gorgeous coffee table books of the old west movies and other western memorabilia.  It had the biggest bathroom so far and a cook-house dining room.

The main street in Williams is devoted to R66 gift shops and some 50’s wings and fins cars.  For the more culturally minded (fed up with the same old made in China souvenirs) town plaques showed their original  history so we were able to locate the original telegraph office, drug store, hotel, etc. 

Day Seventeen

Another hot day – approaching 100 as we arrived in our last state of California. 

We went straight to the outdoor pool after check-in.  It was lovely to get some exercise as the huge American meals and lack of exercise are now taking their toll and I want to try to get into a healthier regime.

Oatman was a picturesque old mining town with donkeys roaming the street and boardwalks .  Although there are only a few buildings it is a huge tourist draw and was once a quiet town where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon.

Today has featured more trains – the old Grand Canyon steam train is an exhibit at Williams station opposite to the modern trains.  We also visited a huge old loco in Kingman and counted 120 goods coaches on the modern one passing through. The train health and safety is almost nonexistent – you can get close enough to check the fuel tank and when I was videoing at track side, the ground shook so violently as it thundered past just a couple of feet away it was terrifying! 

Day 16 - Holbrook to Williams

Well, that's our first night in a wigwam over. The wigwam itself is OK but between the aircon and the railroad, I've had better sleeps. We hit the road just before 9am. Our first stop was the Jackrabbit Trading Post, for some photos of the famous signage, amongst other things.

Our next stop, was in the town of Winslow. Yes, Winslow, of Standin' on the Corner fame, in the song Take It Easy, by the Eagles. Disappointment alert! There was no red flatbed Ford truck. I'd seen on streetview it was missing but when I mentioned this on Facebook, someone told me it was there, after the date the streetview was recorded. Seems they've taken it away again since. The crossroads has changed quite a bit since 2010 and there are a couple of diners now just along the street. we decided to go in one for breakfast. I had the special, 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and either sausage or bacon, I chose bacon. Now, what I was expecting and what arrived, were quite different. The pancakes were about 8 inches across and an inch thick! Needless to say I was full after those.

It's a Ford my lord, but not a flatbed!

A little way down the road, is La Posada Hotel. This is a Santa Fe railroad hotel, with it's own Amtrack stop. To catch the train, travellers just walk to the end of the hotel garden, to board the train.The hotel itself, built in 1929, is very nice and the gardens are really pretty. If there is a downside for me, it's the plus for others and how it was designed, the fact that the railroad is just a few feet away.

Being forced to use I40, we could at least make good time to our next destination, a slight detour off the Route, to the Meteor Crater. This is THE meteor crater. Created around 50,000 years ago, what they discovered here, provided evidence that proved for the first time that objects have and can strike the earth. What they found here allowed them to identify over 200 other strike sights around the globe. This one, is the largest and best preserved though. It's very interesting but a tad pricey, possibly as it's a privately owned attraction. Up on the rim, the wind was incredibly strong, at times blowing us across the path. Good job it wasn't blowing into the crater!

Meteor Crater, Arizona

Moving on, to stop at a couple of old abandoned trading posts, 2 guns (which once had a zoo) and Twin Arrows and then the Walnut canyon Bridge (1924), we arrived in Flagstaff. Flagstaff is notable as a railroad town and there is a visitor centre in the depot (station) and an old loco on display. The other place of note, one block across the street, are the Monte Vista and Weatherford Hotels. Both have had famous film stars staying in them over the years.

The Weatherford Hotel, Flagstaff

From Flagstaff we were heading for Williams, with a couple of unpaved sections to negotiate. The poor old Escape is filthy as hell and I'd hate to be the one to have to clean it when we drop it off!

In Williams, we are staying at The Drovers Inn. This is a Wild West themed complex, with bar, restaurant and gift shop too. The entire complex is made up of  old wild west looking wooden buildings. We have a themed room, the Movie room. This is great. It has all movie memorabilia on the walls, including posters from westerns and even a rifle above the bed. Not to mention the sticks of dynamite on the shelf. Catherine really likes it, so that's a bonus for me too.

The Drovers Inn, Movie Room

We took a walk up the main street and took some photos before having some dinner. We'll have to take a quick walk in he morning as it got too dark to view the Grand Canyon railway.

Tomorrow we'll be entering our final state, as we enter California and make our overnight stop by the Colorado River, in Needles.

Day 15 - Gallup to Holbrook

Not a long drive today and not masses to stop for, though one stop in particular would take up quite a bit of our time.

First stop of the day was less than five minutes away, in downtown Gallup, The El Morro Theatre, opened in 1928. A little way along the street was stop number two, another in the Muffler Man giant series, this time a cowboy version, atop a used car dealership. This will be the last giant we shall see on this trip.

Cowboy Giant, Gallup, NM

The last miles of New Mexico would take us over the border into Arizona and to the Teepee Trading Post. As the name suggests, this is a giant teepee, craft and souvenir store. At Allentown, we paid a visit to the Old Allentown road bridge, in use on a pre 1937 alignment of the Route. As we left and came to cross the railroad track, the bells started sounding and we had to wait, as the barrier came down and the goods train thundered past. Only 80 carriages, so not massive, this was the second train filming opportunity this morning.

Onwards, we made a stop at Fort Courage an old gas station, refreshments stop, based on the fort from the television series, F Troop (google it, you youngsters!). Now deserted, it makes a sorry sight.

Following old and unpaved Route 66 onto the Navajo Reservation, we made a stop at the Querino Canyon Bridge, built in 1929, it spans a deep-ish gorge. As Route 66 ran out we were forced to take the interstate. A 25 mile jaunt to the exit that leads to the Painted Desert National Park.

Querino Canyon Bridge

We had some lunch, a chilli dog for me, before watching a short film in the visitor centre and then took to the road and the drive through the park.The route through the park, is about 26 miles long, the first part being a vast multi-coloured landscape. About 5 miles in, you come across a spot where Route 66 used to run through the park. An old rusting Studebaker sits as a memorial. All that is left, to show where the road was, is a line of telegraph poles, stretching both ways into the desert.

All that remains of Route 66 through
the Painted Desert National Park

After stopping at an ancient Puebloan settlement, about 800 years old and then Newspaper Rock, to view some petroglyphs, we entered the second part of the park, the petrified forest. We have both been to another, on Lesvos, Greece but this is on a larger scale. There are a number of 'pullouts' to use the American expression, where you can view the vast number of fossilised trees and walk among them, to get a better view. Sadly, most of the more spectacular pieces, those with semi precious stones, have long since been removed but even so, what is left is still worth viewing. In the museum at the end of the drive, they have a couple of examples that have been cut and polished. They are quite beautiful.

From the park, we had a short drive into Holbrook. Here we stopped at Joe & Aggie's cafe. There's a nice mural of the Route on the side wall. I'd been for lunch here back in 2010, so we checked when they closed, in case we needed to return for dinner, before making the 500 yard drive up the road to the Wigwam Motel, our bed for the night.

Wigwam No. 3

Opened in 1950, the 'rooms' are actually tee-pees but the man who patented the design didn't like tee-pee, so called them wigwam instead. There were seven of these wigwam 'villages' built between 1936 and the 1950s, this one in Holbrook is number 6. There are a number of period vehicles around the court, outside the wigwams, which adds to the authenticity. It looks really cool and definitely worth a stop for photos, even if you don't intend staying.

For dinner, we did go back to Joe & Aggie's, as there is little else up this end of town. I didn't remember the inside but the chap told us they'd had new booths put in since 2010, so not surprising. The food wasn't gourmet, tacos and burritos but tasty enough, with some of the home made chilli. I had a Grand Canyon Brewery ale to wash it down with, which was rather nice. It's brewed in Williams, which just happens to be our stop tomorrow night ;-)

As we were leaving, the chap asked us to sign the visitors book. Having told him I had been before in 2010, he fetched the previous book. Searching through it, I was delighted to find I had signed it back then, 19th June 2010, it seems one of only 3 of the party who did. Signing it again, I made reference to my previous entry. I don't expect I'll make a third but maybe another Devall will, in June 2016. Who knows?

As I said, tomorrow, we will end up in Williams, starting point for the Grand Canyon railway.

 Until then.

Day 14 - Santa Fe to Gallup

Another full brekkie, before hitting the road and heading south again, towards Albuquerque. We stopped in Madrid and the Wild Hogs Diner. This was built especially for the Wild Hogs movie and is now a gift shop. Either we were too early or maybe because it was Sunday, either way, it was closed. Quick photo and we were back on the road.

Maggie's Diner, Madrid, NM

Just east of Albuquerque we encountered the singing road. Ridges in the tarmac, when traversed at 45 mph, play the Star Spangled Banner. It was pretty cool.

As we entered the city, there were a number of old motor lodges/motels worthy of a photo stop and then the Kimo theatre. This, for me, was the best we have seen, with it's native American decoration.

After driving around trying to find somewhere to park, where we wouldn't get towed away, we got lucky in the old town square, right outside the church. The temperature had risen to the mid nineties again, so we had a quick look around the town, taking in a wild west 'play' in the street, involving lots of jokes and loud bangs, before making our way back to the car and back out onto R66.

Guy shoots other guy and wins girl!

Just a mile or so up the road, we stopped to walk across the Rio Grande bridge. I did this back in 2010 but there was a lot more water in the river this time, than I recall then.  Next stop was the Rio Peurco bridge. This is a now bypassed R66 truss bridge, over the Rio Peurco gorge. Gorge makes it sound quite grand, it's about 20 feet deep and was dry as a bone. Part of the old R66 tarmac has been preserved at the bridge, for parking, the first place we've seen this. It's a nice example of this type of bridge.

Onwards we went, stopping at an old abandoned trading post and a little further on, a gas station with some old signs, for stores and a motel. Another old gas station stop and we were at the Continental Divide. This is, apparently, the point where rainwater takes different routes to the ocean, i.e. East of that point, it flows towards the Atlantic, West, towards the Pacific. There are some lovely red escarpments off in the distance to admire, besides the info sign to photograph.

From there it was a short drive down into Gallup and our hotel for the night, the famous El Rancho. Unfortunately and despite me having a confirmed booking from November last year, they had no record of my booking. I'd had a king room confirmed, with the cost and a confirmation number but now the receptionist wanted me to have a queen room, for just $2 less. Apparently, a tour had all the king rooms booked out, so she couldn't give us one! We were not happy, as you might expect. In the end, a compromise was reached and we are in a queen room but at a saving of about $20.

The restaurant here is totally non veggie friendly, so we took a drive along the 'strip' to a Pizza Hut. Since our arrival it had rained a little, so Catherine was able to employ her brolly for the first time!

We have a short drive tomorrow, to Holbrook in Arizona, our 7th state. The Wigwam awaits!

Ms Dozey's Daily Diary - 6

Day Eleven

What a mistake to make.... the Cactus Motel was a fine place to stay but when you fancy a chocolate bar and find the closest town is 20 miles behind or 35 ahead, you realise how remote you are. 

En route to our next stop in New Mexico we stopped off at huge religious cross and sculptures representing the persecution of Christ.  They were very well done in bronze although the cross itself was corrugated white metal.  We also stopped at the Cadillac Ranch and a more obscure one with buried VW Beetles.
That was a bit dilapidated but we did have it all to ourselves.

We have now passed  through the Midpoint of the tour which was a great photo opportunity. We are staying at another period hotel the Blue Swallow, in Tucumcari.. This town is a blend of disused motels and much-used ones with period cars parked outside.  It was the first time we had a room with just one bed since The Wagon Wheel – the city hotels tend to have  two kings in the room.

Day Twelve

It was a much cooler day today with the temperature at 66 when we left.  We had fewer stops on the way to Santa Fe.  There was a shaky moment when we found ourselves on a forty-plus  mile stretch of road with no filling stations and about sixty miles worth left  in the tank.  The road was long, no winding turns, and a quite anxious time wondering where the next filling station was.  We discussed who would hitch to get petrol and who would stay with the car and all combinations in between. 

The motel is what I would call Tex-Mex, lots of terracotta tiles and heavy wood furniture.  It is very well situated although due to overhanging vines from the veranda, was really dark inside.

We went down to the station to check out the trains (big, double deckers) and take a few photos and get on one in its 15 minute stop over.   I don’t think the conductor understood my accent but he did pose for a photo with me!

This weekend there is a fiesta in Santa Fe so we are looking forward to a colourful day tomorrow.

Day Thirteen

We spent the day looking around Santa Fe which is very much a window shopping destination – a lot of hand crafted goods and high end shops.  It is a bit like the Bond Street of New Mexico. 

Interestingly I have met two other vegetarians here; the menus are very good for non meat eaters and I think I am now integrated with the Tex Mex life style having rice, green chilli sauce and beans for breakfast
today.  The chilli was quite hot (for me) but I don’t think I will get another chance to enjoy authentic food like this so really wanted to try it.

In the evening we walked to the square to enjoy the fiesta with a friendly atmosphere of singing, dancing and street cooking.

Day Fourteen

We enjoyed another lovely breakfast before setting off to Gallup.  We had quite a lot of stops on the way including Albuquerque with its Old Town. This is very much a photo opportunity and with a Wild West shoot out being enacted, made a great stop off. We also managed to get alongside one of the long goods trains (130 trailers)  to video it passing by.

The hotel here has had many famous guests from the Hollywood Western hey  day including John Wayne,
Robert Mitchum, and James Stewart.  I think the only survivor from their wall of fame of signed photos is Doris Day and a more recent stay of Jill St John. Gallup is also the Indian Capital of the World and home of the Navajo.

Day 13 - Santa Fe Sightseeing

At breakfast,we got talking to a couple from Colorado. The woman had been an air hostess, so she had travelled a fair bit and had been to England before. Her husband hadn't but they plan a trip next year. Not sure how he'll get on, as he didn't seem to understand half of what Catherine said!

Fed, we went into town, using a town walk I had downloaded. It took us to the oldest house in Santa Fe (dating to 1647), arguably the oldest church/mission and the playhouse, currently the oldest theatre in operation west of the Mississippi.

The Oldest House in Santa Fe

Next stop was the Loretto Chapel, famous for its staircase. The story goes, that the nuns wanted a staircase in the chapel but everyone said it couldn't be built for lack of space. So, the nuns prayed for 9 days and on the ninth day, a carpenter called Joseph appeared from nowhere and built them a spiral staircase. Once finished he disappeared. The staircase is said to be architecturally impossible, having two 360 degree turns but with no visible means of support. Joseph built it with saw, hammer and wood that is said to be from trees not found locally but plentiful in the Holy Land! Make of that what you will. Whatever, it's a beautiful staircase.

The Loretto Staircase

Making our way past La Fonda, the oldest hotel in Santa Fe, we entered the Cathedral, home to La Conquistadora, the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the US. She arrived in Santa Fe in 1625 and was rescued from the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 by the Spanish, who later returned her. It is her return that the fiesta, currently on in the town, celebrates.

La Conquistadora

With a walk round the Old Plaza, taking in the sights and sounds of the Fiesta, I led Catherine to the Five and Dime. She was pleased as punch to get some photos. Then we made our way back to the hotel.

A mishap last night meant I was left without a mouse for the laptop, so we decided to pop up the road to Walmart and replace it. As we were approaching the front doors a lad ran out , followed by another chap. It wasn't clear at first but soon became apparent that the first lad had obviously stolen something and was doing a runner. The pursuer, was never going to catch him, so I guess he got away. It seemed the entire Santa Fe police force was at the Old Plaza, as I photographed some of their vehicles, so I doubt they would have been able to respond too quickly!

Purchase made it was back to the motel.

It wasn't long before it was time for dinner, so we headed out to the Cowgirl again. Plumping for something local, I went for quesadilla, washed down with four taster sized glasses of some of the beers on offer. and very nice they were too.

After dinner we walked back down into the Old Plaza for more of the fiesta, just in time to see a local band, Leonard Sanchez y Karizma, introduced by Miss Santa Fe 2015. Just beforehand though, an excitable woman in the crowd told us Leonard was her brother. It was entertaining enough and lots of people were dancing. It was all in Spanish, so we didn't understand the words to the first few songs but, then they did Elvis' Burning Love and Dawn's Knock Three Times, so we were able to sing along, before making our way back to the motel.

Tomorrow we have quite a busy day, making a stop to visit the old town in Albuquerque, amongst other things, ending up in Gallup at The El Rancho Hotel. I stayed there back in 2010. Rooms are named after film stars who have stayed there, many during the making of westerns, in the surrounding hills.

Till then.

Day 12 - Tucumcari to Santa Fe

Today was more of a driving day than anything else, with only a few stops scheduled into the drive.

Leaving the Blue Swallow, our first stop was an old disused store. From the photo I'd seen it looked quite interesting. Sadly, today, it bears little resemblance to that photo, the roof having now caved in, so it is little more than a shell. Surprisingly though, the glass in the doors is fully intact.

A little way down the road, there's Newkirk, once a thriving town, now, just a few inhabited buildings remain. Another old store sits rotting away, with stuff still sitting on the shelves! It's almost as if the owners were snatched, rather than just closed their doors. Bizarre!

Abandoned

In Santa Rosa, we stopped for brunch at McDonalds and I kid you not, we had a Falling Down moment (the Michael Douglas film). Apologies if you haven't seen it. As we got in the queue, we were both going to have egg McMuffin, the guy behind the counter changed the food board, to show the burger selection. As we got to the counter, bearing in mind we were only second in line and asked for the McMuffins, the guy told us they had stopped serving and were on lunch menu now. When Catherine asked what time they stopped serving breakfast, they said 10:30. We both looked at our watches, 10:30. But we were already in the queue, Catherine argued, pointing out that she doesn't eat meat, so only wanted the egg. This was just ridiculous. The manager appeared and after a brief exchange, we we allowed to order the eggs. In the film, MD is actually 3 minutes late, so I guess they can think themselves lucky we weren't carrying an Uzi or something!

We made a stop at the Route 66 Motor Museum, though we decided not to go round, as I'd done it before and Catherine isn't really a yank car fanatic, despite being keen to photo one outside the motel next to the Blue Swallow, a Ford Galaxie. A short drive away from the museum, is the Blue Hole. This is a sixty foot wide pool of crystal blue water, apparently one of seven in the area, connected by underground caves. This one is very popular with divers and there were a couple in the water as we arrived. Around the edge, live a family of ground squirrels. They are cute, so cute in fact, we spent more time looking and photographing them than we did the pool.

Aah! Cute!

This was our last stop. Next up was Santa Fe.

Besides the usual road kill, a deer today, we also saw a road runner. Far from rushing about though, this one ambled out of our path, to the roadside.

We arrived at the motel a little after 2pm. The room though spacious, with two king sized beds, is very dark, as the overhanging roof is covered in a thick vine, so blocking out a great deal of the daylight. Catherine  was not impressed.

We went out for a walk, down to the train station, as Catherine has become fixated with the blasted trains out here, hoping to see another long goods train, so she can video it. Santa Fe is the end of the line, so no goods trains come here. They do, however, have a commuter service that goes back and forth to Albuquerque. We were lucky enough to see one of these massive diesel locos come and go and video was taken. Catherine even got her photo taken on board, with the ticket collector!

All Aboard!

Along from the station, I spotted a brew pub, so not wishing to be rude, we went inside and had one of their brews. A pint on an empty stomach might not have been the best idea but hey, I am on holiday ;-)

As we walked back to the motel we came across the Cowgirl Steakhouse (recommended by my friend Carol) and checked out the menu. There was probably as much veggie stuff as meaty, so we decided to go back after freshening up. When we got back, we were greeted by some very nice looking cowgirls ;-) and presented with the menu and a list of the beers they offered, 24 in all! I was like a kid in a sweetshop but settled on a pint of Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, a very nice amber beer at 6% abv. That washed down a massive plate of pulled pork sandwich and fries, which I struggled to finish. Our cowgirl, besides being quite pretty, was very attentive, unlike that bloke from last night. Normal service has been resumed.

Tomorrow we'll be off into town, to search out the Five & Dime store. Catherine is dying to see one, having seen them on TV. We have a town walk to do as well and 3 other brew pubs to search out. Until Tomorrow.

Day 11 - McLean to Tucumcari

A fairly short day today. Not so many things to see and less than 200 miles to drive.

We awoke to a misty start. Dew was covering the car and dripping from the porch roof. We were on the road by about 8:30. Our first stop was at a leaning water tower, purely for a photo. apparently it was built that way, it hasn't collapsed or anything like that. A few miles up the road, was Groom Cross. This is a 19 storey high white cross. Around the base are a number of sculptures, depicting Jesus' journey from trial to death. You don't need to be a religious person to appreciate the quality and detail in the sculptures.

Groom Cross, plus Catherine for scale

Our next stop was at Bug Ranch. This is a lesser known curiosity, similar to Cadillac Ranch but with VW Beetles buried nose down. Just like Cadillac Ranch, these have been spray painted. We wandered among them, careful to look and listen for rattle snakes. You can't be too careful out here. We'd already seem a big black spider on the road, so didn't need any other wildlife encounters!

After run through Amarillo and a brief stop in the old district, to photograph an old swimming pool/dance hall, we arrived at the aforementioned Cadillac Ranch. It's changed slightly since 2010, in that there is now a fence and kissing gate at the entrance to the field. We wandered up and searched around for a can of spray paint. Luckily, I came across one that had some life left in it, so we left our initials on the wheel of one of the Caddies for posterity. More likely, we'll have been over sprayed by the weekend!

Cadillac Ranch

We continued on to Vega, where there was an early motor court style motel, then on to Adrian and the half way point of our journey. The mid point of Route 66, is recognised by a line across the highway and a sign, declaring it is 1139 miles to Chicago and Los Angeles, in either direction. The Mid Point Cafe and gift shop, straddles the line. They do a mean pie here (so Gary had us believe), so this time I thought I'd try some but only after we'd taken selfies and timies of ourselves in front of or beside the midpoint sign. Having only had brunch just before Cadillac Ranch, we weren't hungry, this was just so I could say I'd tried the pie, that is so revered. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for Catherine, it was not veggie friendly, though she only found out after having a mouthful. Oh dear!

Adrian, Texas - Half Way

From the mid point it was a short drive to Glenrio, a ghost town on the Texas / New Mexico border. There used to be a motel there, The First & Last but that has long since fallen into disrepair and the sign just says
' IN T ' now. Back on the road, we entered New Mexico and another time zone, Mountain Time, thus gaining an hour.

Within short time we were parked up outside our digs for the night, The Blue Swallow Motel, in Tucumcari. The Blue Swallow was established in 1939/40, so another period property. We were quite early, too early for anyone to be around to check us in, so we went for a walk up the main street, calling in at the Tee Pee Curios gift shop, shaped like a tee pee.

Checked in, we took a drive downtown to the railroad station/depot. The station is very striking, though sadly no longer in use, as passenger trains stopped coming to Tucumcari back in 1968. The town has a number of murals dotted around town. We managed to find a few before heading back to the motel and then out to Del's Steakhouse for dinner.

Tucumcari Station

Not much to say about Del's, except Leo, our waiter, is the surliest person we have encountered all trip. Everything was too much trouble or so it seemed, whilst locals got an apology for late delivery of food, we got sweet FA. Food was OK, nothing special but service, well you're having a laugh if you call it that. Needless to say, Leo got sweet FA tip!

As we walked back, the neon was on, so we got a few shots. Neither camera is really equipped for night shots like that though, so not expecting too much. The mosquitos were also out and making a beeline for yours truly, so I'm expecting a few more red lumps to appear, to add to the 3 I already have.

Back at the motel Catherine went to get beer and choccy from the communal fridge. I'd shut myself in a dark room to avoid the mosquitos, when suddenly there was a scream. Out I went to find Catherine backing away from the fridge room. By the time I got over another guy was there and discovered the cause of the upset, two toads, one UK sized, one American super sized! I'm sure they were more scared than Catherine, they just didn't make such a fuss!

Whilst we are on the subject of wildlife, I have to report that we suffered a bird strike earlier in the day. Bowling along, something flew up from the side of the road and slammed into the windscreen on Catherine's side. I can't repeat what she said, just to say, it wasn't becoming of a lady! The bird probably said something similar, its last words, I fear.

Tomorrow we shall head for Santa Fe, where we have a day of rest, so come back to see what we get up to then.