Route 66

Route 66

For a lot of our trip, we were near or on the historic Route 66. A lot of it is gone now, but pieces remain and some spots are even thriving. We started seeing part of it as we passed through Amarillo and the famous buried cars. Barry shared his experience in Winslow, AZ in a previous post. And when we drove through the Painted Desert, they had preserved a piece of Route 66 which used to pass through that area. They even had a stamp for my National Parks Passport of Route 66.

As we made our way home, we travelled for a while on it. Starting in Flagstaff, which has preserved some of it, we stopped and walked around. They have a cute downtown shopping area with a mountain town atmosphere. The people seemed very laid back and super friendly, with a certain quirkiness in their dress and shops to add that fun element. We enjoyed exploring and Barry was able to find a spot showing the LSU game while we ate lunch.

Along the way, we took a side trip off Route 66 to Navajo Nation, which is officially not under the federal government.  This area was settled by the Navajo, which I learned call themselves, Diné.  We saw a memorial dedicated to the Navajo Code talkers and an incredible rock formation where they had settled called Window Rock.

I spent several days in Albuquerque while Barry flew to San Francisco for work (can you believe he left me?!?!) and stayed in an RV park on old Route 66. They played up the history with a few adorable throwback campers you could rent for the night and some 1950s cars on display.

We didn’t stop in Gallup which has some famous Route 66 history and a landmark old hotel where movie stars used to stay when shooting westerns. Maybe next time. I had to promise Barry we would make our way out that way again as we also missed a town called PieTown, named for its famous pies!

Maybe one day we will take it all the way to California!