Route 66 to Kingman

Fri 17th      Happy Birthday Vicki
The meds have made a huge difference, Vicki is able to do a bit more before she is worn out.
Today was another day on the road, (funny that)
We stopped for gas at Williams and asked the attendant if the road West was in good condition, she said it was but it ended just a little up the road.
We turned off I40 again 17 miles before Seligman. We checked out the route 66 souvenirs but I think we have bought enough. Seligman was a cool town and we took lots of photos

 We met the Angel of Route 66, it was him that started bringing 66 back on the map, he's 92.

We had photos taken with this amazing man but have lost them.

While we were there a group of Goldwing riders arrived however none of them spoke English. The guy I tried to talk to was from Switzerland.

From there on there was a few shops to stop at and look at the paraphernalia including old cars and some wrecks.

The clouds have looked menacing since we left Flagstaff but we missed the rain that was falling in the hills.
We cruised a little West after checking in but thought the town had run out and we were heading back into the boonies so went back to the unit.
As we enjoyed the pool we watched the lightning and listened to the thunder, we got out of the pool when it started to rain (didn't want to get wet!) Soon the rain was torrential and small rivers were building in the car park. It only lasted for 30 minutes or so and the rivers and ground dried up quickly soon after.
Because it was my wife's birthday I thought I'd do something different, I took her out for dinner, tonight it was Indian.

The Breathtaking Grand Canyon

Well today didn't start off the way we planned! Vicki still felt like shite and didn't sleep well, third night in a row. She wanted me to take her to the medical centre right beside the hotel. We spent all morning in the treatment room because Vicki had altitude sickness. They took an ecg and blood pressure etc then had her on oxygen for about 3 hours, it did make her feel better. The Dr was very nice, she too suffers from altitude sickness, and has to leave for lower heights occasionally. She was happy that we were headed to lower heights tomorrow but advised that we should go the extra 900 feet to see the Grand Canyon! We did!
Then next door to the drug store / pharmacy a 45 minute wait for the meds so I went to the post office with another care package (more room on the bike for beer now!) When I went to pick up the meds, I had to have an interview with the pharmacist as I had not shopped there before.
Finally we got on the road, quite bit later than planned. As we got on the bike the first spots of rain started, luckily we rode out of it quick. We stopped at the Grand Canyon village to watch a video of the canyon and some of its history, Vicki needed to catch her breath also.
We stopped at the  car park and I enquired about how far it is to walk to the rim of the canyon. Vicki wouldn't handle the 5 minute walk so the ranger suggested the shuttle that took you right to the edge. Excellent!

Vicki said that the view was "breathtaking" she didn't intend the pun.
As I brought the bike closer for Vicki I saw a deer standing in the bushes right beside the car park. It was cool that it was so close, but a reminder that they would also be along the roadside. As we followed the GPS in circles around the canyon tracks we did indeed see deer, not just singles but in groups of 7 or more.
We had been advised to stop at the Fred Flinstone Village however it was already amost dark and the clouds in the distance even darker, so it was just for one quick pic with Willma.
I saw the lightning in the sky ahead and thought of the wet hides we would both have by the time we got back.
The signs at the side of the road warned us of deer for the next 45 mile, cool that means the last 4 mile should be ok. Vicki spotted many deer on the sides of the road, I'm glad I didn't spot any in front of me. Quite a scary trip and quite a bit slower than expected.
About 40 mile from home the temperature dropped and the rain started, big drops too. Luckily the rain pretty much stopped 20 mile from home. Our gear was virtually dry as we took it off. I hadn't intended to ride in the dark because of the deer hazard but tonight we had to do it in the rain too.
Chinese was ordered in and was yummy.
The meds Vicki has taken has made her feel better but still tired, hopefully a good sleep tonight.

Into Arizona - Flagstaff

Wed 14th
Today we got rain, more about that later.
Last night we were told by the guy in the museum that 66 was a good road and went all the way to Gallup, or more, I can't remember. We headed out on 66, and yes the road was good however after about 40 miles there was a sign that said " No access to I 40, dead end in 1/2 mile" so it was back onto I 40.
Vicki had checked the rain radar before we left and it showed a storm over Flagstaff at about 2, she wanted to be there by 1 or 1.30. More later!
We passed a large pick-up (but they are all large here) the guy was picking up tyre carcasses and had quite a load. I wondered how often he picked them up.
After entering Arizona we stopped at an Indian trading post that was tucked under a huge cliff. They had the usual route 66 souvenirs and Indian made produce but also had a large variety of fireworks. It's a shame we couldn't get them on the plane to bring some home.
The landscape changed from rock escarpment to open parrie in next to no time. I still hadn't seen 66 beside me?
We pulled into Winslow Az. for the mandatory "standing on the corner photo" and a bite to eat.

I was standing on a corner of Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see, when a girl (My Lord) in a flat bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.

She was takin' it easy!

As we were preparing to leave we heard the thunder. It was 1.30, if only we hadn't stopped for food! Down it came, the questions were do we wait it out or go for it? And do we do 66 or hit the interstate? We decided to carry on along 66, thinking the slower speed might be better in the wind and rain. After a bit the road headed away from the interstate and I was not 100% sure we were still on 66. Getting wetter (because we have no wet weather gear) we did a U turn and headed for I 40. A great decision was made! 5 mile down the road we were out of the rain and already starting to dry. No more rain before Flagstaff.
We saw quite a bit of warning that there had been an accident by I 17 and that the Hwy was closed,when I saw traffic backing up 2.7 miles from our destination, I never thought to take the next exit. We stood practically still, surrounded by trucks for about half an hour before I could keep my feet on the pegs.
Where we are camped tonight is near a railway, earlier today Vicki counted 120 carriages of double decker 40 foot containers, the train had 4 locomotives, it was only a small one.
This afternoon I had a go at cleaning off all the Nebraska and Kansas bugs. I only had a hose, a piece of towel and half a tube of shampoo. I managed to remove most but still found quite a bit of bug splat when I went to dry it.
We went for dinner at an Irish pub but Vicki wasn't feeling to flash so we didn't party all night.
The clouds are threatening to leave spots all over the bike but no rain yet.

Route 66 to Grants

Today we cruised along hwy I 40 and did a little on route 66, but the road is pretty rough. On the interstates there are quite a lot of tyre carcasses, I would not like to be to close to the semi when one removes itself from the wheel. We passed a semi that had lost its trailer unit into the median area, it had rolled, they had it back on its feet as we passed.
When I called into Laguna for a beak we got misplaced and ended up cruising some back streets, the houses were pretty rough and there were a lot of the old adobe style houses.
Before we had our dip in the pool, we went to the New Mexico Mining Museum. They had an underground section that was made to resemble a mine. The displays were much more interesting in that setting.

The area is one of the biggest areas for mining Uranium in the US.
Just along the road from here was an archway that you can park your vehicle in and take a photo, so we did.
The Panda on the side of the building recommended we eat our evening meal at the Asian Super Buffet, it was pretty good too!
While Vicki spent some time booking our future I took the time to get the laundry done, it's better this way  because I don't get grumped at if the motel room is not up to scratch.

Route 66 into New Mexico- Santa Rosa

Mon 13th
This morning was a bit of a lethargic start but we went to check out an information place for route 66, but it was closed. Onto the 2nd amendment cowboy and the Cadillac Ranch. The 2nd amendment to the constitution is the right to bear arms. It gives one the right to have enough weapons and ammunition to protect oneself and family from anyone who might do you harm, including your government. (True! Look it up)

The 10 Cadillacs half buried in a field are so covered in spray paint, it is hard to tell the true shape of the car. It is disappointing that everybody just tosses their empty paint cans on the ground though! It makes the place look so trashy!

We travelled along bits of Hwy 66 but I  some places the road just vanishes so US I40 is the way to go. We stopped for a snack at the midway point cafe and the manditory photos.

Another spot we pulled off the Hwy had only a gas station and more derelict buildings.
Santa Rosa is where we set up camp for the night, we found an interesting place called the Blue Hole. It looks to me to be a natural spring, it is 80 feet deep and puts out 3000 gallons of water per minute. There were quite a number of people swimming there (I wished I had taken my togs and could float better)

Next was the Route 66 Auto Museum, what looks like a private collection of about 30 cars and other related items. They had 3 or 4 57 chevs, the owner obviously didnt like the stainless at the back guards as they had all been removed. One i had to do a doubletake, it looked like a 55 with the white on red paint and 55 chrome. It was when i saw the bullets in the bonnet that i released it was a 57.
I was keen to go to a similar collection of 100 cars in Amarillo but they didn't open until 10am.
Here in Santa Rosa (as in other places along 66) there are a lot of closed motels, gas stations (even a reasonably young Shell) and other businesses. I guess that's the way the economics of the area has gone around here. With the amount of motels/hotels in the area it must be a struggle to get your share of the travellers.
Yesterday we lost an hour due to crossing the timeline, today we gained one. We still don't have enough hours in the day.

Through Oklahoma to Texas - Amarillo

Sun 12th
Lots more cornfields and long roads going off into the horizon.
I would not ride these roads again if I  re-chose my route but am glad I have done them. It is amazing to see cornfields or ploughed fields going literally as far as the eye can see, right to the horizon.
The gps took us on some back roads but got us to Amarillo ok. We went through a place in Oklahoma called Keyes, it made Goodland look like Las Vegas. The buildings in the main st were all run down or derelict, the only decent looking building was a newer place that looked like it housed the local bar.
In Amarillo we visited the home of the "free 72 ounce steak" Big Texan Steakhouse.

You get your 72 ounce steak meal free if you can eat it all within 60 minutes. 72 ounces of steak is more than 2kg plus you have the salad, baked potato, 3 shrimp and a roll to eat. There were about 6 people that have eaten it all in time in the last 5 days. One champion comented that he is not a vegan. While we looked around the souvenier shop I found a live rattlesnake, it was in a glass case luckily.

Today was our biggest ride to date 330 miles, the heat and the long roads tired us out even though we sat on 75 - 80mph most of the way, the limit for most of it was 65.

Photos to come. Hopefully

Through Colorado into Kansas - Goodland

Sat 11th
Today was a day of riding miles through the cornfields and the occasional crop of sunflowers. We also found feed lots for cattle, they were huge iron fenced pens with feed and water along one side. We knew  one was coming up before we saw it, boy did they pong.
At Burlington we stopped to have a ride on the Kit Carson Carousel, it was built 113 years ago and was number 6 of 74 built. It had it's original Wurlitzer organ still in working order, there only 3 of these left and the other 2 are in private collections.

Tonight we camp at Goodland, the home of the worlds largest Van Gough's Sunflowers painting.

It is also the home of a paint and panel shop that had some cool cars on their yard.

We went for a cruise up town to find that Main st was more like Dead st.

I thought I might find a bar to wash down the road dust, couldn't find one. Ok try the GPS, it took me to a bar that looked closed right beside a motel that looked almost as deserted. I checked at the motel and the bar didn't open till 6pm. The receptionist directed me to the restaurant in the carpark of our motel.
My good wife shouted me out to dinner and a movie before we settled in for the night.