Sunday, July 29, 2018

Our Western Roadtrip 2018

Let me just say that we just finished the most amazing road trip ever! This trip took many weeks of planning and research and thanks to my wonderful Roadmaster it turned out to be an incredible and most amazing journey.

We started out on a Friday morning. After we picked up the rental car we loaded it up and hit the road!
Just listen to the Roadmaster's excitement!
The first night out we stayed at the Golden Inn in New Paris, Ohio. LeeAnn is so nice and was excited to hear about the trip we had planned. She was the second person to sign our road trip poster!
We were up bright and early the next day. We stopped in Iowa and had lunch with our good friends Corey, Donna, and Jeffrey at the Flying Weenie in Cedar Rapids.
After driving through a few thunderstorms that night we settled in at the America's Best Value Inn in Lincoln, Nebraska for the night.
The next day we were up early and on the road. My message that morning was: "Good morning from Nebraska! The sun is coming up but we are headed in the other direction. Up early and on the road 20 minutes ago. Happy July!" We drove until evening only to stop for bathroom breaks and a few extra minutes at the Colorado state line. Colorado was a new state for us and boy was it beautiful. We explored a little, took a few photos, and we were on the road again!

*** Add photos of Colorado ***


We couldn't believe our eyes when we got to Denver and were driving through those rocky mountains. I felt like we were driving through a painting! 

Driving through the Rocky Mountains (video)

We did make a pit stop in Eagle, Colorado near a rest stop that had a beautiful stream flowing through it. It was such a beautiful day!

We made it to Utah which is also another beautiful state. I couldn't get over the incredible landscaping and miles and miles of no civilization. I wish I had taken more video as we were driving through Utah. I did get some pretty pictures though. 
It was starting to get late and Joe asked me what motels were close so I did some searching. We ending up at the Hitchin' Post Motel in a cool little town named Salina. The hostess Natasha was so sweet and she welcomed up with open arms. She even spent a few extra minutes with us the next morning talking about road tripping and of course she signed our poster! 
The next day we ventured into the state of Nevada. This was a new state for Joe. I had been to Nevada once years ago when I went to Las Vegas. We stopped in a cool little named Pioche. I really enjoyed our visit there. When we pulled into town I remember thinking, "Wow! Check out this place!" 
We pulled up at the Ghost Art and Coffee Shop and we made a new friend as soon as we got there. The food there was excellent and it's owned by the original bass player of Quiet Riot, Kelly Garni. We didn't get to meet Kelly that day because they said he was out of town.
This places had some of the coolest art inside including this amazing steam punk creation!
Moline was a barrel of laughs and told us all about the place and the art. She even gave me a bag of cherries fresh out of her garde. We are going to miss her!
After stopping at the Ghost Art and Coffee Shop we explored the town and Boothill Cemetery while we were in Pioche.
After Pioche we tried to go to the ghost town of Delamar, Nevada. We got pretty close but after driving about 9 miles up a dirt road it got pretty rugged and too rugged to chance with our rental so we had to turn around. It was a shame too because we only had about 1 1/4 miles to go. I know the Roadmaster really wanted to see this town but maybe the next time with vehicle that can handle rugged terrain.
The Road to the Ghost Town of Delmar (video)
We stopped at another little town in Nevada named Caliente and got some good photos of the old Caliente train station.

We made a stop by ET Fresh Jerky in Hiko, Nevada. A cool little place with all types of alien souvenirs and any type of beef and turkey jerky you could imagine. We found out that we missed Blondie (Deborah Harry) by 15 minutes. Darn! Could have been a rock star moment! She goes there every few weeks to get her beef jerky!
Well at least we got to meet some cool alien chicks before we left!
That evening we stayed at the Sunset View Inn in Alamo, Nevada. We had planned to stay here and the rooms are all themed. They even had their own little liquor store inside. How cool is that? The people there were really nice too. A cool little get away out in the middle of the desert. This is how we like it!

We had the hippy room!!!e


You could walk outside and hear the miles and miles of silence while you looked up at the stars.
That evening we took a little drive around town and visited the cemetery that was near by. There's just something about these little cemeteries out in the desert.
Later that night we had to step outside just a few more times to see all of those wonderful stars up in the sky. Not to mention our big shadows!
The next morning we spent a little while chatting with the owner and her daughter Pam and Lindsay in the lobby while having our morning coffee. We talked about our trip through Nevada and places we were headed. It was another fun visit!
The next day we spent most of the day exploring Area 51. We were off to the ET Highway!
We stopped at the Alien Research Center in Crystal Springs, Nevada but they weren't open yet

We didn't get abducted by any little green men but we did get buzzed by a fighter jet while we were filming one of our videos at the road leading to the front gate of Area 51. Check out the video: 
We approached the front gate and got some good photos but we didn't cross the line. The warning signs were there and the camo dudes were up on the hill watching from the white pick up truck just like they warned. 

After this we had to go and find the black mailbox which is a gathering place for Area 51 enthusiasts. We even left our own little token behind for the aliens!
Since we went to the front gate of Area 51 we had to see the back gate too! The waning signs were there too and this one had a bar across the entrance.

While we were there I found some cool rocks for my garden. 

After all of this excitement it was time for lunch at the Little A'Le'Inn in Rachel, Nevada! A cool little place out in the middle of the desert with all sorts of alien souvenirs and great food.
That day we were really starting to feel the heat of the dry desert. We found this cute little rest stop out in the middle of nowhere and picked up this cute baby tumbleweed!
We also stopped at Lunar Crater that day which is a volcanic field landmark located 70 miles east-northeast of Tonopah in Nye County, in central Nevada.
After this we made our way into Tonopah, Nevada and stopped at Beans & Brews Coffee House and met some new friends who also signed our poster.
We really liked was Tonopah, Nevada. The people there were really nice and welcoming. We stayed at the famous haunted Clown Motel. 
I couldn't wait to give them the clown painting I made to add to the decor. 
Joe and I spent some time exploring the Pioneer Cemetery next door to the motel and we even went back out there at night and made a video. I had chills reading some of the grave markers and souls who were buried there. 
Then headed out and explored the town for a little while that night as the sun was starting to go down. 
It loved this little town! We spent some time walking around in the evening with the desert wind blowing through our hair. We even got to see the inside the Mizpah Hotel which was beautiful. We will definitely have to come back here and stay sometime.
We went to Hometown Pizza in Tonopah for dinner and met a cool new friend Jessie who signed our poster. 
When we got back to the motel the beautiful neon was lighting up the sky:
That evening we went back out to explore the pioneer cemetery after dark. No we didn't see any ghosts but it was still cool to experience.
The next day was the 4th of July. We spent some time at Tonopah Station. Happy 4th of July!
Our new friend Anita told us all about the place and turned us lose to explore!
After this we were off to the town of Goldfield, Nevada. Our first stop was at the Goldfield Cemetery. We ventured all the way in the back and even found a headstone of a poor souls who died from eating library paste.
We spent some time exploring the historic section of Goldfield.
The Goldfield Hotel
Built in 1907, the Goldfield High School remains an impressive stone and brick structure that sits practically in the shadow of its neighboring hotel cousin. The last graduating class here was the class of 1952. The school was abandoned in 1953 due to structural issues and has been standing empty ever since.

We stopped at the Goldfield Car Forest. We also got a cool video while we were there:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJj9ElL_4Ns&t=36s
As we headed outside of Goldfield we cam across this abandoned brothel, the Cottontail Ranch. We got brave and ventured inside to look around and snap a few pictures.
We even captured a little video while we were inside:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMx7OcQJQH4&t=52s
Before we headed towards Beatty, Nevada we drove through a little town named Goldpoint, Nevada. We didn't get out to explore there because we just weren't too sure about this place.
We ran across another abandoned brothel but we didn't go inside of this one. 
The next town we ventured into was the ghost town of Rhyolite and yet another desert cemetery at the beginning of town.
We spent some time exploring the historic part of Rhyolite and the Goldwell Air Museum desert art.
And running into more new friends from France while at the Goldwell Air Museum! Meet Matthew and Tatiana! 
The ghost town of Rhyolite began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region's biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjWjD3Y-VsM
Tom Kelly's Bottle House
One of America’s most peculiar ghost towns, Rhyolite, Nevada is uniquely rich in one thing: bottle houses. Three of these structures made by embedding glass beverage bottles in various kinds of mortar can be found in this long-dead desert town.
We ended up at the Atomic Inn in Beatty, Nevada. We had planned to stay here when we planned our trip. The owner Cindy was very good to us. She invited us to her own personal cook-out behind the motel and gave us lots of good tips to prepare for our adventure to Death Valley the next day. 
That night Joe and I sat right outside of our room and watched the fireworks that were being set off in the park behind us. We had a front row seat! What an amazing 4th of July!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJIFSygSQiU&t=2s
The next day we were up early and off to Death Valley! We loaded up on water and prepared ourselves for this day. 
As we entered the valley and passed through Hell's Gate we could feel the temperature getting hotter and hotter!
We drove directly to the western side of Death Valley because we wanted to find the site of the U2 joshua tree that appeared on their Joshua Tree album in 1987. We had the coordinates plugged into our GPS. Once we reached the location we had to park on the side of the road and walk about a quarter of a mile through the high desert to find the exact spot. As we got closer we using binoculars to find the spot and of course the Roadmaster spotted it right away. We had the album cover of the Joshua Tree album with us which added a nice touch to the moment. The original joshua tree was laying on the ground and there were all sorts of things that people who visited had left such as guitars and suitcases filled with U2 memorabilia. It was so cool to see and visit this place. This was one of my favorite of the trip and after going there I understand why U2 chose that spot. 
As we ventured through Death Valley we stopped at a few of the popular spots. We stopped at the Father Crowley overlook and met Celine from the Netherlands.
When we stopped at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley there was actually a warning sign about the extreme heat and temperatures. 
There were others there and some people had walked way out into those sand dunes at least a half of a mile. I don't know how they did it. I sure hope they had enough water. 
We did meet two cool new friends though. Marie and Christian!
Driving the south side of death valley. It was so hot that we had to put our phones on ice!
We stopped by the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. After discovery of Borax deposits here by Aaron and Rosie Winters in 1881, business associates William Tell Coleman and Francis Marion Smith subsequently obtained claims to these deposits, opening the way for "large-scale" borax mining in Death Valley. The Harmony operation became famous through the use, from 1883 to 1889, of large Twenty-mule teams and double wagons which hauled borax the long overland route to the closest railroad in Mojave, California.
During the summer months, when it was too hot to crystallize borax in Death Valley, a smaller borax mining operation shifted to his Amargosa Borax Plant in Amargosa, near the present community of Tecopa, California. The Harmony Works remained under Coleman's operation until 1888, when his business collapsed.

We went to Bad Water Basin in Death Valley which is 283 feet below sea level! Make sure you check out both videos. From this point on in death valley I used my phone for mostly videos in Death Valley.
Another U2 moment at Zabriskie's point in Death Valley. This was another location for one of their album cover photos.

We also stopped by the Devils Golf Course in Death Valley.


The beautiful drive through Artist Drive in Death Valley.



We saw the temperature reach 122 while we were in Death Valley and we made it out alive. I have to admit that I was a little nervous knowing that I was in those extreme conditions but I'm glad we got to experience it. As Joe said, it's a  beautiful place but you better be prepared before you go.
That night we ended up in Death Valley Junction at the Amargosa Hotel. This is another place that we had planned to stay at and it was beautiful! 
When we checked in Michelle greeted us and filled us in on a little bit of the history. We talked to her for a good while before we went to our room. 
The beauty  of this place, all of the lovely murals throughout the building, and the whole story behind the history of the hotel and opera house were fascinating to me. 
Here is a video (not ours) that explains a little more about the history and the owner, Marta Becket:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39QGMZzku0E&t=67s
Michelle told us that she would give us a tour of the opera house when she came back in the morning. 
We went to dinner at the Area 51 Alien Center nearby in Amargosa Valley. It's a travel center with a 50's diner inside and operating brothel on the side. How interesting is that?

We managed to get a few pictures outside of the brothel before we left.

That night Joe and I pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. We even saw a few bats fly by.  
When Joe and I got up the next morning we walked through the hotel and into the big dining area. Joe made coffee for us just like he was at home. We walked around and took a few more pictures until Michelle got there and took a little video. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDCP0-6TFsY&t=8s
When Michelle arrived we got an awesome tour at the beautiful opera house that morning. 
By the time we got back to the hotel there was another couple sitting on the couch waiting for a tour. They looked a little upset. I think Michelle took a little longer than normal with us and gave us the VIP treatment when she did the tour because we were all laughing and having a good time. Sorry other couple but thanks for being patient and for signing our poster!
That morning we were off to Goodsprings, Nevada to meet up with our friends Kim and John for lunch at the Pioneer Saloon. 
Clark Gable spent several days there as he waited to hear about the dreadful news of his wife Carol Lombard when she was in a tragic plane crash nearby in Potosi, Nevada. We could even see the cigarette marks in the bar from Clark Gable smoking those three days. 
The dining room was even filled with memorabilia and dedicated to Clark Gable and Carol Lombard.
We had fun that afternoon exploring a few other places nearby with Kim and John. 
After our fun afternoon with Kim and John we headed to Whiskey Pete's Hotel and Casino in Primm, Nevada to see the Bonnie and Clyde's original death car which is on display in the casino.
https://youtu.be/GDpzjrQOI7k
After this we stopped by the Kelso Depot Visitor Center in Kelso, Nevada.
We made our way through the Mojave National Reserve in San Bernardino, California and visited the White Cross WWI memorial.
We stopped by the world's tallest thermometer in Baker, California. The thermometer read 117 degrees that day!
Right up the street from the tallest thermometer was Alien Fresh Jerky. More aliens and jerky!
By the end of the day we actually ended up on Route 66 in Barstow, California. We've been through Barstow before but have never stayed. This time we hit the jackpot of places to stay. The Route 66 Motel in Barstow. Why haven't we stayed here before! The place was wonderful and the owners treated us so good. 
As we were checking in I texted Kim and she suggested the round bed so we got it! Needless to say, we have a fun stay. We highly recommend this motel for Route 66 travelers.
That evening we had dinner at Roy's Cafe in Barstow.
That evening we spent some time taking pictures outside of the motel and of the beautiful neon.
Up and on the road early the next day. We got our coffee and headed to Peggy Sue's Diner and Dinosaur Park in Yerma, California. We didn't eat at the diner but we went in to look around and take pictures and got some good pictures of the park outside. what a cute little place!
Next we went to Victorville, California and stopped by Emma Jean's Holland Burger on Route 66 to do a little video and take some pictures. Listen to what the Roadmaster says in the video. It will go with another place we visit later this day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiqyTaWFqgY&t=69s
Off we were to the church in the movie, Kill Bill!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcp65iz5hHQ&t=9s
From the outside it looked just like it did in the movie.
At first we were hesitant about going in because there was a chain blocking it off. After standing there for a few minutes and taking pictures another person (Ernest) showed up to look at it and the pastor (Oscar) inside came out and greeting us and told us to come on in.
It was a great visit. I'm glad we hung around. Oscar even signed our poster and gave us a little gift before we left.
Next, we were off to the Four Aces Movie set in Palmdale, California. The Devil's Rejects, The House of 1000 Corpses, and several other movies were filmed here.
Next we headed to Santa Clarita, California and stopped at the Halfway House Cafe which was a filming location for one of the Insidious movies. We went inside and checked it out. We met some cool people who called us over to their table and was told us all about that area. They even signed our poster!
We didn't eat there but we did get some pie for the road!


Our next stop was at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California. We went here to visit the grave of Ronnie James Dio. We know several of Ronnie's family members up in Cortland, New York so we wanted to make this a special visit and get a good video of the site. There are several other celebrities buried here but we only stopped to see Ronnie's grave. We did get a glimpse of Liberace's grave as we will walking through. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl-M_-J-jRk&t=117s
Next, we went to the church where the movie "The Graduate" with Dustin Hoffman was filmed.  La Verne United Methodist Church in La Verne, California and it's located only a few blocks from Route 66!
The church still looks the same as it did in the movie with the big glass window that Dustin banged on and yelled down to his girlfriend towards the end of the movie when she was marrying someone else.
We also visited the grave site of Randi Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne's first guitarist) at Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino, California. Someone even left him a beer inside.
We ventured off to Cabazon, California to visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs. Mr. Bell spent more than two decades and $300,000 creating the giant creatures on an otherwise desolate stretch of Interstate 10 near Palm Springs. The dinosaurs, a 150-ton, concrete brontosaurus named Dinney and a 100-ton tyrannosaurus named Rex, can be seen for miles by travelers on the desert route between Phoenix and Los Angeles.
That evening we stayed in Banning, California and up bright and early the next morning to hit the road again. We drove through Palm Springs, California which was beautiful. We took a little video driving through but didn't stop to explore much because we had a lot of other things on our agenda for that day.
https://youtu.be/fjLMYC9jO5M
We were off to Borrego Springs, California. We stopped at the community center when we first got there. We wanted to check out the desert sculptures. We spent a good while here and even took a video.
Ricardo Breceda is an artist most well known for his large metal sculptures of animals. He was born in Durango, Mexico, but eventually moved to Borrego Springs, California as part of his job. He is unmarried and has a daughter. He originally worked as a cowboy boots salesman and a construction worker, but a construction accident caused him to leave the latter job. He made a metal sculpture of a Tyranosaurus Rex for his daughter after she asked for a dinosaur for Christmas following a viewing of Jurassic Park III. He continued work on sculptures, and was eventually discovered by a philanthropist named Dennis Avery who paid him to construct more than 100 sculptures on his property at Galleta Meadows Estate based on beasts found in a book he funded that depicts now-fossilized creatures in the Anza Borrego Desert as well as mythological creatures. Notable statues made by Breceda include a stagecoach pulled by horses, a large serpent, and a Tyranosaurus Rex. Breceda was the subject of a book called "Ricardo Breceda: Accidental Artist", and his art was cited by both The Huffington Post and the Union Tribune San Diego as reasons why people should visit the Anza-Borrego Desert.
https://youtu.be/D77i23pKfC4
https://youtu.be/_lOs5_54EEQ
From here we were off to Calipatria, California to check out the world's largest flagpole. Another one of those roadside attractions that you just had to see at least once.
Salvation Mountain outside of Slab City was absolutely beautiful. What an amazing piece of artwork. This is creativity at it's best! Made sure you check out both videos to see the beauty of this place.
We spent some time driving around the Salton Sea area. We drove through Bombay Beach but didn't stop. You can tell that was a happening place at one time.
We stopped at the International Banana Museum towards to top of the Salton Sea. This turned out to be a fun visit the banana milkshakes hit on the spot that day. We went bananas over this place! Just about everything you could imagine in banana form was there. Kym was so nice and she also signed our poster.
Yes, they even had a banana record player. Where else can you find one of those?
We absolutely loved Joshua Tree, California! 
One of our stops in California was the Joshua Tree Inn and the Gram Parson's Room number 8. We knew we were going to love  this place and we didn't want to leave. I wished we would have gotten there just a little bit earlier so that we could of enjoyed the beautiful outside a little longer. It was truly a mini paradise right down to every last detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8ZNJ_oh9eo

The whole story behind the death of Gram Parson's made us feel like we were in a special place. You could also feel the presence of Gram in a good way. We can see why people and musicians like to go there and stay in Room number 8. They even had the original mirror in the room from when Gram stayed there and the original door was standing up outside of the room. There were all sorts of CDs in the room of bands that you could tell were left by musicians.
The original door from when Gram stayed there was even sitting outside of the room.
I love how they had the shrine set up right outside of the hotel room where people have left all sorts of memorabilia and tokens to honor Gram Parsons.
I'm glad that Joe took his guitar. That night we sat out at the big guitar shrine that sat in front of the room Joe even gave his own little personal tribute to Gram. It was a pretty magical place and good place to nurture your soul.
We even left a few CDs the morning before we left and a special message in the log book.
The next morning we did some more exploring at stopped at the Desert Christ Park in Yucca Valley, California. 
Near Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert, this Christian theme park was the concept of the then local pastor Reverend Eddie Garver who visualized creating the faith-based attraction as a light and symbol for world peace. In 1950, the US government helped Garver to realize his dream and granted the ‘Desert Pastor’ 5 acres of south-facing land on a desolate mount, overlooking the valley.
I remember this view of just looking out over the beautiful valley. Such a beautiful area! That whole Joshua Tree area is the real deal.
We got there kind of early and the ladies working there were really nice. They were actually doing some restoration to some of the sculptures and stopped to talk to us for a few minutes. And yes they even signed our road trip poster!
While we were in the Joshua Tree area we decided to drive by Eric Burdon's (from the Animals) house. The house is supposed to be for sale. We took a little video driving by.

After this we headed off to Pioneertown, California. A living ghost town which also functions as a move set. Paul McCartney actually played there once at Pappy and Harriet's. 
Pioneertown, California, is an unincorporated community of the Morongo Basin region of San Bernardino's High Desert. The historical town was originally incorporated in 1946 and fell into the hands of San Bernardino County in the late 1960s.
We had a fun time walking around here and felt like we were in a wild, wild western movie. We also met two cool cowboys, Ronald and Spanky.
Ronald was cool. When I saw him standing outside at first I thought he was a statue. Well it was quiet and we were the only ones there. I know, silly me.
Next we were off to the Beauty Bubbles Salon and Museum and the and Art Queen and the World Famous Crochet Museum in Joshua Tree, California. The Beauty Bubbles Salon wasn't open but we managed to get a few pictures out front. 
The World Famous Crochet Museum was right next door. We went through the gate and headed to the back.
Two new friends Adriana and Panda were great and we even had a few laughs! What a cool artsy and welcoming place! We just loved the Joshua Tree area. Couldn't get enough of it.
Not too far from here was a giant cowboy muffler man. We had to get some pictures of him!
After this we headed to Glass Outhouse Art Gallery in Twentynine Palms, California. Another cool and artsy place. When we arrived we weren't sure if we could go in because we didn't see anyone else there but we saw the grounds keeper was there and told us to come on in. 
The Glass Outhouse features the work of artists from throughout the state in every medium—from photography and oil painting to sculpture and various mixed media. Despite the freaky mannequins and many similarly weird exhibitions, owner Laurel Seidl says, the gallery isn’t about shock value; it’s about showcasing artists who might not otherwise have the opportunity to display their work. “I basically started it because I couldn’t hang my own artwork anywhere else,” she says. “Sure, everyone told me I was nuts and it would never work. My family and friends all said, ‘Laurel, don’t do it. You’re going to be disappointed when it doesn’t work out.’ All I said to them was, ‘You just stand back and watch me. I will make this work and make it into something special.’”
When you are in the outhouse you can see outside but if you are standing outside you can't see in!
We also took a little video while we were there.
https://youtu.be/PrTPAVsmIHQ
Next we were back off to Route 66! We headed towards Amboy on Amboy Road and made our annual stop at Roys. There were several visitors outside and no sooner than we got there we started meeting new friends. Meet Tuliche and Magoo from France!
It's always a pleasure to go inside and talk to Kevin. He was so cool that he gave us some personal souvenirs. Some pictures of the graffiti in the Jim Morrison Room from the Alta Cienega Motel on Route 66 in West Hollywood, California.
We ended up in Needles, California that evening and at Fender's River Road Resort. We couldn't wait for this stay and we knew we would have a blast. Eva and Rosie greeting us with open arms. When we first got there we hung out in the office with Rosie and Eva.
We walked down to the beautiful Colorado River with Eva and stuck our feet in. The Colorado River runs in the back of the resort and there are palm trees everywhere. It's just another mini paradise. Since Rosie had cooked us dinner we headed back up to her kitchen inside of the motel and hung out until dinner was ready. 
We got our first taste of Rum Chada while were were waiting. It turned out to be a fun evening with several friends. That was so sweet of Rosie to have us as guests for dinner and it made our visit extra special. She even gave me a kitchen utensil to make our own beer butt chicken when we got home! 
We didn't even see our room until later that evening. It was lovely and huge! We had everything we needed. We could have lived there! Hey, that might not be a bad idea.
We woke up and had a great view of the Colorado River on our balcony as we watched the sun coming up. 
We had so much fun here. This was another one of my favorite moments on the trip. It doesn't get much better than this! Again, it was hard to leave.
As we ventured towards Arizona, we visited one of our favorite towns, Oatman, Arizona and the Oatman Highway. While we were in Oatman, we met a cool new friend, Paula. She was in the music business and was even cool enough to make a little video with us.

We drove the Oatman Highway and made a quick stop at Sitgreaves Pass. 
We also stopped at Cool Springs but unfortunately they weren't open. 
Next we stopped by the Giganticus Headicus near Kingman, Arizona. We also met a few cool folks working there who signed our road trip poster.
Our next stop was at the Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona. 
This is always a fun stop and they have a lot of cool things there. We missed seeing Moon Shadow playing outside that day but we did meet Richard who was there rocking it out.
It was also cool to see our photo from last year on the shelf!
Frankie was very busy that day but she took the time out to chat for a few minutes and sign our poster.
As we headed back down Route 66 we went through Seligman, Arizona and stopped by the Roadkill Cafe for a coffee.
We also took a few pictures at Delgadillos Snow Cap Drive-Inn. You can never have enough pictures from that place. One day we will meet Angel Delgadillo when we go by there.
We ended up in one of our favorite Route 66 towns that night, Williams, Arizona! 
We went out to dinner that evening and met up with our friend Barbara at our favorite place in Williams, the Canyon Club. We also went up the street and hung out at the Sultana for a while before we headed back to our room. It turned out to be a fun night out on the town of Williams with beautiful friends and more signatures on our poster!

That morning we picked up coffee in a cool little coffee shop in Williams and headed up 4th Street. We drove to Jerome, Arizona from Williams. The road we took was absolutely beautiful. some of it was paved but about 30 miles of it was dirt road and some gravel. Right before we made it into Jerome we were driving on the side of a mountain with no guard rails. The town of Jerome was a cool little town. We visited Caduceus Cellars which is owned by Maynard James Keenon, the singer of Tool. We didn't get to meet him but we had a fun visit and I got to sample a few of the wines. We explored a few other spots throughout town and then we headed back towards Route 66.

 As we headed back to Route 66 we drove through the town of Sedona, Arizona. It was beautiful and surrounded by red rocky mountains. We didn't stop or spend any time there because we had so much more on our agenda and we had to make it to Shamrock, Texas by Friday for the Route 66 festival. We will have to explore there sometime on another trip. We went back the Jackrabbit Tading Post when we got into Joseph City, Arizona. Here it is! We had a fun visit with Cindy and ____ and bought a few goodies to bring back with us. We made our way into Holbrook, Arizona and had dinner at Joe and Aggie's. You can't go by Joe and Aggie's and not eat. It's some of the best Mexican cuisine we've ever had. I have a soft spot for this place since the first time we stopped there on our first Route 66 trip in April, 2013. I picked it out of the Route 66 dining and lodging guide and Joe says they have the best chili he's ever eaten! We ended up staying at the Globetrotter Inn in Holbrook. We've stayed there before and we love it and the rooms are beautiful and unique. They also have the best breakfast. I love how they place mini license plates of the state you are from on the tables in the morning. Everyone has their own personal seat. What a nice touch! They really do it right there and make you feel welcomed. We even got to see Peter the owner for a few minutes in the morning even though we were up early. We were up and on the road before he even had a chance to put out that fabulous breakfast but we were on a mission to get to Shamrock.

 As we made our way into New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment we stopped by the Blue Water Mint Collectibles and met Jocylene. We had been by there before but it wasn't open. I'm glad we stopped this time. There's lots of beautiful pottery and collectibles. I was able to pick out a cute little pot to take home and eventually paint it myself. Jocylene was wonderful and even did a little video with us while we were there. We made it to Tucumcari, New Mexico that day. Our favorite town on Route 66! We got the Lillian Redmond room at the Blue Swallow Motel too. One of of favorite places to stay. We made friends with another couple who were traveling Route 66 to California on their bike. Frank and Deb. We sat outside for a while in the cool retro chairs and chatted with them about our trip and adventures. After that we headed to the famous Dell's Restaurant in Tucumcari for dinner. They made the best mojitos ever there! 

 The next day before we made our way into Texas we had to take a little drive through Glen Rio. The little ghost town that sits on the New Mexico and Texas border and only has one resident. We made our annual visit to the Midpoint Cafe to have a piece of that fabulous ugly crust pie. We had a fun visit there and we felt like VIP as we sat at the counter and talked to our friends there about our trip. After leaving the Midpoint Cafe we made our way across the panhandle to the Texas Route 66 Festival in Shamrock, Texas. We checked into the Blarney Inn in which is where we stayed for two nights before heading back East. After checking in we headed to the community center in town to meet up with all of our roadie friends. That first night we all hung out at the pavilion of the Route 66 motel in Shamrock. It turned out to be another fun night!

 The next morning we got up and headed to Elk City, Oklahoma and had coffee with Brady, the DJ of 101.7 the Zoo in Elk City, Oklahoma on Route 66. How cool is that?! We were going to stop by the radio station but after finding out that he wasn't there he invited us to meet up for coffee at a cool little coffee shop in Elk City. We chatted about our travels and adventures. We had such a great time. As we were leaving there were a few friendly older ladies standing outside who we made friends with and gave copies of our road tripping cards too so we could stay in touch. As we headed back to Shamrock that afternoon we stopped at the Tumbleweed Grill in Texola and had lunch. We love this place more and more every time we go by. We had actually stopped there earlier that morning on our way to Oklahoma but it wasn't opened yet. We were greeted by the dogs that morning. When we stopped back for lunch we filmed a little video outside before we went in to eat. Masel is such a sweetheart and the food is down home cooking! Masel even has a branding iron that burns a shield of the Route 66 sign on top of the bun. She has it set up so nice inside and out and we love her art! We ventured back to the Texas Route 66 Festival in Shamrock. We ended up stopping at Jenny's House of Music and picked up some vinyl before heading back to the community center to hang out with the roadies. We purchased a few goodies while we were there including a beautiful new caddelite pendant Bob Lile's Art Gallery. After going back to the motel and freshening up we headed back to the community center for dinner and a show. The Route 66 band was playing that night and we had a great time with the roadies. We even brought our road tripping poster so we could get people to sign it throughout the night. We ended up back at the Route 66 Motel pavillion again with most of the roadies. It was the end of a beautiful evening! 

 The next morning  we went to the roadie breakfast back at the community center before we started the long journey back east. We had met a lot of new friends while were in Shamrock. We said our goodbyes to everyone that morning and got on the road headed east. As we made our way in Oklahoma we took a little side trip to Lawton, Oklahoma to say Hi to our friend Karen. We met up with her at work but she didn't mind. She was glad to see us and we were able to spend a few minutes chatting before heading back. We weren't done with Route 66 though! We headed back to 66 and stopped at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma that afternoon for lunch. We had their famous jagerschitzel and spaetzle. That evening we ended up in Missouri at the Rail Haven in Springfield. The birth town of Route 66! What a cool town! The night wasn't done without a shake from Stake-N-Shake in Springfield since 1962. 

 We made a few other stops the next morning on Route 66 including the Fanning Outpost in Fanning, Missouri with the giant rocking chair. Where else can you find jalapeno cheddar popcorn? As we made our way through the rest of Missouri and into Illinois we stopped at the Chain of Rocks bridge where the Roadmaster poured out his heart and soul into a special message to wrap up our journey. 

 There were so many memorable moments and highlights on this trip. Our last night's stay was at the Golden Inn in New Paris, Ohio which happens to be the place we stayed at on our first night out. LeeAnn got to our poster when it was empty and after it was filled with signatures. I could go on and on about this trip. I will never forget this wonderful journey with my Roadmaster. I am so thankful that we got to experience this and it has really touched my soul. This country is beautiful and we are blessed to have had a safe and happy adventure of a lifetime with memories that will be with us forever. 

 We knew we wanted to be there, so we got there!

 Peace, love, and road tripping!

 Rocky and Adrian










Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)