Day 16 - San Bernadino to Santa Monica

Last day of the drive today - Much easier drive than I thought it would be and really just lost the route a bit between Pasadena and Sunset Blvd. Some rain in the air this morning (only the third time since I landed in Chicago - rained in Kansas and a storm at the Grand Canyon).

First stop - Hollywood - nothing special - just wandered along Hollywood Blvd and no time to do anything else.

 

 

Second stop - Beverley Hills. The Bugatti Veyron was in its usual parking spot outside the Bijan store on Rodeo Drive.

 

Route 66 officially ends on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Ocean Ave and is marked rather underwhelmingly by a plaque on the cliff top.

The commercial 'tourist' finish is on Santa Monica pier around half a mile further along Ocean Ave.

 

Well that is it.

Was it worth it - yes, absolutely

Would I do it again - no. It was an interesting experience and I saw parts of America I would never have seen had I not been following the 66. Chicago was great and I will return. Arizona was fantastic. The small part of Utah I saw at Monument Valley makes me want to come back and see more. Other sights were one off and I have 'done' them - the blue whale, Cadillac Ranch, the Arch in St. Louis, even the memorial to the Oklahoma bombings and many more.

I saw much and I am sure I missed a lot. I lost track of the miles covered at the time I changed the car in Las Vegas but it was many more than the official route mileage due to getting lost, doubling back and the various detours. But that was all part of the experience.

It was great.

 

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Day 15 - Needles to San Bernadino

The guide books make it sound as though you are attempting to cross the Sahara. In reality the drive across the Mojave desert was no more trying than any other drive on the route. Yes, it is hot, but the road is quite good, well signposted and follows the railway line rather than the interstate. Long straight stretches of road but more to see than I expected, frequent huge freight trains, ghost towns and even a couple of extinct volcanoes.

 

Passed the film location of the 1980's movie 'Bagdad Cafe' as well as the famous Bottle Ranch

Last day on the road tomorrow and I suspect following Route 66 through downtown Los Angeles is going to be a lot more difficult than today was.

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Day 14 - Vegas back to Kingman To Needles

Left Vegas fairly early and stopped off at the Hoover Dam. The bridge by-pass completed a couple of years ago is now open to sightseers and gives the most impressive pictures of the dam, with Lake Mead in the background.

Labour day in the USA so a lot of traffic on the main road down to Kingman but the towns were empty. Kingman is another town that plays up to its route 66 history.

The road from Kingman to Needles was probably one of the most scenic encountered on this trip. It winds it's way along narrow steep old roads into the Black Mountains. Very few cars and well away from the interstate. I had changed the car in Vegas as the engine /automatic gear box seemed as though it was giving up and given the heat and the state of the road today it was just as well.

Oatman is an old gold mining town high in the Black Mountains but now a pleasant tourist trap. 'Wild' burros roam the streets - I guess a bit like the New Forest but hotter.

Needles is a small desert town just inside the Californian state line. Very, very hot - 110 degrees F which is around 40C.

Big day tomorrow - the drive across the Mojave desert - stocked up on water and planning to make an early start.

 

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Day 13 - Vegas

 

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Day 12 - Williams to Kingman (and then detour to Vegas)

Williams is a great little town that plays up both to its Route 66 history and the fact that it is the gateway to the south rim road to the Grand Canyon and the starting point for the steam railway trip to the Grand Canyon.

Great driving today and Route 66 stayed well away from the interstate through high ranch land. Very picturesque. Although much smaller than Williams, Seligman also keeps itself on the map with a host of 66 gift shops and attractions.

 

At Kingman diverted to Vegas for a couple of nights of rest and relaxation..............

 

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Day 11 - Monument Valley - Flagstaff - Williams

Covered the miles back to Flagstaff very quickly this morning and rejoined Route 66 for the shortish trip on to Williams. Pleasant drive through pine forest and meadows including passing through the highest point on Route 66. From Williams drove the 50 odd miles up to the Grand Canyon. Stormy skies meant some interesting photos.

 

 

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Day 10 - Flagstaff to Monument Valley

Day off from Route 66 - drove some 180 miles north of Flagstaff just over the state line into Utah to Monument Valley. My first visit.

Awesome.

 

 

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Day 9 - Gallup to Flagstaff

Easily the best day of the journey so far. Crossed over from New Mexico to Arizona in the morning. The interstate has been built over much of route 66 in this part of Arizona and so there were a lot of dead ends today. However this was compensated by some of the sights along the way.

First was the Petrified Forest National Park. Less of a forest and more a lot of old logs scattered around but still impressive.

The dead ends often ended in ghost towns or 'authentic' Indian trading posts. I particularly liked Two Guns which had its own renovated interstate exit for a couple of old derelict buildings and little else.

Had to stop on the corner of Winslow Arizona for a photo.

Meteor Crater was very impressive. Land all around is flat so you can really appreciate the force which created this 50,000 years ago.

 

 

Finished the afternoon in Flagstaff but then drove down to Sedona for the evening (not on Route 66). I have visited before but never in the evening and the setting sun really brings out the colour of the rocks. Also the first decent cup of coffee since I left Chicago.

 

 

 

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Day 8 - Santa Fe to Gallup

A bit of a nothing day today. Dreadful morning trying to keep to Route 66 driving through Albuquerque which seemed to sprawl for miles. This afternoon was much better driving through some great landscape in New Mexico. Crossed the Continental Divide. The almost ghost town of San Fidel had the word 'Geezerville' written below its signpost and despite googling it I cannot see why?

 

Gallup is the last big town in New Mexico, very much into Navajo Indian country.

247 miles today vs 198 planned

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Day 7 - Amarillo to Santa Fe

Reached the mid point of the trip this morning just before crossing the state line into New Mexico. Breakfast at the midpoint cafe and several other route 66'ers had the same idea. Great place, newly renovated, very clean, friendly and a great little gift shop. First half of the trip has gone very quickly, but there are more planned diversions in the second half.

Easy to follow road today - much of it running parallel or close to Interstate 40 before turning north to Santa Fe on the old traditional loop of route 66. Along the whole of route 66 there are many ghost towns, where businesses closed and people moved away as route 66 was replaced by the interstate highways. Glenrio on the Texas / New Mexico border, pictured below is one such town

Santa Fe is a lovely old city and the Capitol of New Mexico. Hundreds of smart art galleries and the city plays up its Indian heritage. Loved the Indian Father Christmas's in the all year Christmas shop.

303 miles today vs the 229 planned. Not sure where my planning went wrong as not too many diversions or wrong turns today.

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Day 6 - Oklahoma City to Amarillo

A far more challenging day. The route 66 signposts almost all disappeared and where they were seen they were symbolic. The 'Here it is' route 66 map series was invaluable to guide me through the day. The sat nav is useful at times but cannot be relied upon to choose route 66 as the correct route, particularly if you program a destination more than one town / ghost town ahead. Parts of the road have fallen into bad repair and famously some parts were never paved. The below photo shows one such part and I even lost my nerve when I saw cattle grazing over the next section and turned back to find a safer route round this section.

Again many iconic route 66 sights today, although being Sunday most places were closed. Crossed into Texas at lunchtime.

everything is big in Texas -the tallest cross, although to be fair it is very impressive as are the gardens and monuments surrounding the cross

The Cadillac Ranch rounded the day off, near Amarillo. Great fun

333 miles travelled vs planned 251.

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Day 5 - Springfield to Oklahoma City via Kansas

Longest planned journey today of the whole trip - 311 miles although actually drove 354 miles making nearly 1000 since I started. Weather in the morning was showery but still very hot but improved as the day went on. Long stretches of route 66 were still intact although the road on some of the more 'historic' parts had started to disintegrate. Easy to follow. After Missouri the road briefly travels for a few miles through Kansas before entering Oklahoma.

It was day of some fairly iconic sights and the guy running the blue whale reminisced about both Billy Connolly and Karl Pilkinton's recent visits.

Generally unimpressed with Oklahoma City, although the memorial to the City bombings is simple and very moving.

 

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Day 4 - St. Louis to Springfield, Missouri

Back tracked a little this morning to see the Old Chain of Rocks bridge, by-passed by Route 66 a few years ago. Hire car is Jeep Patriot with a very dodgy automatic gearbox (might have to change the car tomorrow)

Again took a long time to get out of St.Louis as it did with Chicago. Big cities and even large towns pose a problem when you are trying to follow the route.

The road followed the service road of the interstate highway for many miles today but at times went 'inland' into the Ozark's. The Meramec caves were unnecessarily touristy playing up the Jesse James connection but still very impressive

The world's largest rocker but the shop was great.

Devil's Elbow - road still passable

Covered 316 miles today vs the 232 planned - wrong turns certainly clock up the mileage mainly because it takes some time to realise you have gone wrong.

Springfield is a largest town - pleasant enough - typically middle America

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