Road Trip Days 7 To 9: Gettin’ My Kicks On Route 66

I spent three days exploring the true old Route 66 through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Essentially I felt like I was starring in a live action version of the movie Cars. I’ve always been a big fan of Pixar, but I really have to say that they were spot on with that one. I also made up for my rainy start by having three days of impossibly gorgeous weather. I don’t think I even saw a single cloud for two and a half days.

On day 7 I gave myself a shorter driving day to break up the long days of driving that I’d been doing up to that point. I slept in a little later than my usual crack of dawn waking hour and let myself spend the rest of the morning exploring the antique stores that line the historical Route 66 strip through north Amarillo.

Heading west from Amarillo, the original Route 66 mostly exists as a frontage road running parallel to and about 200 feet away from the Interstate. The major roadside attraction in this part of Texas is Cadillac Ranch, a set of 10 Cadillacs ranging from the years 1949 to 1964, buried nose first into the ground.

 Graffiti is openly welcomed, and conveniently one of the many discarded spray paint cans on the ground still had some paint in it, so I was able to leave my mark.

Just before leaving Texas and entering New Mexico, you pass through Adrian, Texas, the official midpoint of Route 66. Adrian is 1139 miles from both Chicago and Santa Monica, the two ends of the route. There is an adorable café built on the midpoint line, where they are known for their pie. I of course made an obligatory pie and souvenir stop, and at the shop next door I met a lady who originally opened the Midpoint Café and claimed to be the inspiration for Flo in Cars. She asked me to add my signature to an old truck she had parked out front, and I happily obliged.

Not long after crossing into New Mexico is one of the more classic Route 66 towns, Tucumcari. I stayed at the Blue Swallow Inn, a historical Route 66 landmark. It was wonderfully preserved and completely delightful.

Tucumcari is a sleepy town with not a lot going on, but they do have a dinosaur museum, which is very well done. I also could not have been happier that they chose to play the Jurassic Park score on a loop throughout the museum.

The next day I set out for Holbrook, Arizona, another historic Route 66 town and home of the Wigwam Motel. When I first started reading up about this trip, I couldn’t wait to sleep in a fake teepee. But before getting to Holbrook, I stopped for lunch in Albuquerque and briefly roamed their old town section, which is mostly just a series of shops set up to take tourists’ money. I did find a great used record store in Albuquerque though, which made me very happy.

After entering Arizona but shortly before hitting Holbrook, you pass by Petrified Forest National Park, which also gives access to the Painted Desert. The Painted Desert is absolutely gorgeous.

Eventually I made it to Holbrook, where I did indeed get to spend the night in a fake teepee. And while that was entertaining, sadly the Wigwam Motel is not as charming as the Blue Swallow Inn was. The owners of the Blue Swallow have a huge enthusiasm for Route 66 and are clearly devoted to their business. The Wigwam Motel, on the other hand, gives off the impression that they just keep doing it out of habit more than anything. Still, I got to sleep in a fake teepee.

I decided to spend my third and final old school Route 66 night in the town of Seligman, Arizona. I initially had no intention of staying in Seligman, but it was highly recommended to me by an older couple in an RV that I had spoken to in Amarillo, and they seemed to know what they were talking about.

Route 66 through Arizona is largely subsumed by the I-40 Interstate, with marked exits here and there where you can choose to detour to see the remaining stretches of the classic route. Shortly after crossing into Arizona, there are some amazing abandoned remnants of Route 66’s former glory. The most interesting is the former Twin Arrows gas station. I could not stop taking pictures here.

 Before getting to Seligman I took a break from the Route 66 kitsch and made a detour to the Grand Canyon. I originally didn’t plan to spend much time there since I’d been there before, but I’m so glad I did. I approached the park from the East Rim entrance, and the landscape on the ascent to the park was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I was actually speechless (not that I have anyone to talk to on this trip) on the drive up. The East Rim is technically the far end of the South Rim, but hardly anyone approaches the park this way, which is really a shame for them but great for anyone who does, because the viewpoints are relatively uncrowded. And the views are incredible.

When I visited the Grand Canyon before, I was at the North Rim, which is more forested than the South Rim, but gorgeous in its own right. Even though I enjoyed my visit last time, I don’t remember being utterly blown away like I was this time. The views from the East Rim left me in complete awe.

The drive through the park eventually led me to the popular South Rim entrance, which is pretty awful when you’ve seen the North and East Rims. Approximately 90% of tourists go through the main South Rim entrance, which was a nightmare even in the off season. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer. There are multiple color-coded parking lots and I could only find a spot in the fourth overflow lot. And then there are all the parking lots dedicated to the countless tour buses bringing people in from Las Vegas for a brief peek at the Canyon through the concrete village built on the spot. Of course the Canyon is still gorgeous from here, you just have to fight through the hordes of foreign tourists to see it. Thankfully I had already had my experience and spent little time there.

After the Grand Canyon I finally made it to Seligman. This was the first day since leaving Nashville that I’d spent an entire day in one state. Up to this point I’d enjoyed my Route 66 adventure, but there was always a touch of sadness because there was a sense of what used to be that just didn’t exist anymore. This is where Cars gets it totally right.

Seligman was the exception, and it’s no coincidence that it’s almost universally accepted that this town served as the basis for Radiator Springs in the movie. Seligman has embraced both its history and the exposure that the movie has brought it and the town is just completely delightful.

I spent some time talking to the locals, and you really could not find a friendlier group of folks. I’m so glad I got the recommendation to stop there from the couple in Amarillo, and I’m equally glad that it was my final stopover on the classic Route 66 part of my trip.

The interesting thing that I’ve figured out on my drive is that almost no one who runs the businesses on Route 66 is from anywhere near here. In my stops at all the classic places, I’ve met people from Detroit, Rochester, Boston and Alberta, Canada. Apparently there is something about Route 66 that gets under people’s skin and they just can’t leave. I can’t say that has happened to me, but I’m really happy I’ve done this trip.