Day 20: Grand Canyon AZ to Callup NM

Sunday, September 21, 2008
Day miles: 300
Trip miles; 4,196

Pictures for Day 20 (will open in a new tab or browser)

The total trip miles have surpassed 4,000 - and we still have many more to go. Today was a long drive - 300 miles. That is not a long distance if you are traveling in a car or if you have an iron butt. We make a number of stops - some to rest, some for sightseeing.

We hit a treasure of historic Route 66 sites today. We found on old bridge from the original road, the Twin Arrows Trading Post (now defunct), and Two Guns (a real tourist attraction, but now a ghost town).

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Two Guns had a display of mountain lions. We found one trying to get out of its cage. Johann was not frightened at all! In the third picture below you can see more ruins on the hill and part of the original Route 66 dirt road.
















Meteor Crater was free in the 50s and 60s, but they now charge a considerable fee to view the crater. Dale's AAA card got us a discount. It is worthwhile - for one time. I would not return. The crater is impressive - it was formed by a meteor that hit the earth 20,000 to 50,000 years ago. The crater is 4,000 feet in diameter and 550 feet deep.




"Well, Im a standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
Its a girl, my lord, in a flatbed
Ford slowin' down to take a look at me .." (Eagles song, Take It Easy).

Route 66 goes through Winslow AZ, I had to get this picture!!


Of course the trip is not complete without visits to the Jack Rabbit Trading Post and the Wigwam Motel.

Day 19: In Grand Canyon

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Day miles: 8
Trip miles: 3,896

View Grand Canyon Pictures

This morning we headed out to the Grand Canyon. Our hotel was just a few miles south of the canyon entrance. You can view all the pictures at the link above. The pictures will open in a new browser or tab.

On our way into the park we saw an elk. Later in the day as we walked back to our motorcycles, we saw another large elk and got very close!!

Wow!!! The Grand Canyon is another must for everyone's bucket list. A return trip is on my list.

We hiked, and hiked, and hiked. I was amazed at how well I did. I am out of shape and about 10 lbs heavier than my ideal weight. The first part of our hike was 4 miles along the south rim. The views are fantastic and the hiking is easy - very flat and you can meander along at your own pace. We hiked beyond the main tourist trail that is paved, on through the woods to the South Kaibab Trailhead.












The Kaibab Trail goes down into the canyon, winding its way along the canyon edge. We decided to do a short distance down into the canyon. We hiked down for an hour - a distance of 1.5 miles with a drop of 1,140 feet in elevation. The descent took 1 hour. You can see the trail in several of the pictures. (Click on a picture to enlarge.) What a view, and what a different perspective of the canyon. We stopped at Cedar Ridge for 20 minutes to snack on granola bars and drink water. It was then time to begin the trip back up the canyon. After a few feet I wondered if I would make it. I was out of breath due to the steep incline and lower oxygen levels at that altitude. Dale felt the same. Johann took off and said he would see us at the top. Dale and I walked slowly and stopped to rest often. To our amazement we reached the top in 1 hr, 15 min. Johann made it back in 37 minutes!!

We were exhausted and took a bus back to the parking area. But the trip was worthwhile. I'm really interested in a hike to the bottom of the canyon (when I'm in better shape). I think Eileen would join me without hesitation. Only very experienced hikers can go down and back in one day. It is a 2-day hike for most people. I talked with a man, about 65 yrs old, who was hiking down to the bottom the next day. He said you have to make overnight reservations at the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon one year in advance!!

Day 18: Kingman AZ to Grand Canyon AZ

Friday, September 19, 2008
Day miles: 184
Trip miles: 3,888

"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree ...", Joyce Kilmer.

After days and days, and hour upon hour, of driving in the desert it was WONDERFUL to see trees - real trees, as we headed north from Williams, AZ, to the Grand Canyon in northern AZ. At dinner I asked Dale, "What did you notice today?" His immediate answer - "Trees!"

Day 17: Barstow CA to Kingman AZ

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Day miles: 231

Trip miles: 3,704

I'm running behind in my blog posts again. I'll try to get caught up in the next day or so with several more brief posts.

We started out the day on old Route 66. Along the way we passed many small old towns. Some don't even exist anymore. Newberry Springs (see picture below) is just a marker along the highway. The Bagdad Cafe was a popular stop along Route 66. The original building is gone - replaced by a new building with someone trying to capitalize on the old name. So many of the businesses that thrived when Route 66 was the main route are now gone.

There are several old volcano sites along the way. The black rocks are lava rocks. The final picture in this group is "going 66 mph on Route 66!!"

We are in the desert!!! The road goes on and on with very little vegetation. Roy's Cafe (see picture) is a famous old stop. The motel and cafe are still there but offer no services. You could buy gas for $5.00/gal. There were many motorcyclists stopped there. There was a group from France and a group from Germany. We've met many Europeans along the way - they rent motorcycles in L.A.

Goffs is another town lost to the interstate. The general store was a popular stop along Rt. 66 many years ago (left picture). Oatman is a town that has survived by transforming itself into a real tourist trap. They advertise "wild donkeys roam the town." There were donkeys roaming in the town, but they were really tame. The donkeys tended to hang out near the kiosks where tourists could buy food and feed the donkeys. They didn't look too wild to me.

Many places along the way there are remains of the very very old original Rt 66 road bed. You can see part of the dirt Rt 66 road in the picture to the left. The gas station below is closed, but nicely maintained. The old gas pumps are really neat.

An exciting part of our trip today was crossing the mountains via Sitgreaves Pass. This is a very steep winding road with many twists, turns and switchbacks. At the bottom of the pass there was a memorial to a motorcylist who was died earlier this year when he went around a curve too fast and drove off the side. The interesting?? part is that the person was from Osceola - a town about 20 miles west of Goshen, IN.

Day 16: Los Angeles CA to Barstow CA

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Day miles: 154

Trip miles: 3,473

On our trip through Los Angeles to our hotel last evening we poked along in a bad traffic jam. Our goal for this morning was to get out of L.A. as quickly as possible. We had Jill select the "fastest route" for our exit.

However we had a slight delay - our first motorcycle "incident" on the trip. We filled up with gas at a gas station, then went to the air pump to adust our tire pressure. The pump was broken so we had to go to another gas station down the street. We parked our bikes close together at the air pump and finished adjusting our tire pressure. I walked over to the gas pump area to get some water to wash my hands. When I looked back at the motorcycles I saw my motorcycle move and then fall over. Someone was backing around in the gas station lot and backed into my trailer and knocked over my motorcycle. I quickly ran over to the motorcycle and car that backed into my trailer. At first I thought my bike fell into Dale's bike - it was inches away! Fortunately there was negligible damage - a small knick in the valve cover where the foot peg rotated when the bike fell down.

I'm glad there was no real damage. Getting insurance payment could have been a mess. The person who backed into the trailer was driving a rented car, had a driver's license from Mexico, but lived and worked in Costa Rica. We exchanged information. The driver was very apologetic cooperated very well.

We finally got on our way and had very little traffic out of L.A. We followed the National Trails/Route 66 highway for quite a while.

Outside San Bernadino we stopped at the Wigwam Hotel - a real Route 66 attraction in its day. The hotel is still in operation. The wigwam's are made of concrete.

In Victorville we stopped at the Route 66 Museum - only to find that it is closed on Wednesdays. What a disappointment!

Route 66 is painted on the road in quite a few places. At one point I started a quick stop to take a picture. Johann was behind me left his mark on the road as he avoided me (see the picture).

Day 15: Morro Bay CA to Los Angeles CA

Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Day miles: 206
Trip miles: 3,319

We again had awesome scenery as we completed our trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast Highway. We immediately went to Palisades Park that marks California terminus of Route 66.











Santa Monica Blvd. and Ocean Ave - the end/beginning of Route 66!!











We found an old English pub nearby and had an early dinner. Then it was off to our hotel to prepare for the Route 66 trip. We are now over half way on the total trip.

Day 14: San Francisco CA to Morro Bay CA

Monday, September 15, 2008
Day miles: 259
Trip miles: 3,113

The Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most beautiful drives in the entire country. If you have not driven along this route, put it on your bucket list and do it!! If you have done it, do it again.

I'll let the pictures tell the story. Click on each picture to get a larger view.