Many people have some image of 66...Easy Rider, Grapes of Wrath, Jack Kerouac, the TV series, migration, the prosperity of the fifties and sixties, and it is, of course. long gone officially. I have posted a number of journeys, hopefully mainly different. 66 needs some planning to find, but ,at least for me, gives a vivid portrait of the relationship to the car, to optimism, desperation, renewal and destruction. I will put all this stuff in order when I have a chance, but for now, this is what happened over ten days and 8000Km, two guys trailering a car and dog on the expansive highways of America, and continuing to discover new things on Route 66.

 

November 7 2013 4:30am

It was viciously windy and raining heavily as we pulled out on the highway in Toronto,headed down to Scottsdale AZ, about 3800Km to go. Visibility was limited and the trailer was bucking and twisting in the wind behind the Cayenne. It stayed that way for the first few hours, until we arrived at the US border at Port Huron, to begin a trip which would take us through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,Missouri,Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and into Arizona. Arriving at the border, the wind had caused a power failure that closed the border. However, ,after a delay, we were on our way.
Phil, my co-driver, is from the Be Ready for the Apocalypse school of preparation, so we had full mechanics toolkit, three-ton jack, dual spares on the trailer, even spare tiedown straps. ( when did a strap ever break? I thought)

Into Indiana, the weather continued to threaten, and I was thinking of my summer GT3s gone now for months of the Canadian winter. Out in the distance, I saw a car transporter, and against the sky..a lovely old Porsche Turbo






We wanted to make some good distance in the less interesting Northern section of the run, and only stopped in Illinois at Abe Lincoln's house in Springfield Illinois. Old Abe lived there till he went to Washington, and ,of course, never returned. His wife was committed to an asylum, ( in my view, because of the wallpaper) and ultimately the house was given to the nation. The Parks service conducts an excellent and free tour, worth the visit.












The outhouse contains a rather convivial three-holer….


We usually use inexpensive chain motels, especially when we are towing, so any Super 8, Baymont Inn, Drury Inn or the like will do, or the very reliable Hampton Inns are fractionally more expensive and always spotless.

 

Missouri is a state rich in 66 lore, and we had deviously travelled much of it. We did not stop at St Louis. On the trip we finally dropped by one of the major sights, Merimac Caverns, a 16 miles deep cave complex, only about a mile and a half being accessible. Discovered by a born promoter, it was the first place to produce bumper stickers and also promotes a highly doubtful story that the caves were the hiding place of Jesse James.Nonetheless, the caves are very impressive.







Revisited John;'s modern cabins, a 1935 era juke joint, completely isolated on a piece of 66 that is blocked at both ends. Here , in the bad old days of prohibition, the black population made music,drank and headed off to the cabins There was one communal outhouse. Now in fragile condition, it is a wonderfully atmospheric place. Beside it sits Vernelle's Motel, accessible by a road that crosses old closed 66, and also ,right beside it, the abandoned old Route 44. These poor people were originally on 66, then close to 44, when 44 was rerouted behind them. Impossible to see it from the ground, so we flew a go-pro over it. Video later.










This is a closed section of 66 on the left and where the Cayenne is parked, behind the grass, sits the abandoned 4 lane I-44.





Missouri is a tad conservative:






However, the truck stops are good for food…



Into Oklahoma which has a very long,unbroken stretch of 66 and on it, the OK county Auto trim and Museum near Arcadia OK. If the gate's open, just drive in .John Hargrove has built a combined working garage and museum. He repairs and refurbishes old cars for local customers. There garage is an amazing mixture of artifacts and cars under repair or construction. There is not a computer or electronic diagnostic
tool in sight, but lines and lines of tools. John can build a car pretty much from scratch, except for chrome plating. It looks like it was there forever, but he only built it in 1998, using old shipping containers to construct his buildings.










A model T racer based on period designs is not too far from completion:





Outside there are all sorts of references to the sights of Route 66, real and imagined:

A rare split window VW Microbus represents the character Filmore from the movie "Cars".



Buried nose-down, a VW bug is an homage to the Big Ranch in Conway Tx, itself an homage to the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo




Captain America's Harley from 66




Another Bug emerges from the second floor.,and visitors can sit on the driver's seat….




In a side building is a 1932 Ford speed racer that John has had for 37 years, with competition history…






..and then there's this…street legal, road registered. John was inspired by Morgan three-wheelers, and set out to build his own, from…a…1979 CHEVY IMPALA…

"Does it run?" I asked. " Of course' He said, pushing the remote and unlocking it. " I used the original wiring harness"…….








Its a lot of fun to drop in on john, a genial and friendly host:

 

Just down the road. past the Red Barn in Arcadia is one the newest Route 66 attractions. Pops has a huge LED bottle outside, a massive cantilevered canopy, and 6-- different types of sixty drinks...











In the evening light, Lucille's Cafe in Weatherford OK looks like an Edward Hopper painting:




Entering the Texas Panhandle, the wind remained stiff.

Was quite impressed by this flying electrician hanging out in a 40MPH wind, in Shamrock TX:




The small and dying town of McLean boasts a Barbed Wire museum, ( no idea,), a good and cheap steak house (The Red River Cafe)
, and a lonely Philips 66 gas station , the first in Texas






We passed through the town of Groom TX, (pop 572). Where they got the funds to put up a 19 story cross is a mystery……….







We overnighted in Amarillo Tx. While we were eating dinner, and enterprising thief cut the straps on the trailer ,made off with the new jack, and had removed the nuts on the spare wheels of the trailer. We only had a half mile drive to the hotel and did not notice it till we parked. Glumly, we phoned in the theft to the police A very polite young office appeared 15 minutes later and radioed the details in. "Hmm", he said" I heard something about a jack a few minutes ago". Another patrol had noticed some suspicious activity, questioned the perp and saw the jack in the back of the car. Short version : we got everything back, even the wheel nuts. Of course ,those spare straps were very handy. The thief's car was flat bedded away and he was a guest in the Amarillo county jail.
In the morning we made an attempt to fly a quadcopter with a GoPro at Cadillac Ranch nearby. There is a virtually constant strong wind there, so no success..
Beautiful skies, though:

 

In the Ghost Town of GlenRio on the Texas NM border, not a thing had stirred since seeing it a couple of years ago…




And so…into New Mexico





We planned a fairly quick trip…ran through Tucumcari, home of the TeePeec curio shop, and noticed this rather nice abandoned truck:

 

However, In Moriarty NM, we met Archie Lewis. Archie was sitting in his easy chair at the entrance to his warehouse, a fly swatter in his hand. His wife sat opposite in her easy chair. Behind him sat 40 cars inside, and 700 of his other cars outside. Covering acres, all sorts of domestic cars and trucks sit in a massive parking lot. Conditions varies from eminently restorable to scrap, but Archie likes them anyway. A man came up when I was talking to Archie and said" Congratulations on your collection, Mr Lewis. I have a 1923 Model T Truck,and need a rear fender". Archie smiled and easily said ""Kinda hard to find. those, and in any case I am not selling"….Archie sells nothing> He charges no admission either, but accepts a donation. He also has thousands of toys.

 

Route 66 runs for about 17 miles through the centre of Albuquerque, although it can be rough at night. Manny's restaurant has good food but utilitarian interior









Out on the AZ-NM border sits the Petrified Forest National Park, which is part of the Painted Desert, a magnificent landscape at sunset..






The Painted Desert Inn, once a hostelry, is now preserved as an information centre



Once, Route 66 ran right through the Painted Desert. Now grown over, the shell of a car marks the site where millions of people once travelled…








Further West, the sky turned crystal clear and and the high plains weather very cold as we headed for Flagstaff AZ



Stayed in Holbrooke AZ , though not in the Wigwam motel…



We gassed up the empty SL, had a short cruise..





a long trip off road completed our rest stop…we are just playing with using the GoPro to document future trips:








Trailer stowed in AZ for winter, the return journey was problem-free, and we could see the early signs of the approach of winter as we drove through the bare trees of Ontario….I think snow will come soon.

 

OF course..there is always a vehicle to remember. I like the Jeep pickup used by the local Pawn Shop...seems to evoke perfectly living in the desert where cars last forever

 

Ronan, this is great!

 

Another great road trip...thanks for posting!

 

One big section to go..Needles to Santa Monica across the Mojave..some very,very remote sections. That will be the concluding section of 66. In the SPring we will pick up the beginning section right in Chicago. I might reformat the various stops from all the threads into a proper Route 66 guide

 

Very interesting.........thanks for posting.

 

Wow, great pics. Looks like that was one amazing road trip. thanks for sharing

 

I really enjoy your photo essays. Thank you!

 

Fantastic read, as always! Thanks for sharing Ronan - let us know when the book comes out