Day Four, Route 66 Family Tour: First Stop, Shamrock, Texas

As we leave Amarillo and cross Texas on I-40, running parallel to Old 66, the next stop is Shamrock, Texas, home of one of the most carefully-preserved relics from Route 66' heyday, the Tower Conoco and U-Drop Inn. Built in 1936, these fabulous examples of art deco architecture is right off the I-40 and definitely worth a stop.

Before crossing into Oklahoma, check out the ghost town of Texola. In the next post, we'll visit the wacky Sandhills Curiosity Shop, one of the most interesting stops on the Mother Road.

New Route 66 oil paintings show retro neon signs in unusual light

While most depictions of neon signs show them glowing at night, I discovered this view of some of these retro roadside beauties in the iconic Tucumcari, New Mexico sunlight. These original oil paintings were made to celebrate the beautiful imagery found during a Route 66 road trip. In any event, the first one, shown above, “Del's Route 66 Retro Neon Sign, Tucumcari”, rather small at 14" X 11", sold as soon as it was dry. I am currently working up some new ones; here's the latest, still available in my online store. “Apache Motel, Route 66 Retro Road Sign” is an 18" x 24" oil on canvas-wrapped panel.

Route 66 New Mexico And Texas Side Trips

Side trips during this leg of your Mother Road Adventure include Aliens at Roswell and Southwestern culture in Santa Fe. Not only will you be intrigued by the UFO Museum and its extensive Area 51 evidence and artifacts. Driving through oil and cattle country, you'll be charmed by magical little towns like Artesia, Texas, the enchanting sunsets in rugged New Mexico, and of course the entertaining roadside souvenir shops that dot the I-40 through New Mexico's Old 66 route.

More than just kitschy displays, the UFO Museum in Roswell has an extensive collection of evidence and documentation of the Area 51 incidents and other UFO sightings. With movie theatre screening U.F.O.-themed movies and documentaries and a gift shop, there are plenty of reasons why the Automobile Club calls this stop in Roswell a "gem".

Just as mysterious as Area 51, Roswell seems just like any other town as you enter it on from the highway, but there are plenty of unique gift shops and small attractions unlike any other that you've seen. The U.F.O. Museum And Research Center is an unassuming, but massive, collection of physical evidence, photographs, newspaper clippings and other documentation from the Area 51 incident and other U.F.O. sightings and encounters. Before getting back up to the I-40, and more Route 66 adventures, stop at Peppers Bar & Grill for a bite to eat.

Albuquerque is a historic, enchanting city of artists, adobes and artifacts. It has an old Mexican-style zocalo, or main square with shops and beautiful Southwest historic buildings. There are some great Old 66 roadside motel signs on this stretch of the Mother Road. When in Albuquerque, make time for a trip up to Sandia Peak on the Sandia Peak Tramway. You'll love the view and the meal from High Finance Restaurant at the top of Sandia Peak.

Day 4: Cadillacs Coming Out Of The Ground and 72oz. Steaks In Texas

On the Texas leg of your Route 66 adventure, you'll pass some of the best roadside attractions and some of the best rest stops on The Mother Road.

Amarillo may be known more for it's cowboys and cattle than for it's high art, but Cadillac Ranch is a roadside curiosity that blends a complex meaningful vision with the car culture that is the history of Old 66. The brainchild of helium millionaire Stanley Marsh and San Francisco Art Collective Ant Farm, who built this installation, up the road, but moved in 1997 to its current location, within view of the I-40 features Cadillacs of different years thrust into the earth nose first at exactly the same 45º angle. 

The landowner donated the land to the art group for this roadside art-ifact that encourages viewers to help preserve the art object by spraying graffiti on it. Hundreds of people walk up the dirt path from the service road to make their mark on this timeless piece of culture and history. Exit I-40 at Arnot Road and take frontage road 2.5 miles east.

It's More Than Hot Air: If They Eat It, It Will Be Free
Speaking of the helium millionaire, Stanley Marsh, the helium monument and Don Harrington Discovery Center are an easy-access complex of suburban museum, park and monument and is found entertaining by all members of the family. You can absorb a bit of Amarillo history and plenty of cosmology in the state of the art planetarium.

One of the legends that I have yet to explore is the Big Texan Steak Ranch where the 72oz. steak dinner is free if you can finish the whole thing, potatoes and salad while up on a stage just off I-40, exit 75.

At the next stop, we'll be in Shamrock Texas, known for it's perfectly preserved examples of Route 66 roadside architecture.

Day Three: Blue Hole Of Santa Rosa And Dinosaurs of Tucumcari

Continuing through New Mexico, your next stop is Santa Rosa, home to 12 spring fed lakes (including 80-foot deep Blue Hole), a great Route 66-era diner, The Route 66 Auto Museum, and an ancient Adobe Village, Puerto de Luna, about 10 miles from town. Joseph's Bar & Grill is our favorite stop for roadside fare.
The first time we stayed in Santa Rosa, we camped at the KOA. With Wireless Internet and "room service" (they bring meals to your campsite in a golf cart); it sure didn't feel like we were roughing it, but when we took down the tent in the morning and found the Tarantula sleeping under it, we knew we had experienced an outdoor adventure. Of course, after that experience, I'm always a bit disappointed when the campground doesn't have Wi Fi, but I don't miss the spider.


Tucumcari has great examples of Route 66 roadside Motels

Our next stop is Tucumcari, home of some of the best examples of Mother Road roadside Motels, 50's dining and Route 66 neon. With themed hotels like the Blue Swallow, which has an enclosed garages for the car next to each room, truly a "no tell motel". Other Tucumcari gems include The Safari Inn, Teepee Curio, a souvenir shop inside a cement teepee, and our favorite local restaurant, Del's.

Teepee Curio is a classic Mother Road stop with great Route 66 Souvenirs

But 50's memorabilia and culture is not all you'll find in Tucumcari. It's also in the heart of one of the worlds' great fossil beds, which has transformed the local community college into a world class paleontology/geology laboratory and created the fabulous Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.

Because the facility has its own Bronze casting foundry, they have the world's largest collection of bronze skeletons, fossils and replicas of prehistoric creatures which offer you an incredible hands on experience touching and feeling life-size casts of dinosaurs, dinosaur parts and, of course, dinosaur poo.

Unlike most museums, at Mesalands Dinosaur Museum, a lot of the exhibits say "Please Touch"! 

Bunking in for the night at the Tucumcari Hampton Inn. Tomorrow, we're headed to Texas.

In the next post, we're headed to explore roadside art at Cadillac Ranch and other wonders in Amarillo and beyond.

Day Three: Entering The Land Of Enchantment, New Mexico

New Mexico truly does enchant. You won't be able to drive through the state without seeing a beautiful sunset or dramatic storm. From Gallup to Tucumcari is a magical journey that you can make in one day, but you may want to take more to savor this brew of Southwestern culture and Prehistoric landscape.


A trip across New Mexico on Highway 40 (with cultural detours on Route 66) is a trip through the best the Southwest has to offer

Shortly after crossing the western border of the state, you'll reach Gallup and the historic El Rancho Hotel, I-40, exit 22. For several decades the local mountains were the scene of hundreds of movies, so hundreds of stars from the 20's through the 60's have stayed here. It's truly worth a stop if only to board the grand staircase to the beautifully old balcony on the second floor to see the autographed photos of these bygone legends of the big screen.

El Rancho Hotel has all the elements of a great Route 66 Roadside stop: historic artifacts, local food and culture, a gift shop and just enough kitsch
The next stop is Albuquerque, where you could spend an hour or a week, enjoying the food and attractions of this little jewel of a Southwest City. We like to go up the Sandia Peak Tramway to High Finance Restaurant for a nice dinner and beautiful panoramic view of the sunset.




In the next post, we'll continue onto Santa Rosa where we camped once at the KOA and awoke to find this tarantula sleeping under our tent. Then, we'll continue through the wondrous New Mexico landscape to Tucumcari where we'll bunk down for the night.

Amazing Arizona Route 66 Side Trips

Williams, AZ
In the charming, Frontier-town buildings, you can watch a Wild West gunfight before taking an old steam train into the Grand Canyon. We've even camped in one of the Williams KOA Kamping Kabins, and relived the adventures of the day by a warm fire while the fall night fell and the temperature dipped below freezing. If you get tired of drinking your Sapphire and Tonics from cold stainless steel camping cups, I heartily recommend a drink at the Grand Canyon Lodge Lobby Bar, close to where you'll disembark the Grand Canyon Railway.

This was in 2005. My daughter was so little, and a little scared of the mock gunfight in Williams

At four, our little girl hiked 2 miles on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Here she's taking a break with her mom. Now, at 8, she can hike up the California Sierras like an adult. I guess this Grand Canyon adventure started her off on the right foot.

Flagstaff
Even less of a detour, plan your overnight stop to occur at the Hampton Inn Flagstaff, and you can see the beauty of Coconino National Forest from your room.

Kingman
If you decided to bunk in Kingman after your first day of travel, there's plenty to see as you head east on Old 66 from downtown Kingman. Follow the Mother Road across the rugged desert, 30 miles to the old-fashioned gas pumps and weather-beatensign collection at the Hackberry General Store. Continue 40 miles to the cement Dinosaur in front of Grand Canyon Caverns, a nostalgic and interesting stop on Route 66.

Hiking to one of the vortexes in Sedona

Sedona
30 miles south of Flagstaff is our family's favorite Arizona 66 side trip, Sedona. We usually stay at the Hampton Inn and then hike up to the Vortex at Red Rock (you can find out at a crystal shop, but don't pay for a map or a tour; the vortexes are easy to get to) to meditate on things that we want to happen in our lives. We've done it a couple of times and our "wishes" have all come tree. It's the kind of place that takes hold of you and transports you. It seems crazy, but take a sidetrip to Sedona, and watch your dreams come true. Even if I'm wrong, you'll still enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the red rocks.

I have a close friend that says that he pulled over at a gas station close to the parking lot that we use when we go on this hike to one of the vortexes, and he suddenly felt like he had drunk a 6-pack. When he asked the attendant what was happening, the reply was that it was the effect of the vortexes. For us, it's different. It feels "special", reverent, and commanding, just like a lot of back country spaces - Mount Whitney, Yosemite Falls, to name a few of the ones I've experienced. But, the amazing thing here is that if you meditate on manifesting something in your life, a thing, experience or achievement, it usually comes to pass within 12 months of the hike. Last time we hiked to the "spot", there was an Native American lady dressed in jeans and a t-shirt up in one of the cracks between the rocks above us chanting and singing; that enhanced the experience. The first time we went there, we asked for my wife's car, just as a test to see if anything would happen. The second time, we asked for something more serious, more important, and it came to pass in the most unusual way, but nonetheless happened within 12 months.

Vortexes are convergences of energy. They amplify thoughts and give them the strength to objectify your ideas. The operative word is amplify. Again, besides, the place is beautiful. Pardon me for not remembering the exact number, but I think there are 8 vortexes in the world and Sedona has three of them. When we go there, we just kind of run through town after staying at the Hampton Inn, and on the other side, after some winding road along the Redrock, there's a parking lot from which you can see the photo above.

I remember the first time we went there, when my 4-yr-old hiked back to the car for a half hour or so in complete silence, transformed by a meditative state, unbelievable for a child that age, but her ability to meditate was a child's casual attempt, amplified by this vortex in Sedona to the point where she was more calm and focused than most adults could be.

In the next post, we'll be leaving Arizona and headed into magical New Mexico, where there's plenty of beauty and adventure. See you there!

A Giant Jack Rabbit and Trees Turned To Stone

It's signs like this that make Route 66 Roadside Attractions unlike any other in America

Back on the I-40 after exploring Meteor Crater, we have a new respect for the Desert stretches of Planet Earth of Desert that we traverse on Old 66. Before we can get too deep in contemplating Prehistoric Times and huge Meteors crashing into Earth, we see exit 269, coming up, and it's time to make a quick stop at Jack Rabbit Trading Post.
We'll take another picture on the giant jackrabbit statue, check out the souvenirs inside that are very much like the souvenirs form the Mother Road's heyday, tomahawks, moccasins, collectible stones, and of course Route 66 memorabilia. It's a quick stop, but we never miss it.


Someday, we'll have a series of pictures of our family posing on the Jack Rabbit through the years.


We don't always take the detour to Petrified Forest, but if you've never been, block out some time on this leg of the journey to explore the fascinating park. Take exit #311/PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK onto PETRIFIED FOREST RD - go 1.82.8 mi. You won't be disappointed by this world-class National Park with fascinating formations and a beautiful vista of the adjacent Painted Desert.


The joy of family vacations. All ages are awestruck by the scenic beauty and intense geologic formation of The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

On the next leg of the journey, we'll be heading out of Arizona, onto New Mexico, the land of enchantment. Before we do that, my next post will detail some side trips that you can take from the Arizona stretch of Route 66, in case you wanted more adventure before you leave this state.

Discovering Prehistoric Sites On The Mother Road

Mistakenly, on past trips down U.S. 66, I passed Meteor Crater by, thinking it to be like a snake farm or alligator wrestling ring-type attraction. On our third family road trip on the Mother Road, I acquiesced to my wife's requests, and we pulled off the I-40 at exit 233, made a short drive over an expanse of desert, and arrived at a first-rate National Park-like, but privately operated, Visitor's Center, complete with a fascinating museum and movie theater. Especially after driving across the flat expanse of desert, the crater is awe-inspiring, which is even more incredible, considering this is a small one as craters go, although it's the best preserved in existence. If you still don't believe that it's worth a stop, consider that it seems like the kind of thing that you only want to see once, but the combination of museum, visitor's center and gift shop make's it worthy of becoming a regular stop for our family.
The other great thing about Meteor Crater is that it sets the tone for the suprisingly rich geologic history and artifacts that are found in this part of Arizona and New Mexico. In a day or so, we'll be stopping at the Dinosaur Museum in Tucumcari, NM, so a walk through the very scientific, but also very entertaining, Meteor Crater Museum, serves as an orientation to the experiences that lie just ahead as we travel east on America's Main Street.


Although it's difficult to capture the massiveness of Meteor Crater in photos, this picture shows that even a kid that goes to Disneyland half a dozen times a year finds this stop rich in wonder.


In the next installment, we'll be driving about another 30 miles or so before stopping at one of our family's favorites, Jack Rabbit Trading Post; then, on to Petrified Forest.

Day Two: 1950's, Second Stop: Prehistoric Times

As you head out on I-40, leaving Kingman far behind, be prepared for the time warp that lies ahead. When the Delgadillo brothers saw the Route 66 business in the town of Seligman literally disappear overnight, they were moved to save the town, and, inevitably all of Route 66, preserving some of the most uniquely American roadside diners and attractions still remaining. Exit Interstate 40 at the first Seligman exit following the signs to Historic Route 66, and take a ride down one of the most well-preserved and maintained stretches of the Mother Road. It's no wonder that you won't be in Seligman long before you see busloads of European and Asian tourist, with gaping mouths, in wonderment at witnessing their Route 66 dreams come to life. Have an old-fashioned malted at the Snow Cap restaurant or some savory German food at Westside Lilo's Cafe.


No trip to Seligman is complete without stopping at the Route 66 Gift Shop and saying hello to Angel Delgadillo, a major player in saving Route 66 from complete extinction.


For the next post, we'll hop back in the car to take a trip to Prehistoric Times when we get off the I-40 at Exit 233 to take a look at the amazing geologic phenomenon, Meteor Crater.

Latest Route 66 Neon Motel Sign Painting: Blue Swallow In Tucumcari

The latest in a series of oil paintings inspired by retro neon signs found at roadside attractions on Route 66. Scroll down for more paintings in the series and information about the Mother Road.

Route 66 Adventure, Bagdad Cafe & Oatman, Arizona

Two and a half hours from Los Angeles, in the Mojave desert, made famous by the critically-acclaimed movie by the same name, Bagdad Café in Newberry Springs, is justy a dusty ghost town version of a 1950's café, until tour buses which come loaded with tourists from Japan, France and Great Britain in search of the characters that they've heard of from tales of Route 66, make the place come to life. And they find it here in loads, and our family does too, even when we're the only customers in the joint, talking to the enthusiastic owner. While we don't always take the drive to our next stop, Oatman, Arizona on every family road trip on 66, we ALWAYS stop at Bagdad, either coming or going.


You gotta use your timer on your camera, so Dad can get in at least one photo

The trip to Oatman is not only a journey into the past, but it's a winding drive up the mountain to a rustically-charming Frontier town with wild donkeys roaming Main Street. Carrots are for sale from the general store and souvenir shops so your kids can feed the four-legged traffic. The whole family can visit one of the town's main attractions, the hotel where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned in 1939, even tour their honeymoon suite.


Interactive Entertainment for the kids that doesn't have sound effects that drive you nuts.

So, in less than 300 miles, you've immersed your family in an adventurous Road Trip and set the tone for a Route 66 vacation with a day combining some great Mother Road diner food and roadside family entertainment.

From Oatman, you'll head back to the 40 and drive to Kingman to bunk for the night. For your family, I recommend the Hampton Inn... easy in, easy out, quick breakfast. On the next segment of your family's Mother Road Journey, it just gets better with plenty of roadside things to see and do and some great 50's food and service on America's Main Street as you explore Arizona's beautiful landscape. Petrified Forests, the Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater are just a few of the things you'll visit on segment two of your family's journey.

Warren Keating

Introduction: Family Road Trip Fun Rediscovered on Route 66

Snow Cap Drive-In on one of Route 66's best-preserved stretches of Main Street.

Tee Pee Curio, still shines brightly day or night in Tucumcari New Mexico

After coming home after our family's fourth trip back and forth on Route 66, this time, we decided to start a blog in support of future growth of the Mother Road and the preservation of Main Street, U.S.A.

We stopped at the Petrified Forest on our first trip in 2005, when we drove to the Gulf Coast right after Katrina to meet with family.

The only way that your family can have any fun on Route 66 is to know where to exit the I-40 for the best experiences from 66. Let us be your guide. Check back soon for step-by-step directions for your family's road trip adventure. Next stop, rustic Oatman, AZ, where there are plenty of Route 66 stories to uncover as we head east from Los Angeles.