We spent overnight in Needles, CA and woke to pouring rain. Route 66 is part of I40 at this point and it was probably a good thing as the rain was pretty heavy at times. We stopped for petrol just as we crossed into Arizona where it was suddenly a dollar a gallon cheaper.
We drove into Kingman AZ for brunch and stopped at Mr D's Route 66 diner.
Again, really friendly people but we were not so sure about the guy next door...
The diner was across the street from the Powerhouse visitor center which had the first route 66 museum we wanted to stop at. Luckily Dottie was able to walk through with us much to the delight of the people who worked there!
Some other sights around Kingman:
Once leaving Kingman we took the route 66 spur that took us through a small part of the Hualapai Indian Tribe reservation, which is the closest we came to the Grand Canyon National Park which we could see in the distance.
Our next pit stop was at Seligman which is a small friendly town filled with Route 66 memorabilia, and dog lovers, so Dot ended up with more treats. She is certainly getting plenty of walks on this trip.
One of the fun parts of this stretch of road is the Burma Shave signs series dotted along this stretch of road. The signs are entertaining messages spread over several signs, and were originally part of an advertising campaign. I wish I had written down some of the first ones we saw, but the one I wrote down was: Angels who guard you / When you Drive / Usually retire / At Sixty five.
The rain didn't stop much, and we also drove through some sleet and snow too. It was snowing as we drove into Flagstaff, AZ but stopped when we first got out to walk . Dottie has never seen snow before, but she didn't really seem to notice it as it fell on her later on in the walk.
The next pit stop was in Winslow- you know the one from the Eagles Song, 'I was standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona..." - only it was really about Flagstaff but that didn't fit so well, however, Winslow have made the most of it and there is a statue erected on a street corner there:
We also drove past 'Jackrabbit' which was supposedly the inspiration for a famous sign in the 'Cars' Movie. I'll put the photo here when it uploads!
Our stop for the night was in Holbrook, and after yet more rain, we managed to walk to the smallest dog park we have ever seen. The parking lot was four times bigger! We ordered a take-out pizza from an Italian restaurant, and walked back to the hotel. That is the one downside of travel with a dog- you have to sit outside or get take-out!
Tomorrow is the rest of Arizona, and into New Mexico. We'll have to watch the weather as there is a potential snow storm issue. We'll make the decision whether to miss Sante Fe completely once we get to Albuquerque as it is possible that we wouldn't make it there. It certainly is an adventure!
We've driven 986 miles so far.
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