Route 66 trip!

Hi everyone, I am planning a driving trip from Kentucky to visit friends in LA this summer, 2 weeks. We are planning to get there in 3 days (maybe 2 if we're feeling it), spend a few there (we've been there many times before, but we flew), and spend a week coming back, vaguely following Route 66 from Victorville, CA to St. Louis, with a first day detour for lunch in Vegas and stopping at the Grand Canyon.

I have some things already listed that I want to see, but I am hoping some of you could also give me some more. The days are loosely planned so we get back in 7 days. Overnight stops in Kingman, Holbrook, and the other towns with the old-style neon motels. I want to stay in those because of what they are. I understand their price reflects their modern-ness (if that's a word :cool:).

We will have the kids with us (2, 8, and 12), so I know some of the things I like (ghost towns, general scenery that is amazing) is not always appealing to kids, but they have chosen some of the stops (Legoland while we are in SoCal, the Aquarium in Tulsa, the Train Museum in St. Louis).

Any advice is welcome.

Best route 66 museum? (all the old towns seem to have their own)

Best restaurants?

etc

I have googled all of this of course, but I also want some input from the car community since that's one of the main reasons I want to take this route. I love auto history, and the thought of driving a Model A through the desert and across mountains fascinates me.

In Kingman AZ once a month on I think every 3rd Saturday ( you will have to find for sure) they have a few old car /route 66 activities.

Someone here may know for sure which day.

Make sure you stop in Oatman west of Kingman. It is a real section of RT 66 from Kingman thru Oatman and to the west. A very windy road. Be cautious of donkeys as when the mining there dried up the animals were turned loose and run wild. (they will steal your lunch right out of your hands)

Still has many old buildings and a neat old hotel and bar.

Lots of cruise clubs make this a destination.

My favorite stretch anyway.

If you were making your trip last part of April, I would suggest going on the Route 66 fun run. A two day event, that starts in Seligman, AZ. and then goes to Kingman, where there is a car judging, and other stuff. Then the next day you start off going up to Oatman for lunch, then end up in Topock/Golden Shores, where the winners of the car contest are announced and get their prizes. I did this in 2004 and would like to do it again. A lot of great people you meet at these events.

Take the Dam tour too if you like major civil engineering projects....with art deco styling....

Probably going in July. We have planned on driving to Oatman. Good stuff guys.

I'm sure you probably know but it does get a little warm (100*+) in the summer in this part of the world. So have a couple of gallons of water in the car with you.

Am I reading this right? Are you contemplating doing this trip with 3 kids, including a 2-year-old, in a Model A?

No, in a van lol. But I will be imagining being in an 80 year old car. We are planning for the heat. Also, many of the stops are at elevation.

Don't miss the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar CA.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/nethercutt-museum-sylmar

Be sure to check out the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. The rooms may be too small for your family, but the kids will get a kick out of the wigwams for rooms if you can find a way for all of you to fit. and you will love looking at the antique cars and trucks parked around the grounds. You can find more about it on the internet. I lived there in Holbrook for several years some time ago. Also tour the Petrified Forest just east of town if time allows.

Just traveled that route a couple of days ago. My recommendations:

Oatman is a must. You can buy burro food and feed the donkeys that roam the streets. Also, check out the hotel where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon night. There's a cafe where you can order rattlesnake or boar pizza.

Seligman is another must. The town revived itself by capitalizing on the Route 66 craze. From there, take the old Route 66 road through Peach Springs to dinosaur caverns. Pleasant little cave your kids will like. This section of Route 66 is pristine and gives you a true sense of how motoring really was during those days.

You can stop at Meteor Crater, but I don't think it's worth the admission price. Very expensive to see a hole in the ground.

I do recommend the Petrified Forest.

Spend a night in Gallup, NM. Visit the old Santa Fe train depot and it museum. There are lots of Indian stores with tons of jewelry and rugs. Best prices in the Southwest. I bought 2 fantastic Navajo rugs there. Also, be sure to have some authentic lamb stew or Mexican food, New Mexico style. Red or Green is always the question - I prefer Green.

If you have the time, visit the pueblo at Acoma, about 50 miles east of Gallup. This pueblo has been inhabited for at least 800 years and is perched atop of a mesa with 350 foot high cliffs. Guided tours are $26 per person, but you get a glimpse of something totally unique. Some Indians also have pots and art for sale. I bought some items at very reasonable prices.

Great info! You all are giving me stuff I haven't found yet on my own. Keep it coming!

About 37 miles east of Albuquerque, NM on I-40 (Route 66) is the little town of Moriarity and if you like Model A's, you need to stop at the Lewis Antique Auto and Toy Museum. It's at exit 197 and with 600 antique cars plus toys, it's something the entire family would enjoy.

Check out the aerial shot of their yard and the youtube videos here:

http://www.tresburrosgarage.com/lewis-museum.html

Amboy out in the CA desert is right on rt. 66. It has a real expensive gas station (over $5 a gallon last I saw) the hotel is there but not open, all the old buildings,church, school house...are still standing and even though the gas station does not have a grill yet they do sell sodas and snacks and have a restroom available. Then about 2 miles west is the Amboy crater which is interesting and free to see. have a great trip!

When I took my trip several years ago I sidetracked to Dallas to visit relatives. On the way across Texas we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch.

Its only a roadside thing that you have to park on the freeway and walk a couple of hundred feet to see. But it was fun.

Near Amarillo I think it was.

Lots of great stuff but maybe you might be interested in some of the less traveled sections of the route in Missouri and Oklahoma. While in the Ozarks we traveled along parts of the road that it seemed like had just been forgotten. Whole towns with downtown sections just deserted, if it weren't for a sprinkling of occupied houses they would be ghost towns. Pack a lunch because you won't find much in the way of restaurants.

On our way to Vinita Ok. we stopped at a little BBQ restaurant in Miami Ok. After a good meal, where we seemed to be the center of attention, we asked about any stretches of untouched Route 66. The sweet young lady who had served us excused herself while she went in the back area to fetch a gentleman who I assumed was the owner. He seemed thrilled to be able to give us directions which was to lead us to one of the few remaining short stretches of the routs "ribbon road". We found ourselves, by ourselves, in a time warp. Through the fields was a strip of pavement with a dirt shoulder on both sides the outside boundary of which was dotted with trees. A car would travel on the pavement until it met oncoming traffic at which time one or the other would pull onto the shoulder and let the other vehicle pass. Still in use today but off the beaten track there was no traffic which allowed us to park in the middle of the road to take pictures and to really absorb the feeling that mystically transported us back in time eighty or ninety years ago.

Lots of great stuff but maybe you might be interested in some of the less traveled sections of the route in Missouri and Oklahoma. While in the Ozarks we traveled along parts of the road that it seemed like had just been forgotten. Whole towns with downtown sections just deserted, if it weren't for a sprinkling of occupied houses they would be ghost towns. Pack a lunch because you won't find much in the way of restaurants.

On our way to Vinita Ok. we stopped at a little BBQ restaurant in Miami Ok. After a good meal, where we seemed to be the center of attention, we asked about any stretches of untouched Route 66. The sweet young lady who had served us excused herself while she went in the back area to fetch a gentleman who I assumed was the owner. He seemed thrilled to be able to give us directions which was to lead us to one of the few remaining short stretches of the routs "ribbon road". We found ourselves, by ourselves, in a time warp. Through the fields was a strip of pavement with a dirt shoulder on both sides the outside boundary of which was dotted with trees. A car would travel on the pavement until it met oncoming traffic at which time one or the other would pull onto the shoulder and let the other vehicle pass. Still in use today but off the beaten track there was no traffic which allowed us to park in the middle of the road to take pictures and to really absorb the feeling that mystically transported us back in time eighty or ninety years.

There is a place in Texas named Groom. It is a bit off of the freeway and is the old 66. Outside of town on the freeway there is a water tower that is tilted. It was to be made into a fountain of sorts with water spilling out. It was to be the focal point for a truck stop, but the freeway was built and the truck stop never came about.

We stopped there for the night, we found one of the old motels a few miles off of the freeway that had experienced a fire but was partially rebuilt. It had a mobile home incorporated into it that was a local watering hole.

They serve a great burger in there.

I got into a conversation with one of the locals that told me he was the guy that moved that water tower years ago. It was a good story, the tower was secured from a town 50 miles from where it is now. The thing is 40 feet across and this guy and his buddy fixed it onto a couple of trailers and moved it on a Sunday. I guess they took out most of the mail boxes along that 50 mile stretch of country road.

That was one of the funnest nights of the trip and I could go on and on about some of those local characters in that bar, but you really had to be there.

We have the dates sets now, leaving 7/25/14, headed to Big Bear Lake, CA via Boonville, MO (day 1), Grand Junction, CO (day 2), down through UT to see Moab, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Monument Valley (day 3), to AZ, then to CA (day 4), spend 4 days with friends in the SoCal area, then back 8/2/14-8/9/14 via Route 66 through the CA desert, Flagstaff, Kingman (may see Grand Canyon either now or on the way there), Williams, Santa Fe/Albuqurque, Amarillo, Shamrock, OKC, Tulsa, Kansas, Joplin, Springfield, St. Louis, then home.

We are planning to stay at the TeePee Motel in AZ, and as many of the nostalgic motels as we can (Blue Swallow, Wagon Wheel, Hilltop, etc), same for food and fun. I am taking note of everything I can that way depending on what time it is and where we are, we miss as little as possible.

Some spots I really want to see on the way back:

Amboy Crater, CA (I know it will be 110 degrees, but it's only a mile from the road)

The old road in Arizona (Sitgreaves Pass, Oatman, Peach Springs, etc)

Maybe a couple of ghost towns, such as Two Guns, AZ and Jerome, AZ

Petrified Forest

The really old structures and whatnot in Santa Fe

All the Cars movie-based structures (Shamrock, TX, Sno-Cap, "Mater" in Kansas, etc)

Kids want to go to the Western Heritage Museum in OKC and the Aquarium in Tulsa

old road in Kansas

Railroad Museum, Ted Drewes, and Arch in St. Louis

Of course I'd rather have a month as I see there are many other things to stop and do, and many will also pop up as we drive along.

We are leaving out on Friday!!! Can't wait!!!

We are substituting the Valley of the Gods for Canyonlands, more "along the way" and the name is just so cool! How can I not visit the Valley of the Gods?

My family and I was fortunate enough a year or so back to have a part company sponsored trip to the US, of course we had to see Vegas, (and the car display at the Imperial) here we hired a Mustang convertible and drove to LA via Flagstaff and detoured off 66 through route 89A and fell in love with Sedona, worth some time here. Another highlight was the 'sunset" Helicopter trip from Vegas over the Grand Canyon, exxy but not to be missed.

Cant remember where it was but bloody hot 112F, we passed by a huge yard of rusty relics, made me drool....

trickydicky,

You have no doubt seen more of North America then most Americans have. Too bad that you missed two of the best parts, the Pacific NW and New England. I guess that gives you some special things to explore you come back!-Bill

G'Day Bill, We have also been to NY NY, Pennsylvania Lancaster country,Boston, Niagara falls, great country,great hospitality, the beer..well....is another question

Myself, Wife and 14yo Daughter did this trip in 10 days, wish it was 10 months Aaah well!! beggers can't be choosers.

Guessing Billy is in So Cal today.... (he isn't going to like LA or it's wonderful traffic)

89A and Jerome AZ are a must, I hope he gets a chance to see both... Mingus Mountain drive up to Jerome is a nice detour but a ways off the ole Route 66 however. That whole Prescott Valley area holds many treasures on the back roads.

We have been to LA the past few days. We've been here plenty of times so I know all about driving here lol. It's both crazy and at the same time impressive that many cars are in one area. It's still not fun. We accidentally go on a toll road. Toll roads here aren't typical, and I'll just leave it at that. We start our Route 66 trip Saturday morning. So far the trip has been fantastic other than the dust storm in Arizona. That was a first.

So far the trip has been fantastic other than the dust storm in Arizona. That was a first.

Sorry, don't mean to laugh but it is a wild experience if you've never been in one before.. gotta love the Monsoon season in the Southwest but hey, I didn't book your trip...

Let me guess, Holbrook or the Kingman area ? Both are notorious for those flat land/no shelter areas as is many other areas throughout the state especially on the I-10 West from Tucson to Phoenix around the Picacho Peak area. From Gallup NM to Laughlin NV it's a bear this time of year on I-40.

My advice ? Plenty of water and travel in the morning... The evenings are prone to severe T-Storms this time of year.

It was the road from Monument Valley towards Flagstaff. I couldn't believe the Navajo still had their stands set up in the middle of it all. It lasted about 10 miles or so. Similar to bad fog, with some wind.

Oh yeah that's up by Kayenta and the 160 hwy ? Sure isn't much out there....

Glad you made it through ok though. Enjoy the rest of your trip and stop by Williams AZ off the ole route 66 and if you get a chance they have a train that takes you to the Grand Canyon. In the winter they name it "The Polar Express" and I hear it's worth the admission.

Safe travels and have fun !

Been back a week now, and wow! It was such an amazing trip. I could type for hours, so I'll just say we stayed in 13 beds in 15 days, drove 5400 miles (about 100 on dirt), ate great food, stayed at great nostalgic motels, and experienced a part of America I now love. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, but I'm a person who likes to always go to different places. Next year it's either to Maine or Yellowstone, and all the great stuff along the way.