Category: #RealImaginaryWest 2017

RealImaginaryWest 2017 Day 3 – Plains, Canyons & Mountains on Route 66

We again covered some serious mileage on Route 66, starting in Stroud, Oklahoma. We followed a good section of the original highway west of Oklahoma City. Next we made a few stops on the Texas Panhandle, including Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo. Finally we passed into New Mexico, following the highway’s pre-1937 alignment up to Las Vegas and Santa Fe.

An Early Start from the Skyliner Motel

We were packed up and ready to go at 6:15-6:30am. Vic was up in two seconds to brew coffee for Becky, just like he promised! He has some big plans for this place…more on that when we return.

38-Span Camelback Bridge

We got right back on I-44 and passed through Oklahoma City to I-40. About 15 years ago I traveled here on business. It looks like they added a very large new skyscraper since then.

We exited I-40 at US-281 so we could drive over this 38-span camelback bridge near Geary, Oklahoma. Route 66 passed over it starting in 1933…and it still keeps going on, and on, and on!

Lucille’s Route 66 Gas Station

We got back on I-40 near Hydro, Oklahoma after driving to this historic and well-maintained gas station.

Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock, Texas

Next we entered Texas, and stopped here at the Conoco Tower Station in Shamrock. Unfortunately, very little in Texas seems to be open on Sunday, so we couldn’t do much but admire the old art deco exterior.

The Leaning Tower of Texas

A proprietor purchased and moved this water tower next to his truck stop in Groom, Texas. He purposely had someone drive a tractor into this tower so it would lean about 10 degrees. This set motorists up to stop in…often frantic to warn him that the tower was tipping. He’d reply, “Oh, it’s been that way for years…can I get you anything?” You gotta love gimmicks that get people to stop!

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Palo Duro Canyon just south of Amarillo comes in as the second longest in the country, second only to the Grand Canyon. We took a detour to come check it out, and the intention was to have lunch here.

Cadillac Ranch

This public art installation of old Cadillacs invites people to “repaint” them. I was careful not to get me or my camera spraypainted!

Late Roadside Lunch

Since we didn’t stop and make lunch in Palo Duro, and since we didn’t see anything resembling a park or a picnic area around Amarillo, we stopped at this rest area to the west on I-40 and cooked up some hamburgers.

Finding the Absaroka County Sheriff’s Office in Las Vegas, New Mexico

No photo on this for now, but we did find the old town plaza in Las Vegas, New Mexico where outside scenes for the TV series Longmire were shot. Las Vegas sat in as Durant, Wyoming. We even found the door, which was still marked for the show.

Santa Fe

The drive to Santa Fe was incredible! The sun set as we drove into town, and we checked out the old town plaza before checking in at the Kings Rest Court Inn. This place was immaculately preserved from 1939, just two years after Route 66 was realigned to connect directly across New Mexico from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque…bypassing Santa Fe entirely. We’ll actually have time to stop and smell the roses before heading west again to the Holbrook, Arizona tomorrow.

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RealImaginaryWest 2017 Day 2 – Giants, Murals & Bridges on Route 66

For our first day on Old Historic Route 66 we began at the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois. We checked out the Standard Oil gas station in Odell and the Bunyan Giant in Atlanta before stopping on the Illinois side of the Chain of Rocks Bridge in the St. Louis area. Next we drove across the Mississippi River on the McKinley Bridge and followed I-44 out of the city. We then ate lunch at The FourWay in Cuba and stopped at the Red Rocker and the Devils Elbow Bridge before proceeding into Oklahoma. We finished the day in Stroud, Oklahoma with dinner at the Rock Cafe before checking into the Skyliner Motel. Purely for the sake of time we drove mostly on I-55 and I-44…but we’re already sold on coming back for the full Route 66 experience!

Waking in Wilmington

Last night we checked into Van Duyne’s Motel in Wilmington, Illinois to begin our Route 66 adventure to the Southwest United States. As I mentioned in the previous post, there were aspects of our room that made it a no-go for travelers with particular tastes. But the room was clean, the bed was comfortable enough and the shower was good and hot when we got up at 5:15am.

The Gemini Giant

At 6:30 I dropped our key in the lockbox and we headed to our first stop, the Gemini Giant right here in Wilmington. We saw him in the dark as we came into town last night, but the early morning light made him much easier to appreciate. He’s one of several statues manufactured by International Fiberglass in Venice, California to attract customers to all sorts of retail businesses across the country.

While the original made for The Paul Bunyan Cafe on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona was designed to hold an axe, so many held exhaust pipes and mufflers to advertise automotive dealers and shops that they became known as “Muffler Men”. The Gemini Giant has invited customers to stop at the Launching Pad diner since 1965. Sadly the restaurant closed in 2010 and still remains for sale today despite efforts to sell and reopen it.

The 30-foot tall Gemini Giant invites customers to the Launching Pad diner in Wilmington, Illinois.
The 30-foot tall Gemini Giant invited customers to the Launching Pad diner in Wilmington, Illinois. The restaurant closed in 2010 and is still in need of a buyer.

Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell

Opened in 1932, the Standard Oil Gas Station in Odell, Illinois used a “house and canopy” design that welcomed customers to feel at home when caring for their automotive needs. The station hasn’t sold gasoline since the 1960s and fell into disuse and disrepair by the the 1970s. Preservation began in the 1990s and included efforts and funding from the Illinois Route 66 Association and the National Park Service. The gas station was restored to its former glory by the early 2000s.

We arrived at 7:30am, way before attendants opened for visitors. There was however a button we pressed that played an interpretive audio recording. Through the window we could see that the interior is as authentically restored as the exterior.

The Standard Oil Gas Station, built in the “house and canopy” style on Route 66 in Odell, Illinois around 1932.
The Standard Oil Gas Station, built in the “house and canopy” style on Route 66 in Odell, Illinois around 1932.

Continue reading RealImaginaryWest 2017 Day 2 – Giants, Murals & Bridges on Route 66

RealImaginaryWest 2017 Day 1 – Our Adventure Begins in Illinois

Our drive on the first night of this trip is a short one for once! We drove from Middleburg Heights, Ohio near Cleveland to Wilmington, Illinois just outside Chicagoland.

Packing Up for 3½ Weeks (😮!)

I know 24 days is only a week longer than our usual road trip. For some reason it feels like we’re leaving for good. It’s weirding me out…

Anyway, I think we managed to pack everything we need except for one thing. When I picked Becky up from work to hit the road, she immediately asked about the clip that holds her phone up on the vent. I totally forgot about it. She almost wanted to go home and get it. I suggested we live without it if we can find one along the way somewhere. This worked for Becky, so we officially got on the road at 3:45pm.

Feeling Less Organized Than I’d Like

I just remembered another thing I sort-of kind-of forgot. I’ve been working out the itinerary for this trip since all the way back in January. I had to make some last-minute tweaks over the last week or two, but I did finish it. It contains the best information we have to keep on time over the next week as we make stops on Route 66. Unfortunately I neglected to print it out… Thankfully I stored it on Dropbox, so I can still get to it. But I really like to have a hard copy handy just in case my electronics fail.

I always experience a great deal of anxiety in the final week or two leading up to a road trip. I felt super confident and calm after we left for our trip to the Black Hills in July. For some reason I feel so much less organized for this trip than I’d have expected. We’ve been planning for months, most every reservation was made back in spring, and I’ve taken good notes. And yet I feel so flat-footed. Maybe I should have made up some mileage charts like I did on the last trip? Maybe the cold and rainy weather has pushed me off of my game?

Our Weather Outlook

Speaking of weather, there’s a lot going on across the country right now! For starters, we’ve had one of the coldest Augusts I can remember in Ohio. The hot and humid “dog days” of summer never came this year. It dropped below 70°F frequently this past month, when temperatures often approach or surpass 90°F. I’m glad we’re heading to the Southwest where temperatures will feel more like summer again!

The good news is that this cold snap across the Eastern United States is also holding temperatures down to a more comfortable range in Oklahoma and Texas. The bad news is that everything west of the Rocky Mountains has been experiencing a heat wave.

Continue reading RealImaginaryWest 2017 Day 1 – Our Adventure Begins in Illinois

RealImaginaryWest 2017 – Route 66 & Southwest Road Trip

This September we’ll get our kicks on Route 66 as we head to the Southwest! The “Mother Road” starts in Chicago, so we’ll drive out to Illinois and follow it all the way to Los Angeles, camping for a couple of nights at the Grand Canyon along the way. After driving all the way to the Santa Monica Pier, we’ll visit Death Valley and the “Big Five” national parks in Utah. After our stops in Colorado, we’ll have visited TEN national parks in total!

This is our longest trip by far, clocking in at 24 days! We started planning back in January and have our itinerary ready to share below. Watch for our posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag #RealImaginaryWest.

Highlights

Our route along Old Historic Route 66 to the Southwest & Canyon Country for RealImaginaryWest 2017
  • 24 days
  • 6,800 miles
  • 13 states
    OH, IN, IL, MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA, NV, UT, CO
  • Old Historic U.S. Route 66: “The Main Street of America”, “The Mother Road”
  • Part of the Santa Fe Trail in Eastern Colorado and across Kansas
  • 10 national parks:
    • Petrified Forest National Park
    • Grand Canyon National Park
    • Death Valley National Park
    • Zion National Park
    • Bryce Canyon National Park
    • Capitol Reef National Park
    • Canyonlands National Park
    • Arches National Park
    • Mesa Verde National Park
    • Great Sand Dunes National Park
  • Cities:
    • St. Louis
    • Tulsa
    • Oklahoma City
    • Amarillo
    • Las Vegas, New Mexico
    • Santa Fe
    • Albuquerque
    • Flagstaff
    • Los Angeles
    • Las Vegas, Nevada
    • Dodge City, Kansas
    • Kansas City
  • Also:
    • Palo Duro Canyon State Park (TX)
    • Meteor Crater (AZ)
    • Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park (CA)
    • Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NV)
    • Valley of Fire State Park (NV)
    • Kodachrome Basin State Park (UT)
    • Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (UT)
    • Dead Horse Point State Park (UT)
    • Natural Bridges National Monument (UT)
    • Bears Ears National Monument (UT)
    • Monument Valley (UT-AZ)
    • Fort Larned National Historic Site (KS)
    • Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (MO)

Continue reading RealImaginaryWest 2017 – Route 66 & Southwest Road Trip