From Sedona to Kingman

It was a day for seeing wildlife along Route 66.
First we saw a prairie dog while we were waiting to turn a corner. Then we realized there were about 8 or 9 of them, they scuttled and stood on alert as we drove away .
Just as we were commenting on wildlife a deer ran across the road, luckily a fair way in front of us and both Sue and the oncoming car slowed right down for fear not only of hitting that one but in case it had some mates wanting to follow it.

Walking through the street (there was only one main street) of Seligman this lovely little bird and its mate caught my eye and stood still long enough for me to get a photo.

This final example of wildlife was outside what looked like a biker's den in Seligman.

We not only had lunch in Selgiman but an interesting chat with the folk in the tourist information centre. The advantage of having access to the internet along the way is that one can check out the facts or information about where one is or is going. In this where one was. In checking out information about the names of people we met in Seligman's tourist Information centre I found the following which pretty much matched our experience.
As I walked up the street I stopped at the Route 66 Gift Shop. I was hoping to find some more refrigerator magnets, post cards and trinkets of the Mother Road for my collection. As I was browsing among the cool memorabilia, a rear door to the shop opened and an older gentleman entered. Though I had never met him before, he looked strangely familiar. We made our introductions and it was then that I realized who he was. Angel Delgadillo! I was in the presence of a Route 66 legend. I mentioned reading his interview in Michael Wallis’s book. Angel then indicated a row of books on the counter, "I think I’m mentioned somewhere in every one of those books," he said smiling. "I must have given over 200 interviews in my day." I flipped open one of the Route 66 books and saw Angel’s picture over the caption, Mayor of Route 66. "Well, that’s what they call me in that book," he laughed. As we talked about Route 66 I could see the genuine love of the old road reflected in his eyes. (The first time I met Angel Delgadillo ~ March 2001)
In our case Angel was sitting at the front door and greeted us with "Welcome home!" While we perused the shelves he chatted a bit then headed off for lunch. The man who replaced him then chatted about Australia- turns out his son moved to Australia after his wife died and he now lives in Horsham. I told him I had family in Horsham and we chatted about the small town experience his son and grandchildren will be having in Australia but compared to Seligman it would be big big big country town experience as Seligman is a one street town.

Sedona to the Grand Canyon and back...

One of the main reasons we came to Sedona was to make a journey out to the Grand Canyon. Sue and I had been there from Las Vegas in 2004 and unfortunately I have to say I was disappointed... the reason I think was that it was such a hot day and the tour company had allowed about 5minutes there and corralled us into an area feeding us some disgusting food while we tried to find shade and some comfort. This time however was the opposite end of the tourist spectrum.
We started out early having been picked up from our gorgeous Sedona Springs Apartment in a small van in which there were three other people. We were it- 7 people for the whole day traveling out to the South Rim of the grand Canyon and back.
The tour guide, Steve, was/is fantastic. He provided interesting useful information about the area without being overbearing and was knowledgeable, friendly, careful and allowed sufficient time for us at each point of interest. We didn't feel rushed nor did we feel as though we were hanging around waiting all the time. In all it was perfect!
We headed through the Canyon out of Sedona and stopped at Sunset Crater National Monument, the Colorado Plateau's youngest volcano. Steve told us about the history and geology of the area, gave us time to walk through part of the lava fields, although it was very cold and windy- a series of short rushes from point of interest to point of interest.

Next we headed to Wupatki National Monument, a well-preserved ruin site of this Sinagua Indian trading village that was still being inhabited when the eruption at Sunset Crater took place. Another well informed walk around the area with Steve and attempts to avoid the wind.
We then traveled across the Navajo (Diné) Reservation and the western portion of the Painted Desert, and stopped at the Trading Post in Cameron, originally built in 1916. We had lunch at the restaurant at the Trading Post, and tried their Navajo Tacos- the base being Indian fried bread- even the mini tacos were monstrous, delicious but far too much.
After lunch we traveled finally to the Grand Canyon National Park where we got our first views of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River at Desert View. We climbed up to the first level of the Watchtower Observatory, and Steve had a scope which he set up and pointed out aspects of the canyon -people rafting down the river, aspects of the landforms and answered ours and others questions. We then had a leisurely, ½ mile walk along the South Rim and again used the scope to see both Phantom Ranch as well as the Kaibab Suspension Bridge.
The last stop on our tour was at the Grand Canyon Village, where walked part of theBright Angel trail , when I say part I mean like about 500 yards! We could see the mules heading out of the Grand Canyon.
We got home around 7pm completely tired but very happy with the days outing!

Holbrook to Flagstaff to Sedona

We chose not to stay in the Wigwam hotel mainly because they only had double beds in a small area (each room has a bathroom-we checked). So on our way out of town we took the obligatory photos of the signs and locales of note in our guide book or things that took our eye.

We stood on the corner of Winslow, Arizona- such a fine sight to see?! At least the mural is still there and the tourist shops on either corner selling and playing The Eagles as well as all manner of Route 66 "memorabilia" and must have souvenirs. One of the highlights for me was the Route 66 Scrappers store! I found a couple of small things to purchase, refrained from too much stuff but got some things to use in my "little" art journal that I am trying to maintain as we travel- as with all things I am a little behind but hope the stop over the next three days will give me breathing space to catch up.
We left Winslow whose major claim to fame was the corner itself which isn't traditional Route 66 but at least there is something to keep the town going.
So many small towns which look so desperately isolated or run down but they are someone's home town.

The sky and vistas through to Flagstaff were dominated by the San Francisco Peaks which are still partially snowcapped and provide a great back drop along the open plains.
The open plains gave us great views of the long train transports that seemingly crept across the plains- one couldn't say snaked as that would imply some sort of curving route and these transports seem to be going in a straight line from one stop to the next.












We ventured way from Route 66 to make the most of the area we were passing and have traveled through to Sedona and plan to take a trip to the Grand Canyon.
The drive through from Flagstaff to Sedona was through Oak Creek Canyon and Red Rock Canyon one of the ten best drives in the USA.
By the time we arrived at our apartment/holiday rental we agreed with the tourist brochures. The red rocks, the Ponderosa pines and the widening canyons are spectacular.

Getting to Holbrook from Gallup

It started out as a day getting from point A to point B along route 66.... interesting enough in itself seeing the countryside and the old road. We crossed the New Mexico border in to Arizona spending a little time at the border. I am the "designated" photographer- the others all take photos but I take many of the "drive-bys" as I like to call them. There is many an opportunity for a drive-by as we motor down Route 66- something that flies past us as we are driving that is interesting but really not worth stopping for- someone will say "Oooh look at that" and I will either grab and snap it or be in the process of photographing it as I have noticed it too. Usually indicating to the other that I have "Got it!" or that we were going to fast and "missed it!". It pays to have an SLR with an 18mm to 200 zoom lens!
But I digress... at the border I was leaping in an out of the car like a gazelle trying to get a photo of both of the border signs without getting run over or Sue getting booked or crushed by a truck., got them.
The landscape seemed to change dramatically again- I remember when we went from Texas into New Mexico last trip it was such a contrast. This time it was a contrast too and we stopped at the first trading post and rocky outcrop lingering over the incongruous figures placed along the roof of the buildings.
Content to continue on and admire more scenery we kept with the directions of the Route 66 guide and as we were crossing from one side of I-40 to the south Frontage Road we saw the Apple Dumplin restaurant. We decided it looked like a good spot to have some lunch. Basically in the middle of nowhere- nothing else seemingly nearby but the place was pretty full with just one waitress and someone mysterious (we didn't see them) in the kitchen managing it all.
The decor was "western" lots of photos and ropes, table cloths with plastic over them making for easy cleaning and pairs of old cowboy boots on the legs of each table. We ordered some sandwiches to share and while waiting for it all a man at a nearby table asked us where we were from and we had a short conversation about Australia and Route 66- he lives near another section of the road and his friend he was having lunch with lived further up the road- so a pleasant little chat and a bit of a wait and some very large meals arrived- we were very glad we were sharing! We decided we couldn't leave the place without having a "dumplin" and shared one of those too. A very pleasant meal and when we went to pay the chatty man from the next table had already paid our bill- we were going to leave a tip for the waitress but he had done that already and was long gone from the place. How nice was that! We couldn't get over how generous he was and we have no idea of who he is. The waitress said he's "lovely"".
So feeling replete we headed in to Holbrook to perhaps stay at the Wigwam Motel- we visited the Tourist Information Center and were convinced to go to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. And wasn't that a great call!
The National Park gates shut at 6pm so we had about an hour and a half to drive through and walk around a little.Our first impression was that the Petrified Forest did not sound very appealing as it comprises stone log fragments scattered over a rather remote and otherwise featureless section of Arizona desert. Apparently it comes as a disappointment to some who expect the trees still to be standing in thick rocky groves instead of lying flat in sections as they are. The petrified logs are extremely beautiful with most unexpectedly bright colors, and the park is in a section of the scenic Painted Desert so it is well worth our visit.
The patterns in the rocks that make up the Painted Desert are visible in the eroded soft sedimentary rocks due mainly to hematite (red), limonite (yellow) and gypsum (white), and the colors are especially striking at sunset- as it was nearly sunset we were really lucky- lucky in our timing and lucky that we made the effort to go and see it all.
We stopped along the way at the Crystal Forest. This was once strewn with especially beautiful logs, which had crevices containing clear quartz and purple amethyst crystals, but all the best specimens were removed by souvenir hunters long ago. It was this theft that prompted local citizens to petition for the creation of the then National Monument, which was established in 1906 - National Park status was not achieved until 1962. A few small crystalline specimens can still be seen, amongst other more typical logs, by the paved 0.75 loop path that has a few short steepish sections across ravines. We walked and looked and photographed in awe of the amazing colours and beauty of the area.

Albuquerque to Gallup

And along the way we went to Acoma.
The Pueblo is believed to have been established in the twelfth century or earlier, was chosen in part because of its defensive position against raiders. It is regarded as one the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US having been established in the 11th century. Access to the pueblo is difficult as the faces of the mesa are sheer. Before modern times access was gained only by means of a hand-cut staircase carved into the sandstone.
Our day saw us departing Albuquerque and gettting the hang of reading the map for Route 66. It is a complex and complicated beast this map. This is because ROute 66 is no longer a "route" in its own rite so to speak. Different highways and interstates have been built along the route that where used to be or in some cases it runs parallel to the interstate and veers off in different directions.
We went off the road to visit the pueblo that is Acoma which involved driving to the area then parking in the visitors centre, getting our camera permits and then taking the 1 hour 15 minute tour of the community.
We got back on the road and drove through Grants and arrived late in the afternoon at Gallup. The drive between Grants and Gallup was spectacular not just for the amazing rock formations but also for the dust that was being blown about by the 37 mile per hour winds.
Finding accommodation in Gallup involved us pulling into the motels and sending an advance party of Jude and Helen to check out if they were suitable- the first was full but Helen managed to get four big cookies from them; the next three were smelly and horrid and finally to the Comfort Inn which met our requirements but required schlepping our stuff up stairs.

The beginning of the end!

Having finally found our way to the next and final stage of our Route 66 adventure we flew back in to Albequerque, New Mexico on Monday and planned to stay overnight for two nights as we wanted to go on a balloon ride.

Apart from being on Route 66, Albuquerque has an International Balloon Fiesta which is known for the world’s largest hot air balloon festival, which takes place each October, when more than 700 balloons are in the sky at a time. The hot air balloon festival is considered to be the most photographed event in the world, drawing a huge international crowd of balloonists and spectators.
We organized a balloon ride for Tuesday morning and were lucky- lucky because we could get a flight with just we four in a smallish balloon, lucky because the weather was fine and balmy, lucky because it had been really windy in the days prior to us arriving and lucky because it has been really windy since.
The flight was early but not shockingly early and we were picked up at our hotel and then taken to a car park where our pilot and his wife set the balloon in the air and flew us over the Rio Grande river and down close to the water so that we could see up river and enjoy the early morning light. We then floated over parts of the city setting dogs off in a frenzy finally landing in a cul de sac. We landed near the draveway of another ballooning enthusiast who helped us with packing the balloon away allowing us to fairly quickly leave for our brunch in a nearby park.
Finally back at the hotel we had a prper breakfast and a catch up nap. We met at lunch time and walked through the old town shopping and admiring art work.... and a little shopping.... one can't come to New Mexico and not shop!

Before dinner we headed out to see the light along the old Route 66 entry to the city.

afternoon Albuquerque

Loved some other photos from our post ballooning and wanted to add them. I came across this wonderful Native American dancer (Fabian) and his singer wife Shelley. Bought her CD and watched him dance for quite a while then headed off on my shopping journey through the lanes and side streets of the old town.