Trailing Spouse Gets His Kicks on Route 66

PICTURES - The famous poster was taken near Seligman AZ - 75 miles of empty 2 lane roads - Kingman's Route 66 Museum - Lulu with a library diploma - Harry with nose art from one of the 7000 B-17's that were destroyed here


From Seligman, Arizona to Kingman, Arizona is an untouched section of Route 66. You remember the song, "It winds from Chicago to LA - more than 2000 miles all the way." The 75 miles between these 2 towns has been virtually untouched. In most places Route 66 was replace by I-40 - but for this brief couple of hours - it is 2 lanes - bordered by the Santa Fe Railroad. We saw very few cars on the highway - but saw a few of the 80 trains that take this route daily. One could get out of the car - and recline on the highway without much danger.

On each end of the highway - in Seligman and Kingman - there are a lot of hokey places to stop and buy souvenirs. The people are very friendly and provide great service - helping you slip back to the 30s - 40s - 50s when this was the "only" way west. I swear I passed a pickup truck with Ma Joad in the back. John Steinbeck called this the Mother Road and one could feel the history of the trip including the monotony the travelers must have endured.

When we got to Kingman - we toured 2 really quaint museums - and again experienced some nice folks that are trying to make do while the future has past them by. Lulu had a hotel booked in Kingman - but after looking at the map and checking on the computer - we decided to cancel the room and head to Laughlin, Nevada just 30 miles away and across the Colorado River.

As we drove to Laughlin - we were able to see the Hoover Dam up river. The Colorado River seems so pleasant and peaceful here - tamed by the manmade dams that provide - drinking water - power - and irrigation to the desert. We drove up and town the strip in Laughlin - selected the Riverside Hotel and Casino - called them on the cellphone - and got a tower room for under $40.

As I type this - Lulu is downstairs gambling a bit - and in a couple minutes the car museum opens with free admission. I'll spend an hour there - and then we hit the road. We will drive south along the river to Lake Havasu - where the famous London Bridge was re-constructed - and then head east on I-10 - back to Tallahassee - oops - I mean Phoenix - and then we take a jet to Tallahassee. Hope we get bumped.