Roy's Motel & Café, Amboy, California
Once in our lifetime we wanted to travel on the Route 66. The Mother Road, the road of luck and pain, of adventures and nightmares. The road which led Steinbecks Family Joad in his novel „The Grapes of Wrath“ from Oklahoma to California. A novel you should only read when in a good mental condition.
On a cold and rainy November night we booked the flights to Chicago and 4 weeks later from Los Angeles back to Switzerland. We rented a car (I was dreaming of an old Ford Mustang) even though we had to pay a heavy penalty using the drop-off location LAX. (750 USD) „Imaging something is better than remembering something“ says John Irving. The rest of the winter, Sabina and I spent our time planning and organizing the route and finding the places we wanted to see (there are thousands of Route 66-related spots).
On a cold and rainy November night we booked the flights to Chicago and 4 weeks later from Los Angeles back to Switzerland. We rented a car (I was dreaming of an old Ford Mustang) even though we had to pay a heavy penalty using the drop-off location LAX. (750 USD) „Imaging something is better than remembering something“ says John Irving. The rest of the winter, Sabina and I spent our time planning and organizing the route and finding the places we wanted to see (there are thousands of Route 66-related spots).
But before we started our 4-weeks journey to Chicago April 26th we had to do one of the hardest things in life. We had to say goodbye to a very close friend of ours. She got the diagnosis (0/100) in early February. When we visited her in the hospital a few days before we left, she said: „The cancer will kill me before you guys return.“ And she was right. Our thoughts were with this warm, friendly and graceful woman and will always be a part of the journey.
I write this post in English, for those who hadn't noticed it so far, it is not my mother tongue. Be glad that you don’t have to listen to my accent…
The people and the situations I describe are just a glimpse of something, I don’t mean my post as a description of the status of USA or as a generally valid opinion of the people living in the States or about my colleagues, the tourists. The story may have turned in another way if we had chosen a different crossroad. „Life turns on a dime“ Stephen King says. Imaging what can happen when you knock on the wrong door!
After a bumpy landing and a computerized immigration process (though there were some humans at work still) we were looking forward to our rental car from Dollar. An old Ford or something similar in mind, the lady at the counter told us, that there are not many cars left today. But she had a brand new one for us, a Hyundai Tucson. A HYUNDAI ??? Others are traveling the route with a Harley, an Oldtimer or at least in a fat American SUV. And we, we should do the 2448 miles in a plain vanilla model from South Korea? Holy cow. But, after 4000 miles driving this car, I liked it very much, as did Sabina!
Chicago, the Windy or Second City ! But "windy" doesn’t mean only the cold wind from north which is freezing to the bone in wintertime. No, a journalist from the New York Times wanted to know, why Chicago won the contest against New York for the World’s Columbian Exposition 1893. He wrote that he met "windy" guys. So it stands also for the character of the Chicagoans (hey, all things change!). And "second" doesn’t mean number 2 behind New York. The legend tells us, that on a cold October day, the cow Daisy milked by her farmer didn’t appreciate his cold hands. She wanted to kick his backside, but, unfortunately, she was hitting the gas lamp. The night Chicago died. 300‘000 people lost their homes in the fire of October 1871. But Chicago was built a SECOND time. The same year the Chicagoans reversed the river course. Back in these times they threw the garbage and excrement into the river and due to the fact that they took the drinking water from Lake Michigan, people got seriously ill. They found the solution digging only 12 feet deep and turned the water course into the Illinois and Michigan Canal. That’s the reason why the riverboats have to enter Lake Michigan via a floodgate. Ever since then the water flows into the Gulf of Mexico instead of into the Atlantic Ocean. Chicago has a turbulent history and there’s a lot to discover (have a look at the pics).
We started the Route 66, like millions of travelers, at Lou’ Mitchells Restaurant and Bakery. Our favorite author Rand McNally whose book was on Sabina's knees, says "avoid Highways" set our GPS and checking the signs of the route, it's easy to follow the 66. Our first stop was at a bar on the outskirts of Chicago. I asked the bartender if I could take some pics. "I have to call my boss" she answered without moving an inch. If you ever call your boss, ask him, if you are doing well, being unfriendly to strangers, serving the Cokes in slow-motion and giving the visitors the feeling "piss off". Get your kicks on Route 66.
We thought, we would make it to St. Louis on the first day. But despite the first part of the 66 is not that famous, we have seen some pretty little spots. The Joliet Prison (Blues Brothers, 1980), the bridges (okay, not that little) of Joliet, the Rich & Creamy on Broadway, the Riviera Restaurant (today closed) in Gardner and then many cornfields and lonely farm houses. It was night when we drove through Bloomington. We agreed to stop and stay for the night. I'd never heard of Bloomington, but there were many other travelers tired like we were. First of all, the motels were fully booked (on a MONDAY in April in the middle of nowhere???). Finally we found a place in a DAYS INN or so. And we got our first impression what we should expect from traveling the Route 66. Not the big, breathtaking things, no, small and old buildings and long, long roads. We also realized, that we would never make it to Los Angeles, if we avoided the Highways.
The next day we planned to make a stop at Becky's Barn in Auburn. We went up the private road to the farm buildings. Only one person was there and didn't take notice of us. So we turned the car and down the road we checked how to continue. Suddenly a red car stopped and the guy from Becky's shouted at us with the cars color all over his face: "What do you think you are doing, driving to my house, taking pictures and now blocking my entry!" (far, far away, there was some traffic, but here at this spot, only some crows were looking at us) I didn't want to make this guy more angry, so we jumped in the car and drove south. For sure we were lucky that he didn't see, that before he arrived we had done something we usually do at the motorway services.
Somewhere near Mt Polaski I took a very nice shot of the Carlyle Cemetery Mt Polaski and in Lincoln we saw a second awesome cupola of the Logan County Courthouse (1st, Chicago Cultural Center). I didn't have to pass the security check but the officer got a little bit nervous, when my cam (on the floor) started the beeps of the delayed-action shutter release.
When we got out of the car in front of Deck's Drug Store in Girard, an elderly man asked why we were taking some pics. Please, not a third time a dispute with a local. But this was Bill Deck. A very friendly guy, former owner of the store and a good story teller. He invited us to take as many pictures as we wanted and talked about his family and the drugs in the good old days. Cocaine must have been a popular and an often used thing...
Finally, we arrived in St. Louis. At the "Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch" we got a room with a view! The Gateway Arch in front of us! This Arch is really impressive. 630 ft (192 m) tall and one can go to the top. I will do so next time. St. Louis is a calm town and home of the Cardinals, a famous Baseball-Team. I guess they play a very good 2015 regular season. I will never understand the game (and I tried hard), but I am a European guy, it's fine that I do understand Football ("Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" - my favorite).
I remembered that I had seen a very nice picture from a lobby in St. Louis. I googled (how could people travel without google back in the days??) and I found the Union Station of St. Louis Doubletree Hotel by Hilton. I can tell you guys, this is a must stop whenever your path crosses St. Louis. The most beautiful lobby of the World. And if you can manage to be there on a Friday night you will see a perfect light-show! I will never forget it. When I was shooting big shots in this incredible hall a security officer came along. My wife thought: Oh no, he must delete the pics, as in the mega-cities it is not unusual, that it is forbidden to take photos, especially with a tripod. (on Top of the Rock in New York, you have to pay 1800 USD per hour for shooting with a tripod…). But this guy only asked me if I'm happy with my results! Thank you, yes I am!
I remembered that I had seen a very nice picture from a lobby in St. Louis. I googled (how could people travel without google back in the days??) and I found the Union Station of St. Louis Doubletree Hotel by Hilton. I can tell you guys, this is a must stop whenever your path crosses St. Louis. The most beautiful lobby of the World. And if you can manage to be there on a Friday night you will see a perfect light-show! I will never forget it. When I was shooting big shots in this incredible hall a security officer came along. My wife thought: Oh no, he must delete the pics, as in the mega-cities it is not unusual, that it is forbidden to take photos, especially with a tripod. (on Top of the Rock in New York, you have to pay 1800 USD per hour for shooting with a tripod…). But this guy only asked me if I'm happy with my results! Thank you, yes I am!
Maybe we are wrong, but we thought that there is not much to see on Route 66 from St. Louis to Oklahoma and we decided to leave the Route and were heading for Nashville, Tennessee, the Music City and home of the Country Music Hall of Fame (a honor I will never get - people are paying me for not singing). In Nashville, I met many new brothers (even there were many more in Memphis and some sisters, too). Though, I'm pretty sure, my father never visited the States:-). On Broadway we could listen to the (not only Country) live bands and had a good time, like the two days we spent later in Memphis, the home of the Blues. On Wednesday night, they close Beale Street for cars and the sound of bikes (mostly Harleys) takes place. An unforgettable happening! And no, we didn't see Elvis.
We went back to Route 66 by driving over Little Rock. And when you put Okla as a target into your GPS, you will find out, if you are the guy, who should travel the Route 66. Your computerized system says: " Drive 467 Miles". If you like that, you're fine, if not, book a 2 weeks all vacation in Orlando, Florida. We watched the road unroll. It ran straight as a string all the way to the horizon and this will happen many more times, before you reach Santa Monica, California. On these long distance drives you will get another view of things that happened, you forgive somebody's faults and you see your own actions in another light. An emotional state which could lead to addiction.
We passed Oklahoma only resting one night in Shawnee. Oklahoma, which suffered from severe storms and tornados this April and May. In the evening hours we arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico, 900 miles from Memphis. We stayed at the Roadrunner Motel, a place we would chose again. In this town the motels of Route 66 are rebuilt and with murals worth to take pictures of (found out the two murals of the rider who lost his horse). We took some nice shots of the Motel Blue Swallow, a famous spot, pictured millions of times. And if you get lucky, you will meet the "mural-Linda" and the "living-Linda" when you take your lunch at Pow Wow Inn.
We left Tucumcari and were heading for Las Vegas and Santa Fé. Las Vegas is a quiet town and Santa Fé a pretty nice one, with 200 galleries and a place to be for rich and famous people. If you drive to Albuquerque (Albukerki) put "Madrid" in your GPS and it will take you on the Turquoise Trail. You will drive through a little town, but today famous because the Road Movie "Wild Hogs" (with John Travolta) was captured there. Soon, we made some pics of Albuquerque which has a large community of Mexican natives driving the big, fat, custom-made cars. We rested in Gallup, where you could spend the night in Hotel El Rancho ("charm of yesterday, convenience of tomorrow", okay, they forgot to mention "prices of today").
Flagstaff was our next target. A town with good sport and music bars and the gateway to Grand Canyon (with the famous spot, where you will see some elks, that's for sure:-)). Be prepared for cold nights, Flagstaff is 6900 feet high (2100 m) and is also a well known ski resort. There's a lot to discover, take your time. As a Route 66 traveler you should stay at Hotel Weatherford or at Hotel Monte Vista. Check out the history and do not be scared of the ghosts of Monte Vista.
In Seligman, we met a Swiss girl (Uschi) with her German friend Thomas running the best shop for Route 66 souvenirs (and where Thomas serves one of the best cappuccino all over the World). If you follow the old route, you will see Hackberry, with the famous General Store and the Corvette in front of it, before arriving at Kingman.
Kingman, a spot on Route 66 which is a little bit overrated, is the gateway to the old 66 and in Oatman you can attend (noon, 2pm) to a Hollywood type act of drama. Only the donkeys were not very impressed about this performance and they were rather keen on food, even ice-cream from an old lady.
Next stop was Needles, where the Colorado River showed that it is carrying water, still. We arrived in Laughlin, not on Route 66, and to be honest, we didn't want to go there (I took the wrong exit, uh-uh only 70 miles detour…).
Death Valley, a place where people calm down, well, some are banging their heads against the wall, because the Internet-Access is very, very limited and these poor guys, social media addicted, cannot tell the World where they are:-). One of the best places we have ever seen. But, after three nights, we had to hit the road again. To our final destination, Santa Monica, the very end of Route 66. But the traffic in LA sucks, and, to all my Asian friends: You didn't tell me, but, please say yes: You had an Asian-gathering in LA these days, didn't you?
Is it worth traveling the Mother Road? Yes! We met so many friendly people, like always, when we are in the States. But, Henry Cole, I cannot imagine, that you made it all the way on your Harley within two weeks. If so, you are a hero! And for followers: Needless to say, you should like long distance trips. And if you travel Route 66, you will find your own spots and favorite places.
The worst of our tour? Everything has an End. But for now, we are a part of the Main Street of the USA. God bless you!
The worst of our tour? Everything has an End. But for now, we are a part of the Main Street of the USA. God bless you!
a click into a picture and a slide show starts, 1 click (outside the pic) and you are back on the post
more Infos and Photos of Chicago
Chicago - St. Louis
St. Louis
Nashville
Memphis
Tucumcari
Las Vegas - Santa Fé - Albuquerque - Gallup
Holbrook - Winslow - Falgstaff - Grand Canyon
Seligman - Hackberry - Kingman
Kingman - Oatman - Roy's Café - Barstow
Death Valley - Little Lake Overview - Los Angeles
more Infos and Photos of Chicago
Chicago - St. Louis
St. Louis
Nashville
Memphis
Tucumcari
Las Vegas - Santa Fé - Albuquerque - Gallup
Holbrook - Winslow - Falgstaff - Grand Canyon
Seligman - Hackberry - Kingman
Kingman - Oatman - Roy's Café - Barstow
Death Valley - Little Lake Overview - Los Angeles
Chicago
North Avenue Beach or Caribbean Sea?
whenever I see the Buckingham Fountain I have to think of Al Bundy's 5 TD in ONE (Highschool)-game
The Center of the City (taken from an L-car)
Chicago's Millenium Park Bean
Bands are playing in the Chicago Cultural Center
On the road / Joliet
a Joliet bridge (what a construction)
On the road / Lincoln
Bill Deck, owner of Doc's Soda Fountain
St. Louis
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis
Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch
the Bar
Skyline St. Louis
the lightshow in the Lobby of the Union Station Hotel
the light show is world class, I'm impressed, a feast for the eyes
the Lobby
a step back in time, wunderful
this is what I call a legendary "Hotel Bar"!
Skyline of Nashville
"Missisippi" Riverboat driving up the Cumberland River
Sabina enjoying the view from the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge
Broadway (US Highway 70), the world famous street of Nashville
Corner of Legends
Broadway in the tank of the Harley Davidson
the biker's proud
it's not easy to stop shooting the pretty nice neon signs
the vivid Broadway - how many legends crossed that street?
a very nice Lobby as well, the Union Station Hotel Nashville
Memphis
a friendly cabby
river front in Memphis, a Mississippi Scow passing the Hernando de Soto Bridge
born to be wild
driving down the street, not only once, most of the bikers are coming back a few times
only Beale Steet in his mind
hey sisters!
a band with power but without spectators😡
your welcome
Thanks for posing, Brothers
the happy guy from the Blues City Café, thank you for the photo
On the road / Tucumcari
terrible weather in Oklahoma (here Shawnee), we got lucky and passed the State the day when the weather was good (in terms of these times)
a turn in the road - very seldom😜
that will be a good one, Sabina
straight as a string to the horizon, I love it!
near Amarillo, to have a gas station with a shop at the highway, doesn't mean it will survive
Tucumcairi, New Mexico: the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, I can highly recommend it
David Brenner (Owner) started the engine, thank you
the famous Blue Swallow Motel close to the Roadrunner Lodge (often fully booked)
there are a lot of murals, like me, my wife couldn't stop shooting
good old American food
hangover?
you will check it out, where his horse is waiting, I'm pretty sure
I love the old American cars
I bet you will take more than one photo of the Blue Swallow
my wife (right...)
many nice spots worth being pictured
the very nice Palomino Motel, but no lights in the dark (2015)
not everything is renovated
old and modern times
you can't forget Route 66 when you are in Tucumcari!
the roof of a gas station
modern art
the famous wash lady in Tucumcari
Route 66 Motel in Tucumcari, a legendary one
Sabina 2011
Sabina 2011
Sabina 2015
an inside mural of the Pow Wow Inn (Restaurant and Motel)
cheers (Pow Wow Inn)
just great paintings
Mural- and living-Linda (and President of All-Rite Towing)
Sabina cannot believe it...
at the west end of Tucumcari, not survived
On the road / Las Vegas NM, Madrid, Albuquerque
the Diner, famous as Wild Hogs was recorded in Madrid, but in the movie it was a restaurant
Sabina must have been here once before!
On the road
between Gallup and Holbrook, Arizona
This is Emeritus Professor Rubén L Meneses. 57 years later, we met him when he visited The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ, where the guy on the picture, Chester E. Lewis, hired him. It was his first job in the USA, just coming from Mexico, without speaking one word English. A heartwarming story.
"Two guns", a famous spot on the roadside, but I miss the "No diving"-sign!
Flagstaff / Grand Canyon
Flagstaff the gateway to the Grand Canyon
Hotel Monte Vista, check out the stories about the murders, victims and ghosts of the hotel...
a busy railway station, Flagstaff, (direction Los Angeles or Chicago, your choice)
Highway 180 (direction Flagstaff)
even black and white it is a wonderful scenery
Seligman
Hackberry
Hackberry gas station with the legendary Chevrolet Corvette
often seen ... the freight trains
Kingman
the clouds were all the time while we were there at the horizon (I don't like pure blue skies)
Oatman
heading from Kingman to Oatman passing...
...Cool Springs
a Route 66 must have picture (road with yellow median, Route 66 sign on the road and some Harleys far away😎)
only 1500 miles to go, North Dakota his target!
that's not a fake
every day the same story, bored donkey(s)
On the road / Amboy
The Colorado River in Needles
Color TV! Oh, the good old times!
The Colorado River near Laughlin (not on Route 66, but it was a nice detour)
the reason why it is called "heading" to? Near Amboy
Amboy with the legendary Roy's Motel and Café (Mike, running the Café Shop)
since I've heard about the Route 66, this spot was always in my mind, now I'm here!
Near Barstow, avoiding the heavy traffic of the Interstate 15 (LV-LA)
Barstow
Death Valley
Stovepipe Wells, some rooms with a nice view of the Mesquite Sand Dunes
Stovepipe wells resort in the middle of the desert of Death Valley!
Furnace Creek (25 miles southeast of Stovepipe Wells) holds the world record for the highest reliably reported air temperature (134 Fahrenheit, 56.7 Celsius) in 1913!!!
take a bath until midnight, you are on the hottest spot on earth
Agathe and … a very friendly french couple we met late at night at the hotel
Lookout, the famous Zabriskie Point
On the road
the lake overview (to this point you have to drive a unpaved, bumpy 5 Miles drive)
End of the road / Los Angeles
don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened (Sabina with our mascots)
yes, we did it! Chicago to Los Angeles, what a great ride!
