All too quickly, we had to say goodbye to our Wigwam. It was quaint and cozy, but we must be off to see quite literally bigger things. Today we head to Williams, AZ where we’ll be staying for TWO WHOLE NIGHTS! Tomorrow, we’ll be taking a train up to the Grand Canyon and it’ll be nice to have a day off from driving.
Today (Labor Day) we were a little concerned we were going to have to visit Denny’s again because everyone would be closed for the holiday. Luckily, Joe & Aggie’s Café was open. It is a typical old school dive-y type Route 66 restaurant. The booths are old and ripped, the décor is monochromatic brown and everyone who works there is obviously related. But these are some of the best parts of the trip. The food was good and we were even supplied with some light breakfast reading, “How To Cope When You Are Surrounded By Idiots.” As we were leaving though, the owner was telling us that she took over the restaurant from her parents who had bought it from her grandparents (Joe and Aggie). Joe and Aggie are the real life individuals the creators of Cars used to base the characters of Stanley and Lizzie on. She showed us some pictures and articles about it. It was really touching to see their memory live on not only in the restaurant, but in the movie as well.
After gassing up, we headed out and found ourselves at the Jackrabbit trading post. For those who don’t know (like me) the Jackrabbit is a store that had billboard after billboard advertising their location for up to a hundred miles away. Similar to Wall Drug, or according to Mom, like South of the Border on the East coast. It reminded me of the billboard overload on I-70 just before the Indiana & Ohio border advertising “Tom Raper RV’s.” This store definitely had everything, and I was able to pick up a couple souvenirs. If I had been a little taller, I could have climbed on the giant jackrabbit that sits outside, but alas we had to settle for a picture of us sharing a kiss.
Moving along (just plugging away today!) we finally made it Winslow, Arizona where could take a picture at that infamous corner. On the way into town, we stopped at their 9/11 memorial where two beams from the towers stand along with a flag that flew at the Pentagon. Simple and touching all at once.
In town, we got some good pictures together at The Corner. Everyone was trading off taking pictures for one another. I think the locals who live there, try to avoid that section of town as much as possible. It certainly wasn’t crowded, but there was a constant stream of people milling about in the middle of the street trying to get the best shots.
Sadly, because of the holiday, we didn’t get a chance to visit the Chamber of Commerce and see their ’66 museum. I guess we’ll just have to come back and check it out another time.
Our next stop was open though (thank goodness) at the Meteor Crater just West of Winslow. This is the sight of where a meteor impacted with the Earth some 40,000-50,000 years ago. It was fascinating to see this massive divot in the middle of the flat dessert. The museum has some interesting displays of how fast the crater was moving and how big it was and the kind of impact it made, but I can’t help to wonder how they can be so sure of any of this since they never actually found the meteor itself. In the end, it’s still totally amazing.
From there we headed to Flagstaff, and talk about a culture shock. At the Meteor Crater, it was near 100 degrees, blue sky and complete dessert. About an hour or so later, we were in the Mountains, surrounded by trees, where it was starting to rain and the temperature had dropped at least 30 degrees. A little brisk! Lunch was another adventure. After some false starts, we decided on Howard Johnson’s. A classic old school road trip stop, and place I had never been. It certainly wasn’t the icon I knew it to be from Mad Men, but it did retain some of its old school charm. I enjoyed the model train that circled the restaurant constantly.
A quick stop in the Flagstaff visitor center to get our Route 66 Passports stamped and we were off Williams, AZ. The Gateway to the Grand Canyon.
Williams was the last town to be bypassed from ’66, plus with its proximity to the Grand Canyon it is one of the most intact small towns remaining on the Route. The town is filled with shops and restaurants, not to mention the fact that the trains to the Grand Canyon depart from here.
Tonight’s hotel is another kitchy one. At the Canyon Motel and RV Park, they turned a few defunct railroad cars to motel rooms. The have one passenger car and two cabooses that you can choose from. Mom and I are just staying in the passenger car, but when Mom is driving back with Carm they’ll be staying in one of the cute red cabooses. This is probably one of the most spacious non-standard hotel rooms we’ve been in. Kind of like the wigwam, I was not expecting that. There is even a huge porch to sit on, but seeing as it’s raining that is not an enjoyable option.
We had a few hours to kill, so we wandered in and out of the shops and had dinner and found out that every night they perform a gunfight in the middle of the street. So, we stuck around for that. It was campy and predictable, but I found the cow jokes hilarious. I can’t do ‘em justice, you had to be there.
Tomorrow is the Grand Canyon, so we’ll be up and out early. It’ll be our first day off from driving in over a week. It’s been around 15 years since the last time I’ve been to the Grand Canyon and I can’t wait to see it again. Hopefully the rain pushes off and we get a nice bright day.
Journey On 