Gonna get our kicks on route 66

[Rattlecan ★]

Plans are coming together for our road trip to Grand Canyon in September.

On the way out we will be going by Mt. Rushmore, stopping in Colorado to visit the wife’s cousin with a few other stops along the way. 
The route home follows Flagstaff to Chicago, so what are the must see stops along the way?

[Mr. Silly]

Life will be more sane if you don't stay at the hotels in park.  We stayed in a hotel about a 5 minute drive outside south enterance to the park.  We drove past the GC hotel area because of a boneheaded turn and it looked krazy.

We stayed at a Holiday Express on the Route 64 just outside the enterance.  We were pretty happy with it.  There was a restaurant/bar on the other side of the road a walking distance away.  The food was pretty good.  The margaritas were good too.  You'll be tempted to have two like we did since they go down easy.  It was a long 1/4 mile stumble back to the hotel after the second one.

[sheep_herder ★]

Let me know ahead of time when you are coming through. Rapid City is not that far away, and I sometimes get the VW serviced there. The Badlands east of Rapid City and Custer State Park are nice to visit.

[MoseySusan]

Albuquerque!  

[petitepedal ★]

Ugly Bob, GroupW and Mosey Susan...I am guessing az_cyclist will be in MN at that time. 

[JerrySTL ★]

The St. Louis Arch isn't too far away from Route 66. The Old Chain of Rocks bridge is worth a stop, but you'd need to park on the Illinois side as they are building a new park on the Missouri side.

Are you bringing your bikes? I could meet you on the Katy Trail or Madison County Trails over in Illinois.

[Rattlecan ★]

1 hour ago, Mr. Silly said:

Life will be more sane if you don't stay at the hotels in park.  We stayed in a hotel about a 5 minute drive outside south enterance to the park.  We drove past the GC hotel area because of a boneheaded turn and it looked krazy.

We stayed at a Holiday Express on the Route 64 just outside the enterance.  We were pretty happy with it.  There was a restaurant/bar on the other side of the road a walking distance away.  The food was pretty good.  The margaritas were good too.  You'll be tempted to have two like we did since they go down easy.  It was a long 1/4 mile stumble back to the hotel after the second one.

We will be pulling our own hotel behind the car.

[Rattlecan ★]

58 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

Let me know ahead of time when you are coming through. Rapid City is not that far away, and I sometimes get the VW serviced there. The Badlands east of Rapid City and Custer State Park are nice to visit.

Looks like we pass through Rapid city on our way to Rushmore. The trip is going to be fairly tightly scheduled because we have to be back home for my son's wedding but it would be nice to do some meetups along the way.

[MickinMD ★]

1 hour ago, Mr. Silly said:

Life will be more sane if you don't stay at the hotels in park.  We stayed in a hotel about a 5 minute drive outside south enterance to the park.  We drove past the GC hotel area because of a boneheaded turn and it looked krazy.

We stayed at a Holiday Express on the Route 64 just outside the enterance.  We were pretty happy with it.  There was a restaurant/bar on the other side of the road a walking distance away.  The food was pretty good.  The margaritas were good too.  You'll be tempted to have two like we did since they go down easy.  It was a long 1/4 mile stumble back to the hotel after the second one.

I stayed at reasonably-priced hotels a short distance from high-priced hotels at parks including Yellowstone, Colonial Williamsburg/Bush Gardens VA, and my SiL even found it was cheaper for us to spend the night at a hotel with a pool in Fort Lauderdale, then be driven by cab to our cruise ship in Miami the next morning.

[Rattlecan ★]

27 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

The St. Louis Arch isn't too far away from Route 66. The Old Chain of Rocks bridge is worth a stop, but you'd need to park on the Illinois side as they are building a new park on the Missouri side.

Are you bringing your bikes? I could meet you on the Katy Trail or Madison County Trails over in Illinois.

We will have the bikes but don't think there will be time in the schedule on the way home for a ride, but maybe lunch.

[Rattlecan ★]

1 hour ago, sheep_herder said:

Let me know ahead of time when you are coming through. Rapid City is not that far away, and I sometimes get the VW serviced there. The Badlands east of Rapid City and Custer State Park are nice to visit.

Actually, the trip planner (WoRc) tells me we are planning to camp for two nights somewhere in the Hill City area with plans to maybe do a ride on the Meikelson trail to the crazy Horse monument. Might be an opportunity there for a meetup?

[Gump]

12 minutes ago, Rattlecan said:

Actually, the trip planner (WoRc) tells me we are planning to camp for two nights somewhere in the Hill City area with plans to maybe do a ride on the Meikelson trail to the crazy Horse monument. Might be an opportunity there for a meetup?

We’ll be in Custer in August. I’ll let them know your coming.🙂

[Rattlecan ★]

13 minutes ago, Gump said:

We’ll be in Custer in August. I’ll let them know your coming.🙂

No don't do that. It will ruin the surprise. give them time to rally the forces.

[maddmaxx ★]

[MoseySusan]

I'll fill your bucket from Flagstaff to the eastern NM border, and then I'm out of school and someone else will have to weight in.

Just east of Flagstaff is Walnut Canyon National Monument. There is a short hike down into the canyon to step into cliff dwellings. The hike out of the canyon can be strenuous with lots of stairs.

Meteor Crater National Landmark is only mildly interesting.

Winslow has a cute photo op "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." There's also a historic hotel called La Posada with a train stop, interesting artwork and architecture, and the restaurant there serves really good food.  

Petrified Forest National Park east of Holbrook is a great place to ride a bike. We usually enter from Hwy 180 and ride toward the opposite entrance near I-40. Lots of scenery and petroglyphs inside the park. There are stunning views closer to I-40, so to make a shorter stop of it, enter from I-40 to take in the views.

Alternatively, if you enjoy the open road, skip Petroglyph and enjoy the views from the road inside the Navajo Reservation area. East of Winslow, take Hwy 87 north, at Second Mesa, turn east on 264. The Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site near Ganado, AZ, has a huge collection of Native American arts and is an interesting bit of history. Turn back toward The Mother Road at Hwy 491 toward Gallup. 

Just south of Grants, NM, is El Malpais National Conservation Area and a sight called El Morrow where lots of people who explored the area carved their names into a rockface, including Spanish conquistadors dating back to the 1500's. Kind of cool. That road is part of the Continental Divide trail, and we often see backpackers and cyclists coming through there.

Albuquerque has lots to see and do. I would love to accompany you to my favorite hiking trail at 10.3K elevation on the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains. But if you're pressed for time, lots of great places for coffee or beer.

East of ABQ is a little town called Santa Rosa where you'll find Blue Hole, a very deep and very clear place to swim and scuba dive.

The plains between ABQ and Amarillo are dotted with photo sites. The most interesting to me is Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo. 

 

 

 

[sheep_herder ★]

5 minutes ago, MoseySusan said:

 

Alternatively, if you enjoy the open road, skip Petroglyph and enjoy the views from the road inside the Navajo Reservation area. East of Winslow, take Hwy 87 north, at Second Mesa, turn east on 264. The Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site near Ganado, AZ, has a huge collection of Native American arts and is an interesting bit of history. Turn back toward The Mother Road at Hwy 491 toward Gallup. 

 

Sorry we never made it to the Hubbell Trading Post when attending the rug auctions. We mainly frequented the trading post in Gallup and did so for may years beginning in the 60s. We always enjoyed eating breakfast at the cafe in Grants

[jsharr ★]

You could stop and paint your names on the Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo.  

[Bikeguy]

https://www.theroute-66.com/state.html

[Rattlecan ★]

3 hours ago, MoseySusan said:

I'll fill your bucket from Flagstaff to the eastern NM border, and then I'm out of school and someone else will have to weight in.

Just east of Flagstaff is Walnut Canyon National Monument. There is a short hike down into the canyon to step into cliff dwellings. The hike out of the canyon can be strenuous with lots of stairs.

Meteor Crater National Landmark is only mildly interesting.

Winslow has a cute photo op "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." There's also a historic hotel called La Posada with a train stop, interesting artwork and architecture, and the restaurant there serves really good food.  

Petrified Forest National Park east of Holbrook is a great place to ride a bike. We usually enter from Hwy 180 and ride toward the opposite entrance near I-40. Lots of scenery and petroglyphs inside the park. There are stunning views closer to I-40, so to make a shorter stop of it, enter from I-40 to take in the views.

Alternatively, if you enjoy the open road, skip Petroglyph and enjoy the views from the road inside the Navajo Reservation area. East of Winslow, take Hwy 87 north, at Second Mesa, turn east on 264. The Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site near Ganado, AZ, has a huge collection of Native American arts and is an interesting bit of history. Turn back toward The Mother Road at Hwy 491 toward Gallup. 

Just south of Grants, NM, is El Malpais National Conservation Area and a sight called El Morrow where lots of people who explored the area carved their names into a rockface, including Spanish conquistadors dating back to the 1500's. Kind of cool. That road is part of the Continental Divide trail, and we often see backpackers and cyclists coming through there.

Albuquerque has lots to see and do. I would love to accompany you to my favorite hiking trail at 10.3K elevation on the eastern side of the Sandia Mountains. But if you're pressed for time, lots of great places for coffee or beer.

East of ABQ is a little town called Santa Rosa where you'll find Blue Hole, a very deep and very clear place to swim and scuba dive.

The plains between ABQ and Amarillo are dotted with photo sites. The most interesting to me is Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo. 

Unfortunately we will have to limit the side trips on that leg of the journey but a meetup for lunch and a brew would definitely be in order.

[shootingstar]

@Rattlecan , an aspiring socialite on Rte. 66. We should at least see pics or at least the food/place for meet-ups

[Tizeye]

Route 66 and I40 are intertwined with exit offshoots of the original Route 66. Be aware of where you want to get off to tour the original, but think of I40 as the directional route you can't escape.

Coming from Colorado - the north rim of grand canyons, but most people think of the south rim. You could see both. The south rim as two approaches from Flagstaff making a big circle - the southern approach and the eastern approach to the Grand Canyons. From Colorado/Utah (4 corners, Lake Powell) it would ne the eastern approach before you reached Flagstaff. There will be many Canyon overlooks before you reach the park. Also on the eastern side, but between your cutoff from US89 to the Canyon and Flagstaff is Sunset Crater and the road over the lava fields (a large detour loop connecting at both ends to US89) also had an overlook section where se the painted desert in the distance (also seen and much closer at Petrified Forest exit on I40).

Flagstaff. I know you won't be going as far south on I17 as Phoenix, but consider the red rock county of Sedona. DON'T take I17, but Oak Creek Canyon Rd that parallels it and goes straight to Sedona. Return to Flagstaff and I40/Rt66 on I17. When you get on I17 south of Sedona, consider going south one more exit to Montezuma Castle National Monument (cliff dwelling Indian ruins). It is just off the Interstate. Skip nearby Montezuma Well. As back at Flagstaff and I40 heading east toward New Mexico, Meteor Crater is OK - standing on edge platform looking at giant meteor impact site - Nearby Petrified Forest and the visible painted desert is worth a stop even if you don't hike, but a photo opp.

 

[MoseySusan]

It’s still winter in Northern Arizona.

 

[Wilbur ★]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:22 AM, Rattlecan said:

Plans are coming together for our road trip to Grand Canyon in September.

On the way out we will be going by Mt. Rushmore, stopping in Colorado to visit the wife’s cousin with a few other stops along the way. 
The route home follows Flagstaff to Chicago, so what are the must see stops along the way?

Head West on the QEW.  Right on Walkers Line, right on Upper Middle, left on Country Club… call me from there for the rest.

[Rattlecan ★]

4 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Head West on the QEW.  Right on Walkers Line, right on Upper Middle, left on Country Club… call me from there for the rest.

That's right in the neighbourhood.  Wouldn't it be shorter to take Appleby?

[MoseySusan]

There’s a stretch of 66 called The Oatman Highway between Kingman and Mojave, AZ. It winds and rolls through scenic desert hills, and there are wild burros roaming the area, descendants of those that were turned loose after mining folded in the area. Cool Springs and Oatman are historic sites, a rusted and bitter history with piles of detritus and confederate flags. 
 

[maddmaxx ★]

I was watching drag racing from Pomona CA this weekend when they showed the Route 66 end of the trail sign at the Santa Monica Pier.

[MoseySusan]

On 3/25/2024 at 8:32 AM, maddmaxx said:

the Route 66 end of the trail sign at the Santa Monica Pier.

The pier is a fun place to just poke around. Last time we were there, a pop group was filming a dance video. It was fun to watch. 
And the multi-use path that runs along the oceanside is very nice to ride. 
 

Ok, @Rattlecan, this place is kind of cool. As is the Navajo County museum in Holbrook, AZ. I recommend driving through Holbrook on the historic 66 through town and notice the number of mid-century motels. Same in Gallup, NM. Locally owned drive-up motels are a by-gone feature of road tripping through the US west. I think I already mentioned two historic hotels with restaurants: La Posada in Winslow, AZ, and El Rancho in Gallup, NM. Both have interesting interiors. The El Rancho also has signed portraits of Hollywood stars. 
 

Anyway, the Wigwam Motel claims to be the inspiration for The Cozy Cone Motel in the animated film Cars. I haven’t fact checked that, but it’s probably true considering the tee pee rooms and that the fictional Radiator Springs is a composite of Route 66 sites. 

[Rattlecan ★]

14 hours ago, MoseySusan said:

The pier is a fun place to just poke around. Last time we were there, a pop group was filming a dance video. It was fun to watch. 
And the multi-use path that runs along the oceanside is very nice to ride. 
 

Ok, @Rattlecan, this place is kind of cool. As is the Navajo County museum in Holbrook, AZ. I recommend driving through Holbrook on the historic 66 through town and notice the number of mid-century motels. Same in Gallup, NM. Locally owned drive-up motels are a by-gone feature of road tripping through the US west. I think I already mentioned two historic hotels with restaurants: La Posada in Winslow, AZ, and El Rancho in Gallup, NM. Both have interesting interiors. The El Rancho also has signed portraits of Hollywood stars. 
 

Anyway, the Wigwam Motel claims to be the inspiration for The Cozy Cone Motel in the animated film Cars. I haven’t fact checked that, but it’s probably true considering the tee pee rooms and that the fictional Radiator Springs is a composite of Route 66 sites. 

We are just fleshing out that leg of the trip now. Not a lot of time to fit everything in but here's what it looks like so far.

Sunday Sept 15, leave Flagstaff and stop at the meteor crater, the corner in Winslow and spend the night in Holbrook taking in the petrified forest and whatever else we can fit in there.

Monday Sept 16, hitting Albuquerque about noon. Maybe meet up for a light lunch?  Gotta keep it light because we will be doing the steak house in Amarillo for dinner. I heard they like to feed you well.

[MoseySusan]

2 hours ago, Rattlecan said:

Maybe meet up for a light lunch? 

I’ll look forward to it!

I-40 is heavily used by semi-trucks. You’ll fit right in.