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Route 66 – From Barstow, CA to St. Louis, MO

Reality is that Route 66, the "Mother Road" of John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, suffers from decline. Route 40 replaces most of the original highway; what remains is in poor to bad condition. However, the scenery -- particularly the colorful desert areas -- makes the trip worthwhile.

The stories and songs about the highway, in addition to this being Ruth’s 66^th year, prompted us to take this route eastward. In preparation for our Route 66 journey we studied websites, we subscribed to the Route 66 Magazine published by Paul Taylor and we bought a set of large maps annotated by Jerry McClanahan and Jim Ross. While we were sometimes disappointed by the difference between what was described and what was reality, there were some high points shared here in words and pictures.

We picked up Route 66 at Barstow, California where we stayed at the very low budget, aptly named Route 66 Motel. Round beds welcome travelers in 8 of the 13 rooms. Owners Mridu and Ved Shandil provide all the basic necessities including air conditioning, a must in this desert climate. Mrs. Shandil proudly points to a copy of the USA Today article listing this as one of the 10 Great Places to Stop Along the Way [Route 66]. The Shandils have operated the motel for 25 years, raising two children; a daughter now in medical school and a son who started out to be a physician and switched to film school. He is now a producer in California. The Shandils have traveled the path from subjects of discrimination to popular leaders of the community. Mr. Shandil founded a Route 66 museum that continues to educate and inform.

Like other Route 66 motels we saw along the way, old autos occupy the carports and other relics adorn the parking lot. The environment they’ve created introduced us to the Mother Road. Mrs. Shandil sent us to the Idle Spurs for dinner, a first-rate steakhouse on the edge of town.

We started out early the second day, eager to see Roy’s Motel and Café in Amboy, CA. We had wanted to stay in the motel but were told, on the sixth phone call attempting to reserve, "A movie is being made that day." When we arrived, there was no film crew, no occupants of the deserted cabins.

Amboy is for sale. That’s the motel, café, post-office, church and homes for its entire population of seven on 700 acres of pure desert. Original price was $1.9 million, reduced to $1.395 – not bad for a whole town. We considered the possibility, but decided we wouldn’t be able to handle being mayor, postmaster, sanitation director and the entire chamber of commerce.

After bidding farewell to Amboy, we moved on across the Colorado River into Arizona, detouring up a spur of Route 66 to the former mining town of Oatman. This was a suggestion from Randy Kennedy, service manager at our auto dealer. We listened carefully when people advised us of "can’t miss" sites and scenes.

Oatman is definitely a tourist town; some might call it a "trap." Wild burros wander along the one road lined with Wild West themed shops and eating-places. The burros, descendants of former mine drudges let loose when the industry caved, can be ornery, aggressively seeking food from the tourists and kicking their dogs – apparently confusing dogs and coyotes. Burros urinate and defecate with abandon, attracting flies from miles around. But Oatman has its pluses – like shopping. Ruth bought a handsome leather shoulder bag there, the label showing it was made in neighboring Mexico.

We elected to continue over the mountain road back to Route 40. Pulling our tent trailer up and down the perilous switchbacks, we were awed by our first taste of Southwest scenery.

We circled this formation from three sides before we gained this picture. Here we learned that buttes are taller than they are wide and mesas are wider than they are tall.

Driving through Kingman, AZ, we noticed Andy Devine Avenue. Later research showed this movie actor was a favorite son of the city, a major Kingman booster. Crossing the Arizona Divide at 7000 feet, the San Francisco Mountains off to the left reminded us of our former home in California.

We found this motel still operating in Holbrook, Arizona. Due to confusion over the difference between a wigwam (arched structure) and a teepee (conical shape), the motto, "Sleep in a Wigwam, Get More for Your Wampum" was replaced with "Do It In a Tee Pee". Several Wigwam Villages (which were really teepees) dotted the country in the 40’s).

But many of the "attractions" on the Route 66 maps are now dilapidated, deserted or non-existent. The Twin Arrows near exit 219 are visible from the road, but the exit is blocked and you can’t get off to view or photograph.

However, in Winslow, Arizona we came across a surviving gem of a hotel, La Posada. Part of the Harvey chain, it continues to offer quality meals just as it did when rail passengers disembarked and walked across the street. Staying at a low-cost motel outside of town, we drove to the hotel where modern Harvey girls served a first-rate breakfast.

After breakfast we strolled around the hotel, through this calm, restful herb garden before proceeding east.

Just south of the Painted Desert lies a Petrified Forest National Park. Large logs are interwoven with a footpath to guide tourists through without damaging the artifacts.

Santa Fe unexpectedly disappointed Al, who had fallen in love with the town in 1966 when he first spent a night there while moving from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Fifteen years later he spent a week vacationing in a jewel of an adobe home.

The town continues to maintain the adobe architecture, even along the highways now surrounding the original town. But the feel is gone. Too many cars, too many people selling art, albeit good, too many tourists.

La Fonda, the historic and great hotel that was the destination of the Santa Fe Trail, is still majestic as this picture of the grand dining room attests.

The Georgia O’Keefe museum easily became the highlight of our Santa Fe visit.

The week we were there, the museum opened a new show of her "abstract" paintings of desert scenes, juxtaposed with photographs of the same locations.

Because we stayed two days, Santa Fe was a place we could use our tent camper. Shown here is the Trailer Ranch RV Park, conveniently located on Old Route 66, also known as the Turquoise Trail. Bus service to downtown stops at the gate. This well-maintained park is part of a retirement community. Yes, that is a modern sculpture in front of ‘Tag-a-Long.’

Santa Fe, like all of Route 66, is worth the effort; just go for what you like and don’t buy the hype.

Realizing we were not going to make our schedule, we cancelled our camping reservations for the rest of the way east. Setting up and taking down the trailer takes 3 hours out of our travel day, and we just could not spare that much time.

Whipping through Tucumcari, we crossed into Texas. Thirty miles in we came upon a temple to Route 66. It is a Safety Stop, which replace rest stops in this part of the country. This one is built on the original roadbed. The green doors right down the middle of the building are on the former centerline.

A similar dashed centerline and Route 66 medallions decorate the asphalt walkways. Inside, green, blue and purple tiles cover the restroom walls; terrazzo floors and granite counters and basins complete the solid but modern décor. Self directed video programs offer information on the Safety Stop program, Safety Tips, Weather Reports and Route 66.

On to Oklahoma with an overnight in Elk City – where we found the former Howard Johnson motel defunct (though highway signs still announced it) and the nearby Regency was only a small step up. We agreed that professional inn keeping has yet to reach Elk City. In Clinton, OK we found a Route 66 Museum and Restaurant, but were unable to stop and explore due to our pressing timetable.

Moving on through the verdant land between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, we spent our final night on Route 66 in Room 66 of the Budget Lodging Motel in St. Clair, MO. As this was just 50 miles southwest of St. Louis, our jumping off point, it was a fitting conclusion to our tour of the Mother Road.

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