Takin’ it Easy – Route 66 (Chapter 2)

You never know what to expect driving I-40, Route 66 – the Mother Road.  

When we left Needles, California on that beautiful morning ( see my last post) of course we entered Arizona immediately. Desert all the way.

We passed “Twenty Mule Team” Road and “Borax” Road and stopped at John Wayne Rest Area. For a moment, we thought we would see him ride across the desert – then we rested our eyes from the sun and glare and returned to reality and to the present time.

From Barstow to Needles and now to Kingman, Arizona. We were headed to Flagstaff where we would spend a few nights. But getting there was slow going. The wind whipped the travel trailer. And my word, it was bumpy at times. This part of the Mother Road is rough and needs constant repairs.   

My mind traveled through a few decades from the John Wayne westerns to the time of the  Dust Bowl. I thought of the Joad family – loaded to the hilt – traveling this route the opposite direction – from Oklahoma to California. The constant breakdowns, overheating, blown tires, heat.  

If you’ve traveled this route, you know that the original Route 66 road only runs “here and there.” Interstate 40 replaced it. It’s combined in most places, but stretches of the original road veer on either side of the Interstate for miles at a time. It was nice to finally reach Flagstaff and turn on to the original – to our campground and later on through the old part of town.

Coming from the west – or from the east – Flagstaff is a breath of fresh air in this part of the country. And at this time of the year, I found that breath of fresh air in one word: Green!

Ponderosa Pines, which we hadn’t really seen since Yosemite,  flourished throughout the city . The campgrounds reminded me a bit of Hartwick Pines in the northern part of Southern Michigan, heading what we refer to as “up north.”

Our “cute little travel trailer” felt right at home in these pleasant temperatures! And so did we! Temps were 20-30 degrees cooler both day and night than any we had experienced in well over a week, and we refreshed ourselves in this climate for three nights and days before moving on. Later on this same lengthy road trip, we returned to Flagstaff  and overnighted in the Walmart parking lot –  one of the rare places it was possible on our long venture – due to the heat.

Rarely today do you find a true diner, but we discovered one on Route 66 in Flagstaff, where we were suddenly 50 years younger, ordering milkshakes served in icy cold glasses. Then we went yet further back – over 1000 years – on a day trip to Walnut Canyon, a National Monument between Flagstaff and Winslow!

The canyon is 500 feet deep. You can see cliff dwellings throughout. The Sinagua people came to dwell in these cliffs (Walnut Canyon) by the 1200’s to leave the ash-laden area created in the Sunset Volcanic eruption in 1045 AD about 15 miles north. This is a beautiful canyon. Ponderosa Pines and Cedars on the North slope provided the people with deer and turkey. But they had no water! Thus they are referred to as “Sinagua” – without water. Can you imagine? They melted snow in ceramic pots throughout the winter to use during the summer. It is assumed that in time, they depleted all their resources and moved on.

 

We saw pieces of their pottery, cloth – many items collected from the cliff dwellings years later.