Route 66 – The Road That Built America’s Driving Culture – Part 2

Phoenix.

It’s wintertime, January 2026. We fly from New York to the warmth of Phoenix, Arizona where we pick up our car and spend our first night at the Hyatt Place hotel in Downtown Phoenix. We ate out at the local Thai E-San Restaurant. Next day, we shop at a large Safeway supermarket before joining Route 66.

Winslow.

We first head east, passing the Jack Rabbit Trading Post, sadly closed, to look at the teepees and classic American cars at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook. While driving back to La Posada Hotel, Winslow, we get a puncture. This is life.

Distinguished hotel guests at La Posada have included scientist Albert Einstein, Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Actors John Wayne, Betty Grable, James Cagney, and Clark Gable.

A few minutes’ walk from our hotel we were “standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford .. Slowin’ down to take a look at me”.  We take it easy.

Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum.

Heading west towards Flagstaff, we stop here.  This is a well-preserved impact crater, roughly one mile wide and 550 feet deep, formed 50,000 years ago by a large iron meteorite striking the Earth, wiping out the dinosaurs.  This is the place where the Apollo 11 crew trained – the moon-like surface helped them prepare and practice field techniques for the Moon landings.

Twin Arrows.

Continuing west towards Flagstaff, we look in at the ghost town at the Twin Arrows Trading Post.  One of the arrows has fallen and is no longer there.

Williams.

This town is known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon.  A one-mile-deep canyon “revealing 1.8 billion years of Earth’s history, with vibrant colours and distinct rock layers”. Early Williams had gambling halls, brothels, and frequent gunfights. We spend two nights in Williams, at the Red Garter Inn. This was a brothel until 1940.

Williams is part of the old Wild West. Established in 1881, in the middle of the Wild West period (roughly 1865–1895).  Williams was the last town on Historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40.

Grand Canyon.

From Williams, we take a return rail journey to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It takes the train just over a couple of hours to travel about 65 miles; cowboy style entertainment is provided on board, including a mock “train robbery”. Musicians also roamed the carriages singing the old songs. During the intervals, the service attendant chatted, providing a lot of information about the Canyon. At the destination, the views of the Grand Canyon are amazing. It was 33 years ago, back in 1993 that I saw these magnificent views from high up in a small aeroplane.

Seligman.

We stop at the Snow Cap cafe. This is the home of Angel Delgadillo who is maybe the best-known barber in America, possibly the world. Angel is the famous “Guardian Angel of Route 66”. He is the main founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, established in 1987 to campaign for “Historic Route 66” signage on the former US highway; similar initiatives have since been successfully established in every U.S. Route 66 state. We met one of his three daughters, Clarissa. We left her a gift – a UK vehicle registration plate X999HPC. She seemed very pleased and said she would add it to one of the walls, or possibly to the ceiling display!

Hackberry.

On route to Kingman, we pass-through small-town Hackberry where there’s a restored 1930s gas station.

Ash Fork.

We call into Ash Fork; this small railroad town has its own museum where we were given a full tour. We were shown vintage furniture, old photographs and classic highway artifacts. Some lovely photos of my wife holding a gun!

Oatman.

On the road again, we were welcomed by the sight of many donkeys as we approached Oatman. This was once a huge gold mining town here in the Wild West.  We stopped first at the Oatman Hotel Restaurant & Saloon. Some signs of prosperity remain. So many $1 dollar bills pinned to the wall … there must be over a million. So, the story goes, room 15 in this hotel was Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s honeymoon suite, where they stayed after their secret 1939 wedding. While the room has been refurbished, it looks authentic.

Old London Bridge at Lake Havasu.

We make a slight de-tour southward towards Lake Havasu.  In 1968, American entrepreneur and real estate developer Robert P. McCulloch purchased the original John Rennie 1831 London bridge from the City of London Corporation. He had it relocated here, 10,000 miles away in the Arizona desert. He bought and reconstructed the 1831 bridge as a massive tourist attraction to draw prospective buyers and visitors to his newly founded planned community.

The City of London had decided to sell the historic structure because the bridge was sinking into the River Thames, unable to handle the weight of modern vehicle traffic. McCulloch placed the winning bid of $2.5 million and spent $240,000 on its transportation.  The granite blocks of the bridge were carefully taken apart, with each stone meticulously numbered so it could be reassembled over dry land. Afterward, a one-mile channel was dredged underneath it, diverting water from the Colorado River and turning a local peninsula into an island.

The bridge features lampposts made from the melted-down cannons of Napoleon’s army, captured by the British at the Battle of Waterloo.

We stayed the night at the local Holiday Inn. The staff there were very welcoming.  We had breakfast at Makai Cafe. I took many photos of this amazing place and made a surreptitious video of my wife making her own video for her forthcoming YouTube channel!

We took a ferry to a casino in neighbouring California, then spent the evening at a local Thai restaurant. We met the lovely chef and owner, Tik Onsri from Chiang Mai in Thailand. We have stayed in contact with via Facebook.

Roy’s Motel.

From here we re-joined Route 66 heading to Needles, California and then onto the most photographed Roy’s Motel in Amboy where we enjoyed a free sound and light show delivered by some 20 Tesla Cyber Trucks. Roy’s is one of the most historic and iconic Route 66 landmarks.  Founded as a gas station in 1938 it expanded into a café. Interstate 40 bypassed it, leading to decline, but it is now undergoing restoration, the motel rooms remain, as building shells.

Laughlin.

In the evening we drove into Nevada to the Golden Nugget Casino in Laughlin. Laughlin is known for its casinos, located at the tri-state border of Nevada, Arizona, and California, it’s about 90 miles south of Las Vegas.

Bagdad Café.

Next day, we drove through some ghost towns in Newberry Springs with lunch at the Bagdad Café.  There are many straight sections along this road with many abandoned buildings.

Barstow.

Here we saw the outside of the restored 1911 Harvey House – Casa del Desierto. It was closed. I’m reminded of the 1946 western musical “The Harvey Girls” starring Judy Garland.

This hotel was part of a chain set alongside the railroads in the last 1800’s and early 1900’s; this hotel was located on what was to be Route 66 some 25 years after his death. Designed by renowned architect Mary Colter and opened in 1930, this historic hotel is considered a masterpiece of Southwestern architecture. It continues to serve guests with its unique blend of history and luxury.

Fred Harvey was born in London, in the district of Marylebone. He trained professional waitresses for his railway restaurants in the Old West. Real life young women travelled here for work during the 1890s.  The wholesome Harvey Girls were the good girls. The business thrived on a culture of good manners and excellent customer service.

Calico.

Continuing west we find another ghost town that was established in 1881.  Calico is a restored old West silver mining town with wooden storefronts and desert views. Only five of the original buildings stand today; the rest were rebuilt using 1880s photographs as blueprints.  At its peak, there were over 500 mines.  These produced some $20 million in silver during its active mining years. The mines were abandoned in the mid-1890s when the price of silver fell.  We drive on to Elmer Long’s Bottle Tree Ranch.

Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch.

This a free to visit, quirky Route 66 roadside attraction on the outskirts of San Bernadino, California. It features a whimsical forest of metal trees adorned with colourful glass bottles and salvage.  Elmer Long died at age 72 on June 22, 2019.

McDonald’s Museum.

Next day, Route 66 takes us to a piece of American history that we can all relate to, the very first McDonald’s restaurant. In 1940, brothers Richard McDonald and Maurice McDonald opened a small, innovative drive-in here. The site is no longer owned by McDonalds, though it is an interesting unofficial museum.

Cucamonga Service Station.

This gas station was built in 1915 and has been restored to its original 1930s art deco look. We take photos outside, though the place is closed.

Wigwam Motel.

We spend the night here in San Bernardino. Built in 1949, this is one of the three remaining teepee-shaped motels in the USA.  Our first sleep in a teepee! Their previous strap line “Do it in a teepee” is long gone! The lady owner kindly gave my wife a plant cutting that we bring home to London.

Santa Monica.

The end of the Route 66 trail is Santa Monica pier. It is easily identified with its historic carousel, and it is well sign posted. We walk along the pier and enjoy the magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean.

While in Los Angeles, we stay at the Gateway Hotel, Santa Monica. We take our first Waymo self-driving car to visit the Walk of Fame, then a traditional Uber to the Griffith Observatory. Here is the best view of the “Hollywood” sign. We use a Waymo again after visiting the amazing Petersen Car Automotive Museum. Route 66 was an amazing adventure. The Americans would say “awesome”. No time was wasted and now we’re ready for a second Route 66 adventure in the autumn.

Booking your own Route 66 adventure.

We received expert professional advice from Stephen, our travel agent at Route Trip USA. He’s passionate about America’s “Mother Road” … and once you’ve driven it, you will be too! Stephen knows the road, the stops, the people and the experience. Like us, you can stay in restored historic hotels and motels in some locations. He works directly with many independent Route 66 businesses; this helps them thrive. You can help too by eating in a family-owned diner rather than a typical burger chain.

I recommend that you contact him about any visit you plan to the United States. Please do mention this blog when you do.