10/8/14 - Painted Desert, Route 66

We started today with a small backtrack to the El Rancho Hotel.  We wanted to look at it in the daylight and check out the upstairs lobby area where they have signed pictures of the famous people who have stayed there. The lower lobby has unusual furnishings we wanted to see and we wanted to purchased a few souvenirs.  After taking a few more pictures we headed west on I-40 and made the first official Arizona stop at the Welcome to Arizona rest area.  There were maps there of attractions to see along the way and info on possible construction on the interstate. While we gathered information, it started to rain.

As soon as possible we were back on Route 66, Our first fun stop of the day was the Petrified Forest/Painted desert.  Our Geezer cards got us into the National Parks for free and we started the loop of observation points,.  The thumbnail pictures here don't do the colors justice.  This place in comparison makes the John Day Painted Hills area seem pale and small.  We saw evidence of  trees that look like wood in the Petrified Forest but they are rock hard.  They are  fascinating remnants of the forest. 

At the end of the Painted Desert area there is a monument to Route 66.  The Mother Road used to run through  this area.  This route seems to have been designed to give the traveler something to tell friends about. 

Back to the highway and then Route 66 once again.  It appeared from under I-40.  We got pictures of the famous concrete tee pees at the Roadside Motel and stopped by the Here It Is Curio Shop.  it is closed week days this time of year, so we  headed on to that town made famous by the Eagles Tune - Winslow, AZ.  Our  arrived followed a thunder storm.  Every thing was wet and there was about 4 inches of water was in the gutters.  Not many people were out.  We took a few pictures on the famous corner and then settled in at a local lunch spot to watch 'the corner and have some lunch, We should have taken more pictures because as it dried out the fair weather tourists came out of the shops and started to que up to take selfies, or have the next group waiting take there pictures. Our table next to the window looking out past the Minillium Bird gave us a great view and we watched the spectacle as we ate.  It is fun to watch peoples reaction to the Thunderbird and to the graphics, especially the trunk map. 

A couple came in with grand kids and sat next to us.  The fellow noticed our shirts and the Bird outside and explained that he owned the red flatbed Ford on the street.  He was  local and explained how the corner came to be. He also said that after they had gotten the corner up and going, the committee he was on had worked on getting someone to buy the abandoned train hotel.  That buyer had refurbished it and made it an attraction in itself. It was interesting listening to how a pop song and a reawakening of Route 66 nostalgia had saved Winslow and put it back on the map. We took our final pictures, had the group behind us take one of both of us, and then we were off.

Our next stop was the Meteor Crater, Big Hole in the Ground. We opted for the self guided tour and headed for the rim.  We took videos and tried to get our panorama apps to work because the size was not translating in our pictures, it is a big hole! We went through the museum, took pictures of ourselves at the bottom mock-up and proceeded on the road again..

As we have been traveling along Route 66 through many small towns and by closed attractions it makes us appreciate the ones that have been able to survive.

unusual love seat and matching chairs

Its raining, welcome to Arizona.

Joe on the corner, but only a flatbed ford, no girl.

The bird, in the street, in water, with a scuffed white wall