ROUTE 66 | Desert Road Trip 2014
Route 66 - Desert Road Trip 2014
Previous blog posts: Zion National Park | Horseshoe Bend | Antelope Canyon | Monument Valley | Grand Canyon | Sedona
CLICK HERE to view my Route 66 photo gallery and order prints
After 7 most amazing days exploring the great American western desert with two of the greatest friends and road adventurers, our epic journey was coming to a finale as we were to take the 276 mile drive back to Las Vegas from Sedona. Of course, we weren't about to just make it a boring long drive...instead we ended our trip in a good ol' fashion way! What better way to spend the last day of our Road Trip than on the historic Route 66 just like the old days!
This was the best conclusion for our trip as Arizona's Route 66 took us through some of the most pretty country roads we had been on. And of course along the way there were plenty of roadside attractions to stop and look at - with the last of them all being the best (make sure to read all the way to the end of this blog)! As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, after leaving the Grand Canyon we took a detour before we headed into Sedona by driving east to visit Winslow, AZ, one of the most famous towns along Route 66 in Arizona. I'll start off sharing pictures of it.
Winslow, AZ - Route 66
Winslow, AZ claimed its fame in 1972 when the popular Eagles' song "Take it Easy" mentioned "standin' on the corner of Winslow, Arizona". And what do ya know, now there is an actual corner in Winslow that you can stand on while a pretty girl in a flatbed Ford takes a look at you! Also in the town's gift shops you can buy anything you want with the saying "standin' on the corner" on it or Route 66 Winslow Arizona! Such a neat little town!
Seligman to Kingman, AZ - Route 66
On our last day of our Road Trip, we left out of Sedona and followed I:40 until we got off on the Route 66 exit near Seligman. This small town is claimed as the birthplace of Route 66 in which it connected Seligman to Kingman, AZ! While the town is very close to many of the natural attractions like the Grand Canyon, the town also has many great roadside attractions including the Roadkill Cafe, the historic Route 66 Motel, the historic Route 66 General Store, and more. We followed the scenic Route 66 for 87 miles to Kingman, AZ while stopping at many of the old historic places along the way. You'll also see that we even ran into the Pixar's Cars characters from Route 66!
Notice in the center, I left my own Seth Berry Photography business card for the wall collection!
Oatman, AZ - Route 66
Perhaps the most unique and out of the ordinary place we went to the entire trip was our last stop along Route 66! Instead of exiting Route 66 in Kingman to travel US 93 toward Las Vegas, we decided to continue on about 30 more miles to a little ol' place called Oatman, AZ. This would also turn into one of our more mountainous drives of the trip.
The reason why I wanted to continue on to Oatman, was after reading a brochure about Route 66 I noticed something bizarre about this old gold mine town. Not only was it basically a saloon scene out of an old western movie, but they also have wild burros just roaming the street! We just knew we needed an epic ending to our trip, and seeing some wild burros would do just that. The drive from Kingman to Oatman is gorgeous as it takes you further out "in the middle of nowhere" and up a steady incline of elevation. We kept saying it was amazing that the old cars back then could travel up this windy road. Well, as we were coming around a mountain bend in the road, we came across our first burro...standing right in the middle of the road! The ass wouldn't move! ;) Until I whistled at it and he made a bee-line directly to our car and stuck his face in my window! Check out our hilarious burro encounter then see as we continue to encounter more in the interesting town of Oatman! Needless to say, we made a lot of friends...
CLICK HERE to view my Route 66 photo gallery and order prints
The Finish
Well Oatman, AZ was definitely the icing on the cake for one of the most awesome weeks of my life! Many great stories, pictures, and memories to share for a lifetime. I am so grateful and thankful for being blessed with the opportunity to travel out to see some of God's wonders and its my hope that if you do not get to experience some of these places for yourself, at least my photos somewhat took you there! If you ever need any advice or suggestions on where to go while planning a trip out west, please don't hesitate to ask! I am always happy to share with you my adventures whether its to the Grand Canyon or right here in my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains!
Until my next blog post (most likely somewhere in my neck of the woods), I leave you with our last group picture! This is us in front of Lake Mead right after we passed by the famous Hoover Dam. Right afterwards we ate dinner in Las Vegas then hopped on a plane to fly home! Man, what a trip!
Thanks again for reading my blogs!
God Bless!
