Route 66, Gallup New Mexico

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived in Gallup. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the place is tiny.

I needed to find a campsite before dark, so I drove on through, figuring I'd go back to explore the next day or two. I was getting tight on cash and needed to find a place to hunker down for a week or two.  I found a campground not too far up into a canyon called Quaking Aspen, where the fee was only $5 and half of that for me with my federal pass.

I arrived and as I was looking for the pay envelope I saw a sign that said, "CAMPGROUND CLOSED SEPTEMBER 17 AM!"

Oh crap!  Really?  

Just as I was bemoaning my luck on this danged trip, a car with a sign, "CAMPGROUND HOST" pulled up.

I said, "Is the campground REALLY closing tomorrow???"

He nodded, and said, "And you may want to follow me to the next campground, because the host here says he's locking up as soon as he collects the envelopes in the morning. Last year, he locked a guy in!"

Sheesh!  Apparently the fellow had to use bolt cutters to get out of the campground. I didn't carry bolt cutters, so I followed him a mile or two up the road to another nice campground.  I had the pick of the place as there was only one other camper left. Really nice campground that I'll return to next season. However, it was also closing the next morning. Budget cuts, I guess?

So I parked for the night in this wonderful quiet place with pines and meadows, got a good night's sleep, and decided to head back to Desert Hot Springs next morning.   The Universe just didn't seem to be cooperating with my plans of finding a place to hang out a couple of weeks until the weather cooled in DHS.

I've learned to LISTEN to these signals from the Universe, and though it's over 100 degrees with humidity of 35% here today, I feel I made the right decision. I'll hang out here and paint and do water aerobics in the mornings, and continue my Route 66 travels possibly later in the season. At least I did make it across Arizona.

By the way, I stopped at this place just before crossing into New Mexico. It's on the North side of the highway and a grandmother there runs a little stand inside with the BEST tacos!

New Mexico looks like it will be gorgeous!

My nice campsite

As I was leaving I stopped in Gallup for breakfast and ran across this sign.

Maybe another clue from the Universe that I should get my butt home!

::laughing!:::

Happy Trails!

Annie

 GPS: 35.40581, -108.54017 for the campground

Painted Desert Route 66

The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert are basically in the same park. You enter one from the south and one from the north. Both Visitor Centers are worth a stop, though the one at the southern end is better because they have a short trail where you can see petrified logs up close.

The Painted Desert was crazy spectacular!  I'm really happy I visited.   The colors were amazing; blues, purples, pinks, tans, just like someone took a paintbrush to the hills.  Beautiful.















There was a fellow with camels there - he was busy talking to a lady so I didn't stay to find out what his deal was, but the camels seemed to feel right at home ther ein the desert.











After a wonderful day exploring here,
I got back on the Highway and headed to Gallup, New Mexico.

Route 66 Petrified Forest

From Holbrook, I headed to the southern end of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  The Petrified Forest is in the southern end of the park and the Painted Desert is in the northern end. If I had it to do again, I'd enter the Painted Desert at the northern tip right off Hightway 40/Route 66, but for some reason, the guidebook didn't say that was possible and I ended up driving the full length of the park 3 times. 

I parked at the lower end, right outside the park, in a small FREE Crystal Forest Shop campground run by tourist shop there.  The lady there was nice, and said as long as I had a toilet, I could park there free for up to 10 days. 

HOWEVER, for some weird reason (people without toilets?) the FLIES were CRAZY!  I'm talking 50 flies if I opened my van door for 2 minutes. I wasn't too happy about staying there, honestly, due to the flies. Otherwise, it would have been fine and I bet the stars would have been magnificent that night!

I left my ice chest and chair in my camping spot, the one under the big tree she suggested that had shade all day, and headed up the 20-something mile road to see the Petrified Forest, then the Painted Desert at the other end. Once I got up at the northern end of the park, I saw the sign that told me I could get back on Hwy 40 there!

I looked at the map and it was closer than going all the way around. If I'd not left my ice chest and chair, I could have just hopped onto the highway there, but the chair is special to me, so I drove back down to retrieve it. Then I drove back UP and stopped at the points I'd passed before due to the number of tourists in the parking lots. The park is self-guided, with pull-outs at the important points. It was pretty busy, so I'd passed some points, and was happy to have the opportunity to stop and see the ones I'd missed.

A beautiful specimen of petrified wood at the Visitor Center

Always look UP!

YIKES!

The best place to see the petrified logs up close is the Visitor Center Trail

Campsite is at  GPS: 34.79245, -109.890915

Route 66 Wigwam Hotel

Next stop was the Wigwam Hotel in Holbrook. 

It was like a walk back into my childhood. 

A very cool piece of petrified log

The sign says:

Dear Mr. Paul Lewis,

It is my pleasure to inform you that the

Wigwam Village ... was listed on 

the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 2002.

As you know, the National Register is the official listing

of the Nation's cultural resources worthy of preservation.

Congratulations!

Sincerely,

Christine M. Vlahistorm

National Register Coordinator/Historian

Arizona State Historic Preservation Office


Happy Trails!
Annie

Route 66 - the JACKRABBIT!

Here It Is!

I arrived at the Jackrabbit, and met a couple from Eugene Oregon.

They were doing Route 66 in a convertible, and graciously offered to take my photo on the jackrabbit!

The shop was closed, so I got back on Route 66 and headed for Joseph City.

 

Route 66 Standin' on the CORNER!

Next stop was Winslow, Arizona!

The first thing I did was gas up,

then stopped at a carwash to wash the dust off my van

so I could open the door without getting slimed.

Then I asked a friendly policeman, 

"Where's the famous corner?"

He directed me, 

and

here I am "standin' on the corner."

(There are signs directing people as you get closer, btw)

This was fun.

I must have taken about 50 photos

with my iPhone propped up on a lamp post,

trying to get a good shot.

And here's the Flat Bed Ford!
You can actually see it in the previous photo in the window reflection.

There was a funny old guy sitting on the corner,

watching all the silly people stopping,

getting their photo taken,

then leaving.

I counted at least 5 in the 15 minutes I was sitting there.

Must be real entertainment when you live 

in a town as small as Winslow!

After taking my photo,

I found breakfast in a mom and pop joint 

at the end of Route 66 before getting back on the highway.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo or get the name.

But it was pretty good corned beef hash and eggs!

On to the JACKRABBIT!

Happy Trails,

Annie

Get Your Kicks . . .

I'm feeling the call of the road again after being in a house for a week!

One of the items on my bucket list is to do Route 66 through Arizona and New Mexico, and so I spent time today doing some research.  The temperature is 10-20 degrees cooler in northern Arizona and New Mexico. If I begin by driving up to Kingman, doing Route 66 backwards I would hit the following towns:

Hackberry
Valentine
Crozier
Trusxton
Peach Springs
Grand Canyon Cavern (camping here)
Seligman
Jerome Ghost Town
Grand Canyon National Park
Walnut Canyon National Monument (camping here)
Williams (camping here)
Meteor Crater
Winslow (camping here)
Holbrook
Painted Desert and Petrified Forest

These may not be in perfect order, and those are just the camping spots I've explored. By looking at freecampsites.net, I can see places to boondock all along the route, at least through Arizona.

In New Mexico, I could buy the annual pass, or maybe just see what I could find in the way of camping. I'll be doing the route backwards, so it's been interesting researching.

Looks like I will want to stop in the following towns:

Shiprock and Four Corners:  Include Salmon Ruins, Aztec Natioal Monument, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park, Hovenweep National Monument, and Canyon de Chelly.

Gallup and Red Rock State Park
Fort Wingate
The Continental Divide
Thoreau
Milan-Bluewater - Prewitt
Grants
San Fidel - McCarty's
Cubero
Budville
Laguna
Isleta and Los Lunas
Albuquerque
Tinkertown
Moriarty
Clines Corners
Jemez Mountain Trail National Historic and Scenic Byway
Santa Fe and possibly Taos
Pecos National Historic Park
Cuervo and Tucumcari

Once I crossed New Mexico the weather should be cooling down. I can drop down and come back across Southern New Mexico and Arizona, back to Desert Hot Springs and be here in time for the holidays and WRTR.

So that's my loose plan for now.
I have to stay here to accept a few packages and get my van in order for the trip.
I need to decide what art supplies I'll carry and what clothes I'll need.
But I expect to be on the road within a few days.

Let me know if you feel like coming along. Company might be nice.

Stay tuned and feel free to comment below if you have advice about things not to miss or places to camp!

Happy Trails!
Annie