Moriarty!

We are in the lovely Sunset Motel in Moriarty, and tomorrow we head into the hills to Santa Fe.

After waking up we had breakfast at a local bakery, and reluctantly left. The hotel was great but the man running reception was cold at best which was a little unnerving.

We met a chatty fellow called Matt whilst we were admiring his artwork on his building. He gave us directions to others and we spent another hour being delighted by the artists in Tucumcari.

We had a gentle day of driving, visiting a ghost ranch and Clines Corners.



A neon night

When the sun does down in an hour or two, we are going to capture some neon light in the town we have arrived in (Tucumcari in New Mexico).

Earlier in the day we stepped over the half way mark of Route 66 at Adrian and took the obligatory photos. I also had pancakes the size of pillows. I was only able to eat half of one.

We took in a ghost town along the way.

In Tucumcari, we visited an interesting museum and then a bakery - the coffee was chocolatey.

Bannana Pudding Milkshake

We started the day off in the best way ever, by having Banana Pudding Milkshake for breakfast at The UDrop Inn Cafe and met some wonderful people who were a delight. We spoke to Hazel who is 88 and works every Monday, and we left with hugs. She had caught Covid and it had taken her hearing Such wonderful hearts. We also have a fist full of stickers to add to our suitcases. We are going to need a bigger suitcase.

On the way to Groom, we saw signs for a Rest Area and Tornado shelter. Texans don’t mess about with Tornados.

We rediscovered the famous leaning water tower, back in the day it used to have a cafe at its base and passers by used to be alarmed it would be flattened and race to raise the alarm. I love that story.

We spent most of the day on Route 66 which is now segmented so it a bit like hide and seek and a joy when your wheels once again hit the rollercoaster dippy roads. On filling up the car with petrol we went to a mom & pop store and the petrol has a switch to enable the pump itself.

What is different about Texas this time, is the waves of wind farms carving lines across the landscape each turning to its own beat. I can only imagine what would happen if the Tornado met this wave… would be a sight to see.

There are lots of Big Things collected and we revisited the Devils Rope and Route 66 museum.

We ended the day at another famous sight - The Cadillac Ranch.

Now in Vega, and then New Mexico tomorrow.

Shamrock !

We ended the day in Texas just over the boarder in a town called Shamrock - it didnt have wifi so we went out for dinner instead and a local bar 10 mins walk away fed us pizza and salty margaritas (always a winner). The day started with a trip out of Edmund (Oklahoma) to see Pops! and the Arcadia Barn. We should have had a 202 mile trip, but ended up as 290 miles as TomTom took us on an exciting journey.

We lost and found Route 66 several times in the day. It was a blur of hilly roads (imagine a rolleroaster but as a road), a few unpaved tracks and so many giant bugs that fill the air with a constant humming.

The last town in Oklahoma was Texola a proper ghost town. When we get the wifi for more than a few hours I will revisit and add photos. Just adding our blog here so you know we are alive.

A day of Giants

Well, today was the day Matt and I discovered so many giants. Do check out Matt’s blog for photos. We are in a great hotel but with patchy wifi and that is being kind. We travelled 180 miles and burst through our 1000 mile marker. Along the way we got to see the Catoosa Whale again so that was a joy. I also fed turtles in the lake. We are now five miles from Arcadia, Oklahoma.

Jane Town

We woke up in Missouri and meandered to Jane Town which was a a slight detour off route of ‘66. The town is nestled in rolling hills with switchback roads popular with bikers and in the village centre stood The Jane Store where we had eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast. We met a lovely group of bikers who all gather once year from as far away as Canada. They were delightful, and talented (one repairing stained glass windows) sharing stories and leaving us Canadian pins. We also met a retired teacher who used to be on Broadway, he is now managing a 28 acre farm.

We then headed down to Bentonville, stepping into Arkansas and popped into the Walmart museum, completing a scavenger hunt - quote from Matt: “ we nailed it” gaining our second pin of the day before watching drones drop lunch into the park outside. A Walmart Employee indicating it was the future… I really can’t imagine a Tesco delivery arriving in the same way. Bentonville is a large town (towns and cities are not the same as in the UK). This is where the Walton Family reside, they own the Walmart empire being the richest family in America and every street is polished and picturebox perfect.

By late morning, we returned to Route 66, back into Missouri, clipping the corner of Kansas and ending our day in Vinita Oklahoma. Three States in One Day which deserves toasting with fireball whiskey.

Ps…if you are wondering - yes it is still steamy hot outside. Imagine opening an oven door and glasses instantly steaming up. Hopefully the weather will break later in the week as we get below 40C.



The Heat is On

I was woken by the sun rudely bursting through the cracks of the solid doors and windows. The jolly news advise its going to hit up to 109F (42.5C) today.

We spent early morning in Uranus a short distance from the hotel. It is a fudge factory and all the staff lean heavily into their branding. We heard it all and then some.

The day was blur of Route 66 and included:

  • Visiting Devils Bend (a bridge with an elbow bend which frequently experienced log jams)

  • Munster Hotel - a Route 66 classic

  • Route 66 museum

  • Visiting one town which had Hubble Road after the astronomer who grew up there.

It’s late this evening, we had our first meal out so will upload a couple of photos soon.

Back on Track

We were up planning before dawn, car packed and out early this morning. It was a good call, the heat is on, hitting a high today of 102F.

We started the day in Lincoln (not where Abe Lincoln was born - that would be Springfield). With military precision we ticked things off the list in quick succession.

We then headed to Springfield and explored the Carillion and Botanical Gardens which was a joy. They had a rain garden where water features sound like rain and we got to hear the spectacular chimes at 9am from the Carillion, a tower of 67 cast iron bells (one of the largest in the world). State Senator Thomas Rees fell in love with carillons whilst visiting Belgium and when he died in 1933, he left the town a legacy to purchase and construct a carillion in Washington Park. We also took photos of our first state capitol building as well as the home of Vachel Lindsay a poet who simply referred to himself as a rhymer designer.

In Mt Olive we explored a Route 66 classic…a restored Soulsby Station, dazzling with antique red and yellow shell gas pumps. Matt got to chat to locals who recalled buying gas from the station 20 years before. Later in the day we filled up the car up and Matt returned with the essential Holiday Hat.

In Staunton we hopped over to Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, it being Sunday they were not open but it was good to explore and we left them a 48StateSticker.

We then needed to cross St Louis, and it proved to be as challenging as our first experience. We took just one wrong turn and it was if we had stepped into a war zone… we knew the camera would love the contrast, and for some reason a car pulled up beside us… then reversed after confirming they didn’t know Matt. We took a few pictures then returned to our original route via heavily barricaded streets - barricades that would stop tanks. St Louis has its problems as do most areas, but this was jarring with meters separating manicured lawns from decay and poverty.

The afternoon heat beat us into a hotel late afternoon near to St Roberts, but we did catch a lot of sun and more photos and put 305 additional miles under the wheels.

CheeseAgeddon

So, not sharing the detail but two slices of Gouda Cheese broke me. We decided to stay another night.

I put this to the test:




Nostalgic Return to Route 66

Today was a joy. For starters I actually slept so was full of beans and our first morning in ‘Merica.

After packing the car, we headed off to Wilmington and to snag our first Big Thing in the form of a Gemini Giant. I had forgotten just how big of a beast it was (facts incoming): the 30 foot tall statue is one of many giant "Muffler Man" advertising props found throughout the US in the Sixties. The Gemini Giant is named after the Gemini space program and holds a silver "rocket ship" in his hands. The proprietors of a Dari-Delight restaurant (opened in 1960), John Korelc|John and Bernice Korelc, bought a 438-pound fiberglass Muffler Man figure for $3,500 at the annual National Restaurant Association.




This was one of three Big Things today - there others were a Baby Bull and a Green Dinosaur sitting on the roof of Garage.

We also had a proper natter to Ricky who was based in the UK in the 70s as an American airman and spent his weekend touring the UK playing in a band called American Covers. Today he runs an antique store and we bought a carved wooden duck from him.

We then spent some time exploring a town called Dwight. The last time we were here we took a photo of giant water tower. This time we explored a beautifully restored Ambler’s Texaco.


The town of Pontiac should have been packed with museums but they were very well hidden but this captured my eyes instead.

We returned to Funks Grove and is also our first Ghost Town. Our initial encounter was at dawn where the village was shrouded in heavy whisps of mist dancing across the ground. Today this remains a mysterious and magical place and you can hear crickets and rumbling trains. We discovered the Chapel of the Templed Trees and chatting to folk of Funks Grove as we purchased Sirup (that’s how it is spelt) which is immediately addictive. We have bought a Quart. It is only Day 2 and we will be needing another suitcase.

We have ended our day in Atlanta, burning through a total of 185 miles on our journey so far.

The day that lasted 28 hours

Today was nothing unusual, up at 2am GMT (wired brain and too many ants in my pants). It didnt help that a neighbour car alarm bleeped into the night. Checked everything for the 6th time. I have every item mind-mapped to lay my hands on in moments…Operation Vigilance Enabled it also comes in handy with the early days of “have you seen” questions. Operation House Shutdown went into high gear with a novel approach, snapping photos to confirm such things that yes, indeed I had unplugged the iron. Irons can be sneaky like that.

The ride to the airport was a blur and the taxi driver was his own talk radio.

We were upgraded at the airport. Proper food, real glasses, and good strong pot of tea before pressing a button to turn my chair into a bed. All nearby windows faced a giant wing.. this was my view after take off which according to the Fight Aware App, was 91 minutes late from lifting off the ground.

We eventually located the car rental at Chicago in a cab that got so very lost…. and we now have a car (its black Dodge Challenger). Matt pointed the car at the first hotel 52 miles away driving an automatic on the wrong side of the road (if we were in the UK).

We need to figure out how to pay online tolls - we passed four of them on the way to Joliet. Warm welcome at the Hotel at midnight (one of the younger housekeeping people on reception tried out their English cussing words when we mentioned Tolls). Anyway… Lights out a couple of hours later after and booking the next exciting hotel 120 miles away.

Takeoff!

Packing Day

Today is the day I figure out how to pack my house into a suitcase. Shoehorn found so now I feel more confident. Will let you know how I get on later.

We are revising Day 1. Our first hotel is across the city in the wrong direction so that needs to change. This also affects the final day, so landing into Chicago and heading straight out of it, but spending a day extra day here at the end to properly explore.

Wrapping up work tasks this afternoon and tomorrow then proper shut down after Monday.

Have laptop... will travel

My new laptop arrived today… it is the Adventure Laptop or AL for short. AL and I are getting to know each other, it has a clickerty-clack keyboard and a screen that wraps around my eyeballs. Matt is setting it up with Obsidian meaning I have one click access to the Adventure Bible. It is a beast of a book currently containing 1418 things to see and do…. 400+ of which are Ghost Towns.

Do head over to Matt’s blog - he has the route boiled down.

This particular adventure started life one thousand nine hundred and fifty four days ago on wishful thinking, and we are now 9 days from suitcase wheels up.

Catoosa Whale… here we come.