May 10th ~ Our journey along Route 66 begins
Typical old time hotel and cafe along Route 66
We did not get quite as early of a start this morning as I had hoped, but after cleaning out the refrigerator and loading a few final items, we got out the door at 9:30. A stop to fuel up where we are still in sticker shock that diesel is over $4 a gallon, quick last minute grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s for a couple of items, we were finally on our way.
It takes a bit more planning when you are going to be away for seven weeks.
Gus has joined us, but is disappointed that it is raining
Taking the freeway until we got to Victorville was simply a matter of convenience. It was there that we left the traffic behind and rolled back the clock to the mid 20th century, pulling onto Route 66.
Route 66
“U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).” ~ Wikipedia
Route 66 overlaps with National Trails Highway which originates on the East Coast.
Much of Route 66 was also labeled National Trails Hwy
“Route 66” is often painted on the highway in both directions
For most of the way, we were the only vehicle on the road. In fact, since it was so quiet, and the road was straight, I got brave enough to drive Ellie Mae for the first time!
Yep, Queen of the road!
I probably only drove for about 10 miles, but the curse has been removed, and now I feel confident that I could drive if the need arose.
Here are a few pictures taken today to give a quick peak into what it looks like driving through the Mohave Desert:
The road was a mixture of nice new pavement or…
An interesting quilt like pattern of seams
Someone was living here and had made it more homey with flowers on the porch
Scrub brush, weeds, rocks and not much else for miles and miles
And then we would come upon another abandoned building. Oh the stories it must hold.
This totem was made of trash collected along the highway. Church in background.
We decided to overnight at Moon River RV Resort in Mohave Valley which is not too far from our first planned stop tomorrow in the town of Oatman, AZ. It is rumored that wild donkeys, left from the gold mining days roam the street.
Please join us as we continue further east.
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today we are especially grateful for our health and that we are fit enough to be on this journey together. A dear, longtime friend just advised us yesterday that he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Our hearts are heavy as we contrast how fortunate we are vs the battle that he is facing. If you are the praying type, we would appreciate you throwing your thoughts and voice towards the heavens that he will receive the treatment necessary to wipe out this dreaded disease. Thank you.
A Note From Abroad 
The road pattern is really interesting… Lovely images.. Thanks for sharing..
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Tim noticed the road pattern first and brought it to my attention. It went on for miles. I think maybe it would have been less work to resurface the entire road, but it did leave an interesting pattern.
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They do that sort of stuff here. It’s a way to spend more money on labour and less on materials.
Trouble is when you have a lot of that stuff it gets very slippery in the rain.
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I hadn’t thought about it getting slippery.
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Prayers up for your dear friend, Joanne. I’ll be eagerly following your journey, as a Route 66 trip was on my bucket list.
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Thank you for your added prayers Mike. I think we will be bouncing on and off of Route 66 along the way, but curious to see as much as we can. Such history to imagine and far less traffic has been our experience so far.
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By now, I am sure you have met up with the donkeys of Oatman, Joanne. They are quite humorous. Do the kids still have the no-carrots stickers on their foreheads? Did one of the donkeys manage to get its head into your window? Route 66 near Oatmeal is one of my favorite sections of the whole road. I first drove sections of the road in the 60s. –Curt
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Curt we are headed there this morning. I’ll fill you in on my next post. I’m curious now to watch for the stickers. What a greeting you must of had with a donkey putting its head in the window! You saw this area in its prime. Lucky you 😁
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It made a lasting memory, Joanne. The donkey experience was more recent, however. 🙂
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Donkeys are still there in abundance, but I did not see any sticker on the kids. 😁
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Go here. 🙂 http://wandering-through-time-and-place.com/2012/04/30/
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Great post and such fun and funny pictures of the burros.
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Thanks, Joanne. In between the burros were practicing what you showed. 🙂
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So glad that your trip has begun! Hoping to do something similar in September! Looking forward to your informative posts and beautiful pictures!
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The weather in September should be wonderful for this trip. Hope our write-ups and pictures will be some help with your planning 🤓
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Hubby and I drove part of Route 66 on a Honda Goldwing. It was amazing. Have fun.
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That sounds like a wonderful way to see it!
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Wow, this will be an interesting read for us. When we retire, we’d like to take the time to do this Route 66 as well. Thanks for sharing.
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I know it is early in our trip, but so far we are having a blast!
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Looking forward to your posts as we do plan – SOMEDAY – to drive all of the “mother road”!
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I somehow think it is appropriate that we will be driving the Mother Road on Mother’s Day! Hope you get to see this territory soon for yourself.
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My husband and I took a Route 66 journey (St. Louis to California) a couple of years ago and absolutely loved it! We stopped at just about every kitschy photo op along the way, and even stayed in a “teepee” at the Wig-Wam hotel. Have a great time getting your kicks on Route 66!
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I love hearing from others who have already forged the way that they loved it. Most encouraging!
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Really looking forward to this trip. We drove a part of Route 66 in 1990 and I well remember Oatman where we stopped for a look around and food. The road in at that time was a bit on the potholed side. The donkeys were super cute and there were lots. Looking forward to hearing if its changed at all over nearly 30 years!! Safe travels
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Well, the road into Oatman may be a bit better as I did not notice potholes. Still lots of donkeys and we got a kick out of seeing them roaming the streets.
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Already, following your journey is exciting! Can’t wait for more–and I love, love, love the road quilt pattern. We’ve not been on this portion of Rt 66, but it looks so similar to what we’ve seen. Would love to travel the whole route someday–as well as other “old” highways–just take off and see where they lead us. Enjoy!
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We too love taking the roads less traveled. So much more to see and we can choose a more leisurely pace.
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The seam patterns are really interesting. Don’t think I’d care to be living in that “house.” What a journey it will be but gas prices are high everywhere now, although they should get cheaper as you get away from the west coast. Happy to pray, too, BTW.
janet
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Janet, thank you for adding your prayers. Our diesel prices have ranged from $5 to $3.15/gallon. What a range!
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No kidding!
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I’m wondering if you saw stone “graffiti” along the roadway where kids have arranged stones in patterns on the order of “John loves Mary.” Or that may be on your route tomorrow. Oatman has become more commercial in recent years but is still fun. And I think you will find fuel prices drop as you move east. Have a great time. Do take some detours along the way to see some nearby sights. We love that part of the country and I look forward to enjoying it again in your posts.
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YES, we did see the stone graffiti. Tim was the one who spotted it and had to point it out to me. Boy, I sure hope to see lower prices on diesel. California always has the most expensive, so I expect you are right. We will be bouncing on and off of Route 66 to see several things that have been recommended. So many amazing places to explore 👍
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Excellent that you finally got your hands on the steering wheel. There’ll be no stopping you now! 😀
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HaHa, not being able to stop was a concern of mine. It takes a bit more real estate to stop the RV with a car pushing you 😲
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