Route 66 (part 1) Williams, Arizona

We picked our car up at Las Vegas Airport which was a Hyundai Tucson SUV and spent the next 30 minutes in the car park trying to work out what all the buttons and dials did as we are used to old bangers back in England. Being an automatic as they all are in U.S.A. and having never driven one before it took a bit of getting used too especially the brakes which were very sharp and I tried on various times to put Kathy through the windscreen with my over zealous heavy foot. She eventually had enough and slapped me around the head which helped me to remember to be a bit more gentle with the pedal. Also they drive on the wrong side of the road here so that proved a bit challenging particularly for the other native road users when I chose the wrong lane to frequent. We had an incident where I panicked at a traffic lights as I could not decide which way to go , causing the wheels to lock up and someone nearly going into the back of us, later passing us with a loud horn blast but I was too afraid to look him in the eye as they carry guns here so best be cautious.

Kathy getting her kicks in the back of the car.

 We eventually found our interstate highway and started cruising along at the permitted 65mph which was a crime as the roads are so wide and straight. After about 100 miles we hit the famous Route 66 in a place called Kingman, a small agreeable town banking heavily on its route 66 heritage. After clearing the town limits we hit route 66 in earnest with its long stretches of lonely barren straight roads.

Route 66 does not do bends.

We drove past dust engulfed outposts in the desert scrub as the sun beat down on us. It was awesome, just like you see in the movies. Nothing much happened apart from the beautiful shifting scenery and the odd comical Burma Shave sign with their pearls of wisdom scattered along the route. We did not meet hardly another vehicle so were able to maintain a steady 65mph all the way with no interruptions. It was sheer bliss to drive. Move over Peter Fonda, there is a new Easy Rider in town! A bonus was all the local radio stations played 70's,80's and 90's driving rock.

I really need to watch my speed or will end up in more of these awkward positions.

   Route 66 does not actually exist anymore as it has all been upgraded since it's heyday to more mainstream freeways but some sections still remain. It soon blended into a freeway after Seligman and did not appear again until our first stop for the night at a small town called Williams which was the last town in America to have a route 66 bypass built. Here we stayed in a motel actually on route 66 which rather than being the nightmares that you see on American action and cult films was actually very comfortable and clean. Here we would stop for 3 nights as this was the access point for us to visit the Grand Canyon a small diversion from route 66.
 An early start next morning and a surprise for us. Due the the elevation in altitude at about 6000ft (which is nearly 2 times higher than Mount Snowdon in Wales) there was a heavy frost and the air temperature was hovering around freezing. We scraped the frost off the windows, loaded up on petrol and coffee and hit the highway. We climbed for another 1000ft and the air temperature dropped below freezing and there was patches of snow appearing along the roadside. The backdrop turned to pine forest and signs to beware of bears and elks started popping up. By the time we hit the national park limits and paid our $30 entry fee we had climbed to 7200ft and it was -2c on the car thermometer.  But the sun was peeping through the early morning cloud so we put on all our cold weather clothes and ventured out to the visitor centre which gave us our desired intinery for the day. We then walked over to the south rim view point and when we first viewed the canyon it took our breath away as it was so wide and so deep it looked surreal. Coupled with the morning frosty mist it had a moody atmosphere. Next we were accosted by a cheeky squirrel who kept begging us for food. By the look of the size of him he was very successful with his begging.

Please sir, can I have some more?

   We then continued with the rim walk which follows the cliff edge of the canyon for 2.5 miles taking in various view points. At one there was a family of elks who sneaked up behind me in the trees while I was taking photos of the canyon. Kathy was shouting for my attention but I was too busy snapping away that by the time I looked around one of them was only a 2 feet away from me and startled me to the point I nearly lost my balance and would of plunged down the rock face.  Kathy also rescued an abandoned teddy bear found over the edge of the footpath - never did reunite him with his owner so he's now been adopted by her and rides up front in the car keeping lookout.

'Get outta my way baldy before I bite you!'

  By mid day the sun had burnt the morning cloud off and it became quite warm as we walked along the rim path. We ended up at a lodge where they had a nice open fire and toilets. The park ran shuttle buses so we did not have to walk back to the car park. So we jumped on the bus, grabbed a coffee, and got back in the car to explore some of the more remote view points. By now the sun was fully out and it was really pleasant making for some better photos. After 6 hours we had seen enough so headed back to our hotel at Williams for a rest as we were knackered from all the walking.The best part of coming this time of year is there are no crowds and you don't get burnt. Later we had dinner at a Mexican in town which was good but the bars were empty so gave them a miss.

Kathy sized up a spectacular base jump.Teddy hitches a ride in her fleece.

   Next day was a short trip to a place called Bearizona where they had a safari on offer where you could drive around the forestry and view bears, wolves, bison and other native critters. The wolves were scary as they circle the cars looking for anything to eat.

Being mugged by wolves.

They also had a walk around section where you could view bobcats, birds of prey, black bear cubs which were super cute,foxes and a  jaguar. It was really set out well and we had a wicked time checking out all the animals.

Route 66 is big business here.

Afterwards we headed downtown to Williams and walked around checking out all the heavily branded route 66 shops, bars, cafes, gas stations and diners. It was a really cool town to hang out in and had plenty of sights. Dinner was at Taco Bell which was the usual fast food non event.

"I can't bear you all staring at me anymore"