2017-09-23
0

Delgadillo

Tags : Delgadillo Drive-In Idiots Kingman Railroad Snow Cap Tracks Williams

Category : Arizona , Daily Updates , Route 66

Delgadillo

Whenever I think of Route 66, I think of Seligman, Arizona, and then I think of the Delgadillo Family and the Snow Cap Drive-In. There’s a lot to Route 66, but the Snow Cap Drive-In is at the heart of things.

Roadside Attraction

The Snow Cap Drive-In is a collection of funny things. For example, the bathrooms are fully plumbed outhouses with eclectic stuff mounted on the walls inside. Even if you do not need to go to the bathroom, you owe it to yourself to peek inside. Oh, and take your camera.

Inside the Outhouse

Leaving Williams

Williams was a zoo. Of all the places we’ve stayed on Route 66 this was the most crowded. The diner where we ate was filled to capacity, and several motels and hotels had their “No Vacancy” lights on.

I wasn’t impressed with our motel, and even less with the free breakfast. So, we skipped the “free breakfast” (Cheerios or Fruitloops), and went to Safeway and bought hot breakfast sandwiches.

Because Williams is a gateway city to the Grand Canyon, expect to pay outrageous prices for lodging and food. About the only deal going is a discount souvenir shop on west-bound Route 66.

The loop of Route 66 that goes through Seligman and ends at Kingman is a fun drive. It takes you through the mountains, through several little towns and follows the railroad tracks.

Trains

Speaking of railroad tracks, check out this idiot. With signs warning about the dangers and the fact it is trespassing, he goes on the other side of the chain to get a picture. Had a train come down that track, he would have been killed.

Stupid is as Stupid Does – STAY AWAY FROM TRAIN TRACKS

No Excuses – The Rails are Marked No Trespassing

On the other hand, we stopped to take pictures of the mountains, and as soon as we did, here comes a train (it was quite a distance from us.) It was fortuitous that it came just as we stopped to take pictures.

People

People are half the fun of Route 66. We’ve met some amazing people. Today we met a couple who ride one of those motorcycle trikes, a girl from Australia, a family from Israel and some young adults from Spain. We talked to a local girl working in one of the shops. In addition, we met a guy who actually knows where Rochester is because he went to RIT back in the 70s!!!

Attended R.I.T. in the 70s

Local Girl

Family From Israel

Laura from Australia

Mountain Bike Riding Across Arizona

Friends from Spain

Friends from Spain – Posing by the Old Pumps

Denise and John – a local couple

The majority of the people we meet are happy and cheerful. But, that’s not always the case. I walked in to one shop and said, “You’re open! Every time I’ve stopped in the past your store is closed.”

She grumbled, “We’re open 7 days a week.”

Here are some more shots from today…

2017-09-22
0

Grand Canyon

Tags : Bay Photo Labs crowded Grand Canyon PPA sunset trail

Category : Arizona , Daily Updates , Route 66 , Sponsors

Grand Canyon

While the Grand Canyon is not right on Route 66, it is only 1 hour north. When you drive Route 66, you might as well take a day and visit the Grand Canyon.

That is exactly what Paul and I did. We started at Desert View (east end) and worked our way to the west end of the South Rim. We met lots of people. Half the fun was walking around offering to take people’s picture (instead of their attempting a selfie), and then taking pictures with our cameras.

We met a wedding photographer whom I told about PPA and Bay Photo. She says she has a lab, but I recommended she set up an account and do a sample order.

Where’s Paul

The Canyon was crowded. At one point, I turned and Paul wasn’t around. I thought he got bored and moved down the trail. I started down the trail thinking I would run in to him.

Soon, it was pitch black, and so I made my way back to the car. About 10 minutes later, Paul was outside the car saying, “Brent?” (Again, it was pitch dark.)

We were both relieved that he made his way back to the car.

Sunset at the Canyon

The sunset at the canyon was nice. While it wasn’t real dramatic, the lighting against the west facing walls was the cool part.

I’m just going to show you the pictures and let you enjoy them…

: Condor

: Young Lady from Poland

: Young Lady from Poland

: James from Portland Riding Around the Country

: This is just one example of how messy this place is.

: A Group of Young Adults from Pasadena

: Paul Shooting the Grand Canyon

: Two Young Ladies from New Jersey

: Couple from Poland

2017-09-22
0

Route 66 Detour

Tags : Complementary hotel Motel Quid Quo Pro Restaurants Route 66 Detour

Category : Arizona , Daily Updates , Route 66

Route 66 Detour

We will take a Route 66 detour today. You can’t travel Route 66 and NOT stop at the Grand Canyon. It’s a day trip from Flagstaff and/or Williams, Arizona. Today we leave Flagstaff and head to the Grand Canyon for the day and night.

Complementary Quid Quo Pro Along the Way

The other day I commented that it is a good thing some establishments do not take us up on our quid quo pro offer to do a favorable review in exchanged for complementary services.

Every place that has offered complementary services, whether a room or meal, has been high class. Great customer service, a clean environment, and more.

On the other hand, while I won’t disclose the names of any vendor who turns our offer down, I do want to show you something that supports my theory. My theory is turn-downs are afraid of bad reviews for a very good reason.

One picture is worth 1000 words. Here is a picture from the breakfast room at today’s hotel (one we paid full price for)…

This is just one example of how messy this place is.

Different Approach

So, for the rest of the trip, we’re taking a different approach. If you offer a quid quo pro it is because we have already checked the place out and believe it to be a place we can write a favorable review. (Perhaps we’ve been lucky getting comp’d services from really good places. But, I would hate to have been comp’d by this motel last night.)

So, if your business gets a phone call, or if we present one of our cards, take it as a complement. We have checked and your establishment is one we want to feature on our website.

Again, we’re looking for places we can without equivocation say are good places to stay and eat.

2017-09-21
0

Painted Desert

Tags : advertising Arizona businesses Gallup Glen Frey Joseph City Joseph Smith New Mexico Painted Desert Take it Easy Winslow

Category : Arizona , New Mexico , Route 66

Painted Desert

Today we passed through the Painted Desert. It makes me wonder what early auto travelers thought when they had to drive through Arizona. It’s pretty desolate.

Painted Desert

For the first time today we hit an area where there was NO CELL COVERAGE. Of course, you couldn’t see any cell towers and civilization. Besides, it wouldn’t make much sense for cellular companies to put towers in the middle of a desert where nobody lives.

Unknown Destination

Our destination was unknown today. We didn’t know if we would be in Winslow or Flagstaff or some other city. Because we couldn’t communicate to Elizabethe (who has been handling our lodging arrangements), we didn’t know how far to drive.

We finally made contact when we started getting a very faint cellular signal. She said she kept striking out on the hotels and motels along Route 66. She finally made a paid reservation at one in Flagstaff.

Elizabethe commented that she now starts with the highest rated and highest prices. From a marketing standpoint, this all makes sense. More successful businesses understand the value of marketing and advertising. And, that’s one thing we are doing on this trip… marketing and advertising.

Our Best Products – Our Best Advertisers

Bay Photo

is one of the top photo labs in the nation. While many people rank a certain Midwest lab #1, my experience is they are not as good as Bay in most aspects. Bay Photo saw the value of our trip and jumped on the opportunity. Paul and I hope our efforts send business their way.

We met a guy in the Painted Desert near Old Route 66 who was taking photos. We talked a bit about photography, and I showed him the Bay Photo image of a rusty old car (like the one we had been photographing) printed on maple wood. He was VERY impressed. I then showed it to his wife. She too was very impressed.

This would look nice on a Maplewood print from Bay Photo

Winslow, Arizona

I went to Winslow, Arizona, about 9 years ago with my daughter Natalie and a bunch of photographer friends. Someone since told me it has changed a lot. It hasn’t. It is just as I remembered it from my last trip to Winslow with one exception – an additional statue of an older Glen Frey.

Standing on a Corner

While there we met a couple from the Netherlands. We talked to them, took pictures together. It was fun. We also met a man from Manitoba, Canada, who is riding Route 66 on his motorcycle.

Nikki and Pablo from the Netherlands

View From Her Flatbed Ford

Bob from Canada

The Corner Intersection

Twin Arrows at Sunset

We ran out of daylight quickly. We stopped at the abandoned Twin Arrows at sunset and took pictures as the sun went down. It’s only a few miles from Flagstaff. As a result, it didn’t impact us too much.

Because it was dark we used our tripods, and took some long exposures.

Twin Arrows

All of the images on this page were processed with ACDsee Ultimate 10 Pro.

2017-09-20
0

Continental Divide

Tags : Albuquerque Bay Photo Labs Christmas Continental Divide Gallup green sauce Hawthorne Suites Holiday Inn Express New Mexico red sauce Republic Wireless sunset

Category : New Mexico , Route 66 , Uncategorized

Continental Divide

We crossed the continental divide this evening. It was golden hour, and guess what? We took pictures of it as the sun started its final descent.

I’m going to start off with shout-outs to our partners and others…

Hawthorne Suites, Alburquerque

We spent a great evening at the Hawthorne Suites in Albuquerque. They treated us very nicely. The rooms were clean and nice. There are many services, restaurants and stores nearby. They provided us with a very nice room.

Tonight’s Hotel – Holiday Inn Express, Gallup, New Mexico

Tonight we are staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Gallup, New Mexico. We’ve been treated like royalty since arriving here. They provided us with a great recommendation for dinner. We thank them for the room.

We took the front desk’s advice at the Holiday Inn Express and went to Jerry’s downtown Gallup. The gave us a wonderful meal. I had chili rellenos, enchilada and a taco plate, and Paul had pork covered with green and red sauce (Christmas, as they call it). They brought out a basket of sopapillas and a bottle of honey.

I was in food heaven.

The Staff at Jerry’s Cafe in Gallup, New Mexico

Thank you to Bay Photo Labs. We met several photographers today and provided them with press printed book marks, and highly recommended Bay Photo Labs.

Republic Wireless came through today too.

Geology

Today we saw more geology than we did old wrecks and abandoned buildings. It is a nice change. Some of the country Route 66 passes through is beautiful. We saw buttes, cliffs, mesas, mountains, rivers, lava beds and high plains.

New Mexico Landscape and the Continental Divide (with train in the foreground)

New Mexico

While I was disappointed in Albuquerque’s vagrant problems, overall, the people of New Mexico are very friendly. There is a scam going on here. A man comes up and tells you he was on his way to ___ and from ____ and his truck broke down. He then asks for money. We’ve seen this twice in 24 hours.

Other than that, once we got away from the big city, we got away from the drug pushers, prostitutes and scammers of Albuquerque. Somewhere along the way, we stopped at a small burger joint and everyone said, “Hi”, to us and welcomed us to their restaurant.

The people at the Holiday Inn Express and at Jerry’s Grill have been especially friendly.

2017-09-20
0

Reunion

Tags : Albuquerque New Mexico Quality Inn Reunion Route 66

Category : Daily Updates , New Mexico , Route 66 , Uncategorized

Reunion

I had a sweet reunion with a cousin whom I haven’t seen in years. Living near Route 66, her and her husband met us at the Route 66 Diner in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had dinner and caught up on old times.

We were trying to figure out the last time we saw each other. It was probably sometime in the late 1980s. It was a fun reunion on Route 66.

Leaving Tucumcari

I honestly hated leaving the Quality Inn in Tucumcari. The room was nice, clean and comfortable, and the swimming pool was impeccable. I could have stayed there just to go swimming all day.

Quality Inn Pool

The breakfast was good. True to New Mexico, there was green and red chili sauce next to the eggs. Plus, they had cheese, onions, jalapenos and chopped tomatoes available to put on your eggs.

If you are traveling Route 66, stay at the Quality Inn when you get to Tucumcari. Tell them Brent and Paul sent you.

As we headed west on Route 66, we noticed Tucumcari has a lot of motels, some out of business. We stopped at the museum on the other end of town. We noticed in an old picture of Route 66 in Tucumcari that at one time it was a bustling place.

Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa, New Mexico, was my favorite part of the day. We visited another car museum there, and then we spotted a diner. Both me and Paul said, “Nah… let’s wait.”

We then saw the Santa Fe Grill. It looked clean from the outside, and so we went in.

After meeting the owner, we were promptly seated. Our waitress, Anna, was very attentive to our needs and provided excellent service.

I had the BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger and it was a perfect burger. The onion rings were also perfect. Paul had the turkey sandwich and love it too.

The things that made my burger perfect were a) the bun was toasted, b) it had a slice of onion (not diced onion), c) a slice of tomato, d) the burger was cooked just right, and e) it had ample lettuce too. The onion rings – crisp on the outside and moist in the middle.

Perfect Burger and Onion Rings

The place was clean and has a nice southwest feel. They are located at 2249 Historic Route 66, Santa Rosa, NM 88435. Pay them a visit as you motor down Route 66.

Car Museums

We visited two car museums today. One in Tucumcari and one in Santa Rosa. The one in Tucumcari is a general museum with lots of cars. The other, a car museum.

In the Santa Rosa car museum I found the ultimate photographer’s road trip vehicle. Here it is…

Ultimate Photographer’s Road Trip Vehicle

Photographers in the cab, and equipment in those back doors. It’s the perfect road trip vehicle.

The other must have come from Rochester, Buffalo or Syracuse…

An Edsel Made for Western New York

2017-09-18
0

Sunrise Tagging

Tags : Amarillo Bay Photo Labs Cadillac Ranch Graffitti MoLight Quality Inn Republic Wireless Sunrise Tagging Tagging Texas Vandalism

Category : Route 66 , Texas , Uncategorized

Sunrise Tagging

Nothing like a little sanctioned vandalism first thing in the morning. Sunrise tagging is the thing to do at Cadillac Ranch where 10 Cadillacs are buried with their butts sticking in the air.

copyright 2017 db walton all rights reserved

Before the Sunrise

After Dawn

Sunrising

Heading West

We’re heading west to Tucumcari, New Mexico. On the drive I talked to my cousin Kimberly Little (author of several books). Her and her family live near Albuquerque and we’re hoping to meet when we travel through town.

We stopped at the midway point of Route 66. It’s just east of the New Mexico State Line. There’s a diner and a gift shop next door.

The lady at the Sunflower gift shop was the inspiration for Flo in the movie Cars. We took a picture with her and she signed a postcard I bought.

Me, Paul and Fran (aka Flo)

Tucumcari

We got to Tucumcari sooner than we expected. We gained an hour because we went from Central to Mountain time. While having an extra hour sounds great, we’re beat. The day has worn us out.

Our motel Quality Inn is VERY clean. While it’s a very old hotel, it has recently been going through updates. My room as new carpet and is one of the cleanest rooms I’ve ever stayed in at a motel.

The staff here has been great too. I HIGHLY recommend Quality Inn here in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Room at Tucumcari Quality Inn

The pool was nice an refreshing giving it reached about 100 today.

The Pool at the Quality Inn in Tucumcari, New Mexico

Old Cars, New Friends

I spotted this place with a bunch of old cars, mostly Ramblers, behind a chain link fence. The sign warned it is private property and guarded by a dog who will bite. There was a phone number on the fence. I was about to call it when a man in a big pickup truck pulled up and his front plate read, “Rambler”.

He was on the phone, but he opened the gate, and beckoned us in. He motioned as if to say, “take pictures”.

We did, and later he got off the phone. He was so nice. He invited us to have a bottle of water or soda, and let us take photos of whatever we wanted to photograph.

I had to get a picture of this AMC hood ornament.

American Motors Hood Ornament

I never knew AMC had hood ornaments.

We had a fun time visiting with him.

Lots of Thanks

A lots of thanks to day to…

MoLight – for great lighting products that can be used on location
Bay Photo Labs – We had fun placing Bay Photo stickers where allowed
Republic Wireless – great coverage today!
Quality Inn – for a couple of very nice rooms for Paul and me, a nice clean pool for us to refresh ourselves in, and great recommendations for dinner (Dell’s Diner)
Danny – for the cold bottle of water on a very hot day.

2017-09-17
0

Squirrel

Tags : Combination Plate Dinner Rosa's Cafe Squirrel

Category : Uncategorized

Squirrel

One of the speakers at church today talked about distractions. He illustrated his point using the dog from the movie Up as an example. I found it too funny. Paul and I the last two weeks have been driving along and you’d then every 1/4 mile one of us was shouting, “Squirrel!”

Today is a day of rest so we’re not driving or taking many pictures. I did take my camera to dinner and took a couple of pictures of my dinner. That’s about it.

Combination Plate

Rosa’s Café

Postcards

I got caught up on mailing postcards to my grandchildren. With the exception of one, all of them will get postcards from Route 66.

Why the exception?

Because she was just born today at 3:31 p.m. Mountain Time. Jonet Allena. As a result, I didn’t have a postcard purchased for her.

Tomorrow

We live Amarillo tomorrow, but before we do we’re going a surprise shoot. I won’t give any hints, but if you know people who are not members of our Facebook group, now might be the time to invite them.

Speaking of Facebook. I’d like to see us break 500 tomorrow. This is big stuff.

We’ve driven over 1,000 miles, and we’re not even to the 1/2 way point. Share our Facebook page with all your friends. Ask them to join the group. (Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/2017route66tour/ and click on Join. There are three questions, but you don’t have to answer them if you don’t want to.)

2017-09-17
0

Another Walker

Tags : Another Walker Elk City Oklahoma Route 66 Museum Sonny Texas USA

Category : Uncategorized

Another Walker

We ran in to another walker this morning. This guy is 79 and walking the full Route 66. He expects to complete his walk around Thanksgiving time. His name is Sonny.

Sonny brightened our day. He has walked nearly every major path in the USA. He walked the Lewis and Clark Trail east to west and then turned around later and walked form west to east. Pacific Coast Trail? Of course, and many more.

After leaving Sonny just outside Elk City, Oklahoma, we ran in to a couple of ladies from Scotland riding motorcycles across the U.S.A. on Route 66 – Rachael and Katrina. We not only ran in to them at a Route 66 Museum, but then again at Slug Bug Ranch, and again at dinner tonight.

Last Night’s Stay

Our stay last night was courtesy the Econo Lodge in Elk City, Oklahoma. Connected to the hotel is a small dinner. We decided to walk across the lobby for dinner. The food was great, and the place was BUSY!

This morning, breakfast was included with our room, so we ate at the diner again. The biscuits and sausage gravy was the best I’d ever tasted. It must be that southern touch. Again, they were busy and PACKED.

Lobby of Our Hotel We Stayed In Last Night

Last night’s Hotel = Econo Lodge, Elk City, Oklahoma

Goodbye to Oklahoma

Western Oklahoma is pretty desolate and depressed. Many of the towns along Route 66 look like Ghost Towns already (and are close to it). It’s sad people are moving to big cities and metropolis areas. There’s a lot of pretty country out there where one could live cheaply.

Miles of Road

Hello Texas

It was funny. There was a Welcome to Texas sign, but no “Leaving Oklahoma” sign. On the other side of the road, there was no Welcome to Oklahoma sign either. Later, there was another Welcome to Texas sign. We decided it must be no-man’s territory.

Here’s a gallery of images from Texas from Texola to Amarillo…

PPA Affiliates

Paul and I have a great presentation about our findings on Route 66 and how they relate to photographers. We’d love to come to your PPA Affiliate to present our show.

Thank You

Thank you Bay Photo. We continue to give out sample cards. Thank you Republic Wireless. The service is working great. And, a special thank you to Econo Lodge for the room last night.

2017-09-15
0

Oklahoma City

Tags : bombing Memorial Oklahoma City

Category : Uncategorized

Oklahoma City

Today we went to the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. My heart strings have never been pulled like this. It is a somber experience to see the void created by the bombing 22 years ago.

A chain link fence has mementos placed by loved once, friends and strangers. Seeing a teddy bear zip tied to the fence made me cry. Then, seeing the empty chairs with the names of the victims completely did me in. I had to just stop and pull myself together.

Honoring Two Children Who Died.

Perhaps this honors a wife or a mother.

Perhaps this represents a Jewish child who died.

Ranger Ian Took Time to Answer Questions for Us

You can still see where the Federal Building attached to the building across the way.

Empty Chairs – Each one representing one of the victims who died.

Reflecting Pond at the Memorial

It’s hard to call this the highlight of my day, but it had the most impact. While I’m deeply saddened by what happened on that April day in 1995, I know God is loving and kind. Those people who died that day are in God’s tender care.