Category Archives: Gallup

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We got our kicks on Route 66

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“If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.
It winds from Chicago to LA,
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.
Now you go through Saint Looey
Joplin, Missouri,
And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty.
You see Amarillo,
Gallup, New Mexico,
Flagstaff, Arizona.
Don’t forget Winona,
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.”

And, this morning, we motored through San Bernardino to complete our last port of call from the song…except that wasn’t where the road ended!  We could have taken a photo of the sign but, no, it was a proper visit to the City Hall, the County Court and even the Sheriff’s Department Rehabilitation Center!!

Santa Monica Pier is the officially designated end of Route 66, so 5,080 miles after leaving Chicago we proudly posed underneath the sign which declared we had reached the end. We did it!!  We have been everywhere and then some. We have walked miles, as well, around all the places of interest we found along the way and have loved the diverse experiences throughout our journey.

Even today, we were having random conversations with a group of Hillary Clinton supporters and a couple of American ladies who had done part of the 66 but via the direct route, i.e. on the freeway. I met a guy, whilst queuing for iced coffee, who was convinced I was Australian.  He had made a long trip to the coast from south of Las Vegas!!  Whacky folk some of these Americans  spotted on the road today:

i feel so proud and pleased that we have completed this huge adventure but at the same time would love to go on and do more. Not this time. Thanks to both our families for encouraging our dream and thanks, particularly, to Carolyn for making sure we did everything we set out to do and never giving up… even if finding some of the places proved geographically challenging! I’ve said it before but it has been a truly awesome experience.

Carolyn’s Curios

So, for the last time (this trip!), I get to add some outtakes from our travelogue. Would it be about tonight when two staff at the hotel separately responded to my request, “Excuse me but could you tell me where the restaurant is, please?” by providing directions to… the Rest Rooms?!

Or, the discussion with the Hillary Clinton team on Santa Monica Pier where we agreed both on the distaste for Trump and the Brexit decision? Politics often divides but here it brought us together.

Maybe, the girl drummer of a family rock band playing “Twist and Shout” amongst others on the Pier. I mentioned to her that I had been playing drums to that music before her parents had been born! But, they were a good young band – a combination of White Stripes and Hanson, if you can imagine that.

Perhaps, that there were three separate and competing evangelical preaching groups on the Saturday afternoon in the sunshine at the seaside.

This journey has reached its natural geographical conclusion and, like Kath, I must say, again, my thanks to the family, especially Ann, for encouraging me to take up this opportunity and, of course, Kath, herself, for sharing the dream. We doubled the planned mileage; we added on every single day to the activities we had originally envisaged. We laughed consistently, marvelled frequently and enjoyed immensely.

A final couple of curios… why did they name this town as they did?!

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And, as I was driving on the five lane traffic jammed roads in Los Angeles after leaving the deserted, scrub surrounded, traffic-free, seemingly endlessly straight Route 66, it occurred to me that:

“The obese body of L.A. was sprawling across the canapé of the California landscape

with its concrete arteries clogged with car shaped cholesterol.”

And, we had fallen in love with the Original Historic Route 66. Its reputation is justified, its magic is real and its attraction, albeit being slowly submerged, is worth visiting and preserving. Catch it while you can. We did.

Apache, Elk, Food, Gallup, Ice Cave, New Mexico, Pistols, Route 66, Take my breath away, Texas, United States, Volcano, Zuni

Take my breath away….🎼🎤🎹

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A day to be breathless for lots of different reasons!  We started ours with breakfast at our hotel in Santa Fe and as we started to select our food, who should we bump into but Mark and Linda, the lovely people we met at the Halfway Point Cafe yesterday.  It was another opportunity for further conversation  and we wonder how many more coincidences we will experience.

No sooner were we on the road than we were experiencing jaw dropping moments as the vast skies and scenery stretched out before us. No matter how many films you see, nothing prepares you for the sheer vastness of the vista. Nowhere in the world have I seen skies which offer sun, small clouds, big clouds, clouds clearly rain laden, and the brightest, bluest sky…all at the same time, just by turning your head.

We just had to go and have a look at Albuquerque (a city with two Qs deserved a look). We serendipitously found Route 66 in the city and, in need of a coffee, happened on Garcia’s kitchen.  Was it too early to fit in brunch?  They did divine pancakes and Carolyn’s omelette was none too shabby either!  After finding our way around some of the ‘Old Town’, we decided to head off towards Gallup.

No journey we have taken has been a straight forward trip from A to B. Where’s the fun in that? Today’s little detour took us about 25 miles off piste to see a volcano and an ice cave.  This is where we experienced more breathlessness. The volcano was some 800 ft up a dusty lava strewn track.  It was steep (very) and with the wind blowing and a rain shower threatening, I confess it was my idea to bail out of that idea and head for the ice cave instead.  (I really don’t think Carolyn was too upset!!). The ice cave involved some considerable exertion too – loads of uneven steps (Carolyn counted 69!) as we descended into the icy chill. The temperature in this cave never gets above 31 F and, as rain water and snow melt into the cave, the ice floor thickens.  We looked and then contemplated the return climb up those steps.

We did comment that the whole area was reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, with few people around, deserted roads and dense woodland. I wouldn’t choose to be out there on my own at night. But whether or not the ice cave was the best thing we had seen, the scenery on the journey was jaw-droppingly awesome. As we near Arizona, the mountains, monoliths and pillars are becoming more and more spectacular and I am looking forward to our days amongst the canyons.

For now we are having a quiet evening in Gallup. There are some Route 66 buildings, murals, etc, but this is may be somewhere you pass through rather than stay.

Carolyn’s Curios

Native Americans still advertise their crafts and curios as ‘Indian’ which seems strange, somehow. However, we saw Apache and a tribe I’d not heard about until today… Zuni.

Shopping in the local supermarket late this afternoon in Gallup, I was struck by the relative poverty of the local people but, also, a feeling of dé ja vu connected to Shanghai in that I was the only blonde in the store! Ok, my blonde comes from a bottle but even so. In fact, thr only grey haired person in the store was my travelling companion! CTMQ.

Another odd driving day with new signs. Firstly, a reminder of American truck convoys with “a bear in the air” which was brought to mind by the first one and the other making comparisons with the U.K. warning signs for animals.

On the next table in Garcia’s Kitchen were two officers of the enforcement agencies  looking nothing like our ‘bobbies’. If you imagine the archetypal comic sheriff of Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey and the Bandit or James Bond – they sat there. Overweight, seemingly laconic and with pistols on their hips.

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Finally, for this evening as the wifi is particularly slow… Gallup, New Mexico – a name which has a history and a sound of real interest. Regrettably, we haven’t seen that much to excite. Route 66 passes through here and some attempt has been made to capitalise on that. Not really successfully.. #Sorry.

The most impressive part of the day for me was the changing scenery especially the soil. Changing colour from red in Texas to a yellow in New Mexico but as we journeyed West, the layers of so many colours were displayed. More tomorrow.