ROUTE 66 TO AMARILLO PART TWO AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
Before resuming our Route 66 tour to Amarillo through Flagstaff there are a couple of exiting updates to share. Lets start with the International Route 66 Festival scheduled for June 9th through 12th in Amarillo, Texas.
This event is shaping up to be the Route 66 event of the year. Folks are literally coming from as far away as New York, Australia, Japan and Germany to attend. For more detailed information follow the link posted in the previous paragraph.
Joe Loesch and the Road Crew will keep things hoping at the historic Nat Ballroom on Friday evening, a perfect way to end a day that will include an authors and artist expo featuring noted celebrities such as Michael Wallis and Joe Sonderman, exhibits by collectors, an art show and even a haunted house. The fun continues on Saturday with more from the artists and authors, a car and motorcycle show, a bowling tournament, and a banquet among other things.
My participation is as one of the featured authors. However, I now have another role to play, a representative of the Kingman area tourism office. That means I will have a lot of free stuff to hand out including the Arizona U.S. 66 Passport, Arizona road maps, Kingman promotional brochures, and a variety of colorful Kingman post cards.
Many of these items are also available at my office/museum of automotive advertising/unofficial visitor center located at the west end of the Martin Swanty Chrysler complex on Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) in Kingman. I should also note that this five star dealership is your one stop for repairs or service on your Route 66 adventure and, with a bit of notice, will usually host a stop for auto clubs or groups, such as the micro car tour last year, http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0760338434&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifras they pass through town.
In addition to Kingman area and Arizona Route 66 promotional material, including maps, I also have a wide array of other material on hand from Afton Station to the Barstow Harvey House and the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, California. If you have a business or museum on Route 66, and would like a bit of free promotion, send me a note and lets add your brochures to the display.
Even though my new book, Ghost Towns of Route 66, was released several weeks ago the official promotional launch is at Barnes & Noble in Amarillo on Thursday evening followed by Friday and Saturday at the festival. In addition to the book, I will also have 8×10 and 8×12 color prints from our books and gallery showings available for $10.00.
Now, before we resume our eastward adventure on Route 66, I have two more plugs. When planning your adventure on the double six, in my opinion there are only two options as far as guides to the various alignments of the old highway.
One is the website Route 66 Atlas. The amount of research that went into this project is nothing short of astounding.
While it is not quite as detailed, the EZ 66 Guidehttp://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=1968adventurer&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0970995164&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr by Jerry McClanahan is far more portable and whole lot more practical for the average traveler. I can’t imagine a trip on Route 66 without this guide.
Okay, Flagstaff. This small metropolis amongst the pines in Arizona is a near perfect time capsule of Route 66 in the glory days; a crush of traffic, garish neon, a staggering array of dining choices, and vintage motels mixed among the generic world of the modern era. Simply put, take your time and enjoy the adventure.
My first suggestion is to park at the historic depot and walk north and south of the tracks. Historic hotels, unique shops, restaurants that have been in service for more than a half century, and museums are found at every turn.
Alpine Pizza north of the depot rates high on our list of favorites as does the historic Galaxy Diner. Lodging covers the entire spectrum from a European style hostel in a 1929 Inn and vintage motels with refurbished neon to historic hotels that predate statehood. There is something for every taste and every budget in Flagstaff.
There are two alignments of Route 66 east of Flagstaff. The “newer” post 1947 alignment is signed as historic Route 66 and ends at exit 204 on I-40.
I prefer the older alignment. For this follow U.S. 89 north a few miles and then turn on the road indicating Winona. This is a beautiful drive with more than a few surprises for the photography buff.
On Wednesday, we will continue our eastward trek.