Road Trip in July: TX-NM-AZ-Route 66-NV-UT-CO-TX (May Add WY-SD-ND-MN-IA-MO-NE-KS-OK)

[PetitFrereArmada]

To fully feel this, you have to listen to or watch the Route 66 song by John Mayer and read the lyrics.

Watch for 2:11, where you see "Don't forget Winona..."

 

[Martinjmpr]

I like the Depeche Mode version from the 1980s...

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I like the Depeche Mode version from the 1980s...

Oh wow. Never seen that before. Looks interesting, but it does not seem as passionate as the other one above. But maybe I need to watch it some more times to see.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Today I did Sedona. What a trip. Sedona is truly pretty. And it was so much fun. If you have to do Sedona in a day, I have suggestion for you depending on what route you use to get into Sedona. Let me start off by suggesting it based on how I went.

Left Flagstaff and got on I-17 South. All the way down to Exit number 320 which is Schebly Rd. This is a 12 miles 4x4 road. Some people air down on this road, but I did not. The fisr 6 miles to the overpass is rocky and it is a road recommended for 4x4 high clearance only. But I was amazed to meet a 2005 Nissan Maxima at the 6 miles over look. I was just astonished. But they were there, these 2 guys and they told me they spent the night there. I said cool. I asked if they would continue to Sedona, to which they said not in this lifetime as the other section is was a nightmare. And they were totally right. I met a lot of tour Jeeps and some people on ATVs and let me say they were shocked to see my car down that stretch of truly terrible road. Very rocky, bumpy and likely to burst a tire. But I made it to Sedona in one piece, just a very dusty vehicle at the end of the trail.

Next stop Chapel of the Holy Cross

Next was Cathedral Rock

Bell Rock

Then Tlaquepaque for shopping and eating

Please, go to this Gallery of Fine Art for some precious and expensive artwork. You will be pleased.

That is what I did today and I was tired and ready to drive back to Flagstaff.

But if I had time and was not tired, downtown Sedona offers a great place to walk, shop, eat, drink and take tours. Also, just leaving town on 89, there are just so many great places to stop, hike or play in the water. You cannot be bored but you can truly enjoy Sedona in one, 2 or 3 days if you choose to.

 

[BlindWilly]

I just caught up with your adventures, since you texted me the other day. You have been traveling some great routes!
Just past Winslow we both MISSED the meteor crater!
http://meteorcrater.com here's the map https://www.google.com/maps/place/M...334a29e78fd9e!8m2!3d35.0275441!4d-111.0221236
I remember the sign, but didn't know it was THAT meteor crater.
Glad you made it down Schnebly Hill safely, airing down would have helped


Keep us updated!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I just caught up with your adventures, since you texted me the other day. You have been traveling some great routes!
Just past Winslow we both MISSED the meteor crater!
http://meteorcrater.com here's the map https://www.google.com/maps/place/M...334a29e78fd9e!8m2!3d35.0275441!4d-111.0221236
I remember the sign, but didn't know it was THAT meteor crater.
Glad you made it down Schnebly Hill safely, airing down would have helped
View attachment 354842

Keep us updated!

Yeah, I hate that I missed the crater. Lol, I think one of the reasons I did not go there was because I had to pay. It is only $20, but I was hoping my Annual Pass for parks could let me in for free, but nope. It is a private business. But my annual pass for parks is truly a good thing for everybody to buy. I have been to many parks already on this trip that I did not have to pay. Then today I got into the Grand Canyon for free while people without the pass or other discounts like military or seniors, everybody else paid $30 to get in. So, since I went in for free, I saved a lot.

And I think I may still have about 5 to 7 more parks to go into on this trip. So, the pass definitely comes out saving me money. So, I think it is a good thing for people to buy. And you can actually share the pass with 2 families. If both families sign the card.

As for airing down on that road, you know how I feel about airing down. Maybe it would have been better with my Armada. But look at this new truck I have. Ok, my clearance is just ok. If I air down, I feel like I will lose an inch, so my clearance will get worse. Besides, since I have stock 22 inch rims, by the time I air down, my TPMS light will come on and I will be driving on my rims. All you guys who are lifted by 2 to 5 inch, when you air down, you may be losing an inch, but still lifted. But a stock vehicle airing down? They are losing clearance, so I don't know.

This Schnebly road was HORRIBLE on the 6 miles stretch from the overlook to Sedona. I must say I though I would bottom out at a few places and I also thought I may even puncture a tire. Those rocks were horrible. But hey, I made sure to get good lines and my suspension worked its magic and the bumps were not too bumpy. But I was slow, lol. I am really glad I did that trail. All the people who saw me on that trail were super surprised seeing such a car on such bad roads.

But glad I made it in one piece with no scratch on my rims. I washed my car this night and ready my trip tomorrow on historic 66 to Seligman, Kingman and Oatman.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Grand Canyon today.

The Grand Canyon was just gorgeous. I didn't know they stay open 24 hours a day. I got into the park at 9am and it was already packed. I was wondering how to get the most of my day trip and was pleased with the outcome.

If you want to get the best of a day's trip, park your car at the visitors center and get a map. Take the free shuttle buses and shuttle to all the places on the brochure. Basically start from one end to the other end. Leave the visitor's center and go all the way to Yaki Point. That is one end. Then from Yaki Point, travel now using only the shuttle buses all the way to Hermits Rest. That will take you atleast 5 hours. Then you can stop at the Village and eat. I think that is the most popular stop for food in the park.

By the time I was done today, the kids and teenagers who were with their parents were just miserable by that time and I could see they were ready to go home.

It was amazing how many foreigners were at the Grand Canyon today. Everybody I got to talk to were from France, China, Brazil, Mexico and more. This was a Monday, but the park was so full I thought it was a Sunday. So I don't want to imagine how busy this park can get during the weekends.

The Grand Canyon will never disappoint in its views. Great place to visit.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Route 66 pictures. Stretch between Flagstaff, AZ to Oatman AZ.

Williams, AZ. Not much here. I got here at 7am and the town was dead quite. I was the only vehicle driving. Stopped at a store and bought a few things and by then, the roads were getting alive.

Then to Ashfork. Nothing here to report. Just passing through.

Seligman, AZ
Get your Route 66 passport that covers all the attractions on Route 66 in Arizona. I hit all the places, unfortunately I had hit some of the paces before I got my passport, so I do not have some places stamped. It tells you where to stop to get it stamped. And when you get to the location and tell them, they stamp it for you. It somewhat feels like the new Pokemon game.
The passport is given to you for FREE. But at some locations, not every stop gives you the passport. Mine was given to me by this nice guy at Angel Vilma's giftshop. A real great guy. Gave me a little history of Seligman. There was a tour bus that stopped with people from Vegas and most of the from foreign countries like Switzerland, France, UK and Germany. And he is nice to ask anybody with an international currency in a bill to please give him a bill and asks you to please sign and date it. He is wishing to one day have a bill currnecy from all countries all over the world. He has a list of all the bills he has collected so far and he is still looking for more. I did not have one on me, but promised him to get one for him, sign it and mail it to him. You could just surprise him and if you have a foreign currency bill, feel free to sign it date it and mail to him. I don't have the address here while posting this, but will post it when I get it from my car.

After Seligman, driving to Peach Springs, AZ. There was a very long stretch that was just quiet, peaceful and all I could see was Infiniti... I just took out my phone and took pictures of the road behind me and ahead of me. Really quiet, desolate and I was all alone on this stretch of road. It felt so peaceful.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Peach Springs AZ. The only place you can drive into the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I paid the park fees of $25 plus tax. AZ residents pay I think $15 plus tax. Took my pass and headed on the 19 miles dirt road, rocky and bumpy ride. It takes about an hour or more to get there. And another hour or more to get back to town. Great views along the drive and at the end of the drive. My car was very clean going in and came back out super dirty.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Kingman, AZ. Not much to report. Got my route 66 passport stamped and got back into the car on my way to Oatman AZ on the very scenic route.

I got to Sitgreaves Pass and put my Gopro on for some great twists and curves on the last 6 miles to Oatman, AZ.

Oatman, AZ

Inside the hotel

Buy the $1 bag of burro food and feed them. I paid $10 and took 2 bags and asked the lady to just give the last 8 bags free to people who have kids who come to buy food to feed the burros.

I left from here and I was super exhausted on my 45 minutes last lap to my hotel. This journey if I did not have to stop at all these places would have taken me 3 hours from Flagstaff, AZ to Laughlin, NV. But because of all the pit stops I made, I took about 12 hours to complete this trip. I was exhausted. I got to my hotel, checked in, took a shower and went out and had a good dinner.

Back at the hotel, I could not believe the number of seniors at the slot machines. And you would not like the expression on most of their faces as the machines were definitely making money off them. I sat at one of the cents machine, pulled out a $20 bill and had fun gambling until the casino took all my $20. I retired to my room for the night.

 

[BlindWilly]

Sounds like a lot of fun. You must be on your way to Lost Wages... I mean Las Vegas today.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Sounds like a lot of fun. You must be on your way to Lost Wages... I mean Las Vegas today.

You are very correct. In fact, I just checked into my room. Relaxing a bit now before hitting the streets, lol.

Just wanted to update my thread on my visit to Hoover Dam about 3 hours ago.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I left Laughlin, NV for Las Vegas today. And I had to make sure to stop and spend some time at the Hoover Dam. I most say this place was packed full. I have never seen so many tourists before in one place. It was fascinating as usual. This place is an engineering masterpiece. Mark this on your bucket list.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Las Vegas...
People were coming and lining up to take pictures with this sign in the hundreds.

A lot of people getting on the scale to see if they get over 350 so they can eat for free. Unfortunately, everybody I saw who got on the scale could not eat for free. I think the people who could qualify for free just passed by, probably avoiding the advertised heart attack.

Can't come to Vegas without going for the Freemont experience.

Trump hotel..., Zzzzzzz

 

[unkamonkey]

I hope you are having fun in Las Vegas. Fremont street is much more fun than the strip. Our best adventure there was trying to find the most expensive Bud Light beer on the strip. At that time the winner was $7.50 for a bottle of beer. There was a couple of places that sold bottles of Michelob for $1,00, You know where we were.
The best view I had of Vegas was in the rear view mirror as we left town.
YMMV.