Followers

Monday 1 October 2012

Wonders Of The Gold West Part 4.....

We awoke to rain at the Grand Canyon, it had been raining overnight and was literally pouring down.  We were thankful that we had arrived the day before to see the Grand Canyon in it's magnificence, not hindered by clouds and grey skies.

On the road again (this had become our mantra in the last few days) to Vegas.  We knew we would be stopping at Kingman for lunch but what we didn't know was that we would be taking a detour onto 









We were thrilled.   We have grown up with the song ("get your kick on) Route 66"), never imagining we would actually get to travel on it.   On the way there Allen explained we were visiting Seligman where Angel Delgadillo , (follow the link to read more about Angel's fascinating story), has his barber shop.  In September 1978 Angel watched his hometown begin to die when the Interstate Highway system replaced Route 66 as the primary means for automobile travel in the Western United States.  

Angel was one of the moving forces in the founding of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and successfully lobbied the Arizona Legislature to designate and preserve Route 66 in Arizona as an historic highway.  Following Arizona's lead, the seven states along Route 66 formed associations (California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois). Thanks to Angel Seligman and Route 66 are now back on the tourist trail.

Angel is retired now but his barber shop is still there, as is his original barber chair, which MWM just had to sit in.


Apparently Angel still obliges tourists with a haircut now and again, but he wasn't there the day we visited.

Angel's brother, Juan, established the Snow Cap Drive-in in Seligman in 1953 and was well known by tourists for the antics he pulled on them while they were trying to order food and drinks.  He died in 2004 at the age of 88 but his children and grandchildren still run the Snow Cap and Juan's wacky car is still there.



There wasn't very much traffic while we there



so I suggested that MWM stand in the middle of Route 66 and I would take his photo for posterity



there he is!

We took one last look around 








before boarding the coach to continue our jouney on to Kingman where we stopped at what Allen described as 'the Jerry Springer Walmart' (he wasn't wrong) and had lunch in a Kentucky Fried Chicken, which we thought was the best option considering the choice there, then it was On The Road again through the Mojave Desert.


to Las Vegas, which I'll tell you all about in Wonders Of The Golden West Part 5, if you care to join me.

21 comments:

Japolina said...

Great photos! Thanks for sharing. I went to the Grand Canyon on my honeymoon. We pulled up to the hotel, which was right on the rim, and it started to snow. Then it snowed more. It was too cold to even really look at the canyon for more than a few minutes! It is lovely though!

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

sarge and i stood in that EXACT spot! he loved that trip!

smiles, bee
xoxoxooxxo

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh, it's all so old world American! I specially love those cars.

Ron said...

"but what we didn't know was that we would be taking a detour onto Route 66."

Isn't it something how things, like detours, can take us to unexpected and wonderful places???

Yes, I too remember that song!

GREAT shots! Absolutely love the ones of the old cars!

Beautiful shot of the Mogave Desert too!

Thanks for sharing, m'dear! Enjoyed!

Looking forward to part 5...VEGAS!!!

X

Cloudia said...

your opening line was smashing!

So the wide-open spaces are amazing, aren't they!


Aloha from Honolulu,
Wishing YOU the Best
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=

> < } } ( ° >

Commander Zaius said...

Love the Mojave!

Yeah, the interstate system threw a lot of small towns for a loop the way it was laid out. I could mention that many a US senator and congressman made lots of money when certain road engineers were forced by unnamed people to move purposed routes. But I would never say bad things about American elected officials.

Adam said...

I like the classic police car

Akelamalu said...

What a shame you didn't really get to see the Canyon in it's full glory - we were very lucky.

I hope that pic brought back lovely memories for you then Bee x

It really is Jenny, just as I imagined it would be.

We had so many moments like that on the trip Ron it was wonderful.

Yes they are Cloudia, I'm pleased you liked the opening line.

Officials always make money out of other people's misfortune Beach. :(

Me too Adam

Valerie said...

Route 66 ~~~ I am so grateful to you for showing these pictures. I always wanted to travel on Route 66 when I went to the US but of course I never got to it. Didn't know it had been resurrected as a tourist attraction. Pity about the rain but at least it didn't spoil things for you.

Akelamalu said...

We were so thrilled to go on Route 66 Valerie especially as we hadn't expected to. I hope you get to see it for yourself. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

katie eggeman said...

If you had continued on Old 66 to Vegas, it would have taken you thru tight turns in the mountains and you would have visited Oatman, a tiny town where small packs of burros and donkeys(are they the same, hum?) wander the street. It is truly picturesque. When we went with the kids many years ago, we almost ran out of gas on the way back,and coasted down the mountain. No gas stations, the girls almost paniced, but all was well.

Akelamalu said...

How I wish our tour director had taken us there BankerChick, I would have loved to have seen that. Lucky for you it was downhill on the way back eh?

Daryl said...

what fun .. can't wait to see/hear what you thought of Vegas

G-Man said...

Just think of a way of turning this travel log into a 55 on Friday
:P:P:P
Some people miss you ya know!!!

de engineur said...

i like how you compose your shots of two cars - one old junk vs a police car - look very similar

Akelamalu said...

I liked it Daryl :)

I really need to get back into Flash 55 G-man, I know.

Why thankyou de engineur, glad you liked them.

Anonymous said...

I love those old cars. Some lovely photos here. How amazing is the Grand Canyon. I can't help thinking of western movies and John Wayne. We don't see them on the television much these days.

CJ x

Flowerpot said...

another fab holiday!

Travis Cody said...

I was just there this past July to see the folks. We always take at least one drive up to Kingman for lunch when I'm there.

Linda said...

Having been to Las Vegas a couple of times and not really being all that enamored of it, I merely skimmed through that post so that I could get to this one which is where I would have had a much better time than in Sin City!

Someday I would love to be able to travel the length of Route 66 and get as many kicks as possible! I know it's not the same great route that it once was but there's enough of it there to still recall Americana and the cheesiness that it entails!

I'm surprised that MWM didn't have you pose in the middle of the road also! Thank goodness for little to no traffic!

Akelamalu said...

We saw lots of places that reminded me of the old western movies CJ. The Grand Canyon was awesome!

It was indeed Flowerpot!

You know exactly where we've been then Trav :)

Having never been to any of these places before I loved it all Linda. I have to say Route 66 was a real highlight of the holiday for us though.