There was little doubt the southwest leg of Route 66 would be the most scenic.
Once we rolled through Albuquerque’s outskirts that wore the signage of pawnbrokers, criminal lawyers and bail bondsmen, the view picked up a notch.
In particular as our car broke away from the convoy of Canadian journalists, hosted by Nissan Canada, and we exited I-40 at Mesita. The lands here are part of Laguna Puebla and belong to the Pueblo people – useful information we somehow had missed.
The road leads to some magnificent red rock formations, and moments after co-driver Neil Vorano, guest Sabrina Giacomini and I pulled off to snap some pics, a black pickup roared to a halt behind our rear bumper. The enraged occupant then threatened to have us arrested for trespassing – maybe worse, we’re still not sure – but an apology and polite explanation diffused the situation.
He still insisted we delete everything we’d photographed and would have us charged if any of it surfaced online.
Indeed, it was a rocky start for Day 5, and I wouldn’t have blamed Sabrina had she bailed on us. The Neils were proving to be risky travel partners.
Further west, and just prior to our lunch stop at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup – where John Wayne, Gregory Peck and Humphrey Bogart once stayed – was Red Rocks Park.
This more than compensated for any misfortune in Mesita, with its blazing red rocks, muted foreground and striking blue sky. The simple yet stunning composition here makes any photo a “money shot.”
Late afternoon brought us to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Depending on time of day, you’ll be stunned by the banded hues of red, orange, gray and pink that paint the buttes and badland hills through this rugged landscape.
And the fossilized logs strewn about the clay hills at nearby Petrified Forest, are also remarkable for their age of more than 200 million years.
We ended our day at the KOA campground in Williams, AZ, about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon. Temps were chilly due its 6,000-foot elevation, but we spent the night in single cabins with space heaters running full tilt all night.
DAY 6:
Morning broke just above freezing, with our group huddled around the fire.
Feeling groggy, I pulled the lever on the wrong urn and received coffee rather than hot water in my instant oatmeal. Not a bad combination, and a good start to the day.
Before driving to the Grand Canyon we stopped for a quick Nissan demo at the service station.
Standard on both Rogue and Altima – our chariots for this 4,000-km road trip – is a handy feature that helps keep tires at the right pressure. A must for squeezing more miles from every drop of fuel.
Simply start filling the tire, and the horn toots when you reach the recommended pressure. I’m not big on fumbling with tire gauges, and appreciate these little time savers.
Needless to say, we had no tire mishaps on route to the national park, and after paying the requisite fees, visited a couple of scenic lookouts to park our rides for glamour shots, and witnessed none of the cougars we were warned of on the signs going in.
The Grand Canyon is a detour from Route 66, but not one to be missed. It is difficult to capture on camera the magnificence of a land feature 10 miles across and a mile deep, as your eyes and brain work differently than a tiny lens and a few electronics. But this “attraction,” for lack of a better term, is why you build a buffer into any Route 66 adventure.
The added time is also helpful when you fail to notice the canyon is now on the wrong side of the road, and then drive unnecessary miles to the wrong exit. A constant theme with the ‘Neilmobile.’
Our day ended in Kingman, Arizona at the historic El Trovatore Motel. This pre-World War II roadside motel, where such icons as James Dean, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe once stayed, now offers Hollywood-themed rooms. “Dirty Harry” stood guard as I slept.
DAY 7:
Our final day took in one of the most scenic sections of Route 66. If Starbucks in Kingman failed to snap my morning stupor, the narrow two-lane stretch through the Mojave to Oatman surely did.
With its tight switchbacks and numerous drop-offs (with no guardrails), this is not the road for large motorhomes. Or one-handing it with your coffee.
The town itself is a throwback to the late nineteenth-century prospector era. Only a handful of people call it home (compared to more than 6,000 in its heyday), and you’ll find the usual touristy stuff along with gems like the original Oatman Hotel from 1902.
Inside, dollar bills hang from the walls and ceiling: about $200,000 worth. It has been a tradition, since early mining days, to sign and stick one up on arrival to cover the trip home should you not strike a fortune in gold.
Longtime resident and entertainer Mike Fox also delivered local folklore and a few ghost stories. The Oatman Hotel is reputedly haunted, and a few creepy photos near the stairwell seem to bear this out.
As for the friendly donkeys that wander main street, these directly descend from those that worked the mines. When the gold market collapsed in the 1930s, mining ceased and the donkeys were set free. They now thrive as feral animals.
Crossing the Colorado River and into California, we were on and off the Interstate as spring flooding had washed out several bridges along Route 66.
The road to Amboy traversed a barren landscape where General George Patton apparently stationed his troops for desert tank training. Scenery is spectacular on this ancient, inland sea with the flat, sage-brush dotted plains stretching to far-off mountain ranges that appear as distant layers against the electric-blue sky.
The bone-dry backdrop continued through Barstow and along the busy multi-lane thoroughfares as we approached our final stop. Driving through Los Angeles during rush hour was in stark contrast to the day’s early hours, but Santa Monica is still one of my favourite U.S. destinations.
Unlike the Interstate system that criss-crosses America, Route 66 recalls simpler times along a roadway that follows the contours of the land and connects travellers to the geology, the small towns – and their people – along the way.
It also connected our Seinfeld-worthy cast of characters, who kept every Altima and Rogue free from scratches, dents and fatal plunges down a mountainside.
And we were all still talking at the end. Which is ultimately the mark of a successful – if not slightly dysfunctional – family road trip.
ROUTE 66 – TRIP STATS – at a glance
Total distance covered: 4,036 km
Hours driving: 56 hrs, 30 mins
Average speed: 72 km/h
Fuel economy (avg. combined): Rogue SL 8.7-9.0L/100 km; Altima SL 6.7-7.0L/100 km
Our rides: Altima SL with Technology Package; Rogue SL with Premium Package
This article originally appeared on Wheels.ca: https://www.wheels.ca/
Neil Moore is a seasoned automotive journalist who is hesitant to reveal precisely how many ‘seasons.’ His passion for all things automotive has been published in many newspapers, magazines and websites – a mix of articles that inform, entertain and occasionally stir the pot. Neil is also a member of AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada).
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