"Take it Easy" okay?

Thursday, May 14, 2015
Holbrook, Arizona, United States
We started out at 9.00 again this morning. It took us 30 minutes to get to Oatman on old Route 66. Oatman is a mixture of ghost town and tourist trap; it was a gold mining town whose glory days had long faded when the I-40 passed it by, way back in 1952. It looks like a Wild West stage set, but it's the real thing. We missed seeing the burros that wander the street, but we saw and smelt their droppings!

Getting as far as Oatman was an interesting drive, but the next 28 miles on old Route 66, to Kingman, was even more so: steep switchbacks and 15mph hairpin bends made the 2,100 foot change in elevation exhilarating . I was glad we were traveling west to east as I was on the inside edge most of the way. This drive took an hour. The next hour, we covered 70 miles on the I-40.

Then we detoured off onto Route 66 again to see Seligman and the Roadkill Cafe (among other old places). It has sidewalk awnings and hitching rails - but doesn't have the character of Oatman. Then back on the I-40 to Winslow. We were listening to Flagstaff radio, and what song did they start playing just as we turned off into Winslow? Yep - "Take it easy" by the Eagles. It kept playing til we reached "the corner" - what a coincidence!

Then the last leg to Holbrook. A total of 288 miles today. Holbrook has a population of about 5,000 and is at an elevation of 5,080 feet.. Yep we are high! I thought 3550 feet was high between Oatman and Kingman - then we kept going up and up! Plateaued at 5,000 feet for a while - the high plains? Very flat anyway. Then we went up to 7,335 ft near Flagstaff (could see snow on a mountain). The vegetation kept changing too - and the geology. An amazing change during the day.

We've just been to Denny's (a Diner type chain I believe). It was great! Bryan had a couple of beers and I had a couple of wines. My wine 'glass' had a rip top like a yoghurt container! This trip is so much fun!
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Comments

Lesley
2015-05-15

I am so jealous. So glad you are having a great time. Did you hire a Cadillac for the trip??

susan jardine
2015-05-15

glad to see you are having fun and enjoying yourselves

Maggie
2015-05-15

Sounds like all is going well - if you find a Chilis (another chain) they have good, value meals and drinks. Have you on the map now, are you going to get to Monument Valley? Worth the drive (20 mins off highway to Page) and you don't need to pay the Indians to go into the park as you can see the red rocks easily from the road!

anne.nathan
2015-05-16

No cadillac Lesley - but we do have a sunroof! And yes Maggie - we'll drive through Monument Valley on our way back west.

2025-02-17

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