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This was our leg home along Rte 66 in AZ, NM, TX, and OK. I'm already thinking ahead to doing this part again in our '14 GT in the future. We did a lot of it in our '07 GT/CS in the past too. Rte 66 never gets old as long as the businesses can still operate. We sure have been supporting them and the motels along the way.. A wonderful visit to the US past is still possible.
A little description under each photo.
On the Kingman, AZ side heading to many cool Rte 66 sites coming up in photos. Cool Springs station. one of the 'must' photo stops outside Oatman, AZ. Really nice shop inside. Yes, this was the way out west on Rte 66. Amazing! Along Sitgreaves Pass. Donkey traffic jam near Oatman, AZ. The donkeys will move if you feed them from your car. We always have apples with us. These 'smart asses' learned that the town folks will feed them too. They prospered in the wild after being abandoned by the gold mining crowd over 100 years ago. Kingman, AZ. We ate at the 50's diner in the background for both lunch and dinner, Cool mural in downtown Kingman, AZ. Another famous stop called Hackberry's on the way to Seligman, AZ. Really cool shop loaded with Rte 66 items. Williams, AZ with restored pumps, vehicles, and a shop inside. Eagles fans must visit here to 'stand on the corner'. Take It Easy!! Flat bed Ford with Glenn Frey and Jackson Browne statues standin' on the corner across the street. Cool shops here too playing Eagles tunes all day. One of the oldest surviving motels along Rte 66 in Tucumcari, NM. Each room gets a garage. Talk about lucky? It hailed that night. Neon lights were damaged a few nights earlier from similar hail. Challenger was safe from hail. 50's tail light design in Tucumcari, NM Restored texaco in Tucumcari, NM Rte 66 midway point in Adrian, TX Historic Conoco Tower in Shamrock, TX. Restored Magnolia station in Shamrock, TX Rte 66 steakhouse in Amarillo. No one was attempting the 72 oz steak challenge while we were there. Old DX station converted to detailing shop in Henryetta, OK
I Have Not Seen Picturesque Scenes Like That in Person as You Have Since I Was a Little Boy in the 60's Traveling in Dodge Chargers no Less during the Summer!
Thanks For the Trip Down Memory Lane! It is Appreciated!
I Have Not Seen Picturesque Scenes Like That in Person as You Have Since I Was a Little Boy in the 60's Traveling in Dodge Chargers no Less during the Summer!
Thanks For the Trip Down Memory Lane! It is Appreciated!
^^^ It was somewhere between 22.5 and 24 mpg on this 6,300 miles trip. The R/T's computer said 24 mpg but my wife keeps finding gas receipts and has plugged everything in manually on her calculator. She's around 22.5 or so mpg. Either way, for a Hemi and it's 16 spark plugs, outstanding, as that included the many highway miles mixed with lots of idling and even a monster traffic jam in Memphis. Mid-grade 89 octane gas too. Only the big Hemi (Scat and Hellcat) needs premium.
Great Thread and Pictures! Enjoyed this very much. It does bring back memories of childhood road trips and the stops along the way. Thanks for sharing your road trip with us!
** And thank heavens for the "hail shelter" or this could have been a painful and costly trip.
I figure I give you a hard time. I mentioned MPG because of all the photos of gas stations, so the implication is stopping for gas.
Anyway, nice pics!
Yeah, that flew right over my head. I thought you really wanted to know the mpg. I have a soft spot for all the old gas stations since I collect the cans.
Great Thread and Pictures! Enjoyed this very much. It does bring back memories of childhood road trips and the stops along the way. Thanks for sharing your road trip with us!
** And thank heavens for the "hail shelter" or this could have been a painful and costly trip.
Someone was looking after us, for sure. What motels have garages???
We lived in Flagstaff, AZ for four years so many of your pictures bring back memories. All of North Arizona was my territory. I believe I've been to most of the Arizona sites. This was in the early 80's so you could go miles without seeing another car. I got to know several of the Highway patrol guys, not because I was speeding but because they'd recognize my company truck and stop me to have someone to visit with. Thanks for the memories.
In my introduction for the Forums I just wrote about having done Route 66 originally in an '85 Supra (1992) but also a "69 Caprice (1998) and most recently a stock original '95 LT-1 Firebird Formula convertible (2018 and 2021). So thanks NC14 for providing really great images of some of the best stuff on that road... and for many of us that will also include those great, great sections where its just you and yours traveling however fast you want to enjoy it and there is no traffic around (large areas of AZ, and parts of CA around Amboy).
I'm a Historian and Historical Architect for the NPS so going to nerd out here for a second -- that Cool Springs stone building in the second photo is sited at a beautiful spot (especially in late winter) before Oatman (wild burro city) as you head west. Do you know how rare it is that someone reconstructs a historic building in the U.S. nowadays..? That building was 96% gone but those folks rebuilt it somewhere around 15 years ago. And it really is still relatively isolated by itself out there even today.
Also I recommend that you check out two great abandoned sections of very-early Route 66 near Flagstaff - in fact one was abandoned so fast that you can still find old oil cans and car parts from the 1920s when you walk along it. They were targeted as bike trails by the Forest Service about thirty years ago and the longer one in more open territory is well-off the road. Can be found here: Kaibab National Forest - Historic Route 66 Mountain Bike Tour (usda.gov) And around Parks Arizona is a section of Old 66 in the woods that is going back to nature. Its right near one of the few buildings on that road which is the old General Store. Have fun!
In my introduction for the Forums I just wrote about having done Route 66 originally in an '85 Supra (1992) but also a "69 Caprice (1998) and most recently a stock original '95 LT-1 Firebird Formula convertible (2018 and 2021). So thanks NC14 for providing really great images of some of the best stuff on that road... and for many of us that will also include those great, great sections where its just you and yours traveling however fast you want to enjoy it and there is no traffic around (large areas of AZ, and parts of CA around Amboy).
I'm a Historian and Historical Architect for the NPS so going to nerd out here for a second -- that Cool Springs stone building in the second photo is sited at a beautiful spot (especially in late winter) before Oatman (wild burro city) as you head west. Do you know how rare it is that someone reconstructs a historic building in the U.S. nowadays..? That building was 96% gone but those folks rebuilt it somewhere around 15 years ago. And it really is still relatively isolated by itself out there even today.
!
Welcome to the forum.
Cool Springs is a natural draw for us as is Oatman up the road. We also have taken our old '07 GT/CS there and our 2001 Trans Am.
I like the station so much I had a clock made for the garage.
Clock made from our photo
2007 Mustang GT/CS at Cool Springs
2001 Trans Am at Cool Springs a few years ago 2021
7/1/23, 02:56 PM
Thanks for sharing those very unique pictures!
I have a soft spot for all the old gas stations since I collect the cans.
