Saturday, May 8th - Gallup NM to Holbrook AZ
Yes, our final day in New Mexico dawned just as beautifully as the others. Today will take us through the last few miles of New Mexico and into Arizona. Tonight we sleep in a wigwam...
The El Rancho is a "mostly-recommended" choice for us. To add to our minor disappointments from yesterday (no A/C, no water in pool, no laundry facility) we can add the fact that a train goes through the lobby (apparently) every hour, all night long. You get used to it (well, Gael didn't, but..).
We agreed to meet in the lobby of the El Rancho at 9am and go to breakfast at Earl's; you know, the same place we had a great dinner last night:
I brought along the laptop to breakfast so Buzz & Jackie could see yesterday's page:
Today neither Steve nor Christine were working but we met Ruth Crenshaw (their aunt):
Yet another dash plaque for Earl's!
We headed west through Gallup to the Arizona State Line and the Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post. We took a few photos but didn't go in; looked like a tourist trap:
The Route 66 road quality deteriorated rapidly when we got into Arizona. Here's a portion we drove (slowly). You may not be able to tell but this road surface is -- dirt:
We persevered and wound up at the Petrified Forest National Park:
This picture has nothing to do with our trip; I took this picture at the Park Welcome Center. It's just not that often that you see a two-year-old with a large snake:
Here are pictures from the twenty-eight mile driving tour of this park; it's breathtaking (and best seen very early or near sundown):
(This is Elaine & Jay Adams from Napa, CA. They made the mistake of admiring the cars -- they now have a dash plaque!)
We left the park at the south exit, turned right and headed for our overnight stay in Holbrook, AZ. Never heard of Holbrook? Why not stopover in Flagstaff? Because Holbrook is famous for the Wigwam Motel -- where you sleep in a wigwam:
(Here's John Lewis, our host)
They have sixteen stand-alone wigwams; here's three of 'em:
.. and some more:
(The old cars are junkers just there for effect...)
Just as we turned into the parking lot, two local residents collided fairly violently in the street just behind us. I hope our two-car CE parade didn't distract someone; thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Here's Gael entering our wigwam:
Here's the inside:
(Dontcha just love that lamp! As I used to say, "Her legs go all the way up!")
(Three of the walls slope inward a little..)
Here's Buzz & Jackie's; looks a little like ours, doesn't it?
Another interesting story. On Wednesday in Santa Rosa, NM we stopped for lunch at Joseph's Restaurant. While we were there a yellow C5 Coupe pulled in. The couple sat a few booths away. As I left, I introduced myself and found that they, too, were doing Route 66 from Chicago to LA. I told them that we were going to end the day in Santa Fe with a party and invited them to come along.
That didn't happen, but as we pulled into the Wigwam Motel, there they were:
This time we shared some drinks and snacks and Corvette stories. Here are Keith and Carol Taylor from St. Petersburg, FL:
The "Route 66 Four" walked to dinner at Butterfield Stage Company Steakhouse just down the road from the Wigwam Motel.
(This was taken before dinner. You'll see what I mean..)
Y'know how well things have been going for us? Well, it had to happen. We had our first really negative experience at dinner tonight. Butterfield had come well recommended in several Route 66 publications. Those recommendations have usually been on the money but, sad to say, we cannot recommend Butterfield to anyone.
Without going into details (and none of this was the fault of the wait staff) we ended up painfully negotiating a small discount on three meals and a write-off of the fourth. Poor Jackie never got dinner tonight. Not recommended.
Back to the Wigwam to cool off (Gael is still steaming...) and so, to bed.
Tomorrow we go to Williams, AZ for a two-day stay.
If you find typos or other errors on these pages, please click to
. I can't always respond to the emails promptly (being on the road all day) but I do receive them.
Another great day -- and much, much more to come...
Watch for more tomorrow, Day #13 on the Mother Road!
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