Route 66: Arizona and Nevada
- Lucy and the lens
- Feb 1, 2020
- 6 min read
Have you, like millions of other people over the last 70+ years, yearned to get your kicks on Route 66? I certainly have, and I finally got the chance to do it in the summer of 2019. We chose to drive down from Las Vegas to join the iconic route in Nevada, and made our way across most of Arizona. Arizona plays host to the longest unbroken section of Route 66 still in existence, so if you're going to drive any portion of it, I'd recommend this one!
I'm a big Americana obsessive - I have been since I was a teenager - so I don't feel it's an exaggeration at all to say that driving Route 66 gives you a special and almost indescribable kind of feeling: a sense of nostalgia not for something that you once had yourself, but for something you know others before you had, and loved, and you wish you could feel what they felt just for an hour, or even just for a minute. I don't know if there's a word for that feeling, but I doubt I'm alone in experiencing it at some point along this winding road.
But anyway. I've been holding off on writing this blog post because this adventure itself was so long-anticipated that I wanted to do it justice in my memories. I guess I'll try my best.
Leg 1 - Las Vegas to Nelson, Nevada
Nelson is a ghost town hidden away in Nevada's vast expanses of - well, nothingness, near El Dorado Canyon. It's not quite on Route 66, but it's not far off. It's far enough away from civilisation for its visitors to be few and far between, so it was no surprise that we got lost while trying to find it. Our GPS hadn't quite got the location pinpointed, but eventually we figured out that if we kept driving along the deserted, dusty road ahead of us, we'd make it in the end.
When we arrived, I practically had to be restrained by Patrick from jumping out of a moving vehicle, so desperate was I to explore my favourite kind of town: the abandoned kind. I didn't want to waste a second in adding Nelson to our gradually growing list of abandoned places, from Kennecott ghost town in Alaska to an abandoned theme park in Japan.
Having allowed the car to actually stop before exiting it, we made our way into the 'welcome centre', a loose term for the lobby of the home owned by the family responsible for maintaining Nelson in a state of arrested decay. What this means is that the town retains all its original buildings, as well as all sorts of vintage paraphernalia, but is still looked after. You are asked to drop into the main building before exploring the town further, to get up-to-date information about things like rattlesnake sightings. It turns out there had been a few of them around recently, so we were urged to keep an eye out!
We were allowed to enter a few of the buildings - watching out for rattlesnakes, of course - but my favourite spot to stumble upon revealed an old piano, warped and weather-beaten. There was also a huge variety of vintage cars scattered around the place, including a gorgeous pink Cadillac!
Leg 2: Kingman, Arizona
An hour and a half of driving brought us to Kingman, our gateway to old Route 66. And what better way to fuel our journey than with a classic diner meal? We’d scouted out Mr D’z diner in advance, but even if we hadn’t, it’s impossible to miss, painted hot pink and turquoise. A giant ‘66’ emblem adorns the parking lot, which is itself filled with vintage cars and trucks. Inside, it’s like walking into a 50s time capsule, with jukeboxes, chrome fixtures, and absolutely perfect shakes. They made a mean burger, too.
Leg 3: Roadside Arizona
After Kingman, you have the choice of taking Highway 40 or heading north on the longer Route 66, before it connects back up with the 40 around Seligman. We, of course, opted for the longer route, and set out on the historic road. Knowing how popular the towns of Route 66 can be, we weren’t expecting what we found on the road that runs parallel to the highway. We found nothing. Absolutely nothing. No houses, no other cars, nothing at all.
We drove, expecting someone - anyone - to pop up on the horizon, but it didn’t happen. At one point we stopped our car and ventured out into the middle of the road for a photo. As we listened to the empty silence, we imagined the ghosts of shiny chrome-bumpered automobiles packed with families in polka dot dresses and neckties, rolling along where we stood now.
Later, as we drove, we began to encounter ‘roadside America’, the term for the curiosities and attractions that once lured drivers to pull over and take a break from the road. First, a series of red and white signs caught our attention - these were replicas of the iconic Burma Shave signs that made the company so successful in the mid-20th century.
“Don’t lose your head To save a minute You need your head Your brains are in it!
Burma Shave."
The rhyming, staggered signs were intended to hold a driver’s attention for longer than a traditional billboard, and people quickly began reacting with anticipation whenever they saw the distinctive red signs popping up in the horizon, to see what tongue-in-cheek rhyme they'd be offered next. You can see them depicted in the mural below!
Later, we stopped by Giganticus Headicus, a giant green moai head outside a trading post. Why is a giant green moai head sitting by the side of the road in Arizona, you ask? It's Roadside America - there is no reason!
Leg 4: Seligman, Arizona
By early evening, we'd made it to Seligman, the home of the 'guardian angel' of Route 66, Angel Delgadillo. Delgadillo was the driving force behind the restoration of Route 66 in recent decades, allowing visitors to get a taste of what it might once have been like. The official welcome centre is built around the Delgadillo family's old barbershop, and you can also visit the historic Snow Cap Diner, built by Juan Delgadillo - Angel's brother - in 1953. We got such a warm welcome at both!
Exploring the town is a joy; everywhere you look there are tributes to Route 66 and icons of the 50s like Elvis and Marilyn, vintage cars sitting in retro gas stations, diners, motels - if it was around in the 50s, it's probably still here today. Subtle, it is not, but that's what makes it so fun!
The final matter of the day was finding somewhere to spend the night. Decades ago, you could stop at any roadside motel without an appointment - and for all I know, this is still possible, but we wanted to be a little more calculated. And so, we booked ourselves into the Stagecoach 66 Motel, featuring rooms themed around suitable retro things - there was an Elvis room, a Betty Boop room, and a western room...but we went for the appropriately bright and bold Harley Davidson room! I fell in love with the neon-lit sign outside, which I snapped at sunset.
Leg 5: Williams, Arizona
The next morning, we continued along Route 66 to Williams, a larger town sliced in half by the famous highway. Along this road, we found just as much kitsch, if not more, as Seligman, but here there were also a bunch of Native American stores that resembled the trading posts that used to pepper Route 66. We didn't quite make it to the old Two Guns and Twin Arrows trading posts located an hour or so past Williams (and near to the famous 1940s Wigwam Motel where you can still sleep in painted concrete tipis) so this was the closest thing!
We still hadn't had our fill of vintage diners, so we dropped into Cruiser's Cafe 66, known for its incredible shakes - in particular, the strawberry- and its red and silver decor and retro booths. We chose our flavour from the wide selection of ice cream on offer, and watched our shake being made at a 50s-style bar.
As we took our final sips of our strawberry shakes, we realised it was time to bid Route 66 goodbye and head south to Sedona. But just like the road itself, the nostalgia lives on!
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