An FMCA couple spent a month exploring sights along the iconic highway.
By John Johnston, Associate Editor
April
A few years ago, while on a swing through the Western states in their 31-foot Type C motorhome, Larry and Debbie Williams, F450660, stopped at a Chandler, Oklahoma, campground located on historic U.S. Route 66. The retired couple from Lancaster, Ohio, had long been interested in the famous highway, so the idea of an extended trip to explore all 2,448 miles of it began percolating.
The Williamses boarded a Grand Canyon Railway train — in Williams, Arizona — that took them to the national park.
About a year later, they bought a second RV, a 17-foot Riverside RV Retro travel trailer. “The first thing that came to mind was, what a good maiden voyage (Route 66) would be,” Larry said. So, on September 4, 2018, with the Retro hitched behind their pickup, they set out from Chicago.
Route 66, also known as the “Main Street of America” and the “Mother Road,” has largely been replaced by interstate highways; it’s no longer part of the official U.S. highway system. But portions of it remain. And as the Williamses can attest, there are many interesting stops along the way.
Traveling leisurely — usually less than 200 miles a day — they almost always overnighted at campgrounds. They did, however, spend four nights in iconic motels, including the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, where the rooms are shaped like tepees.
In Williams, Arizona, they boarded a Grand Canyon Railway train. “The train was a hoot,” Larry said. “You get ‘robbed’ at one point.” And he described the couple’s first visit to the Grand Canyon as “breathtaking.”
In Gallup, New Mexico, they checked into El Rancho Hotel & Motel, which was the temporary home for many Hollywood movie stars. “We stayed in the Sydney Greenstreet Room. He was an actor in Casablanca,” Debbie said.
In Oatman, Arizona, an old mining town, they encountered the “wild” burros that are descendants of animals brought to the area long ago by miners. Each day, the burros come into town from nearby hills and devour food provided by tourists. “It was the coolest thing ever,” Larry said.
Another unusual sight was Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in Oro Grande, California. For years, a fellow named Elmer Long has decorated welded metal “trees” with bottles and other found objects. “It’s fantastic,” Debbie said. She and Larry stopped by when the bottles were aglow from the setting sun.
On October 7 — 33 days after setting out — they reached Santa Monica, California, and completed the journey. The drive home took only a few days and filled them with a sense of melancholy. Ah, but they are already looking forward to retracing Route 66 again. Next time, they plan to travel by car.
“I would tell anyone who’s able to do even a portion of it, do Route 66,” Debbie said.