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Posts tagged US 66
July 9, 2014: Route 66 – Seligman – Needles – Williams
0November 17, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc.
Last Day Westbound
Today would be our last day westbound, and we would turn around in Needles and return east, taking 66 most of the way (when possible) and in particular, some areas of 66 that we missed on the way out. Due to time constraints, in a few areas where we did take 66 west, we might skip them east….depends on how our timing goes.
I woke up before sunrise, which was odd considering how little sleep I’d had on this trip. But it was fortunate, because I was treated to a very beautiful and peaceful sunrise in Seligman.
KOA Kampground next to the Stagecoach 66 Motel
Love the old motel keychains!
Once my grandson was up, fairly early – we began the ritual of getting him ready and packing up. He was very helpful today, since the motel was on one level. He was able to carry his own belongings out to the car, which made the process easier!
Sadly, we were not in Seligman during anytime that the Snow Cap was open, but here is a photo this morning. We had been here before when Juan Delgadillo was alive; my first visit was on my trip in August 2000 with my daughter and the next time was on my honeymoon in June 2002.
As always, I required coffee. I was very happy with the VERY good coffee (and half and half – yeah!) at Historic Seligman Sundries.
There are several sets of Burma Shave signs around Seligman. Pat is not into them, but I am, and I was driving, so I subjected him to a complete reading of each…and…every…set…of…signs.
Pat asked me to turn around and stop in this area. Off to the right, there appears to be a small dirt track of some sort. It has fairly high banked curves and Pat’s thought was that it might have provided some inspiration for the dirt track in Cars.
In Truxton, we passed by the Frontier Motel, which is currently undergoing restoration of the motel and cafe.
Heading west toward Kingman.
Entering Kingman, we are nearing the end of our westward journey.
Here is the Route 66 Motel.
The Orchard Inn
Hill Top Motel
Arcadia Lodge
Welcome to Kingman!
Here is the turn under I-40 outside of Kingman to take Route 66 (Oatman Road), the older alignment of 66 that goes through the mountains and through the town of Oatman, home to the burros!
Looking back east on 66 from Shaffer Springs Fishbowl
Shaffer Springs Fishbowl
What a climb…we did it!! But looking back down, the little man then got scared and wanted to come back down.
Arriving in Oatman!
Oatman’s most famous inhabitants are currently the burros, which come down from the mountains every day during business hours (like clockwork) to visit the tourists, who will gladly feed them.
We prepared our grandson for the excitement of the burros by watching YouTube videos. We bought some burro food from a shop, but all the videos in the world weren’t going to help him adjust to a frightening sense of overwhelm at being surrounded by these giant creatures (to his little 3 year old self, they were). I also felt a bit panicky at having them surround him, so I quickly grabbed the burro food and tossed it away and pulled our grandson out of the circle of burros he’d been surrounded. They gave us slight chase, but when they realized we had no food, they moved on to other tourists who did, and who helped lure them away.
We bought him a stuffed animal burro, which he enjoys and happily isn’t too emotionally scarred from the experience. He did say afterward, that he doesn’t want to see the real burros again, so I think there is a little scarring. Hopefully, he’ll change his mind when he gets older.
We had some ice cream to cool down before we left town.
West of Oatman, heading toward Topock.
We had read on one of the Route 66 Facebook pages that the road near Topock was closed due to rains earlier in the week. I was unable to check on that or ask anyone if that was still the case, because we had very little Internet signal. Sure enough, in Topock, the road was closed so we went to Needles on Route 1, and then 95 and crossing down into Needles, California.
We saw the 66 Motel, with its recently (2012) restored sign, with fundraising led by Ed Klein of Route 66 World.
After Needles, we proceeded to head east on I-40 toward the Park Moabi Road exit (153), where we would be taking more photos of locations used in the opening credits of Easy Rider between here and Exit 1 on the Arizona side. Click here for my post of the Easy Rider Filming Locations, with photos and description of this area, as well as screen captures from the movie.
After finishing with all of the movie locations around the Arizona – California border, we headed back east to Kingman on the Interstate, which was a later alignment of Route 66, starting in 1953, bypassing the Oatman Road alignment. It’s a longer way around (really, it feels long!) and far less interesting and fun than Oatman Road. But we’d already taken Oatman Road on the way out, so we took this way back until we got to Kingman, where we exited back onto Route 66.
By this time, the little man needed a playground break and we wanted to eat, so we killed two birds with one stone by stopping in Kingman by Locomotive Park, home to this 1927 steam locomotive. Click the link for more info on the steam train. Jameson had fun running around and letting off some steam (pun intended!).
Once we felt we could take a break from the train, we headed next door to Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner to eat, followed by a little more play time at the train.
Moving on, this sign for the Kingman Club is on Beale Street.
We continued east on 66 through Kingman, and took a few photos we didn’t get on the way west.
The El Trovatore Motel
Uptown Drug
ABC Chinese Buffet
We continued to take 66 east from Kingman. East of Seligman, I noticed the sunset in the rear view mirror and thought it was beautiful enough to stop for a photo!
Once 66 leads into I-40 near Ash Fork, we took the Interstate east to Williams, where we took 66. Since it was getting late, we had already decided to stay in Williams for the night.
Slideshow of All Photos (July 9, 2014)
Below is a slideshow of all of the photos from this portion of the trip.
Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site. If you are on an iOS device and do not see the slideshow below, click here to view the set on Flickr.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer
July 8, 2014: Route 66 – Holbrook to Seligman, Arizona
0November 15, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc.
Even though we had a perfectly acceptable stay at the Magnuson, it would have been nice to sleep in a Wigwam (we have at the Cave City, KY location). But here’s a morning photo on our way out of town.
Next, we stopped at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. Glad we went and checked the door, because it looked closed, it seemed dark inside and there were no cars visible. But happily, they were open. Sadly, though, they no longer sold that cloyingly sweet cider we enjoyed on our honeymoon. We picked up a few souvenirs, including a HERE IT IS shirt for our grandson.
And here he is, posing on the Jack Rabbit! A rite of passage for all good Route 66 roadies.
Continuing to motor west, our next stop was Winslow, Arizona.
There is a 9/11 Memorial on the east end of Winslow on 66, which contains pieces from the World Trade Center.
We went over to Standin’ on the Corner Park, which has a mural, statue, and Flatbed Ford, all depicting a scene from The Eagles’ song “Take It Easy.”
There’s a man with a guitar standing on the corner, and the reflection in the window of a girl in a Flatbed Ford. I decided to take it easy and sip a Route 66 root beer. Very peaceful and relaxing.
Closeup of the statue…I still think he looks like Jackson Browne, despite the fact that there is no “official” word on who this is (I asked)!
I browsed in two of the shops there and picked up some t-shirts and postcards, while Pat took our grandson for a walk (a 3 year old and breakables is not a good combination!!).
Continuing west, we stopped for a photo at the old Twin Arrows Trading Post. It was barricaded and not as easily accessible as it used to be. There was also a casino nearby, of course, called the Twin Arrows Casino.
This old bridge is located on Route 66 at the Winona exit (exit 211 from I-40).
Heading toward Flagstaff.
In Flagstaff, is this former Howard Johnson’s Restaurant (the hotel is still that brand), now the Crown Railroad Cafe.
Western Hills Motel sign
Sierra Vista Motel sign
Old scaffold style signs in Flagstaff – Downtowner Motel and Motel DuBeau
We stopped in Flagstaff for a while to walk around and take photos of various Easy Rider filming locations, from the opening credits, which was filmed in part along Route 66 in Flagstaff. Click here for my post on Easy Rider Filming Locations to see more photos from Flagstaff along with screen shots from Easy Rider.
We stopped at the 66 Visitors Center and picked up a couple of Route 66 / Cars shirts for our grandson. One was a 66 t-shirt and the other was a really cute hand made Hawaiian type shirt made from Cars fabric with a map and Cars characters Mater and Lightning McQueen.
There was a bakery called Sugar Mamas that we wanted to visit, but it had already closed.
The Galaxy Diner is on 66 on the west side of town.
West of Flagstaff, Route 66 takes you on a scenic drive through the Kaibab National Forest. This is another location that was well-depicted in the Pixar film Cars, as Sally & Lightning take a drive through the forest (see video below the photo).
We told our grandson this was where Lightning and Sally went for a drive too!
Next, we arrived in Williams, a really nice Route 66 town with alot of great shops and restaurants. Again, we no longer buy alot of knick knacks, since we’re not in “acquisition” mode, but rather on a long, slow path to decluttering and eliminating stuff for a future of “fulltiming” in an RV someday, but that’s another story. We do buy a few things that we can use like t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, etc. So I bought a cool Route 66 ceramic coffee mug at Cruisers and a couple small other things.
I was disappointed to see the Route 66 Inn closed. I stayed here during my first trip on Route 66 in August 2000.
Turquoise Tepee
Addicted to Deals
Rod’s Steak House
We stopped to get some ice cream at Twisters Soda Fountain…the chocolate met with our grandson’s approval! Here he is wearing the Cars shirt we had bought him in Flagstaff.
We managed to walk around Williams without any rainfall, which was looming. Moving west, we took the Crookton Road exit, which leads travelers onto a beautiful stretch of Route 66 away from the Interstate, and through Ash Fork, Seligman, Hackberry, Truxton, and on into Kingman.
Here are two photos at the Crookton Road exit.
Near Seligman, another BNSF train was approaching!
Next, we arrived in Seligman as it was nearing dusk; however, as we had never stayed in Kingman, that was our intended destination for this evening.
Looking west on 66 in Seligman.
The Copper Cart
Fillmore from Cars!
Historic Route 66 Motel on the west side of Seligman
The Supai Motel
We needed to get gas, so we stopped on the west side of Seligman. Once we did, we realized we really didn’t want to continue for this evening. It was getting dark, and we wouldn’t see much between here and Kingman. We decided to stay at the Stagecoach 66 Motel, where we’d stayed on our honeymoon. Double bonus, there was a restaurant / bar on the premises, so we could get some takeout and eat in our room (we would have eaten at the Snow Cap, but it was already closed by the time we arrived in town).
They had vacancy, and Pat even managed a surprise…a Cars-themed room. Jameson was very excited to see all of the decor with Mater, Lightning McQueen, and other Cars characters, just like his room at home. He was literally bouncing all over the place in excitement.
As Pat went over to the bar & restaurant to get a pizza, Jameson and I had a nice walk all around the grounds of the motel (about 5 laps, no less). It was a nice, peaceful time – I’m not sure what’s in the air in Seligman that calmed my grandson down, but it was just about the most quiet time I’d had with him so far during the trip (and in retrospect it would turn out to be the most quiet time of the entire trip…).
The office area of the motel.
Dinner!
Then it was time for some shuteye and the nightly ritual of trying to get our grandson to calm down and go to sleep. Mercifully, he fell asleep fairly easily today!
Until tomorrow…
Slideshow of All Photos (July 8, 2014)
Below is a slideshow of all of the photos from this portion of the trip.
Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site. If you are on an iOS device and do not see the slideshow below, click here to view the set on Flickr.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer
July 6, 2014: Amarillo, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico
0August 4, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
We got started from our hotel in Amarillo and headed over to Route 66. First, we spotted this now-closed shop called Spudnuts Coffee and Donuts. My grandson got a huge laugh out of “Spudnuts,” so for quite a while he amused himself by repeating “Spudnuts”…over and over and over…we felt alot like Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man, as Raymond repeated 97X, BAM – the future of rock and roll, 97X, BAM – the future of rock and roll…you get the idea.
Followed by a cool Sinclair Dinosaur at King Auto Sales
Arrow Motel sign
Next up was a newer addition to Route 66, but not Amarillo. This cowboy statue used to call his home a barbecue joint in Amarillo, but he was sold at auction earlier this year and now resides at the Cadillac Ranch RV Park on Route 66 in Amarillo…of course, not far from Cadillac Ranch.
Then we motored on through Vega and Adrian. Just for my grandson, more water tower excitement, complete with a Route 66 shield, which he’s also fond of spotting. So, this was 2 for 1! 
We stopped by the Sunflower Station gift shop, owned by Fran Houser, former owner of the adjacent Midpoint Cafe, and the inspiration for Flo, from the Route 66 themed Pixar film, Cars. Fran had an abundance of die cast Cars, and we picked up a Doc Hudson (in full Fabulous Hudson Hornet paint scheme and crew chief headset). We chatted with Fran for a bit and promised not to wait 12 years to come back, however, she currently has the Sunflower Station up for sale so she can retire (again) and spend more time visiting with family. More info on the sale can be found on Ron Warnick’s Route 66 News site, here.
At the Texas-New Mexico border, is the “ghost town” of Glenrio. The town sits on the border, so there is a Glenrio, Texas and a Glenrio, New Mexico.
Another inspiration for the Pixar team here in the former Little Juarez Diner…
…which Pixar made into “The Glenrio Motel.” Again, for more locations that inspired Cars, see this link.
After crossing into New Mexico, we took the pre-1950’s alignment from Glenrio to San Jon. It was paved, but is now dirt. It is very reasonably passable when dry.
We then arrived in Tucumcari, another town which provided alot of inspiration to Pixar for Radiator Springs. Tucumcari is a neon paradise, though it was very early, so we were not staying here (I had stayed here in in 2000 and 2002, though, and would love to again!).
Here’s a collage of some of the signs in Tucumcari (many are from the return trip too). For more from Tucumcari, see the slideshow at the bottom.
Of course, another prominent – and natural – feature is Tucumcari Mountain, which inspired the mountain in Cars, shaped like a radiator cap.
We shopped at Tee Pee Curios and picked up some souvenirs, then left Tucumcari, continuing on 66 through Newkirk, and as we passed Cuervo, we took the pre-1950’s alignment of Route 66 known as the Cuervo Cutoff. If you look on my trip map above, you can follow along our path. We took the “dog leg” route, but didn’t take the diagonal section (we had taken part of that during our honeymoon in 2002). 
Here’s a brief video from the Cuervo Cutoff:
The next major city along Route 66 in New Mexico is Santa Rosa. Many towns along Route 66 in various states are preserving – and restoring – their neon signs and buildings. Sometimes the building is long gone, but the signs remain, and they are being restored. But it sure appears New Mexico Route 66 is really working hard at restoring signs, because there are some beauties in this state! I wish I could have been in every town and city with neon during the golden hour. Ahhh, the dream of early retirement…back to reality! Here are few shots from Santa Rosa. Like most of this trip – I didn’t take all my photos westbound…we were also taking 66 eastbound, so I saved some photos for the return trip!
Past Santa Rosa, we continued on I-40. There’s a fragment of post-1937 Route 66 at the westbound rest area at exit 252, just past the on ramp back onto I-40, which you can see on my map. We saw this in our friend Jerry McClanahan’s excellent book, EZ66 Guide for Travelers, which you can pick up at Amazon. We continued on I-40 until Clines Corners, a large travel center, which dates back to 1934 when it was started by Roy E. Cline as a filling station and cafe to the south of its current location. In 1937, it was relocated to its present location. It’s a very cool stop, with tons of souvenirs, curios, and other sundries. Quite a lot for a 3 year old to get (over)excited about, so we couldn’t spend as much time as we would have liked, and it was getting late. The sun was setting!
From Clines Corners, 66 continues to follow I-40 until Moriarty. By this time, however, it was dark and we were all pretty tired (did we say yet that traveling with an over excitable 3 year old is tiring? LOL). We wanted to stay in Albuquerque, so we continued on I-40. We were also taking 66 back, so if we needed to skip any parts of 66 on the way out, we would take them on the way back.
We decided to stay at a mom & pop motel in Albuquerque called the Monterey Motel. It’s a non-smoker’s motel and they mean it. From their neon sign to their website, they make it perfectly clear that’s how they want the air there – so NO smokers. Asthmatics like me do appreciate that.
It was a very nice place – clean, well decorated and comfortable. I would definitely stay there again and I’d like to. We rolled into Albuquerque far too late, and with a tired toddler in tow, we couldn’t take any nighttime neon shots (though of course, I’d prefer the golden hour anyway). Maybe next year. But until then, we hit the sheets, ready to seize the next day – taking some photos of Wild Hogs filming locations around Albuquerque…fun!!
Slideshow of All Photos (from July 3-5, 2014)
Below is a slideshow of all of the photos from this portion of the trip. Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site. If you are on an iOS device and do not see the slideshow below, click here to view the set on Flickr.
Hope you enjoyed the ride! Pat & Jennifer
Easy Rider Filming Locations
2July 23, 2014
Opening Credits
The opening credits actually contain all of the filming locations that we currently have (we don’t have them all at this point). This will be a work in progress as we travel.
Here is a video of the opening credits to set the proper mood, as well as the context of the scene, which we love, with Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.” Classic.
Interstate 40 East, Crossing the Colorado River at the California/Arizona Border
This scene was filmed along I-40 eastbound, crossing from California into Arizona. Two bridges, which are former alignments of Route 66 are also visible. The first bridge to the right, is the Red Rock Bridge, which carried Route 66 traffic from 1947 until 1966, when I-40 became the primary crossing. The Red Rock Bridge was later demolished. Also visible is the Old Trails Arch Bridge, which was built in 1916 and was an alignment of Route 66 from its inception through 1947, when it was replaced by the Red Rock Bridge.
Below, you can “drive” the same location on Google Street View.
Here is another view from this scene filmed from I-40, with the Red Rock Bridge first, and the Old Trails Arch Bridge more clearly visible behind it.
Since the scene was along the Interstate, our best replication was taken through the windshield. Not great quality, we know (dirty windshield!).
Here is a better view of the Old Trails Arch Bridge, taken from the California side (Park Moabi exit).
Golden Shores/Oatman Exit 1 off I-40, near Topock, Arizona
This scene was filmed on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, the first exit after the I-40 crossing above. The road that Billy and Wyatt are seen riding is on the south side of the Interstate, and is an old alignment of Route 66, leading to the Old Trails Arch Bridge (privately owned by Pacific Gas & Electric).
A view of this scene taken from across the road.
Park Moabi Road Exit 153 off I-40, Needles, California
Here, through the magic of film, Wyatt and Billy are back west, in Calfornia again. This scene was taken off the first exit on the California side of the Colorado River, Exit 153, Park Moabi Road.
The view below is looking north on Park Moabi Road, toward what is now an RV resort called Pirates Cove Resort & Marina, near Needles, California.
From assessing this scene and the photo below, we believe that some changes were made to the road since the film was made. The curves seen in the screenshot above do not exist in the road today, and judging from satellite views of the location, it appears there are remnants of curved road here. But without research (or the opinion of some of our Route expert friends, we won’t state this as fact, just casual observation. However, it definitely safe to say that this is a very close approximation of the location of this scene. As the co/owner of a small retro trailer (Serro Scotty HiLander), we actually like the scene in 1969 with the cool canned ham trailer!
Additionally, Park Moabi Road north, leads to an old alignment of Route 66, which eastbound leads to where the Red Rock Bridge (from the screenshots above).
And in July 2014…
Oddly enough (and ignore this now if you aren’t into geeky details…just enjoy the photos), in reality, this scene was filmed from the same spot as the shot above. If you watch the YouTube video, you will see that as Wyatt and Billy are riding up the hill, the camera smoothly pans across, following them as they proceed south on Park Moabi Road.
Interestingly (and this could be the result of the technical differences between movie and still cameras), while the film was shot from the same location (by the railroad on Park Moabi, where an old alignment of Route 66 goes back east), our photos were taken some distance apart on Park Moabi. This will be evident to anyone who drives Park Moabi in real life (or check it out on Google Street view).
Here is the view as they rode south on Park Moabi Road.
And in 2014…
Route 66 – Flagstaff, Arizona
This scene was filmed on Route 66 (S. Milton Street, near Tuscon Avenue) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Billy and Wyatt are passing what was the Lumberjack Cafe. This lumberjack statue is still in Flagstaff; not at this location, but instead at Northern Arizona University, at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, along with a similar twin. Their team is the Lumberjacks, and he serves as their mascot.
This is the scene today, at what is now called Granny’s Closet. The lumberjack that was visible in Easy Rider is now located at Northern Arizona University. Below is Little Louie, who was not visible in Easy Rider, but has been at the Lumberjack Cafe since the 1960’s, along with the two other Bunyan-type statues.
For more detailed information on the Bunyan lumberjacks and Little Louie at the Lumberjack Cafe, please see this page on RoadsideArchitecture.com
In this scene, they are a bit farther east on Route 66 (near N. Leroux Street) in Flagstaff. This building was the Canyon Hotel at the time, with a camera shop also.
The building in 2014. Several businesses are listed at this location, such as an Architectural Design Studio, Flagstaff Piano, Clock and Fine Art Gallery, and a realty company.
The scene below is just a block east from the location above, also on Route 66, looking south onto S. San Francisco Street).
And the same scene in 2014.
That’s all for now! We had a screen capture of a couple others that we missed. One is a quick cut of them at another angle in the view above (we were right there and totally spaced taking a photo…next time!). Another location is a bit farther west in Bellemont, Arizona. Again, a work in progress that we’ll add to over time. There are many other locations in the movie in New Mexico and Louisiana (of note), so as we travel to those areas, we’ll add to this page!
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer
Wild Hogs Filming Locations
4July 20, 2014
Wild Hogs is a 2007 comedy starring John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy as middle-aged friends living in Cincinnati, Ohio who own Harleys and like to go for urban / suburban rides and hang out at the “biker” bar in the city, called “Byker’s Island”.
Woody, played by John Travolta, is a (formerly) rich lawyer whose swimsuit model wife recently left him, causing him to have a breakdown, losing his job and his house too. One afternoon after a ride, he questions his friends about what they are doing with their lives and suggests a real ride – a road trip to the Pacific. The other Wild Hogs are Doug, a dentist played by Tim Allen, has a loving wife but can’t connect with his young son and needs to watch his stress and cholesterol levels; Bobby, played by Martin Lawrence, is a henpecked plumber with an overbearing wife and out of control daughters; and Dudley, played by William H. Macy, is a shy, nerdy computer programmer who is afraid to speak to women. All agree to take the road trip and to find some real fun and adventure and reclaim the wild guys they used to be in college.
Opening Scene – Laguna Blvd SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Here is a video of the opening scene where the characters get together for a suburban ride.
Here is a video that Pat took from the back window of our SUV as I drove up and down Laguna Boulevard SW.
L to R: Bobby (Martin Lawrence) joins Doug (Tim Allen), and Woody (John Travolta)
Martin Lawrence as Bobby
Rail Yards – Albuquerque, New Mexico
This scene during their ride takes them through the old Rail Yards in Albuquerque.
They are not accessible, so we took a photo from the street.
Central Avenue (Route 66) & 2nd Avenue NW,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
During their ride, the Wild Hogs take a quick break so Dudley can check on his bike after an earlier fall.
This scene was filmed at a parking lot at the corner of Central Avenue & 2nd Avenue NW.
Unfortunately, Dudley loses control of his bike in the parking lot.
After falling off, the bike hits the curb and flips into the air, striking a light pole.
But Dudley’s OK!
The Library Bar & Grille, Central Avenue (Route 66),
Albuquerque, New Mexico
This location served as the Wild Hogs’ hangout “Byker’s Island” where they go to relax and have a beer after their ride. Woody, having lost everything in his life (but doesn’t reveal that to this friends at this time), questions their upscale middle-aged, suburban biker personas – stating that instead of Wild Hogs, they’re more like wild lambs. They lament that they have lost their wild side that they had in college, and wanting to reclaim their sense of adventure, decide to take a road trip to the Pacific with their Harleys.
Tijeras Avenue NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Wild Hogs are getting ready to start their journey to the Pacific from US 50 in Cincinnati.
The scene was shot at Tijeras Avenue NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The landscaping in the background of the movie was added for the movie. The actual area features xeriscaping.
The Wild Hogs are getting ready to start their journey to the Pacific from Cincinnati. Dudley shows off his “tat” he got at the Meadow Hills Galleria for the trip – now he’s a biker! The others laugh at his Apple logo tattoo.
The location along Tijeras actually does not have alot of grass or plants. The fountain (minus water) is visible in the back, as well as the building to the left.
Doug is excited that Dudley got him set up with a GPS in his phone for the trip, to which Woody replies they don’t need a GPS to discover America and throws Doug’s cell phone into a nearby sewer.
And the sewer was nearby too!
Another view of their meeting spot, which has the added effect of being in Cincinnati by the addition of highway signs showing US 50 West.
In reality, US 50 is in Colorado, much farther to the north of this location in Albuquerque!
After Doug, Woody, and Bobby dispose of their cell phones, Dudley throws his into the windshield of an oncoming truck, causing them to quickly jump on their bikes and take off.
This is the same location as above on Tijeras Avenue NE, only the opposite side of the underpass.
Madrid, New Mexico
As the Wild Hogs travel west, the road scenes, whether they were supposed to be in Illinois or Missouri the first night, were all filmed in New Mexico (and it shows!!).
The Wild Hogs are excited to stop at a “real” biker bar in New Mexico, which is home to the biker gang, the Del Fuegos, led by Jack Blade, played by Ray Liotta. The Del Fuegos are infuriated by the intrusion of suburban biker “posers” at their bar, telling them they aren’t real bikers.
They steal Dudley’s Sportster, leaving him with a sidecar attached to Woody’s motorcycle. Woody, ashamed at the incident goes back to the bar to get Dudley’s bike. He cuts the fuel lines to the Del Fuegos’ motorcycles, causing the bar to explode when Jack’s cigarette falls into the gas on the ground. With the Del Fuegos’ bikes damaged, the Wild Hogs are able to get away…for now. However, Woody doesn’t tell the other Wild Hogs what actually happened, instead telling his friends he threatened to sue the Del Fuegos if they didn’t return Dudley’s motorcycle.
In the scene below, the Wild Hogs have run out of gas due to Woody’s panic about having blown up the Del Fuegos’ bar, and insist they get gas at the next stop. To bad, they don’t see the gas station sign that the next station is 200 miles away.
Tired, hot and thirsty, they arrive in Madrid, New Mexico.
Here is the same location in a later scene, when two of the Del Fuegos arrive in Madrid.
The majority of the remaining scenes were filmed in Madrid, New Mexico, which is located along NM 14 (The Turquoise Trail), a scenic ride from Santa Fe south to I-40/US 66. A small portion of NM 14 in Santa Fe (north of Madrid) is also a part of the Santa Fe loop, a pre-1937 alignment of Route 66.
Maggie’s Diner – Madrid, New Mexico
The Wild Hogs arrive at the fictional Maggie’s Diner in Madrid, New Mexico. They’re extremely thirsty and their uncharacteristically raucous behavior in begging for water or something else to drink, causes the townspeople to mistake them for the Del Fuegos, who periodically arrive in Madrid and demand food and drinks at no charge and frighten the locals.
Maggie’s Diner was a set built on location in Madrid, and was left to the town by the film company. It was brought up to building codes, and now is used as a gift/souvenir shop selling – what else – biker and Wild Hogs merchandise! I picked up a couple of shirts – Del Fuegos and Wild Hogs.
Old Boarding House Mercantile – Madrid, New Mexico
The next photos show what is depicted as the hotel the Wild Hogs stay in Madrid, as the gas station is closed until the next day. Upon hearing that the Del Fuegos periodically come to Madrid, Woody is extremely panicky to leave town, fearing that the Del Fuegos will soon arrive, find them, and take revenge for blowing up their bar.
The Old Boarding House Mercantile is a very nice general store in an old house – it’s pretty unique as it uses the original house rooms for different categories of merchandise. They have a variety of items for sale, general merchandise, groceries, snacks, drinks, coffee, etc.
Shy and afraid of women, Dudley finds romance with Maggie, played by Marisa Tomei. Maggie owns the local Diner which bears her name. After an enjoyable night together at the town’s Chile Fest, the next morning Dudley and Maggie would like to have breakfast with the others, but Woody is anxious to leave before the Del Fuegos arrive.
Madrid, New Mexico
But it’s too late – here come the Del Fuegos!
Maggie’s Diner – Madrid, New Mexico
The Del Fuegos have arrived in Madrid and are ready for retaliation – or compensation – for the loss of their bar. The other Wild Hogs are confused about this, since Woody told him they gave him back the bike after the threatened to sue them. With no other choice, Woody confesses to his friends about cutting the fuel lines to the motorcycles, resulting in their bar being blown up. The Wild Hogs now realize the Del Fuegos want to kill them, so they hide out at Maggie’s house, hoping they’ll give up and leave…but instead the Del Fuegos invade the diner, threatening to burn it down.
Here, Dudley confronts the Del Fuegos which they remark is brave but stupid – they string him up over the main road and will beat him up if the Wild Hogs don’t pay them for their bar.
Here is the exterior of Maggie’s Diner building in Madrid.
Finally, the Wild Hogs confront the Del Fuegos. Led by Woody (who has lost everything in his life and has nothing to lose), their attempt to rescue Dudley fails and they fight the Del Fuegos.
Despite repeatedly being beaten to the ground, the Wild Hogs stand up each time to the Del Fuegos. Finally, the townspeople of Madrid realize that if four guys can stand up to 50 bikers, 500 of them can too.
As the townpeople and Wild Hogs surround the Del Fuegos, who still won’t back down, their former leader and owner of the bar, Damien Blade, played by Peter Fonda, arrives in town and tells Jack and the other Del Fuegos to stop and let it go. He tells them they have lost touch with what being a biker is all about – riding and the highway…and that they – not the Wild Hogs – are the posers. He thanks the Wild Hogs for burning down the bar, explaining that he insured it for twice its value and he did them a favor.
The Del Fuegos leave and Jack says goodbye to Damien, calling him Pop; Damien shakes his head, saying Jack’s just like his mother.
Damien tells the Wild Hogs to ride hard or go home, and gives them one last piece of advice….lose the watches!
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer
July 3-5, 2014: Route 66 – Riverton, Kansas to Amarillo, Texas
0July 17, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
Day 1: July 3, 2014 – to St. Louis, Missouri
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
The first day of our trip was largely uneventful – we took the Interstate to St. Louis after work so we could make some progress on getting to the California border. We stopped at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and met with our camping friends Dane & Elaine, and then headed to our hotel, the Holiday Inn – Route 66….which was on Route 66!
Day 2: July 4, 2014 – St. Louis, Missouri to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Day 2 was a partial day on the Interstate. Usually referred to as the Evil I, it did serve its purpose today – to quickly get us where we wanted to go. We love Missouri 66, but took the Route several times in recent years, so our goal was to get to western Missouri quickly, then slow down in Oklahoma. Plus, we’re strongly thinking about joining the 25th Missouri Route 66 Motor Tour this year!
We did make a stop in Phillipsburg at Redmon’s Candy Factory – also a travel center/gas station, etc. By Joplin, we exited the Interstate for Route 66, but were bummed when we found the Candy House Gourmet Chocolates store was closed. We’d been there last year during the Route 66 Festival and gone on a tour and were hoping for some chocolate!
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, we had an ill-fated quick visit to the Route 66 Carousel Park. I made the dire mistake, after my 3-year old grandson asked to go on a merry-go-round, of saying maybe we’d find one (it sounded innocuous at the time and I thought it would go well, and the place was listed on their site as being open). So true, the park was opened when we arrived, but as we approached the gate, they informed us they were closing for 1 hour. 1…hour…not great to hear for a 3 year old who has no concept of time and was very excited to go on rides! Not great for us, who wanted to make the stop count by going on rides with him…not waiting for an hour, then go on rides! So that went over like a lead balloon! Not good…
So we meandered on 66 and stopped at the Marsh Arch bridge.
My grandson is fascinated with water towers, and this trip didn’t disappoint. He saw plenty and really seemed to enjoy this one in Quapaw, Oklahoma.
We stopped for lunch at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burgers in Miami, Oklahoma
And of course, the big Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma!
By this time, it was getting later in the day and we decided to stop at a really nice playground/park in Sapulpa, Oklahoma called Heritage Park (considering the missed chance to go on the amusement rides earlier). It’s a very nice park that was built by volunteer residents. It’s huge!!
It was getting late and we didn’t want to miss anything driving in the dark, so we decided to go back to Tulsa to stay, as it wasn’t far. We did a Priceline and got the Crowne Plaza in southern Tulsa, but being the night of the 4th of July, several routes across the river were closed. We didn’t stop anywhere to watch fireworks, but we were treated to displays in all directions – that’s the good thing about the flat land. Ultimately, we made our way to the hotel after a number of detours, which you can see on the interactive map above…but finally we made it!
Day 3: July 5, 2014 – Tulsa, Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc.
Coincidentally, our hotel was located across from Oral Roberts University, which was the site of a photo op from my Roadside America app, which helps me find neat roadside attractions and oddities from their site, in a pretty cool iOS or Android app. It’s also available as a Garmin GPS add-on too.
We easily spotted the giant Praying Hands – wish we could have gotten inside to avoid the ugly power lines, but the gates were closed:
And some neat architecture as well:
Heading back into Sapulpa, I spotted this art display which pays homage to the town’s manufacturing history, of glass and brick factories as well as Frankoma Pottery.
In Bristow, this Ford dealership’s new building was built in the style of the 1920’s architecture throughout town. Their original building burned down, and they wanted to retain the original style when they rebuilt.
The Rock Cafe is in Stroud
As well as the Skyliner Motel
The Round Barn in Arcadia
Restored Phillips 66 Filling Station in Chandler
The Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City
Braum’s Milk Bottle
Giant Route 66 Shield at the Route 66 National Museum in Elk City
The Conoco Phillips station in Shamrock, Texas (U Drop Inn) – featured in the Pixar film Cars
And the Big Texan, whose adjoining motel was booked up, unfortunately. We had an acceptable generic stay at a nearby Sleep Inn.
Slideshow of All Photos (from July 3-5, 2014)
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer
2014 Illinois Route 66 Motor Tour – 25th Anniversary
0June 19, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
The Route..
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app. You can zoom in, or click the link above for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Photographs
This blog contains a sampling of the photos from our trip. To view all of the photos from our trip, view the slideshow at the bottom of the post or visit our Road Trip Memories page on Flickr at the link below.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Long story VERY short, a change in plans allowed us to be able to attend the 25th Illinois Route 66 Motor Tour. We had been on the tour several times before, but don’t always have a chance to attend. But when we do, it’s always a great time!
After a rocky start Friday evening, we finally hit the road to head west – we were going to stay in Collinsville and then head over to the Chain of Rocks Bridge in the morning to register for the Motor Tour.
We decided to cross over into St. Louis along the new I-70 bridge:
We followed along what was known as one of the alignments called “City 66″ ad described in Jerry McClanahan’s EZ 66 Guide, up to the Chain of Rocks Bridge, where the Motor Tour was to begin.
What a sight this truck was! Really unique modification of a Ford truck, lots of folks did a double-take on this one!!
And here we go, crossing the Chain of Rocks Bridge!
After we crossed the bridge, in Mitchell is the Luna Cafe, with its beautifully restored neon sign.
Next, we stopped at Route 66 Ridez in Hamel.
Then on to our friend Rich Henry’s must-stop – Henry’s Ra66it Ranch in Staunton. Do stop by and say hello to Rich and the bunnies! Rich has old neon signs, semis, both “real” rabbits, and the Volkswagen variety too! He also sells a nice variety of Route 66 souvenirs, books, videos, etc. I have more photos from the Ra66it Ranch in the slideshow, below.
We also picked up a bunny named Spot, a few traveling friend for our grandson!
Here’s a video of the flipover truck I took here:
Next stop, Soulsby’s Station in Mt. Olive. Great restoration of the old filling station, and inside is a nice collection of Shell petroliana as well as two very nice old signs for a TV repair business that was also run out of the station, after Route 66 bypassed Mt. Olive.
On to Litchfield, where this old cafe sits empty.
We were able to see the newly restored “Vic” Suhling Gas for Less sign, also in Litchfield. It is now in front of the new Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center, and is an excellent stop! See slideshow below for more photos from the museum.
Next, we spotted a few buffalo roaming! Their timing of dipping their heads down into the grass was perfect to avoid my shutter, but I managed to catch one as he came up for air.
Then onto the town of Carlinville. Great “town square” with lots of great shops here. We got out, stretched a bit and took a walk around the square.
This very cool PT Cruiser was also on the tour, decorated by artist Brian Gregory, who also designed art for the Illinois Route 66 Museum in Pontiac.
We cruised up on the IL 4 alignement of 66, and finally made it to Springfield. Though the tour would continue to Lincoln for the overnight, we were late in joining, so we skipped the banquet and decided it would be easier to get a place to stay in Springfield. Of course, we would dine on Cozy Dogs – but unfortunately, not until after we had a flat tire fixed! As soon as we arrived in Springfield, we felt the car drastically pulling to the right. Suspecting we threw off the alignment along the VERY bumpy old alignment near the turkey tracks, we found a Firestone who could take a look. As soon as we got out of the car, Pat spotted the trouble…a flat tire! A broken valve stem, probably caused by the aforementioned bumpy road. After going back and forth with our limited options, after a couple hours we were on our way and headed to the Cozy Dog! Just in time before they closed, too…
Sunday, June 15, 2014
The next day, after obtaining my necessary coffee fix at Mel-O-Cream Doughnuts, we started north. We stopped for a few photos in Williamsville.
And of course, the fun smiley face water tower in Atlanta:
And of course some maple sirup and maple candy at Funks Grove!
Our stops in Towanda were interesting. The first was the garage (yes, at her house), of Dawn Patterson. Check this out…it’s pristine. She says she uses it as a garage, but it was decked out in Route 66 memorabilia, and I sure didn’t see any tools or cans of oil! We just built a garage and it has unfinished walls and no electricity. Pat was suffering from severe garage envy!
Our next stop was Joe’s Garage, which was in a more commercial building, and houses a very nice collection of motor sports and racing memorabilia. They also have a “diner” recreation built in the building next door.
After cruising the old alignment in Lexington now coined “Memory Lane”, were were on to the next stop in Pontiac. We visited the Route 66 Museum, always a great stop. They have lots of Route 66 memorabilia, especially for Illinois – and displays on all of the Hall of Fame inductees. Two newer additions to the museum are a treat – two vehicles owned by Bob Waldmire, legendary Route 66 artist and son of Cozy Dog creator Ed Waldmire. Bob also was the inspiration for the character “Fillmore” in Pixar’s Cars.
Pontiac also had an art display of fiberglass cars. There’s a very cool Route 66 one outside of the museum:
Across from the museum is also a very nice mural, which is a tribute to Bob Waldmire. In recent years, Pontiac has commissioned many wall murals around town. Bob Waldmire was asked to design and paint a mural for Pontiac, but unfortunately, Bob was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to do so. But prior to his death, he did design a mural, which would be painted in Pontiac for his friends and family. The very cleverly designed mural features Bob painting the mural. Bob was a very neat individual, and though we could not have been any different from each other, his words of wisdom told to me during the 2006 Illinois Motor Tour have stuck with me – “live simply, and you won’t need a lot of money.” While I will most assuredly not live in an old school bus or VW bus, I can see living in a smaller travel trailer with minimal “stuff.” It’s our dream to travel extensively some day, and I want to live simply so as to be able to realize that goal, and will happily sacrifice a house and material possessions for more Road Trip Memories!
We stopped at the Ambler-Becker Texaco Station, which had a volunteer dressed a Texaco Filling Station attendant, offering neat photo ops.
The tour ended in Wilmongton, but we proceeded north through Joliet, Romeoville, and into Bolingbrook where we visited our good friend & fellow Route 66 roadie, Lulu. After dinner, we headed back for home.
Until next time!
Pat & Jennifer
Photographs
Below is a slideshow of all of the photos from this trip. Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on our Flickr site. If you are on an iOS device and do not see the slideshow, please click here to view our photos on Flickr.
[flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157644764388300″ width=”600″]
Plans change; relax and go with the flow…
0May 30, 2014
by Jennifer
in Road Trips
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…OK, we didn’t really have an actual trip plan yet; just a general declaration that we were going to go west instead of east this year, and our destination would be South Dakota, and we’d travel in September.
We’re still heading west, only now we’ve bumped up the trip to July! After talking it over, Pat and I decided that since I was planning on taking two weeks off work to watch our grandson, we might as well just take him on a road trip, rather than me just using two weeks off to stay home. Pat only has a week available, so I’ll spend my first 4 days locally with my grandson, then we’ll hit the road for the rest of the time.
So then, the next question came up…where should we go? Take him to South Dakota? I immediately thought “no” on that…he’s only 3, so we need to go somewhere he can connect to and get excited (which I am sure we could do if we went to South Dakota). But now with the date bumped up, I’m not sure how intensely I want to plan on a new unknown destination with him. I’m feeling called VERY strongly back to the familiar and comfortable – the Mother Road. We can travel Route 66 without detailed plans or schedules (though I do want to make a few plans to visit kid-oriented attractions that Pat and I would not typically visit on our own). I already had a copy of our Route 66 friend Emily Priddy’s book, “Route 66 for Kids,” a first edition copy we bought when she first published it in 2003. I found that she has since created a Kindle version, so I bought it (see previous link). She also has a companion website, Kidson66.com, with additional information and even some fun coloring pages that can be printed out and brought along. Getting some great ideas!
Another bonus to taking Route 66, is that our grandson is familiar with Route 66 – not only due to our direct influence indoctrinating him into the Route 66 fold, but the Disney/Pixar film Cars is largely set on Route 66, in the fictional town of Radiator Springs, which is a composite of many places along the Mother Road. Route 66 lends itself heavily to the film, and is a driving theme of slowing down, taking the scenic route, enjoying life and the scenery along the way. That theme is the essence of Route 66 and the towns along the route, and there’s history about the rise and fall of the two-lane, with the coming of the interstate, and its effect on the towns that were bypassed.
Pat and I (along with other Route 66 roadie friends) learned about Cars many years before its release (5 long years!!!), from Route 66 author and historian Michael Wallis and his wife, photographer Suzanne Wallis. Michael served as the Route 66 consultant for Pixar, leading them along several Route 66 journeys, fully absorbing them into the road. If you own or rent the DVD of Cars, there is a good “making of” bonus feature, with footage of the Pixar team traveling Route 66 with Michael Wallis. Not only did Michael Wallis serve as the Route 66 consultant, but he also was given a role in the movie – the Sheriff – and Pixar did a great job animating the Sheriff to resemble Michael, with the car’s front grille resembling Michael’s mustache.
Pixar did an excellent job of incorporating the people and places of Route 66 into the movie – whether they outright animated a building (Ramone’s is dead on to the Conoco-Phillips station in Shamrock, Texas – or paid homage to them, like the mountain range that resembles Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo – or somewhere in between, like the Cozy Cone, which is based upon the Wigwam Village motels (route 66 has two – one in Holbrook, Arizona and the other in Rialto, California). For an in-depth comparison of Route 66 locations to Cars, check out our friend Ron Warnick’s page on his Route 66 News site: A Route 66 Guide to the “Cars” Movie
We know we’ll have fun showing our grandson the Route 66 sights he’s already familiar with, but can be excited to see and experience for himself. While we were looking forward to a new destination, I’m actually feeling really good about visiting an old familiar friend. We may just veer off on our way back and take a different route…we’re not sure yet, but we’ll have fun and enjoy no matter where the two lane roads take us.
Stay tuned!
Tri-State Route 66 Festival — Day 2
0June 20, 2010
by Pat
in Road Trips
Sorry for the lack of posts! Unfortunately my internet connection at the Joplin Holiday Inn was AWOL until yesterday morning before we left, so I’m just now able to get a new post up.
Oklahoma is HOT this time of year! It was in the low-mid 90’s and it felt it. We stopped off in the morning at the World’s Largest Rocking Chair where we met a couple from Minneapolis who were cruising Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. We found a neat little diner in St. Robert where we had a late breakfast.
After a visit with Ramona Lehman at the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, we jumped back on 66 and made our way into Joplin. We then made our way to Miami, Oklahoma for dinner after picking up Denny Gibson from his motel in Baxter Springs, KS. We had dinner at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burger…one of our must-stops on 66…and had some good grub and road chat.
After a brief stay at a welcome party for the festival, we made our way to the Downstream Casino in Quapaw, Oklahoma and spent some time with Jim Ross, Shellee Graham, Jerry McClanahan, and Joe Sonderman and swapped trip stories to end the night.
Tri-State Route 66 Festival — Day 1
2June 16, 2010
by Pat
in Road Trips
After getting a somewhat late start out of Indy this morning, we made it to Springfield, IL in a record 3 hours for lunch at the Cozy Drive In.
Afterward, we picked up Route 66 and headed south through Farmersville, Litchfield, and Mount Olive before arriving in Collinsville. I was on a mission. It’s been more than 6 weeks since we ordered our Serro Scotty trailer, and I needed a fix…bad. The first time I saw one in person was at an RV dealer there back in November. We arrived at Randy’s Trailer Town to a scorching 92 degrees, but that didn’t stop me. I was pleased to find not one, but TWO HiLanders there to gush over. One was unlocked, so we went in just so I could open every cabinet again, check my head clearance in the wet bath, and just sit at the dinette for a minute and imagine what it’ll be like in a couple of weeks sitting in our own HiLander at a campground somewhere in Indiana.
After getting the satisfaction I needed, we jumped on I-70 and made our way through rush hour traffic in St. Louis. We then picked up 66 again in Eureka and continued on it the rest of the evening. We pulled in to the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri for our overnight stop. The Wagon Wheel is in the process of a total refurbishing, thanks to new owner Connie Echols. The Wagon Wheel is a classic Route 66 motel, dating back to 1936. Highly worth the stop!
After checking in, we walked next door to a place I’ve been wanting to try for a long time: Missouri Hick BBQ. It’s been here only 8 years, but after one bite, I found their ribs to be legendary! 
After devouring our tasty BBQ, we walked back over to the Wagon Wheel and admired their classic neon sign. 
At that point, our day was done. Then it was back in to use their free wi-fi and post the day’s activities. For a complete view of today’s fun, click here. Stay tuned for Day 2 on Thursday!
