An Auto Enthusiasts Life: Road Trip to Arizona - Day 3

Friday, May 11, 2012

Road Trip to Arizona - Day 3 - Route 66 part 1

As the title says, this days writing has been broken up into two parts. I have so much to talk about, that I didn't want to have such a long reading. And, I didn't want to cut some things out of it either. So please read on, then check out part 2.

After having a good nights rest, we got up and headed downstairs for breakfast. Then we were off to check out Kingman. We left the hotel, hit the highway, and today was a little like the previous day. Only with more rain. But hit 68 and we headed East anyways to make the best of it. As we were on our way, we drove through Golden Valley. This place is pretty wide spread, but the only thing that caught my eyes was a place on the North side of the highway that was full of classic Ford trucks. I wanted to stop and get a shot, but I wasn't able to. Oh Well! Then we came up and over the crest on the East end of the valley and hit Highway 93 and dropped in to Kingman. Once off the highway, I decided that I wanted to just drive down through to see what I would want to stop in and check out. So we headed down Beale Street, made a quick right, then a quick left and we were on Old Route 66.

As I drove and looked around, I was pretty much amazed at how many old buildings were still there. After the first turn off of Beale Street, there was the Old Power House, and Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner. Then we turned left and headed up 66. While driving, I was looking around, and while seeing the old Hotel Beale, the Arcadia Lounge & Lodge, as well as many other buildings, my mind got to wondering about how it must have been when the Mother Road was "The" road to be traveling. It was pretty cool to see these old places, but I was amazed actually by how they weren't being kept up. Yeah the Arcadia was still being used, but it would be nice to see it in better condition. The Hotel Beale had obviously seen much much better days. For a town that is part of the history of Old Route 66, I think it would be nice if they would find some way to preserve these buildings. The one that was very nicely restored though, was the Old Power House. More about that further down in the read.

So I kept driving and was getting a little far out of town, or so it seemed we were far out of town. So I turned around and headed back into town. But, as usual, I had seen somewhere that I just needed to stop. First was a yard that had a few cool old items that caught my eye. So I pulled off the road and had my wife take a few shots with my iPhone. There was an old dirt bike with a side car that looked like it had been raced hard at some point. The motor wasn't even with the bike anymore. Then there was a cool old small tractor that also looked to have seen better days. But the one thing that really stood out, an old Quarter Midget Race Car. Now this was something that I would have loved to have seen if it was for sale. But not on this trip. Oh Well!

After having a look at the yard full of cool stuff and getting a few shots, I drove off. Then after a short drive I pulled into an antique shop. Middle Of The Road Antiques. As much as my wife hates it when I like to go walk through antique shops, I still stopped. Besides, my father like to hit them too, and I felt it was time to get us all out of the car for a few minutes. So we got out of the the car, in the rain, and walked in. As we walked in the door, sitting just a few feet away was a beautiful Ford Pickup. Yeah! That's what I said. It was inside the store. Then I started hitting the booths to see what I could find that wouldn't break the bank. So I kept it to a few small items. First I had seen a few items in a counter case, but decided not to get them. Then I found some records. I started going through them and found one I just had to have. Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, "Me and Jerry". It has an old Ford Convertible on the cover. This is now in my collection of records that I have with cars on the covers. They get framed and then hung on my office wall. Then I found a couple of old 45 RPM records. So I kept looking and then I came to find a Ferrari Pin in a case. So I had to have that. Then I kept looking, found a few maybe items, but then found an old post card of the old novel "Go, Mam, Go!" with some cool Hot Rod art. Then I kept looking, found a few more maybe items, but I decided to just get the few items I had. I paid for them and talked with the lady at the register about some Moon Disc wheel covers that I was curious about. And of course, Not For Sale. Dang It! So we left and headed back down 66 to the Old Power House Museum. The adventure continues!