Day 20: We Got Us a Cowboy!

Oh my, oh my, oh my! Today was a great day for the Women Road Warriors! We have been up, down, up a whole lot more, and down, down, down twisty, curvy, narrow mountain roads. I mean, for someone who hates heights, today's trip through the mountains was a true test of fortitude! Baby loves the road, and sticks to the road like glue. Thank you God. In addition to road signs warning of hairpin curves, wiggly roads, and flash floods, we started seeing signs warning of burro crossings!

Our EZ66 Guide mentioned Oatman, AZ as an old gold mining town "but now digs for tourist dollars with shops an cafes, staged gunfights and live music all crammed into its one burro-lined street." Gunfights generally mean cowboys, and since this was our current goal, we decided to make the stop. Oatman is about halfway down the current mountain, and at first peak, you just might want to keep on goin'.

The buildings are probably original from the gold rush days, the street (Yes, just one) is dirt, and the "sidewalks" are wooden walks raised up from the road. There's places to eat and buy the normal tourist things like T-shirts, rocks, etc. But, most of the shops also sell bags of carrots so you can feed the wild burros! Well, of course I had to buy a bag at the very first store we came to. I then carried the bag into every store to the end of the street. I was beginning to think the burros were just a come on, but soon enough, word got out on the street that the burros were in town. They just come wandering in off the road to get handouts from the sight seers. Poor Hazel, she humors me (it's her penance for scaring the pants off me on those mountain roads). I was like a kid in a petting zoo, and simply loved communing with the fuzzy beasts. Mamas and babies walk through town and sometimes right into the stores looking for gullible guests like myself. I loved it!

I donated money to the Burro Food Fund, Burro Vet Fund (they sometimes get hit by cars flying around the curves), bought carrots, and donated to the Public Restroom Fund. All worthy causes!

As you know by now, one of our goals was to find Hazel a cowboy! Well, I did it! After feeding the burros, we made our way up the other side of the street, and what should cross our path but a big ol' cowboy! Good looking, and serious. Being the extraordinary assistant that I am, I approached tall dark and handsome, and explained that the redhead over there (she wasn't paying any attention) needed a cowboy, and would he please give her a hug for a picture....And he did!

We were actually on our way back to the car and out of town when we noticed that our cowboy had gone into the saloon. We were instantly hungry and needed to stop for a bite to eat. It was time for a cigarette break as well, so I went outside to feed my monster while Hazel placed our order and admired our cowboy from afar. Just as I stepped out the door, a shot was fired and I about died right on the wooden planks! The gunfight was about to start!

The sheriff asked for volunteers to help block the street, so of course, I stepped right up to the challenge. Then the boys got to talkin' about robbin' the bank and shootin' up the town, and one by one, down they went. It was so hot out that one bad guy moved to die in the shade of a van, and another jumped right up as soon as he hit the dirt! What fun! Then they passed the hat for donations to the public restroom fund, and I got this nifty kerchief!

When I got back in for lunch, Mr. Good Lookin' cowboy came by the table to say whatever good lookin' cowboys have to say. Much, much later, we really did get back to the car and resumed our trip. Mike Fox is a great ambassador for Oatman, AZ. His calling card states that he is a photographer (some really first class photos of the area), gunfighter (one of the original Ghostrider Gunfighters), Stagecoach Driver, Roustabout, Electrician. We got quite the history lesson around Oatman, the Indians, Mormons, and mountain men. Thanks Mike! You truly made my day! [sigh]

We crossed the Colorado River and are staying in Needles, California this evening. It's hotter than...most hot things...and I've just about lost my sense of humor with this heat. However, Mike reassured us that this is a pretty mild summer for this area, and a little more humid than normal. Hmmmm, maybe we can get him to come to Indiana some summer day and show him what humidity really is!

It would be more fun

To go by air

If we could put

These signs up there.

~Burma-Shave

Penny S. Head

Day 11: Texas is very flat!

It's a good thing the Texas Panhandle is one of the shortest stretches of Route 66 because it is really pretty boring. We left Shamrock this morning (couldn't get out of there fast enough), and hit the road towards Amarillo. We stopped in this really cute filling station/gift shop/convenience store/post office. It's a tiny place, but chock full of fun stuff...and local wines! Who knew! Just as we walked out of the post office/etc./etc. we saw our genuine COWBOY! Goal complete...Boots, hat, pickup, etc. Good looking guy, with silver hair and moustache! Hoping to spend a minute of two in conversation so she could drool, Hazel asked if his dog always got to drive the pickup (herding dog was behind the wheel). Cowboy just looked at her and said "yup." He then got in the truck and drove away into the sunrise. She was so disappointed.


We are really getting good at the Frontage Road thing, and can pretty much recognize Route 66 by sight now. Our travel book (EZ66) warned us that a lot of Route 66 is gone or just dirt in Texas, so we stayed mostly on BL (this stands for Business Loop) 40 or the frontage road associated with it.


We got to McLean and read that there was another Route 66 museum and decided to pass it up. They are all starting to look the same at this point, so we were just going to let it go. Besides, McLean is really old, tiny, and mostly abandoned along the Mother Road. Then we saw these two really big spheres on pedestals that caused us to drive around the block to get the picture! The building housing the Devil's Rope/Old Route 66 Museum is not an impressive building, but these pillars that stand at the entrance were intriguing. The spheres are made out of Barbed Wire! Devil's Rope is the Indian name for Barbed Wire.




OK, our curiosity was aroused and we decided to go see a museum devoted to barbed wire. We were amazed. The building is really pretty big, and although a small portion is dedicated to Route 66, 90% is actually all about barbed wire. There is a Barbed Wire Association that began back in the 1800's and is still very active today. There is a pictorial history of barbed wire used for ranching, planting, during several wars....how it's made, how many kinds there are and why/how they were invented...it's truly amazing! We were awe struck!




We made a brief stop at the Donley county Texas Route 66 Safety Rest Area to take a picture of Flat Mikey in front of the Texas Star. The pic in front of the large star isn't the best, but I know he'll appreciate the fact that I drug his flat but up a very steep hill to get it!


The last leg of the trip today was into Amarillo. We decided to stop really early so we could check e-mail, do some shopping for personal items, eat, and catch up on some rest. So much for good intentions. Knowing that Route 66 is a defunct highway, and that it generally takes you into depressed, or "challenged" areas of most towns, we drove all over the place (or so we thought) looking for a mall and a nice place to rest our weary bones. HA! The more we drove around, the more we began to think Amarillo was just not the great place we had imagined. Sorry Amarillo. It wasn't until after we had registered and unpacked in an older Comfort Inn, and gone to dinner that we discovered that we just needed to go a little further west. We did indeed find a the Westfield Mall, Starbucks, and all the comforts that we have become accustomed to. OK, I'm a snob, but ... well, no buts, I'm just a snob.

Dinner was at the Big Texan! What a party! We played slot machines. There's a great shooting gallery in the place, a gift shop, and some wild pictures that we really want. However, we didn't remember to take the camera so you don't get to see.

I would like to pay tribute to Lady Bird Johnson. It was her desire to get rid of billboards on the highways. I can honestly say, there just aren't any. The highway is free of advertisements, which, on the one hand makes the landscape a lot easier to appreciate. However, this is the flattest stretch of road with absolutely nothing to see but cows, horses, grass, grass, dirt, and grass. It's really pretty, but sparse. Not a lot of buildings, signs, homes...just a lot of Texas.


Tomorrow we will get into Albuquerque and spend some time with a good friend of Hazel's. We'll relax and recoup and probably get on the road again on Tuesday. If I don't post, don't worry. We're still doing the road warrior thing, just taking a break.

~Penny

Day 5: Springfield, IL to Fenton, MO...At Last!

Da goils of da Granny Panty Social Club are waitin' for me and da hootch! Gotta make da run, take their money, and report to da boss.

The Route 66 Motel in Springfield, Illinois is a must see and both Marilyn and Elaine have highly recommended it. As Hazel mentioned, we really just stumbled on it, but I'm glad we did.

Lessons Learned:

1. "EZ66 Guide for Travelers" has a few errors that have left us going "huh?" For instance, I-70 does not go south!

2. Every town, large or small, has its own section of streets named after Presidents and Trees.

3. There are a lot more than 3 Giants on this route as we had been led to believe. Fortunately, our EZ Guide does give us Giant Alerts.

Our EZ Guide told us that the Giant Surfer Dude (a prop from the movie "Flatliners") lived at the Coliseum in Benld, IL. Now, Benld is a little burg, about 5 blocks wide, and you would think after traversing the town 3 times, we would have found it. Not so. Once the Coliseum was located, it was obvious that it had been abandoned a long time ago. So, armed with a charming smile, and our EZ 66 Guide, we stopped at a convenience store and asked directions. Matt didn't know what the heck we were talking about for awhile, but once we explained that we needed to see Surfer Dude to complete our scavenger hunt, he was pretty sure we wanted to visit the new home of the Coliseum. Directions were given, and a great antique mall side trip was in order. Surfer Dude was there (minus his surfboard), along with a giant pink elephant, and another Giant named Hank inside the mall (an old, converted high school). The flat boys agreed to get out in the heat for a quick photo opp, but didn't have any desire to shop the antiques.

After that things got interesting. We were headed into St. Louis and made the decision that since we had just made a trip there last fall, we would skip that part and avoid the city. Well, Dad, you would be proud of me! We got really, really lost! In an effort to get back on track, we ended up in Fenton. Dinner and maps were in order, and after a lovely meal in Fenton, we got REALLY lost and couldn't find our way back to the Motel! Just keeping up an honored Zander family tradition.

It is now Monday morning, and after a couple of hours with maps last night, I feel confident we will get out of Fenton, make a brief stop at the Route 66 State Park, and make our way through Missouri.

Oh, by the way, we just learned from the weather channel, that this area is experiencing a phenomena called Ring of Fire. That means rain is falling all around Missouri, and the area inside that circle of rain (that would be exactly where we are and need to be) is hot....not just hot, but HOT!

~ Penny