Previous: Day 2 Mojave, CA - Kingman, AZ
Kingman, AZ to Holbrook, AZ
The El Travatore motel was simple, clean, and small. There were a bunch of Europeans who were staying at that motel. I guess, like myself everybody wanted to find that historic motel to make it part of the travel experience.
The place was quite colorful with the murals. Looks like they may have done the paint work quite recently. Some sights around the motel.
Then the previous day, because I was late, I skipped an interesting bit of Route 66. So, I have to make up for it today.
Oatman, AZ is an interesting town that evolved based out of mining. There are interesting tales about how Route 66 passes through the town. When the mining was going good, the miners brought a lot of donkeys. But when later the mining was not so good, they left the donkeys to be on their own, and left town. Today the town is practically a ghost town other than for some gift shops. The whole town is, may be like two-three blocks long.
The first thing that I noticed was donkeys on the road near the town. I had to come to a halt in a hurry on a gravelly road. It was quite a sight - nothing new for me here, certainly something different in America. We, in India, are used to having cows, donkeys, camels, elephants around the street near the temple towns. So, kind of used to the concept.
Still it was nice to see these donkeys thriving on the alfalfa bought by the tourists.
I walked into one of the many gift shops. Nice thing about this shop is that they print what you want on a size of T-Shirt that you need. I decide to get a couple of them for my kids.
Some more sights in the shop.
The sight of the lady imprinting what I wanted on the T-Shirts.
Right outside the shop, a lazy local hanging around :)
Yet another gift shop having some old-old-old stuff for sale. I wonder if anyone would buy these. Me, I cannot buy even if I wanted to :) I was on my bike, where space is extremely limited, and I have to watch what I can buy and not! The place looked like a museum.
Any gun slingers out there??!!
I was worried about leaving my bike on the street. But some one seems to be keeping an eye :) Now, I feel safe :)
And every one gets a special guard :)
Coca-Cola was the drink of the those days I guess! Everywhere old advertisements of Coke...
How true, the following :) Wise old folks :)
What the hell is going on there ? Like, I care :)
My breakfast place - a typical omlette and a cup of coffee for the morning should do ...
A little serenading with old cowboy songs on the street.
I asked the local guys around about the condition of the road leading to Topeca. No one knows. Then I wait at the end of the town and look for folks who are reaching the town from the south. One German family does confirm the existence of a paved road.
And then I left Oatman, taking a southerly route. my pace very slow as the road is twisty but not in a great condition. I can feel the temperature climbing up, but I cannot do anything about it, can not even hurry. The road feels very lonely, and not too many passers-by. I ride careful through the gravel infested roads. Cannot complain! I take an hour to travel 20 miles and reach Topeca, which is nothing but an exit on the freeway, with a gas station or two to boast about :)
From Topeca, I come back to the freeway and get to Kingman again, where I cross over to the northerly side of the freeway on R66. As I travel north, and gain elevation, the temperature seems to drop to more comfortable levels. My first stop at Hackberry General store, where I grab a ice tea, and mingle with the visitors. Almost all of them on that day seem to be somewhere from Europe. During my brief conversations, I figure they are from countries such as Germany, Hungary, France, and Australia. They come here, rent cars or bikes and go around the country tasting R66. One guy tells me that R66 is very popular.
As the bikers leave, one guy stops by my side and tells me "You are riding one of the best bikes. Back home in UK, I own two of them, one ST1100 and the other ST1300.". That makes me happy, someone atleast recognized my bike :)
I do solicit someone to take my picture.
There are some show pieces in and around that store.
Then I meet a family from Hungary. Two beautiful daughters, and an equally good looking mother. The mother is a photographer, and is busy making her daughters pose and taking pictures, with not a concern for the people around them. Initially I sneak a picture from far. Later, more amused with the action, I ask the father if I could take some pictures of the daughters as they are posing for their mom. He says, "Go on ahead! No problem! This happens everywhere we stop. ". I say to myself, "When the subjects are beautiful and willing, you can take a lot of pictures. It even enhances the photographing experience." After a couple of shots, I respectfully stop.
I asked the mom if she could take a picture of me :), and she obliges.
There are gas pumps from the good old days. Seeing that the place is left empty, I quickly move my bike closer and take a few pics. There is some beauty and simplicity about the things from the past.
Then I stroll into the shop to take a gander. Place is filled with memorabilia from the past, and spend a few minutes inside the air-conditioned shop :)
In spite of me travelling on the bike, I fancy the following aluminum plaque, which I buy eventually.
I ask the store keeper if I could buy and then they ship it to my home. He says, "No, cannot do that. The nearest post office is 50+ miles away in Seligman, AZ. I you hurry, may be you can mail it to yourself.". Hmm... I think, this I have to do somehow. I borrow it from him take it to my bike, and I figured it would not fit in any of my bags. I buy it anyway, and then I end up putting it under my tank bag, thinking its only 50 miles to the post shop where I can mail it to myself.
Then I scoot on the good old R66 racing towards Seligman. In a hurry, I ride past the Grand Canyon Caverns, where I learnt later is a display of cars from the good old days, and those who were personified in the cars movie... Damn it, I have to go back there again :)
Somewhere on the way I do stop for a couple of quick pictures of the road, as one side of the road was recently paved and the other older.
I reached Seligman Post Office just in time to mail it to myself. Unfortunately the plaque would not fit in any box they have either. Then I stick it into something where a part of the plaque is still outside the box, and I plead the post master to take it. Initially she says "No. I cannot do that. It needs to fit it to the box, or you take it back.".. Some guy standing next to me, the only other guy, tells her, "He said please... You should help him.". That did the trick :) She thought about it and said, "I cannot guarantee it not getting damaged.", to which I responded saying, "I do not mind. Even if it gets bent, I can fix it later.". Finally she takes it.
Victoriously I walk out of the Post Office, fillup gas, and look around the town. This road brings back memories - about 12 years ago, me and Mo rode to Grand Canyon on the bike, and had stopped here. About a few years ago, I came with Biswajit (Mo's brother) when we visited Grand Canyon.
After a quick sip of the ice tea, and a smoke, I hit the road again to get to Holbrook, AZ. I try my best to stay on R66, but near the Meteor Crater, the road gets really bumpy, and I had to slow down. The sun is setting fast and the way long. Luckily for me the R66 merges with I-40 freeway a little down the road. I make good time, but reach Holbrook late in the evening. Because its summer, there is still some light. I quickly take a shower and head to the Denny's next door for dinner. On the way, I make a quick call to Mo to let her know all is well.
There I meet an old man, proly in his sixties, having dinner alone. I ask him if I could join him, he agrees. During the conversation, I learnt that he is from Canada, and has been riding most of his life. This trip for him is special because he is taking his nephew on his first long trip on the bike. Very interesting fellow. I tell him, "I leave my belongings on the bike, even my coat and helmet and the gadgets. So far so good. No one has even bothered to look at them.". To which he quips saying, "You should be careful, particularly when you are on long trips alone. Its like a guy falling from a hundred floor building, when he reached the third floor he told himself, 'So far, so good.'. And you know what happened soon after?". To this I heartily laugh, and tell him, I got the point.
Day 4 - Holbrook AZ - Acoma, NM
Kingman, AZ to Holbrook, AZ
The El Travatore motel was simple, clean, and small. There were a bunch of Europeans who were staying at that motel. I guess, like myself everybody wanted to find that historic motel to make it part of the travel experience.
The place was quite colorful with the murals. Looks like they may have done the paint work quite recently. Some sights around the motel.
Then the previous day, because I was late, I skipped an interesting bit of Route 66. So, I have to make up for it today.
Oatman, AZ is an interesting town that evolved based out of mining. There are interesting tales about how Route 66 passes through the town. When the mining was going good, the miners brought a lot of donkeys. But when later the mining was not so good, they left the donkeys to be on their own, and left town. Today the town is practically a ghost town other than for some gift shops. The whole town is, may be like two-three blocks long.
The first thing that I noticed was donkeys on the road near the town. I had to come to a halt in a hurry on a gravelly road. It was quite a sight - nothing new for me here, certainly something different in America. We, in India, are used to having cows, donkeys, camels, elephants around the street near the temple towns. So, kind of used to the concept.
Still it was nice to see these donkeys thriving on the alfalfa bought by the tourists.
I walked into one of the many gift shops. Nice thing about this shop is that they print what you want on a size of T-Shirt that you need. I decide to get a couple of them for my kids.
Some more sights in the shop.
The sight of the lady imprinting what I wanted on the T-Shirts.
Right outside the shop, a lazy local hanging around :)
Yet another gift shop having some old-old-old stuff for sale. I wonder if anyone would buy these. Me, I cannot buy even if I wanted to :) I was on my bike, where space is extremely limited, and I have to watch what I can buy and not! The place looked like a museum.
Any gun slingers out there??!!
I was worried about leaving my bike on the street. But some one seems to be keeping an eye :) Now, I feel safe :)
And every one gets a special guard :)
I can hear'em say, when I am hungry, I need my milk :) Let others wait :)
This scene smack in the middle of the road :)
Coca-Cola was the drink of the those days I guess! Everywhere old advertisements of Coke...
How true, the following :) Wise old folks :)
What the hell is going on there ? Like, I care :)
My breakfast place - a typical omlette and a cup of coffee for the morning should do ...
A little serenading with old cowboy songs on the street.
I asked the local guys around about the condition of the road leading to Topeca. No one knows. Then I wait at the end of the town and look for folks who are reaching the town from the south. One German family does confirm the existence of a paved road.
And then I left Oatman, taking a southerly route. my pace very slow as the road is twisty but not in a great condition. I can feel the temperature climbing up, but I cannot do anything about it, can not even hurry. The road feels very lonely, and not too many passers-by. I ride careful through the gravel infested roads. Cannot complain! I take an hour to travel 20 miles and reach Topeca, which is nothing but an exit on the freeway, with a gas station or two to boast about :)
From Topeca, I come back to the freeway and get to Kingman again, where I cross over to the northerly side of the freeway on R66. As I travel north, and gain elevation, the temperature seems to drop to more comfortable levels. My first stop at Hackberry General store, where I grab a ice tea, and mingle with the visitors. Almost all of them on that day seem to be somewhere from Europe. During my brief conversations, I figure they are from countries such as Germany, Hungary, France, and Australia. They come here, rent cars or bikes and go around the country tasting R66. One guy tells me that R66 is very popular.
As the bikers leave, one guy stops by my side and tells me "You are riding one of the best bikes. Back home in UK, I own two of them, one ST1100 and the other ST1300.". That makes me happy, someone atleast recognized my bike :)
I do solicit someone to take my picture.
There are some show pieces in and around that store.
Then I meet a family from Hungary. Two beautiful daughters, and an equally good looking mother. The mother is a photographer, and is busy making her daughters pose and taking pictures, with not a concern for the people around them. Initially I sneak a picture from far. Later, more amused with the action, I ask the father if I could take some pictures of the daughters as they are posing for their mom. He says, "Go on ahead! No problem! This happens everywhere we stop. ". I say to myself, "When the subjects are beautiful and willing, you can take a lot of pictures. It even enhances the photographing experience." After a couple of shots, I respectfully stop.
I asked the mom if she could take a picture of me :), and she obliges.
There are gas pumps from the good old days. Seeing that the place is left empty, I quickly move my bike closer and take a few pics. There is some beauty and simplicity about the things from the past.
Then I stroll into the shop to take a gander. Place is filled with memorabilia from the past, and spend a few minutes inside the air-conditioned shop :)
In spite of me travelling on the bike, I fancy the following aluminum plaque, which I buy eventually.
I ask the store keeper if I could buy and then they ship it to my home. He says, "No, cannot do that. The nearest post office is 50+ miles away in Seligman, AZ. I you hurry, may be you can mail it to yourself.". Hmm... I think, this I have to do somehow. I borrow it from him take it to my bike, and I figured it would not fit in any of my bags. I buy it anyway, and then I end up putting it under my tank bag, thinking its only 50 miles to the post shop where I can mail it to myself.
Then I scoot on the good old R66 racing towards Seligman. In a hurry, I ride past the Grand Canyon Caverns, where I learnt later is a display of cars from the good old days, and those who were personified in the cars movie... Damn it, I have to go back there again :)
Somewhere on the way I do stop for a couple of quick pictures of the road, as one side of the road was recently paved and the other older.
I reached Seligman Post Office just in time to mail it to myself. Unfortunately the plaque would not fit in any box they have either. Then I stick it into something where a part of the plaque is still outside the box, and I plead the post master to take it. Initially she says "No. I cannot do that. It needs to fit it to the box, or you take it back.".. Some guy standing next to me, the only other guy, tells her, "He said please... You should help him.". That did the trick :) She thought about it and said, "I cannot guarantee it not getting damaged.", to which I responded saying, "I do not mind. Even if it gets bent, I can fix it later.". Finally she takes it.
Victoriously I walk out of the Post Office, fillup gas, and look around the town. This road brings back memories - about 12 years ago, me and Mo rode to Grand Canyon on the bike, and had stopped here. About a few years ago, I came with Biswajit (Mo's brother) when we visited Grand Canyon.
After a quick sip of the ice tea, and a smoke, I hit the road again to get to Holbrook, AZ. I try my best to stay on R66, but near the Meteor Crater, the road gets really bumpy, and I had to slow down. The sun is setting fast and the way long. Luckily for me the R66 merges with I-40 freeway a little down the road. I make good time, but reach Holbrook late in the evening. Because its summer, there is still some light. I quickly take a shower and head to the Denny's next door for dinner. On the way, I make a quick call to Mo to let her know all is well.
There I meet an old man, proly in his sixties, having dinner alone. I ask him if I could join him, he agrees. During the conversation, I learnt that he is from Canada, and has been riding most of his life. This trip for him is special because he is taking his nephew on his first long trip on the bike. Very interesting fellow. I tell him, "I leave my belongings on the bike, even my coat and helmet and the gadgets. So far so good. No one has even bothered to look at them.". To which he quips saying, "You should be careful, particularly when you are on long trips alone. Its like a guy falling from a hundred floor building, when he reached the third floor he told himself, 'So far, so good.'. And you know what happened soon after?". To this I heartily laugh, and tell him, I got the point.
Day 4 - Holbrook AZ - Acoma, NM
