Too old for Tik-Tok. Too lazy for YouTube.
06/28/24 - "If you ever plan to motor west. Travel my way, take the highway that's the best. Get your kicks on Route 66." And it's those lyrics by Bobby Troup that are the inspiration for this trip. Sadly, a lot of the Mother Road no longer exists, but there is a 158 mile stretch of continuous road in Arizona and this trip was about. The stretch runs from Crookton Rd on the eastbound end to Topock/Golden Shores at the western terminus. Back in the day, this was THE route west. A mostly two lane route that does not take a straight line west, but instead links small towns, with a general east west direction. Since the road was built in 1926 and then had its hayday in the 50's and 60's, it made sense to link together existing towns as travel back then required more stopping and the potential need for more resoruces along the way. And the towns greatly benefited from the traffic. I took the trip on a Sunday morning and captured these observations.
The start from Crookton Rd is a great example of what this road really is. It's a series of connections between small towns, and that means between the towns, there is a whole lot of nothing. I found myself trying to imagine what it was like if I was traveling in say 1950's Arizona. Remember, there were no cell phones, so if you break down, you either have to hope to do it in town, be lucky enough to have someone drive by so you could flag them down, or get out the tools and fix whatever broke. But there is an upside to this barrenness. There is an incredible peace to crusing on a road with no distractions, no billboards, (except for some well placed Burma Shave signs) and little to no traffic. Having driven about 80 miles east on RT 40 to get there I was able to appreciate the differences.
When the interstates came into being, the effect on the linked towns was undeniable. A whole lot of mom and pop shops felt the blow and some towns were more or less abandoned. However, some folks refused to give up and they embrace their new status as keepers of the story. Along the way, towns are dotted with cafes, bars, souvenir shops and the like that celebrate Route 66. When I stopped in Seligman, I had about three different places where I could by stuff, there were two motels that looked operational and a pretty hopping bar/restaurant. And none of these were chains. This is not in every town, so if you see something that looks interesting, stop and check it out. You may not have another chance.
Two other things you will see along the route are abandoned properties and then other cases where folks just lean into the weird to get you to stop. The first is captured by the photo (below) of the Frontier Motel. The closest I ever saw to something like this was growing up at the Jersey Shore and going to Wildwood. These were the new thing in travel. The motel (Motor Hotel) was developed for the driving traveler and featured individual room entrances, a parking lot where you would typically drive up to your room, and provided a clean place to stay, in most cases right on your chosen route. It's interesting to see these abandoned properties as archaeological finds and try to picture what they would have looked like in their prime. As for the weird stuff, if you think about it, you have someone trying to get from point A to point B and unless they need your services, you need to give them a reason to stop. I can't speak for the reader, but when I see a bright green Easter Island head replica (Giganticus Headicus) I have to stop. I was reasonably sure I was not going to see one of them again.
That took me from Crookton Rd. to Kingman (86 miles). I'll be adding a second post next week about the rest of the trip and then one about Kingman itself and how it shows off Route 66 in its own way.
Historic Rt 66 Association of AZ.06/21/24 - I love maps! I'm not anti tech, I use Google Maps, I have a GPS, and I've used Waves with a lot of my travel buddies, but I really dig using old school paper maps. Maps help me visualize the entire trip , allow me to write on them, and will never need a charge. They are, however, becoming harder to find. I get mine from bookstores or from tourist information centers that I encounter while traveling. Parentetically, I also use Mapquest. I think I am their last user, but as long as it is out there, I'll be using it.
One of the things I like about a map is the ability to look at the bigger picture. If I am traveling from Goodyear to Kingman, I get to see the route, but I get to see the entire state. Sometimes the bigger picture leads you to an adventure. Like yea, I could get there this way, but I've never been to Needles, so how much of a detour would that be? Another thing is that when you zoom out on a computer or phone, you lose a lot of detail. If you zoom out with a map, you just change your point of view. All of the detail is still there. Another thing is that it makes me more thoughtful about my travels. I'm not just waiting for my GPS or phone to tell me where to go. I am actively tracking my mileage and waiting for the next directional change. It makes me a more engaged traveler, and I enjoy that.
None of this is meant to discount the GPS or apps that we now have access to. One of the things that I love about the apps is the ability to calculate time. Wether it is driving, biking, or walking, that detail is invaluable as I switch through different travel modes. One of the things about the GPS is that I can go out and get lost and just hit the HOME favorite to get be home in the fastest way possible. I like having all of these tools at my disposal. But, if you are planning a road trip, consider using a map or an atlas as your navigational too. You may be surprise at how it enhances your trip.
06/14/24 - Formula 1 racing comes to North America three times per year and I and some friends go to the Grand Prix in Montreal each year. I've gotten into F1 since going to my first race in 2004. Now we have an annual trip that not only lets me see a race, but takes me to one of my favorite cities in North America. Montreal was founded in 1642 and very much has an old world feel in certain parts of the city. It's bilingual so the Francophile in me enjoys that. (And the people seem to be tolerant of my limited French) It's easy to get to from the US via car. We drive there every year. It's not the most car friendly city, in my opinion, but we park our car and take advantage of their wonderful metro system to get around the city. We have our favorite haunts in Old City but seem to find something new each year too.
But the main reason for going there is the race. The Grand Prix du Canada runs on a purpose built road course, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, on Notre Dame Island in Parc Jean-Drapeau. The metro takes you right to the island so parking is not an issue, but the queues can be large. The track is 2.710 mi (4.361 km) and has 14 turns. My group sits at the hairpin (turn 10) which is one of the better places for overtaking. There are big video monitors to show you the action around other places on the track and full audio commentary in both French and English. In addition to the F1 races there is usually a group of support races to fill up the weekend which runs Friday through Sunday. This year it was the Ferrari Challenge and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America. It can vary from year to year, but these two are some of my favorite support races.
The race this year was a bit of a banger. With questionable weather throughout the weekend, some uncertainty was in the cards and for the race and the weather did not disappoint in that respect. The track was wet to start and that made for some interesting strategies. Several lead changes, safety cars, tire strategies, made for a race where the outcome was not a foregone conclusion. If you just look at the final results, you would have no idea how exciting this year's race was. I have not yet watched the replay to see things that I might have missed at the track. One of the great things about my F1 Pro subscription is that I have access to replays of the races. While I know the outcome, watching the race on replay fills in a lot of gaps that I might have from seeing the race in person. There are 4 North American options to see F1. Miami, Montreal, Austin, and Las Vegas. I've been to Montreal and Austin and will probably go to Vegas soon. Montreal will probably remain my go to race. It sells out each year, but tickets are available on the secondary market and they were reasonable this year. If you are thinking about attending an F1 race, consider Montreal.
06/07/24 - In the 1960's, the Cold War was a big thing and the idea that there could be a nuclear war between the USSR and the US was a real threat to most people. One of the tenants of the Cold War was the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) or that if one side attacked, the other would counter with proportionate force (or more) and since both sides would be obliterate, no one would initiate a nuclear war. Part of the US having the second strike capability was the series of underground missile silos in Arizona, Arkansas, and Kansas. There is conflicting information about why specifically these sites were decommissioned. As told on the tour, it was because of a weapons reduction treaty but other sources, including the museum website indicate that these missiles just outlived their prime. I'm going to go with a combination of both without having a definite source. Either way, as the old facilities were decommissioned and destroyed, this one was spared and preserved as a museum.
The first part of the tour takes place in a briefing room in the main museum building. There is a short video telling you a little bit about the site and what to expect. Then your tour guide takes you outside to the entrance way and reviews the process that a crew would follow to enter the silo. After you go through the 6,000 lb. door that seals the silo from the outside world, you descend the 55 steps to the main floor where you go into the control room. A good portion of the tour takes place here. The guide shows the 1960's technology that ran the site and reviews the staffing and the protocol for day to day operations. It would have been a 24 hour shift for a crew of 4. They were allowed 4 hours per person of off time (in the silo) but at no point was there to only be one person in the control room. The tour guide then selects two volunteers to go through the launch sequence and it ends with them turning the keys and initiating a simulated launch.
After the control room you are taken to the main silo. It is 140' deep and has an (inert) Titan missile on display through three plexiglass windows. The missile itself is 103' high and has a diameter of 10'. You can see most of it from the windows and you can look down from the top when you go outside. The missile on display is not armed and has no propellant. It was used for training at a different location and was given to the museum for this display. The tour guide goes over the actual process that would happen had the launch actually occurred. The time from launch initiation to actual launch is under 60 seconds. The guided part of the tour ends here and you go back up the 55 steps and exit the same way you came in. At this point you can tour topside and see engines, support vehicles, security devices, and through a plexiglass window, look down at the missile from the top. This is a fascinating look at a period of time where these threats were real and part of day to day life as well as a chance to see the real life version of what you may have seen in the movies.