The Great Mikegration

Cover Photo: Grand Canyon South Rim

Adventure Map Days 1-5

Day 1: 5/30/23 (Tuesday)

• A delightful drive to Hobbs, NM today.   Altogether it was 468 miles and about 8 hours.  We didn’t get in until 6:30pm or so because we got a late start from home.  We decided to not rush everywhere and to make it a relaxing day regardless of what happened.
• There were beautiful flowers all along the road on drive until got within 120 miles or so of New Mexico border.  Very stunning as even the color blind me could see them.   If this is what normal people see like everyday I’m jealous!!!!!
• About an hour out of Temple, TX there was a funny farm billboard
  • Highway Thought of The Day: Fight like you’re the 3rd monkey on the ramp into Noah’s Ark
• Arrived with no further adventures except for one Mad Max guy that tried to give us a head on wreck when he was passing when he shouldn’t have been.
• Check-in at the Marriott TownePlace Suites at 3811 N. Central Ave., Hobbs, NM.  Nice hotel overall.  They seemed a bit overwhelmed at check in but it all worked out ok.  Room was great and quiet.
• Decided to reward ourselves and went out to dinner at Maria Bonita Mexican Grill for some  authentic Mexican food.  The food was really good and very authentic.  Loved it!!  We even tried the grilled cactus (looked like it came off a prickly pear).  The cactus tasted mostly bland to us with a slightly tart flavor.  Texture was like biting into a soft pickle.  It was ok but nothing to be excited about.  The rest of the food more than made up for it.  It’s an easy decision to repeat eat here next time we are passing through.

• Back to the hotel for a nights rest.

Day 2: 5/31/23 (Wednesday)

• Drive from Hobbs, NM to Gallup, NM (approximated 470 miles and 7 ½ hours)
• Only a so so nights sleep.  Nothing bad on the hotel just not a very good nights sleep for us.  Quick hotel buffet breakfast and out the door we go.
• We routed our way up to Gallup through Roswell, NM one of my favorite NM towns.  If you haven’t figured out why it is by now not for sure what to tell you!
• We got to Roswell about 10am and then it hit me and I could have cried.   It just wasn’t right to head through Roswell and not be able to eat at the worlds best Thai Food place.  We didn’t have a lot of time in Roswell as we needed to be moving on to get to the Rex Museum in Gallup, NM before they closed as reading about it online it looked like a museum we wanted to see.   That’s not to say we didn’t take time for a quick stop at some of my favorite spots for a picture or two…or three. 

• After the picture shoot we headed on without any issues… Just a few rain sprinkles on the way.  I took a couple pictures on the way to Vaughn to give you an idea of how the countryside looked.  Once you get past Albuquerque headed to Gallup it does change to a much more rocky and in some places volcanic rock type mountains and cliffs.  Very stunning in places.  Since I was driving no pics to be had of that; sorry.  Both hands on the wheel for me!

• As we were almost to Grants we did stop to refill the gas tank.  I think it’s exit 108 at the Sky Travel Center but don’t quote me.  It’s the exit I always stop at when I head out this way as they have a small casino inside that I always have to put a few dollars into.  Today was the day…$20 into the slot machine and 4 spins / 60 seconds later I hit my small jackpot, cashed out with $95 and walked out the door having won $75.  Just a little more than I spent for gas.. lol

• Since I was driving the new vehicle I had to get an updated action shot of Phanta going through the Historic Route 66 in Grants, NM.  As always it’s a great picture with my solar octane colored 4Runner.

• Moving on from Grants its about 45 minutes into Gallup where we were staying the night.  We stopped in first at the Rex Museum however what we didn’t realize was that you had to call ahead to make an appointment and that it no longer had the Route 66 information or the Navajo code talkers info from WWII in it either.  We did call and they were extremely helpful and did volunteer to come down to open it up for us in a little bit however once we learned the old Route 66 stuff and some of the other items we were wanting to look at wasn’t there we decided to give it a pass and go do some other things we needed to before it got to late. 
• We spent a quick minute circling around the block to get a picture of the giant muffler-man cowboy at Coal and 5^th street in Gallup because who doesn’t love a giant muffler-man or a cowboy!

• Quick check in at the hotel and after that over to Wal-Mart to grab a few supplies and back over to the hotel. 
• We stayed at the El Rancho Hotel in the Roy Rogers Suite (room 206) there in Gallup and we were extremely pleased with the accommodations.  Two rooms and a kitchen with a balcony so plenty of room and the rooms were decorated with some very cool old stuff.  The bathroom was a little small so be aware of that but it wasn’t a big deal to us.  The ambiance was so nice we didn’t really care. It’s also fun in that there are two doors that lead into the room. One is marked as the Gene Autry door and the other is marked as the Bridal Suite. Why it’s marked Gene Autry and not Roy Rogers since it’s the Roy Roger’s Suite I don’t know as I asked and they assured me they had given us the correct room.

• One thing to be aware of is the doors lock automatically when you leave the room so DON’T push the doorknob lock in and pull the door shut.  If you do you’ll get to go down to the front desk and ask them to open the door to your room for you like I got to do.  Sigh…maybe I should have read the sign on the door above the doorknob!

• Back in the room we stored our Wal-Mart provisions and headed down to the on-site restaurant for a bite to eat.  I didn’t take pictures of the food but it was good Mexican food that we enjoyed.  The drinks were outstanding however Lisa’s was the winner with the Betty Grable.  Having stuffed ourselves we did a quick walk and back to the room for the night. I’ve put a quick pic of their theme cocktails below.

Day 3: 06/01/23 (Thursday)

• Drive today from El Rancho Hotel in Gallup to Williams, AZ.  Our drive today was about 325 miles in total.
• First stop of the day was at Glenn’s Donut in Gallup to get a blueberry cake donut.  Last time we were there we really enjoyed one from there and today was no exception.  We did get a couple other donuts to try but the blueberry cake won again!  Sorry no donut pictures this time as I was so hungry I just ate the donuts before I even thought about a picture.

• Having wolfed down on the donuts we drove the 30 minutes or so out to Window Rock. Window Rock Navajo Tribal Park & Veterans Memorial is a beautiful park that honors the many Navajos that served in the military. Make sure and read the plaque about the Navajo Code Talkers. They saved thousands of lives with their work. The rock formation makes for a stunning backdrop.

• Leaving the park we drove back to I-40 W to head on to the Petrified Forest. We went south towards where Lupton meets with I-40 and really enjoyed the drive. The countryside had a lot of cliff’s and rock formations that made for a great drive. We even drove through a National Forest at one point!
• We arrived at the Petrified Forest about 10am (you have another time change from Gallup that sets you back two hours total from CST) and took the mandatory picture at the park entrance.

• I went through the Petrified Forest a year ago with my daughter so I didn’t think I’d take a lot of pictures however was I ever wrong. Having said this I apologize in advance because some of the pictures are probably the same as last time while some aren’t. Regardless I think you can tell how much I love this place!
• Here is a few pics by the Harvey House. Make sure and read the plaque in the middle picture as it explains why it’s call the Painted Desert. Hint, it’s the exposure to oxygen and whether it’s a wet or dry climate.

• Here is the old Route 66 crossing with me showing off my Petrified Forest hat and shirt.

• Make sure you take the Blue Mesa loop. I think it and the Crystal Forest are the two prettiest spots in the entire park. Don’t forget to stop at the stop offs before you get to the Blue Mesa! If you have time the Blue Mesa Trail is fun also although we didn’t hike it this time around. Lastly, the colors, right!! Remember the lesson from above about the iron? If not click on the middle picture and refresh your memory!

• While you are at the Blue Mesa don’t forget to look the other way also as the views are spectacular.

• The Agate Bridge isn’t to be missed either. It’s 110 feet long. When the tree died, it washed into a river and was quickly buried by river sediments which prevented it’s decay. The volcanic ash dissolved in the groundwater provided the silica which reacted with the log and slowly crystallized it into quartz. Millions of years later water from rivers and streams eroded the layers of rock strata to expose the fossilized tree. Water continues to carve out the small gully under the Agate Bridge and will eventually cause a collapse. They concrete span you see below the Agate Bridge was put there in 1917 to help preserve this natural wonder as long as possible before it’s inevitable collapse.

• The Crystal Forest is stunning. To fully appreciate it you’ll need to understand a bit more about it. You really need to read the information on these pictures!

• Make sure you take a walk through it or you’ll regret it. It’s only about 3/4 of a mile and it’s a paved path.

• Since I love petrified wood so much I took more than a few more pictures.

• This guy is a beauty! Last one I promise!

• After you finish the Crystal Forest head on down the road to the Rainbow Forest Museum at the end of the park (or the beginning if you start from there. lol). It’s a park visitor center and has a little museum in it as well as a short walk you can take to look at the giant petrified logs. We just did a quick peek in to look at the fossils and then we drove back through the park instead of exiting there as we wanted to make a stop at Exit 303 which we would have missed otherwise.

• Leaving the Petrified Forest we drove on to Stewart’s Rock Shop at Exit 303 to take some pictures and have a look. We were luck to catch Gladys there as she told us she was only opening up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday now. She has some really neat fossils, meteorites, and petrified wood inside to take a look at so make sure to stop in and look after you take your pictures. Having said that the pictures are more than worth the stop! So, basically, just stop here!

• I just love the mannequin riding the pterodactyl at Stewart’s. Having to get going we drove on to Geronimo Trading Post at Exit 280 for a picture of the Worlds Largest Petrified Tree or at least that’s what the signs say! I’ll let you be the judge of that.

• Having snapped the picture and doing a quick bit of shopping here we drove on down the road to the Jack Rabbit Trading Post (opened in 1914) in Joseph City, AZ for a picture opportunity because we just hate to let one slip by!

• Hopping on down the road we decided to Take It Easy and just be a Standin’ on the Corner for a little while in Winslow to rest up a bit.

• Easing on down the road we took Exit 219 to see the Twin Arrows of which there is only 1 now.

• We had planned on driving down to Sedona to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross (it’s at 780 Chapel Rd, Sedona) however time got away from us so we had to pass it by and save the opportunity for another time.
• We drove from there the rest of the way into Williams, AZ to spend night so we could catch the train to the Grand Canyon tomorrow morning. There’s a lot of Route 66 in this town so plenty to do however we just walked around and took a few pictures. There is so much to see and do in Williams. We just barely scratched the surface!

• Well, as we were walking around we decided we were hungry from our day so after the typical “what’s for dinner” conversation we decided on the Red Raven Restaurant. It was a good choice! I got the Sausage, Peppers & Pasta while Lisa got the Grilled Breast of Duck. Both dishes were wonderful and really hit the spot after a long day.

• After our “hit the spot” dinner we headed back to our room for the night. To give a few more details we had booked a package to spend a night at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in a Deluxe Room. It cost us $550 total for the package which included the room and railway to Grand Canyon.  We did coach to the Grand Canyon and the Luxury Dome Adult for the trip back. More details on that tomorrow. Be aware there is a park entrance fee added in automatically so if you have the American the Beautiful (or other park pass) make sure and tell them so they can refund you the money. In our case we got $35 back. Now, back to the room. It’s a nice room, plenty of space and seems to be quiet so it’s a winner so far. Let’s hope it stays that way! Night for now.

Day 4: 06/02/23 (Friday)

• Super comfortable room I’m happy to report a good nights sleep for us both. Always makes the start to the day a better place and since we were taking the train no driving for me until late in the day and only about 45 miles so it was easy peasy for me!
• Breakfast in room so no buffet for us at the hotel!
• Don’t forget about the 9am gunfight at the Railway Station when you hear the guns blazing! It was highly entertaining and glad we saw the Marshall in action. I think I was a little biased as when I was getting a cup of coffee at the coffee shop he came in and got a hot chocolate with whipped cream and chatted a bit with me. Seems every once in a while his gun doesn’t work right and he ends up with the bad guy just falling down.. Kinda funny but better than explaining to the crowd why the marshal got shot and lost!

• 9:15am; All aboard the Grand Canyon Railway for a 9:30am departure in Coach with a 11:45am arrival at the South Rim. Coach wasn’t to bad although it was loud. The train ride out there was a lot of fun and the scenery was great to look at. I think it was prettier than normal because of all the rain they had just had. Some of the view was just brush like pictured below but some was also forest ground. Lot’s of cattle and some wild horses too. Like I said it was a good train ride!

• Arrived at the Grand Canyon and promptly went the wrong way to get to the El Tovar Restaurant. We had reservations at El Tovar Restaurant at the Grand Canyon for 12:15pm. Fortunately we figured it out pretty quickly and arrived early.
• The El Tovar is a combo hotel and restaurant that sits on the rim of the Grand Canyon. The appearance of the lodge and restaurant was very pleasing and made you want to spend the night there. I did think it was a little dark inside however everything was clean. We were promptly seated and drinks brought to the table. The server took a little while to get to us but once she did everything went pretty quickly. Lisa got the Navajo Taco which was delicious. I got the Elk Bolognese which was just ok as it was to sweet and not much meat. Really just lacking in flavor overall. I was pretty disappointed in it as I had some pretty high hopes that got dashed. I think the other item that disappointed me was the view. Their were several tables next to the windows yet very few people were being allowed to sit there. Overall, for the price, food quality, and such I wouldn’t eat here again. It’s supposed to be the best place to eat yet we found it lacking. Still, we made it fun!

• Having finished lunch we thought we would just hike around some on the Rim Trail and just enjoy the view. It was the first time either of had seen the Canyon so it was a blast for us to just walk around and look. It was amazing as the view seemed to change every few steps. I definitely want to come back and do more hiking by spending a night or two and taking a rafting trip at the bottom. Frankly it was a little overwhelming! We did look for the condors but didn’t see any although we did spot a couple of Ravens. Lots of pictures coming up so beware! Remember I was only there for a couple hours so it wasn’t like I could hike the whole rim. lol

• Return train leaves Grand Canyon at 3:30pm and arrives back in Williams at 5:45pm.  We had our drink of celebratory champagne (complimentary) on way back and some free snacks.  The Luxury Dome lived up to our expectations on the way back. The seats were much more comfortable and you sat up higher so you could see better. Having said that we left our seats after the champagne toasts and went downstairs to the sitting car below and stayed there most of the trip. That car is fantastic! The chairs are real chairs and sofa and are super comfy. You can still get anything you want; just in more comfort. It was the highlight of the train part of the trip….well almost anyway.

• The other thing you can do when riding in Luxury Dome is go stand on the platform in the back of the train. I rode back there and just felt the wind in my face for 20 or 30 minutes. It was heavenly; seems like the views were better. Lisa was a good sport and did it to for a little bit.

• Just because I’m truly a giant kid at heart I took a short video so you could ride the train with me. You’ll have to imagine the wind on your face but I think I got the rest of it down for you!

• Of course the outlaws from this mornings gunfight show had to make an appearance about 45 minutes before we arrived back safely. They put a blow up cow on the train tracks to stop us and then came through and “robbed” everyone with the Marshall in hot pursuit. Fortunately he caught them all to be thrown back in jail since they ran out of train cars to hide from him!

• Arriving back at the train station in Williams we hopped in the vehicle and did a quick 45 minute drive to Seligman to have dinner and spend the night. Quick check in at the Aztec Motel and time for dinner.
• The plan was to eat at the Road Kill Café in Seligman and get Elk Burger or to try Delgadillo’s Snow Cap, 301 AZ-66, Seligman, AZ 86337. Since Delgadillo’s was closed we ate at Road Kill.
• Roadkill was a different experience from a year ago when Olivia and I ate there. I got an elk burger and Lisa a mushroom burger with elk patty. They were very busy; burger cold when got; staff still friendly just seemed like they had lost part of their charm. Burgers seemed smaller too. Maybe just me but it did fall short of my expectations.

• Back to the hotel and then I went back out, walked around and took pictures of some iconic spots. Lot of fun but it did make for a late night for me.

• Finishing up the pics back to the hotel for the night. It was The Aztec Motel & Creative Space Junior Suite; 22200 Historic Route 66, Seligman, Arizona, 86337 for $148.04 for the night. The room was clean, spacious, nice. Loved the Creative Space they had; basically a nice breakfast/common area. Would stay again if spending the night in Seligman.

• Having said that as I was thinking more about it the next day I’d probably prefer to drive on to Kingman to spend the night as that would let me spend a full day in Kingman to look around, do the Route 66 museum in detail and hit the other museums in town. If I was staying in Seligman though definitely the Aztec!

Day 5: 06/03/23 (Saturday)

• Route today is Seligman-Kingman-Bullhead City-Grapevine Canyon-Palm Gardens-Searchlight-Mountain Pass-Baker-Shoshone-Death Valley Junction-The Inn at Death Valley (about 326 miles and 5 ½ hours)
• Quick breakfast in the room; ie. Soy protein shake and on our way
• Quick stop at the largest Route 66 murial and took my picture on way out of town.

• Next stop was Kingman to visit the Powerhouse Visitor Center and go to Route 66 Museum upstairs; has dustbowl info, electric cars and much more. It’s about an hour down the road from Seligman so it’s a quick drive. I could have spent a lot of time here but we had a timeline to be on and didn’t want to start running late so early in the morning so we had to cut it short. Next time I’ll plan better and spend much more time here. It was a super fascinating museum and I learned a lot. I’ll let you read through the pictures and plaques. John Steinbeck, the depression, hope, denial, Burma Shave, and the importance of the Mother Road in WW II. It’s all here. They had some great stories in it and wonderful displays. I’ve broken the pictures up into three sections as well….. you’ll figure it out when you look and read them.

• I think sometimes when we read and think about Route 66 we just remember the funky, fun part of it but Route 66 was so much more to so many people. It represented hope, freedom, and in some cases grim reality.

• As a bonus they had an electric car museum. I never knew they had electric cars back in the day and by back in the day I mean from 1907! Powered by 14 six-volt Edison batteries that could be charged in 6-9 hours with a range of 80-211 miles depending on how/where you were driving. Thomas Edison’s, John D. Rockefeller, Jr and Henry Ford’s wives were some of owners! Of course they had many, many more including an “old ” 2008 Tesla Roadster with a range of 220 miles but the Detroit Electric Model 60 is the king of them all to me!

• Of course my favorite part of the Kingman Visitor Center was the Route 66 drive through to showcase Phanta again. Check it out!

• Just across the street is Locomotive Park. Have to admit that I was lazy and just drove around the block and took a picture with the Santa Fe steam locomotive and a red caboose instead of getting out and walking.

• Oh, one last thing. Do NOT fill up full of gas by the railroad or exit sign as it’s about a dollar a gallon more then if you drive under the overpass (about a half mile) and fill up. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth from me on that one.
• We had planned to stop in Oatman, AZ but ended up ditching the stop due to a couple of reasons. Time to get there we didn’t really have and more importantly the time it would have taken me to stop and actually walk the streets and enjoy the place. I decided to hold off on Oatman for another day. If you haven’t heard of Oatman it’s a town on a super windy rode where the donkeys walk the streets and you can feed them. You only feed them with feed from stores that you have to buy from them. Part of the charm of this old west town!
• Having ditched Oatman it made time for us to stop at Grapevine Canyon. To get there take the turnoff for Grapevine Canyon off State Route 163, pull off and head to the trailhead.  It’s a short hike to the canyon’s rock wall and you’ll see hundreds of panels of petroglyphs created between 1200 and 1800 AD. –awesome!!! It is a sacred spot to the Native Americans so show respect. Do NOT touch anything or damage anything. Help save this spot for others to appreciate. As I said it’s a short hike and the surroundings are beautiful. Make time to do this even if you aren’t a petroglyph nut and you’ll enjoy the drive and the hike. I went a little crazy with the photo’s here also.

• From there we drove on and eventually took Nipton Road (NV-164) out of Searchlight and saw Joshua Trees on the roadside. In fact the highway is called the Joshua Tree Highway because there are so many of them there. I never realized how magnificent these trees are until this drive. They play a vital part in the eco system. Check it out.

• Continuing on we saw something glinting in the distance and had to Google it. Ends up it was the Ivanpah Solar Power Station. It uses mirrors to concentrate the sunlight onto three solar converters. It’s quite a bright sight to see as it does it’s thing.

• Moving on we were driving on the Interstate when we succumbed to a billboard and stopped at the Shell service station off Cima Road & I-15 to fill up full of gas and got a Date Shake…Never had one before but very good! Didn’t realize it but they are a thing in Southern California. Give it a try! Ah yes, and no trip would be complete without the one of a kind urinal they have. Evidently it’s quite the written about thing.

• Sipping the shake and moving on we drove on to Baker and headed north on CA-127. I’m going to stop here on this post as I want to keep all the Death Valley visit in one post and I consider the drive up from Baker to Shoshone to Death Valley as part of that trip post even though we did drive on up to Death Valley. Soooo…..to be continued on the next post!