A bit of San Francisco, a bit of Stinson Beach.. etc

I got into San Francisco around noon today.

First order of business on the to do list..  Golden Gate Bridge - check.

Fisherman's Wharf - check

Well, that was easy.. what about Stinson Beach?  Let's plant that fat old body in front of a lovely beach scene - check

OK -  Ok.. now head north on California Hwy 1.. and don't block the lovely ocean pic with that "thing"...

Perhaps Oregon tomorrow..  I drove past Pebble Beach today but didn't go in there as I felt it might hurt to say no to a $500 USD round of golf...

But that's ok .... Life is good.

A "new" old highway to follow...

A short note here... internet down in my hotel last nite.  I'm driving up the coast on old California Highway 1 and shud be in San Fransisco today. 

Pics above show that if you put a fat old man in front of a beautiful scene you get .....

Uhhhh.. I dunno.. Life is Good

Just a few more pics from my last day on Route 66

I think that the neatest part of driving this highway is the many interesting shops and signs along the way. I stopped in to a huge gift shop in Seligman AZ and took a few pics. there.  Lots if interesting "junk" for sale there and the owners were very friendly.

I didn't eat at the Roadkill Cafe.....

but I spent a lot of time at this gift shop and.... I did buy the shirt!

Life is Good.

Yesterday was my last day on Route 66 - this trip.

My last day on Route 66 was interesting in that I covered the longest existing portion of the old highway - total of about 120 miles.

One of the most interesting parts of this trip was the signage along the way. It was a fun ride.

Have I mentioned - life is good.

Sightseeing in Arizona - it's Grand!

Took the day off from chasing Route 66 and did a side trip up to the Grand Canyon. It was about a 2 hour drive north of Flagstaff and an enjoyable trip.  My fear of heights kicked in a few times standing near the edge of that big old hole in the ground but I managed to hang in there and keep from falling in!

Driving back, I decided to get a hotel in Sedona and had a very interesting event take place just outside of Sedona.  I'm thinking that someone got hurt climbing on the nearby rocks and the local sheriff blocked off the road just as I was going by.

There had been a helicopter flying around and all of a sudden he came down over my truck and landed on the highway in front of me.  The medics then transferred someone on a stretcher from their ambulance into the copter and off he went.

It was very warm in this area today.  My truck thermometer showed +33C and I got to sit in that heat and enjoy it for about half an hour.

I didn't get a good feel for Sedona.. that, and the fact that every hotel was booked made me change plans and head out to Prescott where I stayed last nite.  It was also an interesting drive as I went through areas that traversed a huge mountain peak at Jerome AZ - another impactful part of my journey where I couldn't bring myself to look down the steep edges of my highway. 

Turned out that Prescott was, in my opinion, a much prettier city... lots of old buildings and historic sites. 

Life is Good!

Day 5.. into Arizona today.

I gained an hour yesterday and to my surprise, upon entering Arizona I grabbed a second hour so my arrival int Flagstaff - which I had planned for noonish - got pushed up to 1030am..

Sooooooo... I punched in golf courses onto the GPS and ended up at the Continental Country Club in Flagstaff AZ... It was a short course with slow greens.. just up my alley.  Shot a 48 on the front and a 48 on the back, met a nice young guy named Jay who called me "dude"along with his 8yr old son Josh..

I managed to travel a bit on Route 66 today.. there are a LOT of places where the original highway is gonzo... so it's easy to get lost looking for access routes.

A few pics:

Happy looking boy.. aye??

Golf today... tomorrow I'm taking a day off Route 66 and heading north to check out a hole in the ground ...  aka the grand canyon.  It's only 75 miles from Flagstaff...  hope to get back thru here tomorrow on the return and check out Sedona... maybe meet up with a realtor as I know Julie is very interested in this area.. then over to Prescott before heading back to Route 66 in a couple of daze.

Life is Good.

day 4... a bit different.

Today was a bit different than the previous days.. the Route 66 guide pointed me on a pre-1937 route that took me up to Santa Fe on a bit of a northern loup. It was good but having been in this area about a year ago with Jewels..it was a bit of deja vu.

Here's a few pics of today's travels.  The different part was visiting the big town of Las Vegas NM.  NOT the real Las Vegas... my buddy Jan Larson pointed me in this direction.. He has visited Las Vegas several times and encouraged me to drop by (within 8 miles of my actual route) - this town has been the backdrop on several movies..

I'm in sumtown??? on the west side of New Mexico??? I'll be into Arizona tomorrow.. lots of time so I'm thinking of less driving on Route 66 and seeing if I can shoot a 66 on a golf course or two over the next couple of days.. that's 66 for 9 holes of course.. weather is nice and the Jets won tonite.

Life is Good.

Day Three... I put on quite a few miles today.

And saw a lot of interesting sights.  I'll have to say that the drive through Oklahoma reminded me a lot of Highway 2 through Montana.  Not a lot of $$$ in many of these homes and of course Route 66 takes you through the older areas off the Interstate.  It seems that a lot of these folks are collectors and they seem to be having a contest to see who can put the most "stuff" in their front yards.

Some pics taken along the route today:

Had breakfast this morning at Hemi's Cafe in ??  Somewhere Oklahoma.  It was good and a very interesting group of old boys meeting for their morning coffee.  Starting to hear a more southern accent now.

The two pics above were just a couple of the many motels that have died and are part of a landscape that really includes many buildings that were thriving businesses once upon a time.

Here's a motel that is still open.  Most of these old guys are now rented out to long term guests - probably just to pay the bills. Note that this one has microwave, cable, and a fridge..

Gateway to Route 66 leaving Tulsa OK.  Tulsa seemed to be a thriving city.. probably a college town.

Prime real estate for sale "by owner" .. fronting onto the famous Route 66.  I'm not sure of the asking price.  I was surprised to see a couple of lights on in this place???

Lucilles is a famous landmark on the highway just outside of Hydro OK.

 Had some scary looking clouds just outside of Oklahoma City.  I heard that there were some tornado warnings north of here.

Lots of strong winds howling around today and whipping up the dust.. It was hazy and the wind was cool.  Saw some temps of +28C today ... gotta dig out my summer cloths.

All in all, a nice day today.  Jewels would enjoy it as it's the type of travel she enjoys.. lots of travel off the Interstates and lots of "things" to see along the way.  There is a lot of poverty here.. amazing to see some of the "homes" that people are actually living in.  Two of the poorer looking places were just as I went from Oklahoma to Texas (Erick and Texola)

Made it to Amarillo TX tonight.  Would not have travelled this far but there was virtually nothing for accommodations after leaving Oklahoma.   anyways....

Life is Good.

Day two.. made it to my starting point on Route 66

The day was overcast and cool when I left Windham on HWY 71..  temp was -2C and not a nice day.

I didn't actually go into Wall Lake Iowa to check out the house where Andy grew up but I'll take their word that the signage is accurate.  I did turn around and come back so I could get a pic of the signs.

I hit Route 66 just outside of Joplin Mo.  It's a neat name for a town.. after one of my favorite singers.  I didn't see a lot of exciting photo ops.. so I won't be making up any stories about Route 66 .... yet...

I did manage to take a selfie (with my camera).  There is a story about the bridge in the last pic. This is a rainbow curve bridge built in 1923.  It's the only remaining Marsh Arch Bridge (whatever that is) left on route 66,  - History lesson for the day and there may be a test!

I made it as far as Baxter Springs Mo tonite.. it was kinda exciting to see the Route 66 signs.. Lord knows how far I will travel tomorrow.. but not in any hurry..

Life is Good.