Route 66 Road Trip
 

On the Early Ford V8 forum some expressed an interest in our Route 66 road trip in April 2010 and I thought there might be some on this forum that would also enjoy it so here it is.

We started from home in Orem Utah committed to take old back roads only - no freeways - as much as possible so took old highway 89 south through Utah. Stopped at Big Rock Candy Mountain.

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After staying in Kanab Utah that night we carried on down the real old 89 toward Fredonia rather than Page Arizona and crossed the Colorado River on the old Navajo bridge which was the only way to cross the river before they built Glen Canyon Dam and that bridge in the 60's. As we got to lower elevations the engine began to ping with premature detonation because of the denser air so I stopped and retarded the timing a little to compensate.

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At Cameron Arizona we left 89 and headed west on old 64 to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

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After taking a peek at the canyon we turned south continuing on 64 until we got to Williams Arizona where we hit I-40 to go west toward Seligman. It was at Williams that we hit the first stretch of old Route 66 that still goes through Williams. Just west of Williams route 66 ended and we had to take I-40 to Ash Fork where we left the freeway for another short stretch of Route 66 through that little town. (It is my understanding that for most of what's left of Route 66 across the country it is very short segments such as these leaving the freeway through little side towns. Not something we were interested in. We wanted the experience of a full long stretch. This one we drove in Arizona is the longest - 160 miles.)

Just west of Ash Fork the old highway, again, turned onto the freeway that we had to take for a few miles before we could leave it and get on old Route 66 again that we would be on for the next 160 miles.

We arrived in Seligman after dark and enjoyed the neon of the old town and stayed in the oldest motel there built in 1930 and still pretty much the same as it was then. Very quaint.

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Here is a famous photo of Seligman, AZ in 1947 (inspiration for "Radiator Springs" in the movie "Cars"). If you look close you'll see a 40's Ford facing away from the camera on the left side of the highway with a swamp cooler hanging on the window.

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The same spot in Seligman with "Old Henry" on the left in April 2010.

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At the cafe where we ate there in Seligman the old proprietor, who had grown up in Seligman, had this picture on the wall of a '47 Ford like ours on a street of Seligman at the time he was a kid. He told us about the two boys in the picture and what happened to them. The white boy was still living nearby but the black boy had got drunk when a teenager, laid on the railroad track and was killed by a train. Kind of morbid story but cool to see a picture of a car just like ours.

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Heading west on old Route 66 just before Kingman I glanced at the battery gauge and noticed the generator wasn't charging so stopped to see if I could fix it. I couldn't tell what was wrong and thought maybe it was the regulator so I just started shorting and jumping wires between the generator and regulator until I got the generator charging. Of course, doing that I bypassed the regulator and the generator just charged full blast full time. I had to control the voltage to the battery by turning on and off various uses of electricity and watch the battery gauge depending on our speed. First parking lights, then headlights, then spot light, then radio, then heater fan, etc.

From Kingman we continued west on old Route 66 that became Gold Road up to the old mining town of Oatman.

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Looking down on Gold Road from the pass in 1947.

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Photo I took at the same spot in April 2010. Not much change.

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Rough road just before Oatman.

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The story of Oatman.

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Wild burros wandering the road. ("Old Henry" in the background.)

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This section of Route 66 is very popular with motocycles.

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Continuing west on Route 66 we eventually reached Topock Arizona on the Colorado River and the end of the longest remaining stretch of the old highway - 160 miles. By then it was really hot -108 degrees.

To continue west from Topock we had to get on I-40 and cross the Colorado River into California until we could leave the freeway onto old highway 95, the Veterans Memorial Highway, to head north toward Las Vegas. This photo is at sunset on old highway 95 just before arriving in Boulder City Nevada where we stayed for the night.

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The next morning we went over to see Boulder Dam and the fantastic amazing new bridge that was under construction (since completed) then took the scenic road north along Lake Mead and continued on back roads until we crossed I-15 and got on old highway 93, called "The Great Basin Highway," to go north along the border of Nevada and Utah until we got to Pioche Nevada where we stayed that night in the quaint old Overland Hotel and Saloon.

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The next morning there was snow on the ground and it was below 32 degrees. Quite a contrast from the 100+ degrees just two days before. We ate breakfast at the historic Silver Cafe across the street from our hotel.

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It's the only place I've ever seen star shaped pancakes.

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There was a great old Ford garage there in Pioche.

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Shortly after leaving Pioche to head for home the generator, which, you remember, I had been "nursing along" running full blast for two days, died.

We were still 250 miles from home and 50 miles from the next town of Baker Nevada. I shut off everything except the engine hoping to make it to Baker where I hoped to charge up the battery enough to make it to the next town. There was a gas station in Baker but the two women running it didn't know anything of battery chargers. So, we had to hope to go another 50 miles to Delta Utah to get it charged. No luck there either.

We ended up driving clear home to Orem without any generator and, in fact, when we got to Orem I stopped to fill up with gas at a station where the ground was sloped enough to coast to start it again if I needed to but, miracle of miracles, after filling up with gas, there was still enough juice in the 6 volt battery to start the engine!

This was our first real "road trip" in Old Henry. It was not without it's mechanical challege but well worth it. Total of 1,340 miles over 5 days. For a detailed interactive map(meaning you can zoom in for detail) click here: http://g.co/maps/s28cb

P.S. It was also the first trip we had taken our little chihuahua Pepe on not knowing how motels would respond to him. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that most motels cater to pet owners and allow pets - I guess because so many travel with pets. Here's Pepe in his sleeping quarters on the package shelf under the rear window.

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EPILOG:

After getting home I was able to do a little more thorough "sleuthing" of the electrical problem. It turned out that the problem was the old brittle stainless steel wire going to the field coil of the generator broke off inside of the insulation so it was not visible to look at. Since replacing that wire and the generator I've had no other charging problems.

This summer we did Pike's Peak. (Read here: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...=pike%27s+peak ) In February we're doing Death Valley.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Great trip Henry. Next time stop in Salina on your way. You will be welcome at the RODGE MAHAL. :) Wayno

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

We ALWAYS stop in Salina going down 89. When I was a kid growing up in Orem when we made it to Salina on one of our road trips I felt like I was at the edge of the world and end of civilization as I knew it. (A whopping 100 miles from home!) It just seemed so far and so different from Orem. I always remember that when we stop there every trip. I'll try looking you up next time. (Funny that you have a Rodge Mahal. "Old Henry" sleeps in The G'Raj Mahal.)

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

In February we're driving to Death Valley. Wouldn't do it in the summer in the old flathead.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

great trip with great pics.....love it....thanks for posting....was following your map 'til it hit Oatman, NV....lol....now don't take away Oatman from us in AZ....thanks again for the ride along....Mike

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Sorry. There was a problem with the map but I just fixed it.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

We just came back from the Grand Canyon, stopped in Oatman on the way to Vegas. Cool little town. Bar with over $7,000.00 singles on the walls and ceilings.
We were there for breakfast and the burros weren't out walking around.
Gas Station in Cool Springs was really cool, plus all the cattle on and along side the roads to Oatman.
Great pics!
Thanks for sharing.

Bob -Hampshire, Illinois

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

When you go to Death Valley, stay on the pavement; don't pull over on the shoulder to take pictures. The sand under the shallow crust is more like talcum powder and you will need help from a kindly stranger to help push you back on the pavement. Going backwards works best.
But Scotty's Castle is a must see.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Scotty's Castle is a definitely must see. We went there after going to the Western National Meet in St. George, Utah.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

That is outstanding! I love to drive our Flatheads on extended road trips. My plan right now is to get our '39 Lincoln Zephyr ready for a Fall 2012 road trip up the East Coast from Tampa,Fl to Trevett, Me and back. Guess I better get to work on the transmission...

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Scotty's Castle will be our first stop before going into the national park and we'll avoid shoulders with talcum powder on them. (Does that look the same as dandruff??) Thanks for the warning.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Looks like a fun trip! The farthest we have ventured so far is across the state (Minnesota) to Duluth with our '36--about 250 miles. I am hoping to get others interested in joining us on a trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 2012. Your tour is an inspiration to us all!

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Looks like a great trip Old Henry. Bet you enjoyed it even with the little problem that arose. I know I would love to have been on it.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

For anyone that's interested, there is an annual organized "Fun Run" from Seligman to Topock each year in the spring. In 2012 it's May 4-6. We looked into that but just wanted to "go it alone." Here's the info for the organized run for anyone interested: http://www.azrt66.com/funrun.htm

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Henry,
What a trip! Beautiful scenery and pictures. Your Ford did very well in spite of the generator problem. Thanks for sharing.

I probably put a couple of thousand miles on my old Ford last summer without an issue, but I was close to home... There is a difference.

Shadetree

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Wowee...What a fun trip
That is something that I would love to do in my Merc
Some how....some way I have to make it happen
Flatheads Forever!!
Randy

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Yeah, it's kind of scary venturing out beyond "a quick tow home" that I've had to have too many times.

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

I have always wanted to make the trip on route 66 in my old Ford!

Re: Route 66 Road Trip
 

Wow, that looks like it was a really fun trip. I'm hoping one day to make the entire route 66 and I was thinking of retiring in Williams Az.........in 15 or so years :D (hope it stays the same).

Looking forward to your pictures from the next trip.