GRAND CANYON

After four fabulous nights in Vegas we headed back to Kingman to pick up the trail of Route 66. From Kingman, the old road swings to the north, and goes through some very lonely country. At Truxton we had a pleasant surprise by finding the Frontier Motel and Diner still operating. Not only had Route 66 been by-passed, so too had price increases as we paid only 50c for a coffee, which eased the daily budget somewhat, and even left enough cash to buy a biscuit for the kids (between them of course - didn't want to spoil them)

The next interesting town was Seligman, a very famous Route 66 town. In 1947 photographer Andreas Feininger took this award-winning picture, (which I have procured from an internet site), at Seligman, and upon which the town now seems to base its survival strategy

Unlike many Route 66 towns, Seligman is close to the I-40 as Route 66 swings back to the south, so it is not too difficult for the town to capture the passing trade.

Picture taken from similar location today. The old Texaco sign is still there, but a heap of touristy souvenir shops now line the 66

From Seligman, much of Route 66 has been paved over with I-40, but turns off to visit Williams, a pretty little town which holds the dubious honour of being the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed. Williams has survived well, as it is the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and the place is full of 66 memorabilia

An old Route 66 diner now re-invented as a more upmarket Route 66 Bar and Grill

An original Route 66 gas station complete with period bowsers


From Williams, we had to again leave 66 to travel to the north to visit the incomparable Grand Canyon. Although this was my third visit, the place still takes my breath away. It is still the most incredible sight I have seen, and the girls were pretty impressed with it too, but turned down my offer to make the trek to the bottom on mules!

Chanelle and Chloe take in the most incredible sight on the planet

There is an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks at the canyon

His home has one of the best views in the world, and he takes it all for granted

("Isn't this how all squirrels live?")

There wasn't much wind down in the canyon, so we were stuck with a bit of a haze, but we still witnessed both sunset and sunrise, as we stayed overnight in a log cabin style motel, and it took only a few minutes to get to the rim