Departed Grand Rapids; Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 6:40am
The Road to Arizona
100 miles South of Chicago I stopped for gas … and beef jerky. Exiting I-55, WALLY’S edifice loomed like the Disneyworld of gas stops.
A plump-ish guy behind WALLY’s checkout counter, 30-ish, wearing his WALLY’S mask said, “Hi,” as I entered.
“Never been to a WALLY’S,” I said.
“This is our very first WALLY’S, just opened last week
Wally’s is Crate & Barrel shopping-curious to me; I couldn’t stop looking at stuff for sale. At the Beef Jerky bar, WALLY chefs sorted fresh cooked jerky emerging from the WALLY oven. WALLY coffee is named after Indonesian islands. I presented my WALLY goods on the check-out counter.
“Jerky Teriyaki,” the plump WALLY-guy said, “Can’t keep that in stock.”
Back on the road, a train pulling maybe 1,000 cars, double-stacked was railing North alongside I-55 as I drove South.
There is a lot of flat, tilled Ag land in middle America.
I turned West at Litchfield, Illinois – leaving Interstate 55.
Two-lane country roads lead me 45 miles to Drifter’s Bar, on the river bank where the Illinois River merges with the Mississippi. It was my day; Sierra Nevada was on tap. Out Drifter’s back door, on a raised deck, three old guys, 60-ish, dressed in denim, sipped beer. They ignored the rivers flowing by, while analyzing risk/loss of accepting their employers $10,000 pension cash out offer versus an annuity payment of $1,000 a year for life.
One of the analysts asked, “If we die, do our wives get the annuity?”
None of fellows had an answer.
My afternoon objective was the Grafton-to-Alton 15-mile Scenic Drive. The sandstone banks of the Mississippi rise 300 feet along this drive. Along the route, I followed a sign up a narrow drive to Tara Point. Fabulous north/south overlook of the Mississippi River.
Overnight in St. Charles, Missouri – embarkation point for Lewis & Clark. Found Schafly Bankside brewpub!
Lake of the Ozarks tomorrow.
Slept: Radisson Country Inn, St. Charles (Historic District), Missouri
Dinner: Schafly Bankside brewpub (take-out)
Day 2 – Thursday, April 8, 2021
Original Route 66 continues to be celebrated on the road to Joplin, Missouri
Gas used to be cheaper. Gary’s Gay Parita Sinclair Gas Station replica, Everton, Missouri
Slept: Passed on Boots Motel, Carthage, Missouri
Alternative #1, Holiday Inn Express, Joplin, Missouri
Dinner: Outback Steak
Day 3 – Friday, April 9, 2021
Departed Joplin, Missouri at 8 am. Roadside government sign alongside I-44 just West of the Oklahoma state line read ENTERING THE CHEROKEE NATION. The Cherokee still operate Trading Posts along the interstate.
Cherokee Trading Post, Oklahoma
An I-44 billboard outside Oologah, Oklahoma claims Will Rogers as their native son.
West of Tulsa the speed limit on I-44 changed to 80 MPH.
In Garth Brooks hometown, Oklahoma City, OK, every standing structure claimed Garth. A section of Interstate 44 is Garth Brooks Parkway.
Garth signage far surpasses Will Rogers signage.
Winds sustained at 60 MPH, per the 6 pm TV news in Amarillo, Texas, blew across western Oklahoma early afternoon. This Northerly blast lifted Oklahoma topsoil, carrying the dust towards Mexico; apparently leaving the Sooners little hope of a successful planting season. This has happened previously.
Old Route 66, USA highway to the west coast, runs just 100 feet alongside today’s I-40. I exit I-40, drive Old Route 66 for several miles through the rolling hills of central Oklahoma.
Expect by tomorrow I’ll see hard-luck Okies walking towards Bakersfield, California pulling their goods in wagons.
Slept: My Place motel, Amarillo, Texas (elevation 3,605’)
Dinner: Saltgrass Steakhouse
DAY 4 – Saturday, April 10, 2021
Palo Duro Canyon, 2nd largest canyon in USA (Grand Canyon #1) lies 30 miles South of Amarillo, Texas, down I-27. Texas State Parks charge me $8 to enter and drive the 16-mile loop through the floor of the Palo Duro Canyon. Cowboy movie scenery.
Texas extends 50 miles West of Amarillo; leading into New Mexico. On the drive I’m looking north and south until Texas curves over the horizon – seeing endless flat, scrub land. A cattle watering station fed by a windmill pump, a bunk house at least 5 miles off Interstate 40.
Destination Tucumcari, New Mexico, population 5,000, a Route 66 tribute. Motel Safari, 1950’s throwback, has spotless rooms. Larry, the owner, has my in-room, 1950-style radio playing the Route 66 streaming channel.
Billboards featuring Burma Shave and Camel cigarettes line Motel Safari’s terrace. At Tucumcari Grocery, I restock the cooler in my trunk with Dos Sequis and ice. My afternoon is set.
Slept: Motel Safari, Tucumcari, New Mexico (elevation 4,091’)
Dinner: Del’s Restaurant (take-out)
Day 5 – Sunday, April 11, 2021
Slept: Holiday Inn Express Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dinner: El Patio de Albuquerque, Margarita wine, Green Chile stew takeout
DAY 6 – Monday, April 12, 2021
20 miles West of Albuquerque the sun is rising behind me. 30 minutes later on the north side of I-40 the sign fronting Dancing Eagle Casino, visible to all drivers, reads,
ONLY NEW MEXICANS ALLOWED
Should make social distancing an easy achievement.
Exiting I-40 at Holbrook, Arizona, just past The Wigwam Motel, State Road 377, a/k/a the Hash Knife Pony Express Trail, offers a two-lane shortcut to Mesa, AZ. No shoulder, no speed limit, no adjacent train tracks, can’t even see a mountain – just the Arizona high desert.
50 miles South along Hash Knife Pony Express Trail, the road begins to rise; up to 7,500 feet into Tonto National Forest – Kemosabe. The temp drops, desert scrub is replaced by Ponderosa Pine, 80 feet tall.
An official Arizona road sign portrays horses potentially galloping across Hash Knife Trail. Ten miles further, still in the low mountains of Tonto National Forest, 8 wild horses graze just off the highway.
My ears start popping as Mesa and the Phoenix valley come into sight.
I’m thirsty.
Slept: Embassy Suites, Scottsdale, 4415 E. Paradise Village Pkwy,
Dinner: Whole Foods Deli (take-out), preceded by an OHSO beer
Cigar: Byron, $36 from Ambassador Fine Cigars
Day 7 – Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Heading towards the Mexican border via Tucson, Tombstone. Hope to see THE WALL. Maybe spot a Mexican Jumping Bean coming over the top.
Slept: Letson Loft Hotel, Bisbee, Arizona (elevation 5,538’)
Dinner: Contessa’s Cantina (Posole, Margarita)
Day 8 – Wednesday, April 14, 2021
A two-lane road leads past the shuttered Phelps Dodge Copper pit; a strip-mined relic last operated in 1975. The drive south from Bisbee, Arizona to Naco, a city shared by the USA and Mexico, is 8 miles.
The road into Naco gently down-slopes. From 2 miles north of the Mexican border, THE WALL looms on the horizon. Black steel rising 40 feet – visible east and west as far as sight allows.
Naco, Arizona is less than a village; streets barely paved with thin, worn asphalt. Rotting car carcasses decorate the yards of the 80 or so local hovels. Mexican-looking kids walk the streets between home-and-school. A five-minute sample of Naco, Arizona is enough.
Re-track back through Bisbee; a Cowboy town, a Western movie town. Low mountains contain Bisbee. First world refugees that couldn’t locate Alaska, populate Bisbee. Tequila rules, it is the featured happy hour beverage. Bisbee lies 20 miles south of Tombstone, Arizona.
Tucson is 80 miles to the north. No livestock to be seen along the Bisbee-Tucson route – just parched Arizona high desert stretching to the horizon.
Slept: Hotel (motel) McCoy, Tucson, Arizona
Dinner: Guadalajara Grill “Tucson’s Best Guacamole”
Day 9 – Thursday, April 15, 2021
Hotel McCoy is not a hotel, it’s a MOTEL – Tucson in the 1950’s.
The Hotel/Motel McCoy receptionist slides my room key across her counter, then pushes a chilled, blond lager towards me.
“Free when you check in,” she says. My kind of place.
“Want to try Arizona white wine,” she asks?
HOTEL McCOY advertises, NO ELEVATORS, FREE ROOM-FRONT PARKING, EXTERIOR CORRIDORS.
Seen from Interstate-10, downtown Tucson, Arizona.
Slept: Hotel McCoy, Tucson, Arizona
Dinner: Sullivan’s Steakhouse
Cigar: Anthony’s Cigar Emporium (BYOB), 4419 N Campbell Ave, Tucson
Days 10 – 11, Friday, Saturday, April 16 -17
Slept: Hilton Airport, Phoenix, AZ
Hampton Inn & Suites, N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ
Dinner: PV Pie & Wine, East Shea Blvd, Scottsdale (An OHSO venue)
Capital Grill (take-out)
Beverages: OHSO N. Tatum Blvd, OHSO N. Hayden Rd.
Day 12 – Sunday, April 18, 2021
The HASSAYAMPA INN, downtown Prescott, AZ, constructed in 1927, is the place to overnight. Named for the nearby HASSAYAMPA RIVER. Legend is that anyone who drinks from the Hassayampa River never again tells the truth.
Those who drink its waters bright
Red man, white man, boor or knight,
Girls or women, boys or men
Never tell the truth again.
Notable guests at Prescott’s HASSAYAMPA Inn include Will Rogers, Clark Gable, Steve McQueen and Tom Lane.
Whiskey Row, a block of saloons, serves as Prescott’s center point. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday drank with Wyatt’s brother Virgil (Prescott constable) preferring The Palace Saloon.
Along Interstate-17 in the Arizona high desert heading North towards Flagstaff, Arizona several “flat-top” mountains rise up. Tapping the steering wheel to Van Halen’s JUMP, I analyze the young Indian “buffalo runner” leading the bison herd toward and over the high edge.
Was the BUFFALO JUMP launched from a BUTTE, or was it a MESA?
This is a BUTTE
A BUTTE is taller than wide
A MESA IS wider than tall.
This is a MESA
Slept: Hassayampa Inn, Prescott, Arizona (elevation 5,367’)
Dinner: Hassayampa Inn bar
Cigar: Hassayampa Inn terrace feat. propane heat lamps (40 degrees)
DAY 13 – Monday, April 19, 2021
Red Rock Scenic Highway, Arizona 197, leads South from Sedona. Traffic is bumper-to-bumper. The 35 MPH max speed limits damage. Vaccinated America is on the road.
I drain my noon Tucson Blond lager at the ShoreBird Bar in Sedona. I spin off my barstool. Five Navajo Indians sit at a nearby table; all morose, winkled, scrawny. Four squaws, one brave, heads bowed, mourning some shared agony. Three squaws pat the shoulder of the 4th.
In my mind, I approach their table with a tear in my eye, 72 years old, wise.
“Wounded Knee,” I say. But I don’t, I just walk by their table.
Arizona Highway 89A leaving Sedona (4,350 ft elevation) rises up going North through Jerome, Arizona and into Flagstaff (6,909 ft elevation). No shoulder lines the two-lane asphalt 89A. At 8,000 feet, just a potential plunge thousands of feet down beautiful red rock cliffs.
In Flagstaff, Majerle’s Bar anchors downtown Route 66. A real tall guy sits down at a nearby bar stool.
“You an owner?” I ask.
“Family,” he replies, “Jeff Majerle.”
“Did you play basketball for Coach Jon Constant at TC Central”
“Yup,” he says.
Dan Majerle has 3 Arizona bars, down from six when he was playing pro basketball for the Phoenix Suns (by way of Traverse City Central, Central Michigan University).
Slept: Radisson Country Inn, Flagstaff, Arizona (elevation 6,909’)
Dinner: Outback Steakhouse
DAY 14 – Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Vaccinated America is lined-up 40 cars deep at the entrance to Grand Canyon. Processing into the National Park requires 45 minutes: Cover charge; $35/car.
Peering down and across The Canyon from the South Ridge, elevation 7,000 feet; Stunning.
Walking the South Rim path, I’m within feet of cliffs dropping 5,000 feet – lots of the path has no restrictive fencing.
On the National Park South Rim path, I’m dizzy, clutching a branch on a scrub tree and gauging my pulse. A guy my age steps off the paved path, to the South Rim edge; peers over. I grow even dizzier.
On ledges jutting out from the South Rim, extending far off the National Park path, crazy people have found foot-holds – billy-goating out on rock ledges, next step down, the Colorado River (notice guy in red shirt, top of photo).
Highway Arizona 64, heads East from Grand Canyon’s Visitor Center, a 25-mile drive, the entire drive within the National Park, along the Canyon’s South Rim. In several spots along A-64, the driver’s view of The Canyon is unobstructed; Dizzy.
Desert View Watchtower, the Eastern gate provides a last “stunning” lookout over The Canyon.
A nearby National Park Guide says, “Some visitors hike all the way to the canyon’s bottom, 6 hours down.” She continues, “Then they try to hike back to the top, 8 to 12 hours.”
A voice in her tour calls out, “That hiker is running out of daylight.”
“We rescue about 6,000 people each year who can’t make it back up before dark.”
Departing Grand Canyon’s East Gate, the 35-mile drive into Cameron, Arizona on Highway 64 is “stunning.” Grand Canyon tributary canyons carve through Eastern Arizona high desert. I pull into a clapboard Navajo Co-op. Sign says, BUFFALO BEEF JERKY. Navajo’s do not make good beef jerky.
Winslow, Arizona is 2-hour, 30-minute drive SE.
The Grand Canyon alone, was worth this Road Trip.
Slept: Best Western Plus, Winslow, Arizona (elevation 4,850’)
Dinner: La Posada
DAY 15 – Wednesday, April 21
Inside La Posada, the Turquoise Room, a first-class restaurant – with an acceptable bar offers excellent Margarita’s. La Posada’s backyard is the primary rail yard for all East/West rail traffic crossing the Northern Arizona desert.
Winslow, Arizona, was once a hallowed stop on Route 66. Completion of Interstate 40 many years ago relegated Winslow to “almost forgotten.” Abandoned motels, gas stations, storefronts line old Route 66. With one exception; La Posada Hotel.
La Posada also serves as the Winslow, Arizona Amtrak Station. Every other day Amtrak’s Chicago to LA train stops at the rear gate at La Posada at 5:40 am. On alternative days Amtrak’s’ LA to Chicago train chugs to a stop at 8:50 pm.
Having consumed a La Posada Margarita, the two Best Things to Do in Winslow are:
- Take a photo of a tumbleweed rolling down Old Route 66.
- Take the exit to Interstate-40 heading either East or West.
Slept: Inn of the Governors, Santa Fe, New Mexico (elevation 7,199’)
Dinner: La Choza; #1 New Mex. restaurant, Santa Fe Reporter (take-out)
Day 16 – Thursday, April 22
Slept: The Brady house, Colorado Springs, CO (elevation 6,035’)
Days 17/18, Friday/Saturday, April 23/24 – 1,240 miles to Grand Rapids
Slept: Townplace Suites by Marriott, Des Moines, Iowa
Dinner: Flemings Steakhouse
