We are actually moving toward the full eclipse in Mena, Arkansas at a pretty fast pace (for us in King Tut) but I will save that for another post. First off, for my 62nd birthday we headed down Highway 5 to Flag City for cheaper gas, then over to Highway 99 via Highway 4. We forget that Highway 99 has few rest stops and it is difficult to pull in to places with Tut and Li’l TG attached. We ended up having lunch in some goofy truck wash parking lot at 2 pm! Then we picked up Highway 58 to Highway 40 in Barstow. Highway 40 needs some work done on it!! Crazy bumpy and lots of grooves for the tires to get stuck in. Also, I had no idea that Historical Americana Route 66 ended in Santa Monica and basically follows along I40! Who knew? Sometimes they are the same but then separate again. Both are pretty desolate roads. We are basically following Highway 40 all the way across the country!
Our first day was ok- lots of driving but relatively easy (at least until Highway 40)! The stove kept coming loose and rattling like crazy with all the bumpy roads. We got to Tehachapi just after 5 pm and decided to just cook dinner instead of trying to drive through town in the crazy wind. So Pineapple brats, green beans and canned pears for dinner. We were along an airstrip used mostly for gliders but they were grounded because of the wind. We did see several cute ground squirrels and cottontails during our walks around the campground. We stayed at Mountain Village RV Park and it was Ok. Nothing fancy but solidly clean and organized.The weird thing was the bathroom was closed at 9:30 and didn’t open until 7:30 am. So no showers. Plus Tehachapi is pretty high into the mountains and there is still snow just above where we were- too cold for morning showers! 29F at 8 am. We did go out to breakfast at the Village Grill the following morning and again, nothing spectacular, but a solidly good breakfast. Dave had cinnamon roll French toast that was tasty.
Then we headed to Arizona- Kingman to be precise. This was all along Highway 40. And the road got worse after we got to Arizona!! There are also a lot of very long trains that follow the freeway. And so many semi trucks. Everyone is swaying as the road bumps along, and getting stuck in the road grooves. Ugh! And our damn stove top jumping loose over and over again. We saw a couple areas of bright yellow flowers (super bloom?) and some Joshua Trees as we went by. I will say that this part of northern Arizona looks a lot like Nevada and southern Utah. Not overly pretty. But as you get closer to Kingman, you start seeing more and more trees. And it starts to look like how Route 66 “should” look, at least according to John Steinbeck and Cars! Some dorky roadside motels, old cars and trucks, old gas stations etc. We got to Kingman early enough to walk around before heading to a highly recommended Mexican place, Oysters. Weird name but amazing food!
Everywhere in Kingman was Route 66 oriented. When Dave talked to the manager at the Zuni RV Park, he suggested we take an extra 15 minutes and drive Route 66 instead of Highway 40 because I40 is so bad in that part of Arizona. It makes California roads look good! So we did as we left for Gallup, NM.
That drive was more of the same high desert but with a smoother road. We went through a Hualapai reservation where we did see the start of actual forested areas. That part of Arizona was very pretty. And pretty high elevation as I felt when we started walking at the rest stops! Then we ended up in snow! Quite a day for weather. We made decent time to Gallup, NM with a pretty quick stop at Petrified Forest NP. We didn’t get to the actual Forest because as we drove through the painted desert part we were having trouble finding places to park Tut with Li’l TG behind him. So we chose to forego driving 15 miles into the park to the forest. Afterwards on to USA RV park in Gallup. A lot more high desert.
And then Tucumcari, NM. Not much to say about this. Highway 40 got better for the most part, but it is pretty much all high desert. And very windy. We’ve started seeing more RVs along with the semis and so many LONG trains! We stayed at the KOA in Tucumcari and just had salmon/pea burgers because there was not a ton of options. They did give us some chocolate chip cookies at checkin!
And then on to Oklahoma City via the stove pipe part of Texas. It got nicer as far as the landscape- sort of. More grasslands and cattle. Kept wanting to see a chow wagon and some cowboys. The road got better and even better in Oklahoma! Next blog- Oklahoma City!
