ROAD TRIPPIN' ON ROUTE 66 (Part 1 of 2)
Los Angeles to Santa Fe, on Historic Route 66, with my pup, Mister Rogers.
Route 66 was established in 1926 with road signs erected the following year. The highway became the most famous road in the United States covering a total of 2,448 miles from start (Chicago) to finish (Santa Monica). “The Mother Road”, dubbed by John Steinbeck, from his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, was the primary route for those who looked to migrate West in the 1930s, especially during the Dust Bowl. The highway symbolized escape, loss, and the hope of a new beginning for those who had hit hard times. Route 66 supported the economies of the communities through which it passed; people doing business along the route became prosperous and the towns were seen as destination stopovers for families along the way.
Growing up, in the small town of Edwardsville, IL, I was mesmerized by the folklore and story telling of Route 66. Every year, to this day, our town has the Edwardsville Route 66 Festival where they roll out food and art vendors, followed by a car cruise showcasing some classic, vintage cars of a time almost forgotten. As a young boy, watching the cars go by, I was dreaming of one day, having my own journey, heading out West on Historic Route 66.
You see, these days, Route 66 is impossible to drive uninterrupted. Some areas are quite well preserved, but the original “Mother Road” — Illinois—>Missouri—>Kansas—>Oklahoma—>Texas—>New Mexico—>Arizona—>California — has been broken up into remnants of a time gone by. With the establishment of the 1956 Interstate Highway Act, Route 66 began to decline with popularity as travelers took to the faster express lanes. Slowly, new interstates replaced parts of the route until they reached complete replacement in 1984. Old Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985.1
In the Fall of 2021, it was decided — a road trip, from Los Angeles, CA to Santa Fe, NM, on Historic Route 66 (sort of) with my ride or die, Mister Rogers.2
As mentioned, only certain parts of Route 66 still remain, so you have to get a little crafty on your preferred route. Santa Fe, NM had been on my list, for quite some time, so I figured this was a perfect opportunity to cross it off while getting to drive a part of Route 66 I have never been on. Additionally, I have been wanting to take a trip with my dog, Mister Rogers, because, like his Dad, he loves the open road.
We left bright and early, to try and beat some of the L.A. traffic, which was still impossible, but we made it to Barstow, CA the minute before my bladder was about to explode. Note to self: when taking a road trip, maybe don’t chug coffee from the get-go. Many people from L.A. have been to Barstow before, because it’s on the way to Las Vegas; therefore, I didn’t spend much time in Barstow other than for a dual human/animal potty break, a quick snack, and a couple quick snaps of the Route 66 sign in town.
From Barstow it was another two hours to Needles, CA. The drive from Barstow to Needles is a breath of fresh air, literally, because you are finally out of L.A.’s massive, smoggy sprawl. I had the brilliant idea of not filling up for gas in Barstow, because I was certain Needles would have CHEAP gas. Upon pulling into Needles—quite possibly one of the smallest towns I’ve ever been to—I was certain I was hallucinating from the mysterious Mojave Desert; gas prices were an astonish $7.68/gallon. I was near empty, so I pulled in and let the desert suck me dry. Rog (Mister Rogers is obviously shortened to Rog) took a few quick pees in the dry desert and said “let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Another quick snap of Route 66 and off we went.
Both Kingman, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ were next on the route, but I decided to save those for the drive back home; I wanted to take a slight detour to visit Sedona, AZ.
Once you hit Flagstaff, AZ, you take old Route 66 to State Route 89A all the way down; the drive is about 45-50 minutes and it is absolutely stunning. If there’s something I recommend to do, when driving on this part of old Route 66, it’s to make sure you drive down to Sedona for some killer vistas. There are multiple moments and opportunities for you to pull over and enjoy the view.
Sedona’s scenery lives up to the hype; however, the downtown area is a complete nightmare of a tourist trap. Aside from the largest Harley-Davidson store I have ever seen, downtown Sedona has all the makings of a kitschy tourist stop: salt water taffy, rock candy, old-timey saloon photo booths, crappy chain restaurants, and parking for $10/hour. I gave Rog a good walk, took some more photos as the sun was setting, and got the fuck out of dodge. Back on the road, I needed to make up 1.5 hours of drive time and light was dwindling, so we raced back up State Route 89A, to Flagstaff, and headed East back down Route 66.
Originally, the goal was to get to Albuquerque (12 hours from L.A.), but it started to get DARK and BLEAK in Eastern Arizona so driving alone, without a car or light in sight, was not ideal. I’ve been on a million road trips, but I realized, right then and there, that all of these road trips were with other people. I do believe there is freedom in a solo (plus Rog) road trip, but when it starts to get dark…it gets old REAL fast. We ended up stopping at a Motel 6 in Holbrook, AZ. What’s there to do in Holbrook, AZ? Sleep, and then leave. That’s all I have to say about Holbrook, AZ and most of Eastern Arizona at that.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed, we got the hell out of Holbrook as soon as we could. Holbrook to Albuquerque was about 3.5 hours away, and Santa Fe was just another hour beyond that. We crossed the border and pit-stopped in Gallup, another tiny, old spot on Route 66, where we got some grub and filled up the tank, one last time, before we made it to ABQ and Santa Fe.
The entirety of Western New Mexico was wide open, vast, and bleak. A lot of this area is Native land, which is sad to think because you could feel the societal and class changes every which way you looked. On one hand, this was some of the most beautiful and remote parts of the entire trip; on the other hand, it’s sad to drive through our troubled history with the Native Tribes, our broken promises, and the land we “gave them” in the shitty deal. To be honest, I wish I had more time to explore this area, but, at the same time, I felt like it wasn’t my place to snoop around and wonder what happened to this part of America.
If you haven’t been to Albuquerque before, I highly recommend taking a visit to the ole ABQ. It’s the most populous city in all of New Mexico, so, naturally, they are having some homeless and drug problems. This seems to get a lot of press, when talking about Albuquerque, but name me a large, urban city that isn’t going through the same dilemma right now? Yes, New Mexico is generally a poor State, but The Land of Enchantment is full of art, Native history, culture, FOOD (fuck, the food!), and some of the most beautiful terrain in all of the United States. At a mile high, ABQ sits in a basin, and it’s flanked by the famous Sandia Mountains. At sunset, the mountains turn a reddish color that lights up the sky like few places I’ve seen.
Coming from California I was excited to try New-Mexican food, and boy did it not disappoint. A must-visit is El Modelo Mexican Foods — a staple for tamales and huevos rancheros. And, although it’s kitschy as hell, El Pinto Restaurant is a fun atmosphere to soak up some New Mexican large-plate dinner — I did indeed get the green chili ribs and they did not disappoint! If you get a chance, make sure to go check out the Kimo Theatre — an opulent, art deco-style theater that features Old Hollywood films, operas, and annual screenings for the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience.3
Lastly, it must be said that the ABQ International Balloon Fiesta is a sight to be seen. The last time I was in ABQ I missed it by a week, but the excitement that the locals give about this singular event is full of joy, happiness, and grandeur. The Balloon Fiesta is the largest hot-air balloon event in the world. It is estimated that more than 25 million still photographs are taken of the Balloon Fiesta, repeatedly earning it the title “the world’s most photographed event”, and it has become a major showcase of New Mexican culture and history that features numerous cultural exhibitions.
The success of the Fiesta depends in part on the cool Albuquerque morning temperatures in October and the Albuquerque box. The "box" is a set of predictable wind patterns that can be exploited to navigate the balloons. At low elevations the winds tend to be northerly, but at higher elevations they tend to be southerly. Balloonists use these winds to navigate in a vertical box: they ascend slightly from the launch park, move south, ascend further, move north, descend, and repeat the box or land back in the launch park or quite nearby.4
As much as I enjoy Albuquerque, this particular trip was all about Route 66 and Santa Fe. Stay tuned for Part 2 of 2 to drop later this weekend, because Santa Fe, NM has a special place in my heart.
Until then, Rog and I can be found cruisin’ down Old Route 66.
Mister Rogers is a 6 year old rescue from Wags and Walks in Santa Monica, CA. We’ve come a long way, he ain’t easy, but he’s my favorite boy in the whole wide world.
I had a short film — JUST MY TYPE — premiere at the Albuquerque Film + Music Experience. The event is wonderful, and the setting is as unique as it gets.
1. I had flashbacks to my experience of being swindled by the Needles gas station. Lesson learned, never again, haha.
2. I love how you wrote about Albuquerque/New Mexico. It warmed my New Mexican heart and soul. I am so stoked you went to El Modelo and shouted out the Kimo Theater.
I enjoyed this one a lot; it's probably biased, but it's a great read nonetheless.
God, do I miss NM food 🥺