My New Truck!

 

(In another life, perhaps...)

Fun Fall Outing: San Bernadino: Route 66

 

Route 66 ran through San Bernadino on its way to Santa Monica; in fact, there are two "legs" of Route 66 in the city. Of course, not much remains today.

This motel is an oasis that does not allow pets OR kids.

What was this, I wonder.

Clearly this was once a movie theater.

Dreamy!

Another arrow!

"Liquors," plural.

Fancy.

Apparently there will always be a vacancy as the "no" sign is missing.

Next up: long red "motel" signs (easier to catch the speeding motorist's eye).

Color TV by RCA!

Gotta love an arrow sign...AND one that is "oil & stuff."

Arrows and liquor stores seem to go together...

Space age!

Oh no, not the last drop!

This is the site of the first McDonald's, which opened in 1940; it is now a museum. The first McDonald's to feature the Golden Arches incorporated into the building is up the road.

A really cool theater that is still functioning as such.

Route 66 Road Trip Day 10: Homeward Bound

Kingman, Arizona, to Hesperia, California, then home (boo, but also yay!).

 Umm...why?

 On the road--a windy, twisty, two-lane road--to Oatman.

 We started off way down there on the desert floor...

 You climb up and up...and then wind back down to Oatman, famous for its "wild" (now exceedingly tame) burros. Allegedly these are the descendents of burros used by miners when Oatman was in its heyday. It is now a rather ticky-tacky touristy place...but the burros are very cute and quite sweet.

This burro did NOT read the message about staying off of the boardwalk.

 Fun with stickers...

 This is Route 66 west out of Kingman, one of the very prettiest drives, especially this time of year with the spectacular wildflowers everywhere. It is, in fact, a designated National Scenic Byway.

 All along the way there were hundreds of these stacked rock sculptures/cairns.

 This is a spot in the road called Goffs.

 Ludlow, where we stopped for pie (sort of good) and coffee (undrinkable, perhaps because there was a notice posted on the cafe warning of higher than normal levels of arsenic in the drinking water...).

 The world's largest fire helmet, in Barstow.

 Amazing amount of snow on the mountains in March...

 Muffler Man #10, in Mentone, in a yard with lots of stuff in it (it can't compare to the yard full o' stuff in Glendale, though...).

And so the trip ends...

It was incredibly fun--so many cool/wacky/beautiful/melancholy places! We hiked, we photographed, we ate ice cream, and we got to spend uninterrupted (relatively unplugged) time together. Heaven!