An early start to the say at the Grand Canyon to catch the sunrise against the canyon wall. They shone a beautiful red color. There wasn’t many out on this nice warm morning. There was however, a mama and baby elk eating grass along the walk path of the rim. They were close enough to get some great shots. I ate some breakfast and got my things together before heading back towards Williams, AZ to reconnect with Route 66.
Williams is a small town, you can tell, that was the heart of Route 66 to Arizona. It connects you to the Grand Canyon. There is a train depot in town that does daily train rides up to the South Rim before returning in the evening. I’m sure providing amazing views as you make your way through the forest.
Outside of town is a wildlife park, Bearizona, a touristy pull-off providing a self-guided tour of the park. It gave visitors the opportunity to see bears, wolves, deer, and buffalo from the safety of my car. It was a fun little 30-minute detour and provided some opportunity to photograph wildlife up close.
I move on down the road; this is where a lot of Route 66 in Arizona is lost to time. You disconnect a lot from the route back to I-40 to get off at little stretches from time to time. At 2 guns, you can pull off to see some old brick-made trading post buildings, or what is left of them. Here, I also found an open dirt path that was once Route 66, I drove it for about a mile along the interstate before hitting a dead end and turning around, getting back to the interstate.
As I approached Winslow, AZ. The Eagles’ song “Take It Easy” came to mind as the song famously references this little town. The line “Standin’ on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona” is taken with pride. You come to an intersection to see a large US AZ Route 66 Shield painted on the road. A corner store with a sign called “Standin’ on the Corner”, statues of The Eagles, and a red flatbed Ford with 66 on the back. I had to play “Take It Easy” as I made my way out of town.
From here I lost daylight again so I made my was to my hotel, “Hotel El Rancho”, a beautiful lobby, wood furniture, brick walls, wood railing as the second floor overlooks the lobby. I had a fun adventure checking into my room. As I approach, I hear a TV on. I check my room number on my key, ensuring I have the right room. I try to unlock the door to the yell of a man inside asking me what I was doing. I reply that my key says 312, he comes out to let me know there must be a mix-up. I got back to the lobby, let the front desk know there was already someone in the room, and they weren’t keen on my joining them.
I get a new room, no visitors this time, I decide I should maybe check out the lounge. Something told me it might be a good idea. I take a seat at the bar. This woman let me know her boyfriend was sitting there but she wasn’t sure when he’d be back. So we started talking about the road trip and what I was up to. She gave me recommendations to on places to see. When her boyfriend returned, he is a musician, and we immediately hit it off. His girlfriend mentioned to him I was a concert photographer. She told him I once did photos for Santana, and he rolled up his sleeve to show me a Santana Tattoo.
As the hotel lounge was closing, I get invited to join them and their other new friends to a bar down the street. We all had a lot of fun chatting and having a couple of drinks, and singing to music. We exchanged numbers, Romelo’s birthday is Saturday, and I might stay around in Albuquerque a few days to explore New Mexico.
Tomorrow I am driving up to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, back in Arizona, at the recommendation of Kady and Romelo. I’ll be staying there for the night, then heading to the Petrified Forest in AZ the day after, on to Albuquerque. To my new friends Kady + Romelo, Tiffany, and Ryan. I had a blast tonight, it was great meeting new friends. Now let’s see if Kady and Romelo promised we’d do breakfast.
