Bill and I love everything about the southwest; the vibrant culture, the natural beauty, and the quirky nostalgia. Last summer, we decided to experience everything about the great southwest as thousands have done before us. We hit the ultimate road, Route 66, and set out for the trip of our lives from the comfort(?) of our vintage travel trailer. The journey actually began with the search for the ultimate vintage trailer to restore. I love decorating, and I am obsessed with color, so the prospect of restoring a trailer from the vibrant, carefree era of the 1950’s became a mission for me! In true Bill fashion, he joined me with enthusiasm and patience. We discovered a 1959 Lakewood trailer that a couple had actually lived in for 35 years, but had since been abandoned. Thanks to our son Miles, we were able to transform our little trailer into a portable palace.

Our journey began in Amarillo Texas, home of the Big Texan Steak Ranch. If you can eat their signature 72 ounce steak, baked potato, salad, shrimp cocktail and role in less than an hour it’s free. You would be amazed at the number of people who have done this, from young boys to little old ladies! For Bill and I, the steak became one big doggy bag for the road. The Big Texan is also famous for its Texas shaped swimming pool, and a horse motel.

We left Amarillo in a fierce thunderstorm and headed for the Cadillac Ranch, kind of a colorful graveyard for old Cadillacs.

The wind swept us along Main Street in Tucumcari, past the historic Blue Swallow Motel. Our next stop was the charming Santa Rosa, and Joseph’s Bar and Grill, serving everything from doughnuts and coffee, to drinks and dinner.

Route 66 through Albuquerque is a festival of neon signs, quirky motels and classic diners . A must-see is the historic KiMo Theater, an architectural gem, built in 1927 in the Pueblo Deco style. Albuquerque is surrounded by eighteen Rio Grande pueblos. Our friend, Roderick Tenorio, is from the Santa Domingo pueblo.

When we reached Gallup, we checked into the El Rancho Motel, which was the home of many Hollywood legends while filming the classic westerns of the 1940’s. In fact, because it was our wedding anniversary, the owner of the motel and long-time friend of Bill’s, Armand Ortega, gave us the Presidential Suite. Not just any Presidential Suite, this was the room Ronald Reagan lived in while filming his western movies! He must have had a huge costume wardrobe, the closet was enormous!

The next morning we set out for an awesome adventure into Arizona, to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. The vistas are amazing; Mother Nature is truly the ultimate artist! It is here, in the middle of the Painted Desert, where the paved portion of Route 66 ended. In the Petrified National Forest, the road dropped us into a beautiful canyon dotted with logs of gorgeous petrified wood. You really get a sense of geological history here, it really takes your breath away. Though it was hard to leave the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, we needed to reach Holbrook before sunset. After all, who wants to face a dinosaur in the dark? Before retiring into our Wigwam, Bill whipped up a couple of his famous margaritas in the Lakewood. It was very romantic, as the sunset over the wigwams.

Well the train runs right behind the Wigwam Motel, so needless to say, it wasn’t the most restful night’s sleep. Bright and early, we headed over to Joe and Aggies Café for some lively conversation and great comfort food, their famous breakfast burritos .

We headed off to Flagstaff, and onto the Grand Canyon National Forest. We discovered a beautiful lake, and decided to set up camp to enjoy the local Fourth of July fireworks show. As we relaxed on our “patio”, we realized that this was the perfect way to celebrate our beautiful country; to truly get out and discover and enjoy all that it has to offer!

Probably the most beautiful stretch of the journey was just up ahead. It was also the most precarious, the drive between Kingman and Oatman. The road drops into a canyon that was once the site of a very prosperous gold mining operation. There was also a very successful towing operator, since many early travelers were too frightened to drive through the winding and steep stretch of narrow road. I was uncommonly speechless as Bill maneuvered our long, wide trailer through the hairpin turns. Oatman was once a hot vacation spot for Hollywood stars. In fact, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned in room 15 of the Oatman Motel. Today, the town has more burro residents than humans. The burros became a protected species when the miners left the area. Luckily, the one resident we did see happened to have a gallon of gas available for sale. Without it, we didn’t think we could make it to the next stop!

We were now on our way to California, and a journey through Needles and Barstow.The landscape changed to drastically flat, and the temperature very high. We looked forward to the ultimate reward, our final destination, Santa Monica. But first, Bill faced the challenge of guiding our Lakewood through Los Angeles rush hour traffic. Once in Santa Monica, he literally drove the trailer right onto the famous Santa Monica Pier!! We parked it next to the beach, and relaxed in the cool breeze of the Pacific Ocean.

A year later, we still find ourselves laughing about the things we encountered along our journey. The quirky works of “art”, the old store fronts, neon signs, architecture, and most importantly, the people. The little things you just don’t experience until you slow down, exit the interstate, and venture along Route 66, America’s Main Street.