Les and Marcia's Bohemian Life: Route 66 - Keeping It Interesting

A couple hour drive over the Hoover Dam takes us to Williams AZ.We stayed at the Canyon Motel and RV Park.This is a beautiful and clean park just across from the Grand Canyon Train and downtown Williams on Route 66.This is a great vacation town with plenty of food, shops and highway history.

*Brady profiling by the Train

* Great Vintage signage is throught Williams AZ

*Thanks for indulging me - I love old signs

We spent a full day at Grand Canyon.This is such an amazing and popular spot there is not much else that can be said. The only warning I would pass on: Watch out for rabid walking Asian senior citizen groups. They will run you off the trail, slam into you with vigor and never look back. This warning should be posted next to the“don’t feed the animals” sign. During our day we experienced gorgeous views, more ancient ruins and Mary Colter’s Desert ViewWatch Tower. This is a 70 foot 20^th century built tower. Created to give great views and represent a collective of native and ancient construction and culture to the area. Really worth the drive to the far east ridge.

* Us and the Grand Canyon

*Tourist lining up for the ONLY photo op at GC

*Canyon Stats

*Tusayan Ruins at GC

*Mary Colters Watch Tower

*Looking up the Staircase

*Views from the tower

*The Watch Tower murals are not from any specific tribe

*They are a collective thought of all Tribes

*Perhaps Weather Vane for Teepees?

*Horned worms stealing a 30Amp plug or a surprised piece of white bread

*View from the gift shop window

*Tower info

*Our first Elk sighting!!!

More family surprises for us.My cousin Linda and her husband Nick were celebrating their anniversary in Sonoma. The drive to Sonomais amazing and twisty.So beautiful.Linda and Nick are really cool people and easy to be with.The afternoon flew.Les and I joke that we have seen more family since we have been on the road then when we had a house.Thanks so much Linda for letting us know you were in town!!!

*A great day with Linda and Nick in Sonoma!

Along I-40, a little Route 66 town may have been saved by a song.We stopped so we could stand on a corner.Little did we know Winslow does have a specific corner and a flat bed Ford. While we were here the corner was highly visited and the gift shops benefited too.There is a small but worthy local history museum (www.oldtrailsmuseum.org)Fred Harvey was a restaurant and hotel entrepreneur.He built comfort stations, restaurant and hotels along the railways throughout the west. One of his hotels, La Posada has been restored and is a fully functioning hotel and restaurant again. Coincidentally this building was also a Mary Colter design.

*Standin On The Corner

*Slowin down to look

*Pictures from the Old Trails Museum

*And the Still Survives

*Original Fred Harvey Billboard

*Hotel entrance today

*Fully restored and packed with original art

*Hotel design is ment to resemble a hasenda

Just when you think you have seen all the rocks nature has to offer and there are no more surprises – You get one.Our trip to the Petrified Forest was an eye opener.A little back ground:200 million years ago mature trees got caught up in climate change.They fell over and got sucked into giant rivers. Then they were covered by mud and silt. The land dried up and these trees eroded to the surface as stone.They still look like wood but with brilliant colors showing through growth lines.Some even have amethyst, and peridot crystals inside.The biggest surprise to us was to see how much petrified wood there is at the park.In the adjacent town of Holbrook, every yard or building is decorated with Pet Wood.There is no collection of the wood in the park (Voodoo hexes, bad luck and federal fines will haunt you).No worries.There is plenty to buy at a wide variety of retail out lets.Some are raw ($ 2.00 a pound) but many are polished and made in to amazing pieces of furniture (Much more then $2.00 a pound).

*The Agate House - semi restored ruin - made of Petrified Wood

*Logs as revealed by nature

*Les and the "Worlds Largest PW Tree" or so the sign at the gift shop says

*Petrified Wood Chair

*Polished the wood pops with color

While in Holbrook we found a Route 66 classic.WigwamVillage!! It was also fun to know that this is where Laura and Jim had stayed on their Route 66 anniversary trip just weeks ago.

*The Village uses Trusty Rusty Classics to add to the atmosphere of Route 66 Glory Days

*Listed on the NRofHP - heck ya!!

The Painted Desert is connected to The Petrified Forest (opposite ends of the parks). At first look the Painted Dessert doesn’t seem extraordinary. As the light of the day changes, so do the colors and the brilliance in Desert. You do have views of approximately 120 miles. We took advantage of a beautiful day and walked to the bottom of the canyon. Guess what? More petrified wood. Through the park we saw more ruins and petroglyphs.