Monday, August 12, 2013

Day 7: Winslow, AZ to Grand Canyon, AZ

The great internet debacle began with my overnight in Winslow. The hotel's connection was useless and attempting to use it for anything was an exercise in frustration. This was planned to be one of the shorter travel days to give me a little bit of time for exploration that night at the Grand Canyon. I was a little bummed about yesterday's drive, especially having to pass up the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Parks without so much as a drive through them because it was night. Day 7 would make up for it: "Standin' on a Corner," the massive meteor crater, Flagstaff, and, of course, the Grand Canyon made for a day of eye-popping desert beauty. Map of the day's travels can be found here. Photos here. More reflections on Day 7 after the jump...

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Day 8 preview - Video!

The road from Kingman, AZ to the little town of Oatman, AZ is one of the best parts of Route 66. It's about 30 minutes of driving to go these 9 miles. I've condensed it down to the best 13 minutes of the drive. You shouldn't miss the last two and a half minutes, so skip to 11:00 if you don't have time or inclination to watch the whole thing! Oh, and put it in "Full Screen" by clicking the box at the bottom-right corner. It's really beautiful.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Day 6: Albuquerque, NM to Winslow, AZ

First, an apology and explanation about the blog. I'm back home in the Chicago suburbs after my 5,500 mile trek. One thing I learned about driving Route 66 is that it takes a long, LONG time compared to the interstate. Looking back at my tracking data, I can see that I averaged between 30-35 miles per hour, and that was driving with the intentionality of making certain cities by the end of the day. Most days, especially out West, were about 300 miles. Therefore, with stops to eat, get gas, and take pictures, I was in the car for 10 hours a day leaving me little time to sleep, let alone write. Word to the wise: Don't try and "do" Route 66 in less than two weeks! There's so much that I wanted to stop and see that I just couldn't in order to make that night's destination. More about Day 6 after the jump...