Kicks on Route 66

We left Cortez Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park feeling well rested and ready for the next part of our trip—Route 66 and the journey home. We headed south on Highway 160/666 under a blue sky and fleecy clouds. We left the red rock formations that we had been seeing since Jacob Lake, and started seeing more white or gray formations. At Gallup New Mexico, we took Interstate 40 and headed West. We soon  passed through the Port of Entry back into Arizona.

Blue sky dotted with clouds and green vegetation leaving Cortez

A majestic gray butte along Highway 160/666

 Welcome to Arizona on Interstate 40 (a.k.a., Route 66)

Historic Route 66 follows the general path of I-40 through California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and the western part of Oklahoma. Route 66 had its beginnings in 1926 when the Bureau of Public Roads cobbled together existing local, State, and national roads to form a highway from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. The U.S 66 Highway Association promoted the route and rural merchants along the way saw an opportunity to attract business.

The painted desert

The Painted Dessert Inn Museum

The previous Painted Desert Inn diner exhibit

We stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park, and visited the Painted Desert portion of the park. The sweeping views of red mounds were pretty impressive. Higher up on the mesa we visited the former Painted Desert Inn, which is now a museum. I loved the architecture of the building (another Fred Harvey Company and Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter collaboration), and appreciated the museum. I especially liked the small diner exhibit, the Navajo dyeing and weaving display, and the cougar petroglyph.

Navajo weaving and dyeing exhibit

More Navajo weaving and dyeing (look at those colors)

Cougar petroglyph on display at Painted Desert Inn Museum
(notice the Navajo weaving example on the wall)

We spent the night at La Posada Inn and Gardens in Winslow AZ (see Field Notes for October 2025 for details), and were lulled to sleep by trains in the night. The next morning we headed to the Flatbed Ford Cafe for breakfast, and the Standin' on the Corner Park for a few snap shots.

Relaxing with coffee at La Posada Inn in Winslow AZ

Flatbed Ford Cafe for breakfast

Standin' on the Corner Park in Winslow AZ

Our next stop was the Meteor Crater and the Barringer Space Museum in Meteor City. We were amazed at the huge crater, and enjoyed the movie and displays. My husband made an intergalactic friend. At Williams AZ, we were tempted to drive up to the South Rim for a quick view of the Grand Canyon (since we didn't get a chance to see it from the North Rim). We decided against it, since we had spent quite a bit of  time at the Meteor Crater (and sometimes it is better to do the most important things, rather than try to do everything). We spent the night in Kingman AZ.

On the way to the Meteor Crater - two miles to impact!

Wide angle doesn't take in the size of the Meteor Crater

A meteor (1,406 pounds)

A new friend

The next morning we headed for home, retracing our steps through Tehachapi and then back to Oakland. We unpacked, ordered pizza for dinner, and spent time with our son catching up on the news. We saw so many beautiful and interesting things and took so many photos. It was a great trip, but it's always nice to get home to familiar surroundings and one's own garden and bed.

The open road back in California

Learn More

• AAA's Indian Country: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico Map (Automobile Club of Southern California, 2017). This map includes information on national parks and national monuments, recreation areas, campgrounds, tribal lands, and other points of interest, along with "Notes from the Road" by ACSC Field Cartographer, and was invaluable for planning our trip, and for navigating during our trip. We got our paper copy free from the Automobile Club, but you can purchase it online through Amazon and other vendors at an affordable price.

• La Posada Inn and Gardens (and Depot). This inn is magical! It was designed by architect and interior designer Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (1869-1958) while she was employed by the Fred Harvey Company; and provided elegant lodgings for those traveling through the Southwest by train from 1930-1957. The inn closed and was used for other purposes, and then restored and reopened in the 1990s. We stayed one night, but could have stayed longer. In a future trip I'd love to travel by train, stay for three nights, and spend time lounging and reading novels in all the charming nooks and crannies of the hotel, inside and out!

• Meteor Crater & Barringer Space Museum. The crater is huge! According to the brochure, "the crater is large enough for 20 football games to be played simultaneously on its floor, while more than 2 million people could watch from the side slopes".  The exhibits, movie, interactive displays, and 1,406 pound meteor sample are also fascinating and informative.

• Painted Desert Inn Museum. This inn-turned-museum is wonderful! It has a varied history—originally created in 1920, remodeled in the 1930s, opened in the 1940s under management of the Fred Harvey Company, and then closed temporarily during World War II. In 1947, architect and interior designer Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter repaired and renovated the inn. It continued to provide hospitality and elegant lodgings for travelers by train and car, and was converted to a museum in 1963.

• Petrified Forest / Painted Desert. We visited the Painted Desert portion of the Petrified Forest National Park (north of I-40). We stopped to marvel at the mounds of red earth and sweeping views, and to enjoy the Painted Desert Inn Museum located high on a mesa. Next time we'll visit the Petrified Forest, south of I-40. I had visited it with my parents and siblings when I was a teenager, and really enjoyed seeing stumps of stone, complete with growth rings. (And I did see several petrified logs on this trip at various museums and motels, so had a chance to study them).

• Route 66 in Arizona. What a kick to travel along the historic Route 66. Towns and sights along the way triggered refrains from the song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66", written by Bobby Troup and made famous by Nat King Cole in 1946. According to the internet, Troup wrote the song while driving across the country on Route 66 to California in 1946.

• Standin' on the Corner Park (in Winslow, AZ), and close by is Flatbed Ford Cafe. If you are in Winslow Arizona and of a certain age (old), you really must stop at Standin' on the Corner Park and snap a few shots. We ate a delicious breakfast at Flatbed Ford Cafe first, and then took a few shots at the park, as a tribute to our college days and courtship.

• Tehachapi Railroad Loop. The Loop was built by Southern Pacific Railroad to ease the grade for trains over Tehachapi Pass, and was an engineering feat in its day. Construction began in 1874 and the line opened in 1876. We didn't visit the California Historical Landmark, the national  Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, or the Tehachapi Museum on this trip, but I could see part of the huge loop from the freeway. Visiting in person is on The List for a future trip.