L AT I M ES .
C O M
ROAD TRIPS QUOTABLE
WITH NO PLAN
stop at the Hackberry General
Store ([928] 769-2605, www.hack
berrygeneralstore.com), which
looks like a movie set surrounded
by roadside artifacts, vintage gaso-
line pumps and rusting Model Ts.
The souvenir shop served as an in-
spiration for the Radiator Springs
Curio Shop in the 2006 “Cars” mov-
ie, an animated film that sparked
my interest in Route 66 and the
real-world inspirations for the fic-
tional Radiator Springs town.
The next stop was Grand Can-
yon Caverns ([928] 422-3223, gc
caverns.com), in Peach Springs,
where a 200-foot-deep elevator
shaft takes visitors down to a laby-
rinth of limestone passageways
filled with stalagmites and stalac-
tites.
When I got to Seligman, I ex-
perienced the biggest highlight of
the road trip: a haircut from a 90-
year-old barber named Angel Del-
gadillo, a storyteller with a comedi-
an’s timing. His Original Route 66
Gift Shop ([928] 422-3352, www.
lat.ms/route66giftshop), a major
stop for any Route 66 pilgrimage,
includes a small barber shop in the
front corner of the store.
As Delgadillo will tell you, in a
nearly nonstop monologue inter-
rupted only by the constant stream
of tourists snapping his photo, he
helped establish the Historic
Route 66 Assn. of Arizona in 1987,
and his family is mentioned in the
“America on the Move” permanent
exhibition at the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of American
History.
“This town is really the America
of yesterday,” Delgadillo said.
Grand Canyon
I raced out of Seligman in hopes
of making it to Grand Canyon Na-
tional Park, just north of Route 66,
Photographs by Brian
in time to catch the sunset — but
missed it by five minutes. I caught
a spectacular twilight, however,
and vowed to wake early the next
morning for sunrise.
Then I had to find a hotel room,
knowing that my “no plans” strate-
gy would be put to the test. I tried
all the hotels inside the national
park, looking for a last-minute can-
cellation. The answer was the same
everywhere: Rooms were sold out
for months.
I did, however, find a room at my
fallback hotel, the Red Feather
Lodge ([928] 638-2414, www.red
featherlodge.com, doubles from
$152 a night plus tax), about a mile
from the South Rim entrance.
Because I couldn’t stay at the
majestic El Tovar Hotel ([928] 638-
2631, www.lat.ms/eltovar) in the
park, I figured I’d eat a pre-sunrise
breakfast there the next morning
in preparation for my hike into the
canyon. The steep descent on the
Bright Angel Trail concerned me,
knowing every step into the canyon
would be twice as difficult on the
way out.
All the huffing and puffing hik-
ers heading up the trail had the
same look on their face. I wondered
if I might turn back before I had an-
ticipated.
But the farther I descended, the
more my perspective of the canyon
changed. The intermittent sun-
light and shadows brought out a
breathtaking array of colors in the
layers of rock.
After about an hour, I reversed
course and began my ascent. And I
followed the advice of the guy in
front of me: I took it slow.
Holbrook and
Snowflake, Ariz.
As I drove east, I called the Wig-
van der Brug Los Angeles Times
wam Motel in Holbrook, Ariz.,
about two dozen times trying to
book a room for the night, getting
no answer and leaving countless
messages. (Turns out the motel of-
fice didn’t open until 3 p.m.)
When I stopped by the tepee-
rimmed motor court, I was told
they had no rooms but I was wel-
come to add my name to the wait-
ing list — behind 15 others. It was
my first big disappointment of the
trip, but my spirits were buoyed by
the Rainbow Rock Shop
(www.lat.ms/rainbowrockshop) a
half-mile away. A towering herd of
colorful plaster dinosaurs — the
work of a welder named Adam
Luna — stood guard over the small
store, which is surrounded by piles
of petrified rocks.
After striking out at the Wig-
wam, I settled on the Heritage Inn
Bed and Breakfast ([866] 486-5947,
www.heritage-inn.net, rooms from
$105 a night) in Snowflake, Ariz., a
town founded in 1878 by Mormon
pioneers Erastus Snow and
William Jordan Flake.
But I booked my room with the
innkeeper without realizing just
how far the B&B was from Hol-
brook (about 25 miles). The undu-
lating two-lane road was sur-
rounded by endless expanses of
pitch-black nothingness, and the
experience taught me a valuable
lesson: Arrive at unfamiliar places
before nightfall.
Albuquerque, N.M.
It took only one phone call to
find a room at my next stop, Albu-
querque. The House of Peace &
Love ([505] 797-3228, www.house
ofpeaceandlove.com, rooms from
$95 a night) turned out to be a cross
between a hippie commune, art-
ist’s studio and B&B in a suburban
tract that the innkeeper described
S U NDAY , J U N E 11, 2 017
SIGNS evoking Route 66 are offered for sale in Williams, Ariz.
CARYN WALDRON tends bar at the Oatman Hotel in Arizona.
METEOR CRATER in Arizona presents an irresistible photo op.
as the “Beverly Hills of Albu-
querque.”
The next morning I wandered
around the heart of historic Albu-
querque along Central Avenue
(a.k.a. Route 66). At Lindy’s Diner
([505] 242-2582, www.lat.ms/
lindysdiner) I had the cowboy
breakfast with chicken fried steak
covered in green chile.
Around the corner, I found a
pair of Navajo hair ties for my
daughter’s braids at Skip Maisel’s
Indian jewelry shop ([505] 242-
6526, skipmaisels.com).
Then I slipped into the 1927
KiMo Theater ([505] 768-3522,
www.kimotickets.com), a struc-
ture rich with Southwest architec-
tural details, during a volunteer
orientation session before I took a
two-day detour and drove to Taos
and Santa Fe.
Gallup, N.M.
Starting my drive home on the
sixth day, I picked up Route 66 west
of Albuquerque and headed for
Gallup, where I spent the night at
El Rancho Hotel ([505] 863-9311,
historicelranchohotel.com, dou-
bles in the historic building start at
about $108), billed as the “Home of
the Movie Stars.” The impressive
two-story lobby was filled with
signed photos of Hollywood celeb-
rities.
The next morning I had break-
fast — huevos rancheros with eggs
over easy, red chile and sopaipilla
with honey — at the Eagle Cafe
([505] 863-2233, www.lat.ms/eagle
cafe), in operation since 1889.
Down the street, I walked into
Richardson’s Trading Co. ([505]
722-4762, www.richardsontrading
.com), where a sign on the door
read “Buying Piñons.” Sue Rich-
ardson was kind enough to explain
that piñons are pine nuts and let
S27
me taste some of them. The store
buys the nuts in bulk and resells
them.
“They’re addictive,” she said.
Holbrook and
Winslow, Ariz.
Driving west, I was thinking
about giving the Wigwam Motel
(www.sleepinawigwam.com/in-
dex.html, rates start at $69 a night)
in Holbrook another shot, and I
lucked out — there was a cancella-
tion.
The following morning I had
breakfast — a wonderful polenta
and egg dish — at La Posada Hotel,
([928] 289-4366, www.laposada
.org) in nearby Winslow, where I
later spotted people standing in
the middle of an intersection — 2nd
Street and Kinsley Avenue — snap-
ping photographs of a green space.
I realized that I couldn’t leave
without visiting the Standin’ on
the Corner Park (www.standinon
thecorner.com), named in appreci-
ation of the Eagles’ “Take It Easy.”
There’s even a flatbed Ford per-
manently parked in just the right
spot for a photo op.
The way home
I drove to Flagstaff, Ariz., then
to Williams, Ariz., and then my
Route 66 road trip was unceremo-
niously over. I spent the night in
Laughlin, Nev., and sped back
home the next day. I’d traveled
2,225 miles on my trip and learned
a few valuable lessons.
There will always be a hotel
somewhere along the road. Meet-
ing people makes the journey more
enjoyable. You’ll see more if you
slow down. And it really is possible
to travel without a plan.
brady.macdonald@latimes.com