{"id":819,"date":"2014-07-11T23:18:21","date_gmt":"2014-07-12T03:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=819"},"modified":"2017-11-08T16:36:39","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T21:36:39","slug":"2014-route-66-from-la-to-chicago","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wherearemomanddad.com\/?page_id=819","title":{"rendered":"2014 Route 66 from LA to Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Day<\/a>Mr. Smith and I are in Los Angeles, California and headed to Chicago along Route 66.\u00a0 Mr. Smith is riding a 2014 Streetglide and I’m on a 2014 Heritage Softtail.\u00a0 Here we are in front of the sign at the beginning of Route 66 in Santa Monica, California.\u00a0 Born in 1926, US 66 was pieced together from a network of existing roads and connects Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois through about 2500 miles of roads.\u00a0 On day 1, we were only able to get through 72 miles of torture trying to get through traffic from LA through Santa Monica to our resting spot in Clairemont, California.\u00a0 Tomorrow we try to cross the Mojave Dessert.\u00a0 Forecast is for sunny skys and temperatures between 100 and 110 degrees.\u00a0 But it’s a dry heat!<\/p>\n

\"Oatman<\/a>Day 2 Now that’s the kind of riding that I was expecting!\u00a0 We left Clairmont bright and early (6:30 AM) while the temperature was still a cool 70 degrees and headed east along Route 66 headed to Kingman, Arizona.\u00a0 Unfortunately, you need to ride through the Mojave (pronounced MO HAVE by Californians) Desert to get there.\u00a0 Also, one-third of Route 66 is really rough road (rattle your fillings rough).\u00a0 But we persevered the 115 degree temps and rough roads to make it 338 miles to Kingman.\u00a0 The best part of the ride was our serendipitous stop at Oatman, Arizona (see the picture).\u00a0 Oatman reminds me of Carson City in the Poconos where bank robberies and shootouts are staged twice a day.\u00a0 Donkeys stroll through town unimpeded and it is a sweetheart of a town with quite a cast of characters.\u00a0 Even better, the road out of Oatman took us 18 miles through some great twisties and hairpin turns across the Black Mountains.\u00a0 By the way if you’re ever in California, remember to push the gas nozzle ALL THE WAY into the gas tank before you make a scene at the gas station.\u00a0 Sorry Yasser! Tomorrow we’re headed to\u00a0the Grand Canyon!<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"<\/a>Day 3 We left Kingman and detoured north on Route 64 to the Grand Canyon through the Kaibab National Forest.\u00a0 On the way, we stopped for breakfast at the famous “Roadkill Caf\u00e9” in Seligman, Arizona.\u00a0 Easy guys, there really was no roadkill, they just named the items after roadkill.\u00a0 Very appetizing.\u00a0 The road to the south rim\u00a0of the Grand Canyon is fun with gorgeous painted rock canyons, but nothing like the vista when you get there.\u00a0 The Canyon is dated to 7 million years ago; is 1 mile deep and 10 miles at the widest.\u00a0 Last time I visited the north rim, so now I’ve seen it all.\u00a0 From the Grand Canyon we continued north across another desert (100 degrees in the shade) to Lake Powell and are staying in Page, Arizona, just outside of the lake, for a total of 325 miles today.\u00a0 Tomorrow, back east to Monument Valley and Mexican Hat.<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"<\/a>Day 4 We headed out of Page towards Monument Valley on Route 163.\u00a0 Temperatures were a cool 79 degrees at 7:30 am and traffic was light so we had quite an enjoyable ride to the valley.\u00a0 We approached from the south so as we got close to the Park, we could start to see these enormous monoliths that beg the question “How the heck did this get here?”\u00a0 Once in the Park itself, the scene is just jaw dropping.\u00a0 We then headed across the Navajo country to Mexican hat.\u00a0 You definitely need to check this picture out in the photo album below.\u00a0\u00a0How does that rock sit there all the way up there and not fall over?\u00a0 From Mexican Hat we headed east to Four Corners which is where the corners of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet.\u00a0 Been there, done that, got back on the road and ended the day at Farmington, Colorado after a long, beautiful day of riding 368 miles.\u00a0 Back to Route 66 tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"clouds\"<\/a>Day 5 Headed to Route 66 through Albuquerque, “but clouds got in our way.”\u00a0 A storm\u00a0snuck up on us while we were asleep last night.\u00a0 Mr. Smith used his navigational skills and trusty IPhone to guide us north of the storm along Route 64 which was a great ride, but chilly (like 50 degrees!).\u00a0 Route 64 took us north and east across Apache country all the way to Taos, New Mexico where we had tasty catfish po’boys at the Taos Ale House and coffee at World Cup.\u00a0 From there, we headed south and east through the Carson National Forest and finally back onto old Route 66 and our spot for the night in Santa Rosa, New Mexico after another 358 miles.\u00a0 All in all, the best day of riding yet despite the chilly temps!<\/p>\n

\"Puddle\"<\/a>Day 6 Sometimes “Historic” just means “old and poorly maintained”.\u00a0 Today we again managed to beat the rain that came through Santa Rosa overnight\u00a0and headed out onto “Historic” Route 66.\u00a0 Unfortunately, our first attempt was thwarted by a huge lake that formed at the bottom of a dip in the road not 15 minutes into the ride and then had to turn back again when the Route 66 abruptly ended in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 We finally got going on the road again only to pull up to fire engines that had closed the road ahead because of a fire that engulfed the top floor and roof of the local Hampton Inn.<\/p>\n

\"cover\"<\/a>However we persevered, and Mr. Smith was able to navigate us to Adrian, Texas and the Midpoint Diner which is the midpoint of Route 66 where we had lunch and Dad finally got some pie.\u00a0From the Midpoint Diner, we continued east across the Texas panhandle along Route 40\/Route 66 to our final resting place in Shamrock, Texas.\u00a0 Catchy name, no Irish Pubs though.\u00a0 Not the most exciting day of riding (except for the flood, fire, and dead end), but we were able to clock another 309 miles for the day (including double backs).\u00a0 Tomorrow Oklahoma!<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"<\/a>Day 7 Well the rain has finally caught up to us today.\u00a0 We did our best to find and follow the elusive Route 66 through the fog and rain all day.\u00a0 Once on Route 66 the road was pretty fun despite the conditions.\u00a0 The highlight of the day was the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Texas.\u00a0 Definitely a gem of nostalgic Americana.\u00a0\u00a0 Everything from farm and blacksmith relics to classic cars and western memorabilia.\u00a0 We spent a few hours roaming through the museum and thoroughly enjoyed it.\u00a0 Be sure to look at the pictures from the museum in the photo album.\u00a0The rest of the day we chased Route 66 across Cherokee and Cheyenne country and did our best to stay warm and dry until we finally pulled into Tulsa, Oklahoma for the night after\u00a0304 miles.\u00a0 Tomorrow we cross into Kansas and Missouri.<\/p>\n

\"Mural<\/a>Day 8 No rain this morning, just clouds and chilly.\u00a0 We continued to chase Route 66 out of Tulsa, Oklahoma into Kansas and then Missouri. The roads were good, but a little boring\u00a0so we decided to take a detour into Arkansas to try out some of the riding there and add another state to our collection.\u00a0 Funny story.\u00a0 So there we were, sitting at a light on Route 62 when a good-ol boy in a sleeveless t-shirt, driving a brand new Jaguar rolls down his window and says “You boys must be new in town.\u00a0 You gotto head to Eureka Springs and have a beer with your brother bikers” (I may have ad libbed a little).\u00a0 As we were roaming mindlessly anyway, we did as suggested and boy was that a good idea!\u00a0 Not only is the ride on Route 62 to Eureka Springs phenomenal, but the little town is a gem in the Ozarks.\u00a0 What a great time we had!\u00a0 Clocked another 305 miles today.<\/p>\n

\"Marilyn\"<\/a>Day 9 The sun is out and all is right with the world!\u00a0 We started the morning out back on Route 62 headed east with a little chill in the air and patchy fog.\u00a0 Route 62 continued to impress us with its beautiful, banked sweeping curves through green meadows.\u00a0 On a lark, we jumped on Route 19 north and wow what a ride!\u00a0 The nearest I can compare it to is a roller coaster ride at the speed limit (or some multiple there of) on smooth roads for what had to be at least 150 miles.\u00a0 We took that to the end and jumped on Route 68 west which also had great sweeping curves\u00a0bringing us back onto Route 66 leading us to our resting spot for the night in Cuba, Missouri.\u00a0 Three hundred miles of the best riding so far.\u00a0 In fact, definitely on our list of repeat rides.\u00a0 By the way, sorry there are no pictures for today.\u00a0 We were having soooo much fun riding we only stopped to gas up or eat.\u00a0 Tomorrow we head to St. Louis and parts north.<\/p>\n

\"cover\"<\/a>Day 10 Another sunny morning as we headed out of Cuba, Missouri on Route 66 to St. Louis and the best part of this whole ride, a visit to Momma “Smith”.\u00a0 Yep, Mr. Smith’s Mom lives just off of Route 66 in St. Louis.\u00a0 Mom looks great and a real delight to talk to.\u00a0 I got to see pictures of the family and hear some great stories.\u00a0 From St. Louis, we stayed on Route 66 into Illinois where we switched to Route 67 and headed to the Illinois river road, Route 96.\u00a0 Talk about “amber waves of grain”, I’ve never seen so much corn and soybeans!\u00a0 Route 96 is a nice road through miles and miles of farmland that\u00a0crosses over the Illinois River and then follows the Mississippi River.\u00a0 A pleasant day indeed of 248 miles, but glad to relax and spend the night in Quincy, Illinois.\u00a0 Tomorrow we continue north along the river towards Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

\"mike<\/a>Day 11 The weather is beautiful as we head out of Quincy on Route 67.\u00a0We are a little ahead of schedule\u00a0so\u00a0Mr. Reed Mapwell Smith, as he has come to be known,\u00a0led us north\u00a0along the Mississippi River and through miles and miles of corn country along the Great River Road and then east into our target city for the day,\u00a0LeClaire, Iowa.\u00a0 Why LeClaire you say?\u00a0 Well, its the home of the TV show “American Pickers”, don’t cha know!\u00a0 Yep, two dudes\u00a0with 25 years of garbage picking experience (actually “antique archeologists”, excuse me) became reality TV sensations by televising their escapades of picking through other folks garbage and now have a tourist attraction as well as a famous\u00a0TV show.\u00a0 The store front is actually pretty cool as some of their prize possessions are displayed as if they are sculptures; mostly vintage\u00a0motorcycles and motorcycle parts.\u00a0 After lunch in LeClaire (which is\u00a0a cute little town,\u00a0by the way) we continued north on Route\u00a052 again along the river into Dubuque, Iowa.\u00a0 Due to construction, we actually had to continue north a few miles into Wisconsin in order to make a U-turn to get to our hotel, so we actually are able to add two states to our list of states we’ve ridden through.\u00a0 Another 260 miles today.<\/p>\n

\"cover\"<\/a>Day 12 Partly cloudy, but warm as we left the hotel in Dubuque, Iowa.\u00a0 We jumped onto Route 151 east and over to Route 18 all the way up to Milwaukie, Wisconsin\u00a0and our target for the day, the Harley Davidson Museum.\u00a0 The museum is a pretty large facility complete with a bar and restaurant.\u00a0 Inside you can look at every model of Harley Davidson ever made as well as examples of the Harley Davidson marketing memorabilia ever since the early days of 1903.\u00a0 Definitely look at the photo album below to see some of the great Harleys, like what has been identified as the first Harley Davidson to come off the production line, motorcycle number 1.\u00a0 We had lunch there and spent a couple hours looking through the museum so we only rode 190 miles today.\u00a0 Our ride is coming to a close as we will head to Chicago tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"Cover\"<\/a>Day 13 Sunny, chilly day in Milwaukie.\u00a0 Temperature this morning was 65 as we headed out on Route 32 South back towards Chicago, Illinois.\u00a0 We definitely felt the Lake Michigan effect as we follow Route 32 around the lake.\u00a0 Breezy and chilly!\u00a0 Route 32 got us into Illinois and back onto Route 66 in Chicago where we stopped for a picture of the other end of Route 66 (the sign says “Begin”, but that’s relative) and caught some lunch.\u00a0 Only 110 miles today, but a relaxing ride all the same.\u00a0 Well, this is the end of our trip as we turn in our bikes tomorrow and fly home.\u00a0 All in all, 3510 miles in 13 days including the side trips.\u00a0 Lot’s of fun and great memories.\u00a0 I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, best way to see the U.S.A. And Mr. Reed Mapwell Smith, always a pleasure to share the road with you!<\/p>\n

Check out the other pictures from our trip in the photo album below.\u00a0 Either click on the “slideshow” or arrow down to page through the pictures one at a time.\u00a0 Enjoy!\u00a0 Don’t forget to sign in\u00a0on our Guest Page!

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