From Kingman I'm going to drive the longest uninterrupted stretch of historic route 66 still
in existence in Arizona, north up to Peach Springs and then looping back down again to Seligman.
First a railroad town, then famous for route 66, Kingman these day
sprawls in all directions but the historic downtown district is really quite walkable,
full of really nice cafes and independent shops. This is the route 66 bakery in Kingman,
and these must be the largest cinnamon rolls and apple fritters I have ever seen!
No, I'm sorry that cinnamon roll was just too good to pass up! "Get your kicks on
Route 66" - whichever version of the song you listen to: Chuck Berry: Depeche Mode;
The Cramps (my favourite), you'll know that Kingman Arizona plays heavily in the lyrics.
A few miles north of Kingman along the historic route 66 let's just say things
start to become a little more eccentric! Let me introduce you to Giganticus Headicus. this
is the ghost town of Hackberry, once a bustling little community on route 66,
sadly almost everyone left when the traffic stopped.
For much of its course interstate 40 mirrored the route of route 66 however in this part of
Arizona they diverged massively. Interstate 40 simply cut east to west but the old route 66
followed the railway in a loop up from Kingman to Seligman via peach springs and this little place,
Hackberry. So these towns suddenly found themselves not half a mile or a mile off
the main route but up to 50 miles away. Many of them simply couldn't survive.
This is what's left the once busy little community called Valentine. Back in the day
the busiest little place here was the post office because as you can imagine everybody
wanted a Valentine stamp! However it remains a great place to watch the Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railroad trains come by. This is what's left of Truxton the community that
once thrived on the railway and then route 66 but since the eighties has been stranded
a long way from anywhere. A few miles further on from Truxton and historic route 66 crosses
into the Hualapai Nation. This is Peach Springs the tiny tribal headquarters.
After the brief incursion into the Hualapai Nation you come to one of
the most famous route 66 attractions, the Grand Canyon caverns. It seems
hard to believe now but back in the day this was the second most visited tourist
attraction in Arizona after the Grand Canyon itself! Things are a little different today,
the caverns apparently are still spectacular but here up top it's all a little bit forlorn.
This is Seligman, probably the most iconic town on the whole of route 66.
Well it wouldn't be route 66 without a big dose of eccentricity and weirdness!
The little town of Seligman is where the route 66 revival really began. Interstate
40 bypass the town to the south and before long businesses started to close. The population was
dwindling and eventually a local barber by the name of Angel Delgadillo decided enough
was enough! He grouped together people who wanted to preserve the history of route 66
and in so doing created a new industry, a tourist industry for route 66 to save the
town. Well he succeeded and he didn't just save this town. His old barbershop is now
the most famous gift shop on route 66 and had I been here this morning and I'd seen
him behind the till. The other place you have to visit in Seligman is Delgadillo' Snow Cap.
The perfect way to cool down after a great road trip. Here's
to Angel Delgadillo and his route 66 dream!