Who are you?
It's the Vagabrothers.
Welcome to Route 66,
the classic American road trip spanning 2200 miles
from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Nicknamed the Mother Road,
this highway has beckoned countless adventurers to discover the heartland of America.
But for us it's just the starting off point
to discover the best of the Southwest on two wheels,
from classic Americana to natural wonders,
ancient heritage and the bizarre and unexpected.
As we explore the back roads to the Southwest,
we'll be staying at the redesigned guest rooms of
Super 8 by Wyndham Hotels,
our roadtrip companion to help us maximize value
so we can spend more time exploring this beautiful corner of the country.
In this two-part series,
we'll be riding all the way to Taos, New Mexico.
But in this episode we're exploring the heart of Route 66
and making our way to the Red Rock country of Sedona, Arizona.
Let's go
Our first stop on Route 66 is the roadside town of Kingman, Arizona.
And we're here during the Fun Run,
a classic car rally that happens once a year.
There's over 800 vintage vehicles here.
Their owners are polishing them,
making them look all pretty,
and it really does add the atmosphere.
It feels like vintage Route 66.
Let's go check it out.
Well, it's been a long hot day of riding,
so we've stopped into Mr. D'z 66 Diner.
It's a classic Route 66 diner,
and any road trip on Route 66
would not be complete without a stop at a diner.
Diners really grew up around Route 66.
This was the first paved highway in the country,
and a lot of the locals were trying to figure out
how to draw tourists in off the road.
And so they started competing by making bizarre attractions,
crazy colorful signs, like the Eat Sign, comes from here.
And so the diner is really part and parcel of Route 66.
And you know the 1930s, during the Great Depression,
this became more of a way for people to get a better life from California
that's like Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
But this kind of aesthetic really comes from the 1950s
when it was like the heyday of driving across the country in your brand-new American-made car.
But things had kind of changed after that.
In the 80s the interstate system came in,
and Route 66 was no longer the principal road.
So it kind of became a B road.
But that actually makes it the perfect road trip road nowadays
because you don't want to be driving down a 10-lane super freeway.
You want to be taking it slow on the scenic road,
and that's exactly what this place is.
Take the road we drove this morning.
It was a curvy.. 191 turns from Oatman to Kingman,
and in the original days,
they had to hire locals to drive that road.
So it's winding ,
but that's great for motorcycles.
Route 66 might not be the fastest way to get from A to B,
but it's certainly the best.
And with a stop like this, definitely the tastiest.
It's been a super fun day, but it has been a long day.
We've just arrived here in Williams, Arizona at 6,766 ft.
I am just mind blown by how much the scenery has changed.
We started out from the deserts surrounded by cacti.
Now, we're up in the mountains surrounded by pine trees.
So we figured this is the place to stop for the night.
We've got a big ride tomorrow,
and the Super 8 is good value... won't break the bank
and a great place for us to rest up for tomorrow's ride.
So we're going to go check out what's happening in Williams.
But first, I think we deserve a little nap.
Totally.. Nap time?
Nice to meet you. Good to see you.
Hi, Marko. Nice to meet you.
Sit down. Thank you.
It's dinnertime; we've come to the Wild West Junction,
and we are joined by Mayor John Moore
who's also the marshal.
Thank you for having us.
Thank you for being here.
What we've noticed is the cowboy culture is super strong here in Arizona.
This is like when you think of the Wild West, this was it right?
There's no doubt that Arizona's a cowboy wild west state.
Here we have cowboys in our slew daily.
It's not unusual to see a cowboy or two riding a horse down the street.
Can you tell us a little bit about the story of Williams?
Oh cool. Williams is named after an old mountain man named Bill Williams.
What about the history of Route 66?
How did the town change when Route 66 came through here?
When Route 66 came through, it was actually a plan of President Eisenhower.
It was the Mother Road
that started in Chicago and went all the way to LA.
When a highway I-40 bypassed, it killed almost all of the towns along Route 66.
Williams was the last town to be bypassed,
and that was in October of 1984.
The town really kind of sunk to a low point and then
the last several years it's been rebuilt,
and as you can see now,
there's a lot of tourists, a lot of activity.
Of course the Grand Canyon being
sixty miles down the road doesn't hurt either.
What do you think it is that brings people to Route 66,
especially from other countries?
I mean, is it an idea? Is it certain places?
Nostalgia?
Nostalgia is part of it. A lot of it is, you know,
back in the day they did a movie on Route 66,
Easy Rider with Peter Fonda.
That was part of Route 66 and Williams, Arizona.
You guys ride bikes. It's just what it is.
Once you come here, you'll come back,
and we'll drink a beer together.
I love that.
On that note, we should drink a beer together.
Totally.
So you're also the marshal?
That's correct. I'm the marshal.
I don't put up with any foolishness.
By the way,
haven't I seen you fellows someplace before?
No , maybe on YouTube.
I don't think so.
Well, we've just arrived to our third and final stop:
Sedona and Red Rock Country in Arizona.
Apart from being stunningly beautiful,
it's also known for its natural energy.
Let's find out more.
My name is Allyn MacLeod.
I'm the manager of the Sedona Crystal Vortex
Welcome to the energy.
The way the earth's ley lines are set up in Sedona,
we have a lava flow that flows under and over the ley lines.
As it does, it creates an electric magnetic energy field.
Masculine energy is pulling upward,
the feminine is pulling downward.
That energy actually affects the frontal lobe of the brain.
It's an amazing healing process.
You can feel extremely emotional while you're here.
if you feel extremely emotional the most important thing you can do possibly is have a really good pride.
It is so mportant.
It's releasing the negative inference that no longer serve our life purpose.
If you feel incredibly wonderful when you're in Sedona,
that is the Divine Feminine.
It's the new energy that's coming in to help heal the planet.
What you see in the mountains around us is a really high iron content in in the Red Rocks
It's what creates the redness.
The reason we use the crystals in healing..
our bodies are made up of crystals and minerals.
The way it works is based on the chakra system.
Each chakra is a different color.
When you are specifically attracted to certain colors of the stone,
that chakra may need attention.
What an epic road trip so far.
I cannot begin to describe how much Arizona has shattered my preconceptions.
This has been such a fun road trip so far,
and then to end it here in Sedona...
one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.
I'm pretty much speechless.
Yeah, I mean, this is just beautiful.
The scenery behind us is magnificent.
People talk about this place as having a special energy.
You can totally feel it.
I don't know vortex or not,
this is just an incredible place.
You can feel peace and tranquility
that's like the complete contrast to what we saw earlier
in Kingman with the car rally and all of that.
A lot of people, 800 cars, all the noise and the motors,
and then now here, peace.
We've seen so much Oatman, the Wild West,
Kingman, vintage cars and diners, and now Sedona.
We've seen a lot of Arizona so far,
but there's only the first part of a two-part series.
We're going to New Mexico next,
so stay tuned for that next week.
In the meantime, big thanks to Super 8
for making this trip possible.
You can find all the links down below to their social accounts.
Go give them a follow.
And as always, stay curious keep exploring,
and we'll see you on the road.
Peace.