Part of my recently finished holiday was traveling through northern Arizona, some of it on the most famous of American roads, Route 66. Billy Connolly stole some of my thunder by deciding to do the same thing at almost the same time for an ITV programme. Most of the shows are still available via ITV Player although he probably would have been better using a Ford Mustang rather than a trike. No cracked ribs for me. Only baby back with BBQ sauce.
The road trip out of Las Vegas was simple, day one drive to Flagstaff in Arizona, day two trip to the Grand Canyon, day three travel through northern Arizona ending up in the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona and the day four back to Neveda. Simples. It was, a satnav is a wonderful thing. I've traveled to the Grand Canyon via car before and the only practical thing I could remember was turn left at Kingman and my most recent knowledge of Kingman was a jail break in 2010, so no stopping for hitch hikers. Knowledge is power after all.
More to follow with this one.
From Kingman it was I 40 to Flagstaff rather than Route 66, although they mostly run parallel. Some of the gradients are steep as you rise 4000 odd feet from Kingman to Flagstaff. This can cause a problem if you get caught behind a truck in the process of passing another. The pass seems to take for ever as one truck inches pass the other. The only rest bite is an occasional passing lane, allowing the Mustang to leave the Kenworths eating our dust.
From Kingman it was I 40 to Flagstaff rather than Route 66, although they mostly run parallel. Some of the gradients are steep as you rise 4000 odd feet from Kingman to Flagstaff. This can cause a problem if you get caught behind a truck in the process of passing another. The pass seems to take for ever as one truck inches pass the other. The only rest bite is an occasional passing lane, allowing the Mustang to leave the Kenworths eating our dust.
As the altitude of the road rises on the way to Flag so too does the scenery. The bare rock gives way to scrub then grass land and finally ponderosa pines which line the roads into town. Besides the trees as we rose in high I also noticed the signs advising that ice was a possibility. Not what I had been expecting when I originally booked what was my summer holiday. A storm front was passing over the area bringing with it unseasonal cold weather. I hadn't even brought a jumper with me, never mind a beanie to keep the chill off my bonce.
Route 66, the replacement interstate and a railway line all run close together in this part of Arizona. As is common in the US the tracks are solely used for freight. Mile long trains lumbering past you. In Flagstaff the line goes right through the centre of the town. Luckily for the good citizens the trains no longer sound their whistles as then enter the city limits.
I had originally headed up the blog "Route 66" but have had to change that, as I'm no where near my trip down the Mother Road yet and this seems to be my longest blog already.
The reason for the trip to Flag was for a visit to the Grand Canyon. I've been before but really its one of those places that can't be tired of.
Route 66, the replacement interstate and a railway line all run close together in this part of Arizona. As is common in the US the tracks are solely used for freight. Mile long trains lumbering past you. In Flagstaff the line goes right through the centre of the town. Luckily for the good citizens the trains no longer sound their whistles as then enter the city limits.
I had originally headed up the blog "Route 66" but have had to change that, as I'm no where near my trip down the Mother Road yet and this seems to be my longest blog already.
The reason for the trip to Flag was for a visit to the Grand Canyon. I've been before but really its one of those places that can't be tired of.
