Our KOA Kampground was located on the Andy Devine highway, also known as old (OMG) Route 66! I didn’t realize this when I booked the cabin months before. Today, as a very cool added and unexpected bonus, we would ride a stretch of Route 66 to our next destination, the Grand Canyon.
East on 66 took us to a popular landmark, the Route 66 silo, as I refer to it. Not far from it was the old Mother Road Harley Davidson, which, unfortunately had been scheduled for demolition. Very cool old rustic looking building, I got several pictures of the exterior and peeked in through the dirty front windows. Part of the roof was gone from the rear of the building, and inside were hundreds of birds, pecking the floor and flying about. Eeww.
Next stop was Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner, a really neat 50’s style diner where we stopped for breakfast. Awesome Huevos Rancheros! From their attached gift store I bought a map of Route 66 and all the diners located along the way. Riding Route 66 (or what’s left of it) is on our bucket list. From Chicago to LA, baby!
As expected, we passed several original landmarks over the next twenty miles or so, old motels and gas stations fading in the sun that hadn’t seen customers in decades. Continuing down 66, we stopped in Seligman for a shake, some souvenirs and some more great pictures. It looked like the end of the line for a while, and you could look out from the edge of town into the ruralness beyond. The rest of Route 66 took us to 40 on to 180 to the Grand Canyon. Thankfully, it was not as hot today as it was yesterday, back into the 90s. Cruising down 66 we passed a freight train going the opposite direction, running parallel to the highway. The railcars had China Shipping and Ying Mang painted on the side, fresh arrivals from overseas. It was kind of weird to see the first cargo that was likely en route to Walmart and countless other stores here.
After a bit of confusion, we checked in at the Mather Campground, within the Grand Canyon park. Very nice layout, woodsy, lots of trees, and horseshoe shaped pads, so all the sites were pull throughs, but it didn’t have the feel of an RV park. Very much rustic feel to the place, but with modern bathrooms. We stayed near the south rim of the canyon, and close by was the Canyon Café, a cafeteria and the Market Plaza, a very large grocery store with a selection comparable to Meijers! The Market Plaza also had a cafeteria of sorts, with a pretty nice variety. For being in the middle of the wilderness, everything you might need was available. If you got there by 9pm.
We found the south rim of the canyon after hiking a short distance, and as most everyone says, I’m sure, there 
is really no describing the magnitude of this place. I had my DSLR and tripod, and went to town snapping pictures. My only regret was not having a wide angle lens, but my 55-200 zoom made for some cool shots.
We stopped at the Canyon Café for dinner on our way back to the campsite, and I had to crack up at the fact that almost every single person in the dining room either had a laptop or an iPhone. OMG, a wireless connection! Unplugging for a weekend with the fam?? Yeah, right. 🙂
After lunch we hit the Market Plaza for libations and wood. Warm libations as the only size bag of ice sold was 10 lbs. Nowhere to put 10 lbs. of ice, unfortunately. Drink fast.
Back at the campsite, Bill starts the fire as I write furiously in my journal, trying to recall everything we’ve seen, my source of all the information I’ve shared here. The crickets chirping as the fire crackles, and the darkness above is ablaze with stars. We end up pulling the rain fly off the tent as we crawl in for the night, star gazing and eventually falling asleep under the night sky.
Homesick, by now? Not even close.