Reporting From the Mother Road!

Robert_Nash · 06-27-2009, 08:43 PM

Touring the Mother Road – June/July 2009 in a 370Z!

Route 66 has been called the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America” and for good reason. It was a major factor in the building of our U.S. Highway system; carried tens of thousands of refugees from Oklahoma and Arkansas to the hope of a better life in California during the great “dust bowl” years which became the backdrop for Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”. During World War 2 it was a major factor in moving war supplies and troops and after the war, it was the canvas we used to show our nation’s prosperity and our love affair with the automobile that still exists today.

Route 66 officially doesn’t exist today – it was decommissioned as a U.S. route in 1985 but thousands of people who know and love the route and what it represents have revived interest and preserved it – the eight states it passed through have help erect signage to help folks follow in the footsteps of those who went before and to at least partially experience life the way our parents, or grand parents experienced the great American highways.

As some of you know, I and a dear friend traveled the Route form its beginnings to Amarillo, Texas in 2007. This year, I’m traveling the route alone in my 370Z; picking it up in Amarillo and heading as far as Oatman, Arizona before heading up to Las Vegas for a couple of days and then heading back home.

What follows is my attempt at writing down some of my experiences along the route…some pictures (currently unedited) are available in my albums for those who are interested.

Robert_Nash · 06-27-2009, 08:46 PM

DAY ONE:
This was a very heavy travel day. After taking care of boarding my pets (Millie the Basset Hound and Max the cat); I headed out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee hitting the road at about 7:45AM headed for near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Norman, Ok to be specific).

For those interested in such things, the trip took 10 hours 14 minutes of driving time and covered 728.8 miles although the total travel time was close to 12 hours. Average MPG was 24.9 at an overall average speed of 71.0 MPH (in general, I tend to travel about 10 MPH more than the posted limit except in heavy traffic/urban areas where I usually keep closer to the speed limit). According to my in-car gauge; ambient temps were as high as 103 degrees although I’m not sure what the official high for the day was…as engine oil temps have been a concern for the 370Z I’m happy to report that even in slow-moving traffic due to construction, etc…oil temps never went much above 230 and even under periods of sometimes hard acceleration; it didn’t have a problem at all.

On the comfort side, the 370Z is not a bad car to travel in but long distance traveling requires stops if only to get out and walk for a few minutes…the vehicle is pretty comfortable but there are only so many ways you can stretch your legs!

Overall all it was a pretty unremarkable day…almost perfect, if very hot, weather.

I took the car to a local car was after I had checked in at my hotel and a couple of notable things happened.

First, a young mother came up to me just after I had pulled into the wash bay and asked if she could use my cell phone…seems her 3 year old who was belted into his car seat had managed to lock the car with him and the keys inside…she called her mother to bring a set of keys so she could open the vehicle…it was a Toyota SUV so no “On-Star”! Since the car was running and the A/C on, the little boy was comfortable until Grandma arrived.

The second thing is that gentlemen showed up to wash a beautiful and completely original black 1965 Olds 442. He’s the original owner and has kept it absolutely perfect. We talked for a while and I found out he also owns a 350Z which he’s heavily modified so of course, we ended up talking about the 370!

The other thing that caught my ere was there a “self-service dog wash” attached to the car wash…I knew such things existed (and there has been time when I’ve taken my hound to the dog park to play that I wished I had one available to me before putting her back into the car) but this was the first one I had ever actually seen and this one was busy!

Tomorrow it’s on to Amarillo where I’ll actually pick up Route 66!

antennahead · 06-27-2009, 09:08 PM

Very cool. One day I would like to drive it from Chicago to California. I wish it would be totally restored and become a wonderful driving heritage from start to finish. How much of your route is going to be the actual old highway?

John

WShade · 06-27-2009, 09:20 PM

Sound like a fun trip. Be safe and report in often.

Robert_Nash · 06-27-2009, 09:25 PM

Day Two:
Today started even earlier than yesterday; up by 6 and out of the room by 7 to go to breakfast…ate at an original Route 66 diner on the outskirts of Oklahoma City near the Canadian River

As with yesterday, this was a pretty heavy day of travel although not as far as yesterday’s undertaking…my plan was to travel over to Amarillo and pick up the route at exactly where we left off in 2007 at the “Cadillac Ranch”…now in case any of you are wondering, this is not a house if ill-repute; it’s 10 Cadillac automobiles buried to their dashboards “pointing’ West…an art experiment in the middle of a Texas field!

Before getting to Amarillo, I couldn’t help but make a couple of excursions off I-40 to stop in Clinton, Ok and then Elk City, Ok to revisit a couple of Route 66 icons.

It seems slightly cooler today although temps were still in the low 90’s and it was bright and sunny although it looked as if there were some heavy rains south of the interstate.

I made it to the Cadillac Ranch just to the West of Amarillo and than picked up Route 66 from that point…along much of Texas, Route 66 is frontage road mostly following the I-40; that’s because, in part, much of I-40 in Texas sits right on top of what was Route 66. However, there are some old alignments of the route with original pavement (and sometimes, original dirt of sections that were never paved!

I stopped for a late lunch at the "Mid-PointCafe" in Adrian, TX ( http://www.midpointroute66cafe.com/ )…the exact mid-point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica. The food was good but the home-made Coconut Cream pie was the real highlight – this was the real deal; nothing machine processed when it comes to their pies! The "Mid-Point Cafe's" best point however are the people who own it/run it…extremely friendly and truly happy to have you as a customer; exactly the way good roadside diners were before the McDonald’s Burger Kings and Wendy’s took over!

A lot of the Texas panhandle is somewhat uninteresting as far as landscapes go although there are exceptions…things get noticeable more interesting when you cross the border into New Mexico…it’s easy to see why so many “Western” movies have been filmed in New Mexico…wind chiseled ridges and towering pieces of land seem to sprout up out of flat land.

Today’s destination was the Blue Swallow Motel ( http://www.blueswallowmotel.com/ ); a Route 66 original – each room comes with a garage and inside the garage are murals (and murals on much of the outside walls of the building as well. The Blue Swallow neon sign alone is worth the cost of the room. The room is definitely “old fashioned”…small but completely refurbished…everything works including the A/C and the 1938 rotary phone on the desk by the bed.

This is not a place for those who like modern comfort but if you want to see how it was back in the day, this is the place to be.

Stats for today – 7 hrs/16 minutes of driving for a total of 420.9 miles. Average MPG/MPH for today was 23.9/57.1 respectively.

Tomorrow it’s on to Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Robert_Nash · 06-27-2009, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antennahead

Very cool. One day I would like to drive it from Chicago to California. I wish it would be totally restored and become a wonderful driving heritage from start to finish. How much of your route is going to be the actual old highway?

John

I'll be on the route from the point of the Cadillac Ranch to Oatman, NM...once I reach there I'll shoot up to Las Vegas for a couple of days before heading.

Total mileage on the route this trip will be about 820.

cow · 06-27-2009, 09:48 PM

Subscribed. I love road trip threads.

By the way, if you get a chance while in Albuquerque, you should visit Sandia Peak. It's absolutely beautiful there.

Mental Block · 06-27-2009, 11:47 PM

awesome!

Robert_Nash · 06-28-2009, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cow

Subscribed. I love road trip threads.

By the way, if you get a chance while in Albuquerque, you should visit Sandia Peak. It's absolutely beautiful there.

Thanks for the tip..I'll look it up!

cow · 06-28-2009, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert_Nash

Thanks for the tip..I'll look it up!

The world's longest cable tram ride is there, also. That alone is worth riding. It's fairly scary, though-- you're EXTREMELY high up.

mrarroyo · 06-28-2009, 03:55 PM

Are you stoping in "Radiator Springs"?

theDreamer · 06-28-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo

Are you stoping in "Radiator Springs"?

Sounds like a great way to enjoy the Z, might have to plan something of my own.

stan618 · 06-28-2009, 05:01 PM

sounds like a great adventure. have fun!
thanks again for the VPP. picked her up last night, got an awesome deal and it was such an easy process

stan

bluzman · 06-28-2009, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo

Are you stoping in "Radiator Springs"?

I think he did

. Oh, wait...those were just the murals at the Blue Swallow Motel. Seriously, Robert, it sounds like a really excellent adventure.

BTW, if Oatman's anything like it used to be (it's been a number of years since I last visited) keep your eyes open for wild burros. Even with the bra on the front end of your baby, it just wouldn't do to have a run in with one of them. For those who think I'm kidding, see here: Oatman and the Wild Burros Video (DesertUSA)

510z · 06-28-2009, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cow

Subscribed. I love road trip threads.

By the way, if you get a chance while in Albuquerque, you should visit Sandia Peak. It's absolutely beautiful there.

agreed, i went there in the winter when I moved from wisconsin to phoenix. The unfortunate thing about sandia peak is albaquaregetyke.

06-27-2009, 08:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Robert_Nash Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Middle TN/Savannah GA Posts: 762 Drives: '14 Q60IPL/'14Armada Rep Power: 17	Reporting From the Mother Road! Touring the Mother Road – June/July 2009 in a 370Z! Route 66 has been called the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America” and for good reason. It was a major factor in the building of our U.S. Highway system; carried tens of thousands of refugees from Oklahoma and Arkansas to the hope of a better life in California during the great “dust bowl” years which became the backdrop for Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”. During World War 2 it was a major factor in moving war supplies and troops and after the war, it was the canvas we used to show our nation’s prosperity and our love affair with the automobile that still exists today. Route 66 officially doesn’t exist today – it was decommissioned as a U.S. route in 1985 but thousands of people who know and love the route and what it represents have revived interest and preserved it – the eight states it passed through have help erect signage to help folks follow in the footsteps of those who went before and to at least partially experience life the way our parents, or grand parents experienced the great American highways. As some of you know, I and a dear friend traveled the Route form its beginnings to Amarillo, Texas in 2007. This year, I’m traveling the route alone in my 370Z; picking it up in Amarillo and heading as far as Oatman, Arizona before heading up to Las Vegas for a couple of days and then heading back home. What follows is my attempt at writing down some of my experiences along the route…some pictures (currently unedited) are available in my albums for those who are interested. __________________ Robert -My Basset Hound Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student and Barack Obama -

06-27-2009, 08:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
Robert_Nash Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Middle TN/Savannah GA Posts: 762 Drives: '14 Q60IPL/'14Armada Rep Power: 17	Day One DAY ONE: This was a very heavy travel day. After taking care of boarding my pets (Millie the Basset Hound and Max the cat); I headed out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee hitting the road at about 7:45AM headed for near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Norman, Ok to be specific). For those interested in such things, the trip took 10 hours 14 minutes of driving time and covered 728.8 miles although the total travel time was close to 12 hours. Average MPG was 24.9 at an overall average speed of 71.0 MPH (in general, I tend to travel about 10 MPH more than the posted limit except in heavy traffic/urban areas where I usually keep closer to the speed limit). According to my in-car gauge; ambient temps were as high as 103 degrees although I’m not sure what the official high for the day was…as engine oil temps have been a concern for the 370Z I’m happy to report that even in slow-moving traffic due to construction, etc…oil temps never went much above 230 and even under periods of sometimes hard acceleration; it didn’t have a problem at all. On the comfort side, the 370Z is not a bad car to travel in but long distance traveling requires stops if only to get out and walk for a few minutes…the vehicle is pretty comfortable but there are only so many ways you can stretch your legs! Overall all it was a pretty unremarkable day…almost perfect, if very hot, weather. I took the car to a local car was after I had checked in at my hotel and a couple of notable things happened. First, a young mother came up to me just after I had pulled into the wash bay and asked if she could use my cell phone…seems her 3 year old who was belted into his car seat had managed to lock the car with him and the keys inside…she called her mother to bring a set of keys so she could open the vehicle…it was a Toyota SUV so no “On-Star”! Since the car was running and the A/C on, the little boy was comfortable until Grandma arrived. The second thing is that gentlemen showed up to wash a beautiful and completely original black 1965 Olds 442. He’s the original owner and has kept it absolutely perfect. We talked for a while and I found out he also owns a 350Z which he’s heavily modified so of course, we ended up talking about the 370! The other thing that caught my ere was there a “self-service dog wash” attached to the car wash…I knew such things existed (and there has been time when I’ve taken my hound to the dog park to play that I wished I had one available to me before putting her back into the car) but this was the first one I had ever actually seen and this one was busy! Tomorrow it’s on to Amarillo where I’ll actually pick up Route 66! __________________ Robert -My Basset Hound Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student and Barack Obama - Last edited by Robert_Nash; 06-28-2009 at 07:55 AM.

06-27-2009, 09:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
WShade Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 765 Drives: 09 370Z T/S/N Rep Power: 187	Sound like a fun trip. Be safe and report in often. __________________ Q50S Q60 RS400

06-27-2009, 09:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
Robert_Nash Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Middle TN/Savannah GA Posts: 762 Drives: '14 Q60IPL/'14Armada Rep Power: 17	Day Two *Day Two:* Today started even earlier than yesterday; up by 6 and out of the room by 7 to go to breakfast…ate at an original Route 66 diner on the outskirts of Oklahoma City near the Canadian River As with yesterday, this was a pretty heavy day of travel although not as far as yesterday’s undertaking…my plan was to travel over to Amarillo and pick up the route at exactly where we left off in 2007 at the “Cadillac Ranch”…now in case any of you are wondering, this is not a house if ill-repute; it’s 10 Cadillac automobiles buried to their dashboards “pointing’ West…an art experiment in the middle of a Texas field! Before getting to Amarillo, I couldn’t help but make a couple of excursions off I-40 to stop in Clinton, Ok and then Elk City, Ok to revisit a couple of Route 66 icons. It seems slightly cooler today although temps were still in the low 90’s and it was bright and sunny although it looked as if there were some heavy rains south of the interstate. I made it to the Cadillac Ranch just to the West of Amarillo and than picked up Route 66 from that point…along much of Texas, Route 66 is frontage road mostly following the I-40; that’s because, in part, much of I-40 in Texas sits right on top of what was Route 66. However, there are some old alignments of the route with original pavement (and sometimes, original dirt of sections that were never paved! I stopped for a late lunch at the "Mid-PointCafe" in Adrian, TX ( http://www.midpointroute66cafe.com/ )…the exact mid-point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica. The food was good but the home-made Coconut Cream pie was the real highlight – this was the real deal; nothing machine processed when it comes to their pies! The "Mid-Point Cafe's" best point however are the people who own it/run it…extremely friendly and truly happy to have you as a customer; exactly the way good roadside diners were before the McDonald’s Burger Kings and Wendy’s took over! A lot of the Texas panhandle is somewhat uninteresting as far as landscapes go although there are exceptions…things get noticeable more interesting when you cross the border into New Mexico…it’s easy to see why so many “Western” movies have been filmed in New Mexico…wind chiseled ridges and towering pieces of land seem to sprout up out of flat land. Today’s destination was the Blue Swallow Motel ( http://www.blueswallowmotel.com/ ); a Route 66 original – each room comes with a garage and inside the garage are murals (and murals on much of the outside walls of the building as well. The Blue Swallow neon sign alone is worth the cost of the room. The room is definitely “old fashioned”…small but completely refurbished…everything works including the A/C and the 1938 rotary phone on the desk by the bed. This is not a place for those who like modern comfort but if you want to see how it was back in the day, this is the place to be. Stats for today – 7 hrs/16 minutes of driving for a total of 420.9 miles. Average MPG/MPH for today was 23.9/57.1 respectively. Tomorrow it’s on to Albuquerque, New Mexico! __________________ Robert -My Basset Hound Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student and Barack Obama - Last edited by Robert_Nash; 06-27-2009 at 09:44 PM.

06-27-2009, 09:48 PM	#7 (permalink)
cow Lounge Moderator Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Louisiana Posts: 3,441 Drives: Toyota Avalon Rep Power: 267	Subscribed. I love road trip threads. By the way, if you get a chance while in Albuquerque, you should visit Sandia Peak. It's absolutely beautiful there. __________________ I never bought a 370Z

06-27-2009, 09:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
antennahead A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 15,181 Drives: '07 Z4 "M" Roadster Rep Power: 57	Very cool. One day I would like to drive it from Chicago to California. I wish it would be totally restored and become a wonderful driving heritage from start to finish. How much of your route is going to be the actual old highway? John

06-27-2009, 11:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mental Block Base Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 94 Drives: '03 Redline 350Z Rep Power: 16	awesome! __________________ Mental Block - '03 Redline 350Z

06-28-2009, 03:55 PM	#11 (permalink)
mrarroyo Base Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Heaven on Earth Posts: 211 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z M6 Rep Power: 15	Are you stoping in "Radiator Springs"?

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