Lodging Has Been Arranged!

I am so excited to finally say that our vacation has been completely planned. I know that they say you should just take your time and stop when it feels right, but I really wanted to stay in specific places, and I need to make sure the kids have a roof over their head each night (or a flap of nylon!)

Anyway, following is our planned trip - Lodging only for now.

Our Route 66 trip is actually going to be broken up into two pieces. That is because we are going to my nephew's graduation in June down in St. Louis, so we decided, since we live in the Chicago area, to get the Chicago to St. Louis leg done then. Consequently, our overnight in St. Louis will have nothing to do with Route 66 and everything to do with the location of my nephew's graduation! I will say that we are going to make sure we hit all the stops we want to in St. Louis (but that will be for another post).

On Sunday of graduation weekend, we are going to make it all the way to Meramec Caverns to make sure we get as far along as possible, since there will be so much more to see on our big trip. So, the following is for the BIG trip:

Day #1 Chicago to Lebanon, MO (460 mi)
Munger Moss Motel: 417-532-3111 ... http://www.mungermoss.com
Our big trip will begin with a rush to Lebanon, MO. I would say if you are starting from Chicago and not breaking it up into two vacations like we are, I would recommend staying the first night somewhere in St. Louis and the second night in Lebanon. We might have to backtrack a bit after our first night to see the things between Meramec Caverns and Lebanon, but it will be worth it. I am very excited to stay in the Munger Moss Motel! When I called to make reservations, the owner, Ramona, was so nice. She asked if I was traveling Route 66 and if I had seen the movie Cars. We had a lovely talk. I expect that is the kind of experience we are going to have all along the Route!

Day #2 Lebanon, MO to Vinita, OK (197 mi)
Route 66 Inn and Motel: 918-256-3264 ... http://rte66inn.com
The Route66 Inn and Motel in Vinita was mentioned in the EZ66 Guide. It isn't very far from Lebanon, MO (just under 200 miles), but I thought we'd give ourselves some time to backtrack east of Lebanon if we can't see the things I want to see between Meramec Caverns and Lebanon on Day #1. This day will take us through the "13 miles of smiles in Kansas" and into the eastern edge of Oklahoma. I am also hoping that we can check in fairly early that day, so that we can backtrack on I-44 to Carthage, MO for a Drive-In Movie Experience at the Route 66 Drive-In that evening. I will explain more of the sightseeing itinerary in another blog.

Day #3 Vinita, OK to Clinton, OK (271 mi)
Best Western Tradewinds Courtyard Inn: 580-323-2610
This motel was listed as an inspiration for the Pixar Cars team, as well as in Michael Wallis' book "Route 66, The Mother Road". It is a MUST STAY!! Unfortunately, I had trouble finding the hotel on the bestwestern.com website, so my suggestion is to just call the number directly and set up your reservations. Clinton, OK is a town which has whole-heartedly embraced the Route 66 culture, so we will be wise to get there early in the afternoon/evening to see all they have to offer.

Day #4 Clinton, OK to Tucumcari, NM (285 mi)
Blue Swallow Motel: 505-461-9849... http://www.blueswallowmotel.com
What would a trip down Route 66 be without an overnight at the Blue Swallow. They bill themselves as the friendliest Motel on Route 66. I look forward to staying here. Not only was this motel mentioned in Michael Wallis' book, but it was also listed on a few other blogger's websites as one of the inspirations for the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars. I believe the Pixar team stayed here as well. It is one of those motels along Route 66 that is a MUST stay! Also, Tucumcari itself was a great inspiration for the movie Cars. This will be one of the best stops on the entire trip!

Day #5 Tucumcari, NM to Gallup, NM (310 mi)
Hotel el Rancho: 1-800-543-6351...http://www.elranchohotel.com
The Hotel El Rancho is billed as the Hotel to the Stars. Another Route 66 institution, it has the added bonus of having housed many Movie Stars from the 30s and 40s. Names such as Allan Ladd, Ronald Regan and Jackie Cooper stayed here while filming in the area (just to name a few). Some of the rooms are dedicated to those old performers. I first saw this hotel in the 5 disc DVD set that I have. After a day of trekking across New Mexico, it looks like it will be a great place to stop!

Day #6 Gallup, NM to Mesa Verde National Park (148 mi)
Recreation.gov for reservations
We couldn't pass up an opportunity to see the Indian Cave Dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park. This will be a camping night in or near the park (one of the few nights I don't have advanced reservations as they don't accept them). We will end up traveling straight north to the Park, and then straight south back onto Route 66, so nothing along the Route will be missed!

Day #7 Mesa Verde National Park to Holbrook, AZ (238 mi)
Wigwam Motel: 1-928-524-3048 ...http://www.galerie-kokopelli.com/wigwam/
The Wigwam Motel was THE PLACE I had to stay. Had I not been able to book a night here on the night I needed, I would have completely altered my plans to make it work! Not only is it going to be such fun for the kids to sleep in a Wigwam, it is also the most obvious inspiration of the Cozy Cone motel in Cars (I wonder if my 3-year-old will make the connection). We will have spent the previous night in a tent, so I am looking forward to staying in a bit more comfort. I hope my 6'3" husband doesn't hit his head too much inside! There is a Wigwam Motel in Rialto, CA, but I thought this one would feel more authentic out in the less populated Holbrook.

Day #8 Holbrook, AZ to Grand Canyon (189 mi)
Recreation.gov for reservations
This will be an 'off the route' day as we can't miss the Grand Canyon! We are going to go as far as Flagstaff, up Route 89, and into the National Park. We will camp out there for the evening (everyone says you have to see the sunset and the sunrise over the Canyon).

Day #9 Grand Canyon to Williams, AZ (113 mi)
The Lodge on Route 66: 1-877-563-4366 http://www.thelodgeonroute66.com
We originally thought we wanted to stay in the Red Garter Bed and Bakery, but they didn't have room for us. As I poked around on the web, I came across The Lodge. It is centrally located in Williams and has a more 'upscale' feel to it. After a night of camping, I'll be ready for upscale! The mileage for this day is quite small as we plan to spend the morning looking around the Grand Canyon. I hope this is an easy day!

Day #10 Williams, AZ to Kingman, AZ (131 mi)
Hotel Brunswick: 1-928-718-1800 http://www.hotel-brunswick.com
First of all, let me note that I REALLY wanted to stay in Oatman on this night. But there really are not accommodations there. We decided that we would visit Oatman on Day #10, and then backtrack to Kingman. Had we gone on to Needles, the thought of spending the night at the edge of the desert was just not appealing. And Kingman has such character! It is work a small bit of backtracking. The folks at Hotel Brunswick, Jason and Jen Pfaff are SO nice! They were very accommodating with my family of five. Because they didn't have a large enough room available for all of us, he offered up his 'cowboy room' which is a single bed, no bath, for the 14-year-old, while the rest of us would fit into one of their suites. I think the 14-year-old will LOVE the opportunity of a night alone after having to share a bed with his sister up to this point!

Day #11 Kingman, AZ to Pasadena, CA (352 mi)
Saga Motor Hotel: 1-626-795-0431 http://www.thesagamotorhotel.com
On this day we plan to shoot across the Desert as quickly as we can. We will probably stop in a few places like Needles and Amboy, but other than that, we hope to just make it across. We are not "heat-tolerant" people, and it will be the middle of summer. The Saga Motor hotel was chosen because it is close enough to Los Angeles, but not so close that we have to pay outrageous prices. Also, it has a pool. After a day of driving across the desert, I REALLY wanted a place with a pool!

Day #12 Spend day in L.A., continue to stay at Saga Motor Hotel.
We will finish our Route 66 adventure on this day. The children are excited to swim in the Pacific, see the Hollywood sign and my daughter would like to see someone famous. (of course, who is famous to her might not be famous to me, and vice versa!)

What follows is the itinerary of our return trip. It will have much more camping, and we will follow a more northernly route home.

Day #13 Pasadena, CA to Sequoia National Park (232 mi)
recreation.gov
Camping amongst the Sequoias. I hope we get there early. Tomorrow is a long day of travel.

Day #14 Sequoia National Park to Las Vegas, NV (400 mi)
Las Vegas Hilton: www.lvhilton.com
This is just a quick stopover on our way to Utah. I figure we will arrive in the evening, amaze the children with all of the neon lights, have dinner, see the outdoor pirate show, and get to bed!


Day #15 Las Vegas, NV to Bryce Canyon National Park (260 mi)
recreation.gov
This is a MUST STOP place. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. I am very excited to see this natural beauty.



Day #16 Bryce Canyon National Park to Arches National Park? (275 mi)
recreation.gov
This place has not been reserved. We decided to be flexible for this night. We may decide to stay a little closer to Denver than Arches, so we didn't want to make any definite decisions. I am also thinking that we may want to stay in a hotel this night to take a break from camping.

Day #17 Arches National Park to Rocky Mountain National Park (400 mi)
recreation.gov
Because this day would be such a long driving day, that is another reason why we may want to get closer to Denver than Arches NP. We will be staying two days in Rocky Mountain National Park. From the desert to the mountains. We're going to have to pack a little bit of everything!

Day #18 Stay in Rocky Mountain National Park

Day #19 Rocky Mountain National Park to Chicago (1030 mi)
We will be rested and ready to make that long drive back home. I think. I hope...

Route 66 - The Inspiration, The Books

My littlest boy has been an fan of Cars ever since he experienced it in the theater (it was the first theater experience he has ever had). We got the DVD when it came out, and he had a "Cars" Christmas! This inspired me to begin planning a Route 66 trip (I LOVE trips with a theme!) I have now been planning a Route 66 trip with my family for 3 months. There are a few books which have become my BIBLES in this research! The first one was written awhile ago by the voice of the Sheriff in Cars: Route 66: The Mother Road 75th Anniversary Edition. Michael Wallis is the definitive authority on Route 66. His overview of each state, along with specific stops along the way were a great way to start my research.

The next book I referenced a lot was EZ66 Guide for Travelers by Jerry McClanahan. It is spiral bound, and lists stops along the way, mile by mile. It was great to cross reference this book with Michael Wallis' book. Unfortunately, some of the stops along Route 66 have disappeared, and some of the people have passed away since Michael wrote his book. Jerry McClanahan's book allowed me to double-check to make sure some of those motels and restaurants are still there!

Once I had read both books and made extensive lists of where I wanted to stay, and what I wanted to eat, and what I wanted to see, I purchased a set of maps which list every town along the route. They have individual maps for each state. This map set by Jerry McClanahan and Jim Ross really helped me see exactly where along the route we might want to sleep and eat. I began to mark on these maps the logical hotels to stay each night, food along the way we just couldn't miss and things we wanted to see. Marking them in a color-coated way helped me to really see where we'd be each night.

The last definitive book I have been using is Drew Knowles Route 66 Adventure Handbook. It tells of interesting and goofy things to see along the way, as well as short side-trips. It is helping me fill in the blanks between stops so that I have a good list of everything we will want to see (or at least try to see!)

Last but not least, I have also found a five DVD set on Route 66 that was filmed in 2003. It took me visually all along the way from Chicago to L.A. I was able to make sure that the stops they made were already in my notes. If not, I added them!

I also took a look at the bonus section of the Cars DVD. They have a 16 minute video entitled "The Inspiration behind Cars." By the time I viewed that, I had seen and researched so much that I recognized a lot of the people and places that were highlighted in the Pixar team's travels. The Cars DVD also has a list of "Special Thanks" during the credits which list people and places that helped them during the creation of Cars. I also made sure all of the places listed were in my notes!

So there you have it. These are my books, my movies...my inspiration. I am excited to get ready for this vacation. If you are planning a Route 66 vacation, I would highly recommend each of the books noted. Each one is indispensable in its own way. More next time on my actual notes and what we hope to see!