Arrived late on the 11th in Kingman and after settling in I had dinner @ Dumbar & Steakhouse (recommended by a friend – great steak) then drove around looking for some of the towns neon signs. On the 12th I toured the the town and headed on the longest un-interrupted stretch of 66 in the southwest (Kingman to Seligman).

My first stop was Hackberrry general store. This store in the middle of no where has almost anything Route 66 related. Outside it has historic signage, antique cars and old gas pumps.

Seligman originally started as a railroad town and headed to decay when I-40 was opened. Seligman is now internationally known as an iconic Route 66 town. In 1987, Seligman gained its name “Birthplace of Historic Route 66” due to the efforts of Seligman residents, most notably Angel Delgadillo, the Seligman barber who convinced the State of Arizona to dedicate Route 66 a historic highway. This grassroots effort to bring Route 66 back not only revitalized Seligman but it also caused world-wide interest in Route 66 and the old-fashioned Americana that it represents. (http://tinyurl.com/yyc3373c)

Continuing on to Williams the gateway to the Grand Canyon I walked the town and stopped off at the – Historic Brewing Barrel + Bottle House.

With several hours of daylight left I decided to head north of Flagstaff to Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater (http://tinyurl.com/y9fvdwr8). The monument houses several pueblo settlements on a 31 mile loop road. Each of the pueblos are short hikes from the parking areas and allow the exploring of both in and outside of the remains of buildings that are over  800 years old. I explored Lomaki, Naiakihu, Citadel, Wupatki and Wukoki pueblos.

At the end of the loop you get to visit view sites for Sunset Crater, Painted Desert, Cinder hills and Bonito lava flow.

Unfortunately because of road washouts and substantial wash-boarding my trip to Grand Falls has to be scrapped. Not going to risk damage to the several framed paintings and photos that I’m carrying. Here is what I will miss. http://tinyurl.com/yyevh442