Walking the Blue Mesa Trail amongst Nature’s rare gems.
It takes a lot of willpower not to reach out and pick one up.
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ
April 30th, 2019
Petrified Forest
Category: april 2019
CarCass
On Route 66
Did you know that Petrified Forest is the only national park that protects a section of Route 66 within its boundaries?
This spot is simply marked as ”Route 66” in Google Maps and is on your way to other archeological and scenic sites along the Petrified Forest Road.
April 30th, 2019
The Painted Desert
Landscape on a 120 miles (190 km) long by 60 miles (97 km) wide canvas.
The Painted Desert stretches from the Grand Canyon National Park eastward to the Petrified Forest National Park (where these images were taken), with a large portion lying within the Navajo Nation.
Petrified Forest National Park, 1 Park Rd, AZ 86028
April 30th, 2019
The Power of Nostalgia
in grainy black & white
Route 66, Gallup, NM
April 29th, 2019
Neon Lights Nostalgia
El Rancho may be the most famous and a National Historic Site, but it is just one of the many m/hotels along the road, the spot of each lit by its own retro neon sign.
If your way ever brings you to Gallup, do go for a ride on Route 66 after dark… a ride that is bound to ramp your nostalgia levels up a notch.
Route 66, Gallup, NM
April 29th, 2019
Sleeping with the Stars
Because, when you stay at the El Rancho, you will be sleeping in a room where a movie star slept. Like the Humphrey Bogard room. Or the Spencer Tracy one. Or may be the May West room – your pick.
And after a generous hotcakes & eggs breakfast, take a walk along the red brick walls, covered with autographs of every movie star that ever stayed here, and a few photographs of the staff of times past smiling at you. You will smile back.
When you leave, driving along the legendary Route 66 you’ll be taking with you a piece of history of the American West. Never in my wildest dreams…
”Joe Massaglia constructed the El Rancho Hotel in 1936 along U.S. Route 66 for Mr. R.E. “Griff” Griffith, brother of the famous movie director D.W. Griffith. El Rancho Hotel is a large, rambling, Rustic style building that still feeds the fantasy of the Old West in Gallup, New Mexico. Griff came to Gallup in the early 1930s and fell in love with the area, returning a few years later to build the hotel. From the very start, El Rancho was the center of the movie industry in Gallup. Both Griff and his brother encouraged moviemakers to use El Rancho as a base for crews and stars on location because of its proximity to striking western landscapes and the hotel’s rustic elegance. When it opened in 1936, the El Rancho boasted superior service and accommodations for roughing it in comfort. Its employees were trained by the famous Fred Harvey Company hotel and restaurant chain.” [source]
El Rancho Hotel, Gallup, NM
April 29th, 2019
The Humble Fabulist 