arizona – Car Full of Harmony

Fun Sights Along Route 66 – Getting Our Kicks and Takin’ It Easy!

I’ve been a big fan of the song “Route 66,” and since we were in the area, we drove some of the stretched of Route 66 from the Petrified Forest National Park around the Meteor Crater area.

I really badly wanted to stay at the Wigwam Motel, but they didn’t have any availability the days we were in the area. Instead, we drove past it. The girls were so excited, as it looks a lot like the Traffic Cone Hotel in the movie Cars.

Love the old cars outside of the Motel, too!

I really wanted to sleep in one of those air-conditioned wigwams!!!

After leaving Holbrook, we went in search of dinner in Winslow (another Route 66 town). We had fun “standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona” like in the Eagles song “Take It Easy.” They even had a corner set up to take pictures on.

Winslow has a huge Route 66 in the middle of the road

We stayed in Winslow for the night, but the following day, after Meteor Crater, we went in search of lunch and found ourselves in Williams, AZ. This was a cute town that had a lot of restaurants and shops, along with plenty of Route 66 charm. This is also the town that the Grand Canyon train leaves from (which is definitely on my list now!).

And the last town we visited off of the Route 66 path, as well!

Route 66 was a fun area to travel. We even met a couple who was traveling all of Route 66. Sounded like a fun vacation! Now I can’t decide which song I have stuck in my head – “Route 66” or “Take It Easy.”

July 22, 2021

Lisa Werner1 Comment

Hoover Dam – 2008 vs today!

We HAD to stop at the Hoover Dam on the way back to Vegas from our Arizona adventures. Squid had just read the Percy Jackson series, and had remembered a scene that took place in the Hoover Dam, so she was looking forward to seeing it. Unfortunately, due to Covid, there weren’t any tours for us to take, but we definitely enjoyed the views!

Hubby and I had been there in March of 2008, and we were surprised by how much it had changed! Before, you used to have to drive straight through the Hoover Dam to get to Nevada from the Grand Canyon. Now, it was an exit off of the highway. And speaking of that highway, there was a fantastic pedestrian portion of the bridge over the dam so that you could get this amazing view:

It was crazy to see the new parking garages and gift shop. We were bummed we couldn’t take a tour, but we knew that going into the visit. The girls were not thrilled about the heat….

This sign looks awfully permanent…is every day an excessive heat warning???

Hubby and I had a great time comparing the dam with last time’s visit. We felt bad for the guards standing in their black uniforms and masks performing the vehicle checks of every car, truck, etc that went through their checkpoint!

Here’s what the bridge looked like as they were working on it in 2008 vs what it looked like finished and running on our trip:

June 2021…all done and functioning! This bridge is the freeway and holds the pedestrian walkway to take pictures of the dam from as well.

The water levels were interesting to compare, too, as this area is in a dangerous drought.

Overall, it was a fun stop, though the girls were less than thrilled about the heat and the stairs/walk to the pedestrian portion of the bridge. However, they loved getting their picture taken with half of their bodies in Arizona and the other half in Nevada!

July 21, 2021

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Walnut Canyon

On the way back to Las Vegas from Meteor Crater, we passed the Walnut Canyon National Monument exit. Hubby and I had been there the last time we were in Arizona before we had kids and enjoyed the stop. We took a short detour to visit the park and show the girls.

Walnut Canyon is only 3 miles off of I-40, so it is also a quick and easy stop. Walnut Canyon is most known for the cave dwellings from the early people who used to live in the sides of the cliffs. You can view the dwellings from the giant glass windows in the Visitors Center, the outdoor overlook, or by hiking around them. We went into the visitors center, and checked out the overlook. Last time Hubby and I were at this park, there had been a giant landslide that had damaged the hiking trails, so it was good to see it all repaired this time.

You can see the dwellings in the lower part of this picture.

Because we hadn’t planned on stopping here, we didn’t spend very long at Walnut Canyon. It was maybe a half hour stop, but we didn’t do any of the hikes. Eventually, we would like to take the girls back here. For now, though, they were pretty impressed by the idea of living in the side of a mountain!

Doesn’t look like the most hospitable area I’ve seen, but it worked for the early people in this area!

July 20, 2021

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Meteor Crater

As our trip is starting to wind down, we left the whirlwind of National Parks behind us, and visited Meteor Crater in Arizona. I kept joking with everyone that I was going to see a hole in the ground, and I was not expecting to be as impressed with this stop as I was.

Meteor Crater is not very far off of the major freeway that you have to take to get back to Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon areas from Petrified Forest National Park, so it made sense to stop. It is the best preserved meteor crater in the world, and it is HUGE!

You can countdown the miles from the highway as you get closer to the crater

When you enter the crater area, there is a visitors center where you show the tickets you bought online (they are cheaper), or you can purchase tickets in person. We bought mine and the girls’ online, so we just had to show our phone to enter. Hubby had to buy his onsite because he has a military I.D. Once you get past the entrance, you have your choice of watching a short video that was show on the hour, going out to look at the crater, wandering around to look at exhibits, or watching a 4-D adventure space mission. It wasn’t time for the video, so we decided to check out the exhibits. I got to touch the biggest remaining meteorite fragment from the meteor impact.

We learned a lot about how incredibly fast meteors enter our atmosphere and what the force of a crash landing can have! We also got to see examples of other meteors that have fallen into earth in much more recent times.

We finished up in the exhibits and then it was time to see the video. We wanted to make sure we saw that before going out to the crater. Then it was off to see the crater in person. There was a very nice big glass wall that faced the meteor crater, as well, so if you weren’t sure you wanted to leave the building, you wouldn’t have to go outside. We chose to go in as many spots as we were allowed – there was a high observation area to get the most zoomed out view, another viewing platform with memorial plaques and some seats, and a final area that had binoculars to look at some of the features that scientists have created in the crater – drilling shafts, exploratory holes, a 6’ astronaut, etc.

Checking out the binocular views of the crater

After we had been thoroughly awed by the actual crater, we went back inside to do the 4-D experience. It was pretty fun. In the waiting area for the experience, there is a hand scan area. Poor Squid got the ‘Denied Entry’ alert when she put her hand up. That caused us all to laugh. Don’t worry; it’s all for fun – they let her in anyways.

Little did she know that she would get “Access Denied”! Hahaha

All 4 of us really liked this stop – it was so crazy to think about how long ago the meteor hit the earth here, and how huge it was. The whole experience was interesting for all of us – from 7-year old Wormy to 11-year old Squid to my husband and I. I think we were here for 2 hours or so, and that includes seeing everything AND shopping at the gift shop onsite, as well.

July 20, 2021

Lisa WernerLeave a comment