Day 3: Sep. 12, 2005
No Winona


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I started the day with breakfast in the Turquoise Room at La Posada. I wanted to try it out but nothing on yesterday's dinner menu really caught my fancy so I decided to take the more economical route and do breakfast. It was terrific and I've heard enough raves about dinner to know that any meal here is a delightful experience. I then toured the entire hotel and took several pictures but not many worth posting. Even the ones I have posted do not come close to doing the hotel justice so I suggest you see this place yourself and take your own photos.

The first picture is of the "correct" entrance; The one that train passengers would see and use. When people started arriving in those upstart automobiles it was the other side they saw first and that is today's main entrance. The second picture is still outside but it is surrounded by the hotel. It is the Sunken Garden; A great place to sip coffee in the morning. Next is the Ballroom followed by the a picture of stairs that lead up to one set of guest rooms on the right and down to the Cinderblock Court and, at its end, the other guest rooms (including mine). Here is a glimpse of my room taken yesterday before I rearranged the bedding. The bath area is here. Every room has a name and every room except mine (I believe) has a picture of its namesake next to the door. There is, among others, a Mary Pickford room, a Carole Lombard room, and a Jane Russell room. I was in the James Cagney room so the absence of a photo did not upset me greatly.

Yesterday I drove the pre-1947 alignment of US-66 out of Flagstaff so, as I headed back today, I went right by the Winona exit and got to drive this stretch for the first time. Very nice little drive and a neat view of the San Francisco Peaks.
I'm just breaking in my copy of Jerry McClanahan's EZ66 Guide and getting to some places I haven't been before. One is the drive through Parks with a gravel section that begins at this ski fence. Yeah, at first glance I wasn't sure it was skis either but looky here. Not satisfied with driving Sixty-Six, I parked the car and walked a little over 3/4 miles of the 1931 version. Much of the pavement has disintegrated but some remains. As I walked the road/trail, I snapped a couple of pictures of trees that had grown up through the road near the edges. Then, almost at the western end, I saw this and knew it was a keeper. The last picture was taken on the way back and shows the broken off edge of the pavement.
I grabbed some Gatorade at Parks Store and discovered two Stevens Favorite .22 rifles hanging on the wall. I have one that belonged to my grandfather. A bit of surviving concrete, the Deer Farm petting zoo, and another bit of gravel. All in all most pleasant.
Back on asphalt, I drove through Williams and even stopped at Twisters for a malted. Then it was Ash Fork where Desoto's was very closed and the chains across the parking lot made me wonder whether this was a long term closing. The other pictures are of the monument celebrating Ash Fork's better days and the towns major (only?) product. There are acres of good looking flagstone there; Bundled and ready to ship.
In Seligman I drove through town before parking. Photographed the Edsels and mannequins and Angel's barber shop (he wasn't in) then on to the Snow Cap. This was my first visit since Juan's passing and I was pleased but not surprised to see John keeping the laughter alive. I ran into Crocodile & Cheryl Lile at the barber shop and they weren't far behind me at the Snow Cap. I had an ice cream cone ("Half or hole?") but it looks like Croc may have asked for a shake.
The Frontier Motel and Cafe sign, with recently restored neon, is looking good in Truxton. At the edge of town I was able to verify that I had three of Bobby Trump's selected cities in front of me.
I wanted to get to my stopping point in Kingman so my stop at the Hackberry General Store was brief. John was pleasantly presiding over things inside but I found a couple of smiling faces outside that I had not photographed before. Another Gatorade and on to Kingman.
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