Carhenge?

Americans are weird.

That's what I take away from my virtual Route 66 challenge, judging by the attractions I've passed so far on my journey. And, mind you, these are only the attractions that I've found when I've input my distances into The Conqueror app and seen my surrounding environment.

It doesn't include attractions that I pass, unbeknownst to me, while I'm actually moving. I don't see anything between points A and B—where I start at the beginning of the day and where I end up, when all of my exercise is done.

So far, I've seen a giant space alien, an Abe Lincoln in a wagon, a leaning water tower, and several Route 66 museums. I suppose these are far better than the countless stops, where there's nothing around me but highways and flat lands, or the many strip malls, or even the occasional prisons.

Actually, there are plenty of prisons. In all of the virtual challenges I've done so far, I've never seen any prison until I've crossed the United States. I've even passed a one-room jail, which was no bigger than a garden shed, in Oklahoma, near the Texas border.

Also, in Texas, I came across something called the VW Slug Bug Ranch, and I used Google Maps street view to get a closer look. It was no more than a field with a bunch of stripped-down VW Beetles, standing on end, with their front ends buried in the dirt. They were spray-painted with graffiti, and a neighbouring, former garage, looked like it had been trashed.

This was the so-called attraction.

Time to move on.

Just west of Amarillo, Texas (lots of weird things in Texas), I stopped near an attraction called Cadillac Ranch. Having not learned my lesson from the VW ranch, I thought this might be a farm with stables and a coral with plenty of horses. I thought it might be a place where travellers could stop, take in a theme ranch, and perhaps stay for the evening.

Nope.

Like the VW Slug Bug Ranch, this was a barren area of flat, treeless land, with Cadillac automobiles partly buried in the earth, standing on end like pillared rocks at Stonehenge. Without the circles and orientation to the sun.

I would say that these attractions are cheap American versions of the millennia-old one in England's Salisbury area, but I passed a cheap Stonehenge-like attraction in Rolla, Missouri.

Like I said, Americans are weird.

My virtual journey continues.

The Strip-Mall Ride

Ring Road. I mean, come on!

One of the things that I liked the most about my virtual challenges was that I chose famous treks that showed some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. Though I may have been working out by sitting in my bedroom, on my spin bike, by walking around my neighbourhood or around the house, or better—by kayaking on lakes and rivers or cycling around Eastern Ontario, I enjoyed seeing where I was, virtually, by covering the same distance in far-off countries.

As soon as my distances from my workouts were entered in The Conqueror Virtual Challenges app, I would see where I was, virtually, on Google Maps. I could even go to the street view, on most challenges, and virtually wander the neighbourhoods.

I loved seeing northern Spain in my first challenge, the Camino de Santiago, and followed it up with a longer trek over England and Scotland. My first disappointment was Germany's Romantic Road, where Google's street view was unavailable for about 99 percent of the trek.

What I love about these challenges is that at the end of a workout, I could see the nearest village, town, or city, or wonder at a vista that exhibited the beauty of a country. I totally fell in love with Iceland when I travelled (virtually) the Ring Road, and I'm even planning an actual visit, sometime next year, to experience that beauty in real life.

I expect to take some fabulous photographs.

My latest challenge is the 3,669.8 km trek along America's old Route 66, which runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. To date, I've covered about 950 kms and am near the Missouri-Kansas border. I'm only a quarter of my way into my virtual journey.

Taco Bell and McD's. Yawn.

But I have to say, as much as I still like accumulating distances and seeing where I virtually am on the map, I find that the street views are downright boring. I'm either on a flat stretch of highway or passing a strip mall. I can't tell you how many McDonald's or Arby's or Taco Bell restaurants I've passed.

I understand that because the United States is such a large country, there will be patches of nothing between communities. Where most of my previous challenges had villages spaced less than 10 kms apart, I often have to travel more than 20 to 30 kms between small points of interest along Route 66. But when I do come across a populated area, I'm faced with the same, boring views.

More strip malls.

I'm looking forward to when I finally head further west and reach deserts and mountains. In 2016, my family actually visited Arizona and we travelled along old parts of Route 66, in Flagstaff. Flagstaff was an interesting town, and I'm looking forward to seeing it again, although virtually.

I'm sure the town had strip malls but I don't remember seeing any.

This virtual challenge will take me until the beginning of 2022 to reach the Pacific Ocean, but I'm hoping that I can extend some bike rides to get ahead of schedule. If there's not much more to Route 66 than small towns with strip malls, it'll be one of the only treks that I've done virtually, that I'd never want to do in real life.

Wordless Wednesday: On Route 66

Gettin' Our Kicks

One of the best things about driving around northern Arizona is that with every turn, over every rise, around every corner, the landscape seems to change. Driving along Highway 89, there are parts of the roadway where, on the west side, you see rolling hills: directly to the eastern side of the two-lane highway, tall, jagged cliffs.

As you climb and approach Flagstaff, tall, snow-capped mountains loom in the distance. Cars pass you with ski equipment strapped to the rooftops. In the middle of this desert state is a forested, mountainous territory.

Flagstaff is a booming railroad town and still hosts some of the original strips of the historic Route 66, the interstate that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. Along this stretch of highway, you can still see the neon-lit hotels and restaurants that attracted travelers from as far back as the Dustbowl era to the Hippy age. You can still drive along some of the original route, as well as a stretch of the 
diversion of the late 40s, which remained until 1967.

In Flagstaff, you can still get your kicks on Route 66.

Thanks to my sister, we were able to stay for a couple of days in a cabin just to the south of Hwy. 40, on the easternmost end of the town. It was a spacious shack, surrounded by tall trees, with a backyard view of Humphrey's Peak. One leisurely morning, as we were enjoying breakfast, no less than five deer trotted through our back yard, in a pack, and around the side. Standing quietly on our deck, the deer seemed to pay little attention as they trespassed to our neighbours.

In those moments, we came to the realization that Arizona is diverse in more than its landscape.

If you're a tourist, Flagstaff can be enjoyed in one day. You can have a life-altering breakfast burrito at Martanne's Burrito Palace (which we visited on our way from Phoenix to Page), a rich coffee and pastry at Macy's European Coffee House & Bakery, or partake of some local craft brew at Beaver Street Brewery^*. You can wander the streets and photograph some of the old hotels and restaurants, or check out the old railway station, which is now the tourist office. There are lots of shops to help you fill your day.

For dinner, we tried a classic Route 66 diner, Galaxy, which has welcomed travellers with their burgers and shakes since 1955. 

In the evening, the best attraction is made for when the sun goes down. The Lowell Observatory is credited with being the astronomy site where Pluto was first discovered. The observatory hosts a couple of large telescopes as well as smaller, portable ones. On our visit, we were able to get a great view of a half moon, which accentuated the craters with shadows. Imagine holding a basketball about a foot away from your face: that's how big the moon appeared.

We also were treated with a view of Jupiter and four of its moons, and the Orion cluster, which consists of three stars plus the greenish glow of a fourth, forming star. Way cool.

The Lowell Observatory is also a great place from where you can view the town of Flagstaff, with Route 66 glowing brightly.

 
Flagstaff was a quiet and underrated town for our trip, but I enjoyed it immensely. If I ever return, I'm going to have to try skiing in its famous snow bowl, a ski area that is more like a crater, with peaks on all sides.

From Flagstaff, we continued south, through Sedona, back to Phoenix, and on to Tucson. On Thursday, I'll show what we saw and what we did. Tomorrow, Wordless Wednesday, shows you some of the old signs and night scenes along Route 66.

Stay tuned.


^* For a review of the beers of Beaver Street, check out Thursday's Beer O'Clock post.