The Indian Capital of the World

As previously mentioned, the only city we visited last weekend that is actually mentioned in the song Route 66 was the city of Gallup, N.M. 

Gallup (Navajo: Naʼnízhoozhí) is is the county seat of McKinley County and the most populous city between Flagstaff, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M.

Gallup was founded in 1881 as a railhead for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The city was named after David Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. 

During World War II, the city fought successfully to prevent 800 Japanese American residents from being placed in wartime internment.

Gallup is sometimes called the "Indian Capital of the World", for its location in the heart of Native American lands, and the presence of Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and other tribes. Gallup's nickname references the huge impact of the Native American cultures found in and around Gallup. 

One of Gallup's biggest events is the Red Rock Balloon Rally, which is the second largest balloon festival in the world and has been held annually in Gallup since 1981. The three-day event features a Friday lift off from both the Red Rock Park and Fox Run Golf Course.

The largest hot air balloon festival in the world is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which takes place in Albuquerque, N.M. during early October. The balloon fiesta is a nine-day event, and has around 750 balloons.

Sadly, we did not see Saige while in New Mexico.

Travel the wigwam way

I was able to show Phoebe (and Clementine) one of my favorite pieces of Americana when we drove down historic Route 66 in Holbrook, Ariz.: Wigwam Village #6.

Arizonan Chester E. Lewis first became aware of the distinctive wigwam designs when he was passing through Cave City, Ky., in 1938. He purchased the rights to Frank A. Redford's design (Redford called the buildings "wigwams" because he didn't like the word tipi), as well as the right to use the name "Wigwam Village."

Opening in 1950, Lewis operated Wigwam Village #6 successfully until closing it in 1974 when Interstate 40 bypassed downtown Holbrook. Two years after his death in 1986, children Clifton, Paul, and Elinor bought it back and renovated the motel, finally reopening it in 1988. The Lewis family continues to run and maintain Wigwam Village #6. 

Fifteen concrete and steel wigwams are numbered from 1 to 16 (there is no teepee 13). Each wigwam is 14 feet wide and 32 feet high. Behind the main room of each unit is a small bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower.

Rooms currently contain the original restored hickory furniture, two double beds, cable television, and a window-mounted air conditioner; there are no telephones, Internet access, or ice machines (although ice is available in small buckets upon request).

Vintage restored automobiles from the 1960s and earlier are located throughout the parking area. Small green metal benches etched with the words "Wigwam Village #6" are scattered throughout the complex as well.

Seven Wigwam Villages were built between 1933 and 1949, but only three remain - two of which are on Route 66.

Better get your kicks while you can!

National treasure

You might recall me mentioning Mary J. Colter last year when we went to the Grand Canyon.

In 1901, the Fred Harvey Company (of the famous Harvey Houses and Harvey Girls) offered Colter, an American architect and designer, the job of decorating the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque, N.M.

Colter began working full-time for the company in 1910, moving from interior designer to architect. For the next 30 years, working as one of few female architects and in rugged conditions, Colter completed 21 projects for Harvey.

Of all of her work, Colter considered the sprawling, hacienda-style Spanish Colonial Revival architecture La Posada Hotel (1929) in Winslow, Ariz., her masterpiece. She designed the entire resort from the building to its gardens, furniture, china—even the maids' uniforms.

She also created a series of landmark hotels and commercial lodges through the southwest, including the Phantom Ranch buildings (1922) at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and five structures on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. (Four "M.E.J. Colter Buildings," were listed as a group as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.)

The La Posada closed to the public in 1957 and its furnishings were auctioned off in 1959. It had been scheduled for demolition several times before The National Trust for Historic Preservation found out about La Posada’s peril and added it to their endangered list.

Thankfully, it was purchased from the Santa Fe Railway in 1994 and a $12 million restoration has restored the hotel to Colter's original vision of La Posada as the grand hacienda of a wealthy Spanish landowner.

Josefina should be so lucky!

 

The Main Street of America

Have you gotten your kicks on Route 66?

We did!

Route 66 was established on Nov. 11, 1926. (Road signs erected the following year.) The highway became one of the most famous roads in America and ran through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Covering a total of 2,448 miles, it was recognized in pop culture by many books as well as a hit song and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s. Sadly, Route 66 declined in popularity with the completion of Interstate 40 in 1984.

I don't know if Phoebe has ever taken the highway that is best (since she lives in Pennsylvania) but she hit three towns on this trip - although only one (Gallup, N.M.) is mentioned in the song.

The (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 lyrics read as a mini-travelogue as you head west: Chicago, Ill., St. Louis, Mo., Joplin, Mo., Oklahoma City, Okla., Amarillo, Texas, Gallup, N.M., Flagstaff, Ariz., Winona, Ariz., Kingman, Ariz., Barstow, Calif., San Bernardino, Calif., and Los Angeles, Calif.

(Winona is out of sequence with the rest of the cities because the author of the song, Bobby Troup, needed a word that rhymed with "Arizona.")

If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on Route 66.

It winds from Chicago to LA,
More than 2,000 miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route 66.

Now you go through Saint Louie
Joplin, Missouri,
And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty.
You see Amarillo,
Gallup, New Mexico,
Flagstaff, Arizona.
(Don't forget Winona,)
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino.

Won't you get hip to this timely tip:
When you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66.

Did you know, of the eight states through which the actual route passes, only Kansas and its cities (Route 66 spends just 11 miles inside Kansas' southeast corner) are not mentioned by the song?

Take it easy

Phew, it will be a busy week telling you about our adventures in Navajoland and northeastern Arizona, but one of my geeky favorites was Winslow, Ariz.

You know, the small town mentioned in The Eagles 1972 hit song, "Take It Easy."

Well, I'm a standing on a corner
In Winslow, Arizona
And such a fine sight to see
It's a girl, my lord
In a flatbed Ford
Slowin' down to take a look at me

The city of Winslow erected a life-size bronze statue and mural in 1999 commemorating the song at the Standin' On The Corner Park.

The statue of a man holding a guitar stands near a lamp post, and a metal sign, crafted in the style of U.S. Route 66 shields, displays the words "Standin' On The Corner."

The trompe-l'œil mural on the wall behind the statue is that of a storefront, and what appears to be the reflection of a red flatbed Ford pickup truck driven by a blonde-haired woman. The second floor of the mural features an eagle perched in one of the windows.

(It is literally a wall. A fire destroyed the building in 2007. A grassy park now occupies the space behind the wall.)

If you ever make it to Winslow, make sure you go to the northwest corner of Second Street (Route 66) and Kinsley Avenue.

The truth is out there

American  Girl

Phoebe, Clementine, and I are so excited we can hardly stand it.

(So is my big sister.)

We leave Friday for the Navajoland Convocation in Farmington, NM! 

Farmington was settled by the Anasazi Indians in the 7th Century with ruins still visible. The Navajos, Jicarilla Apaches, and Utes moved into the area when the Anasazi left, and part of the region is known in Navajo as "Totah," which means "where three rivers meet."

Although Spanish and American mineral prospecting happened in the area, there were few permanent settlements. In 1868, the Navajo Nation was created taking up the western half of San Juan County, NM.

In 1901 the town was incorporated and named Farmington with a population of 548. The population expanded significantly with construction of a developed road connecting Farmington to U.S. Route 66 and Albuquerque in the 1940s, but the development of Interstate 40 and the 1970s energy crisis resulted in an economic downturn. 

On March 18, 1950, Farmington was the site of a mass Unidentified Flying Object sighting when more than half the town's population reported seeing large objects in the sky flying at rapid speeds.

You can be sure I've got my telescope and binoculars packed!

Get your kicks on Route 66

One of Momma's claims to "fame" is once interviewing Bobby Troup, who wrote (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 in 1946. (She got to write several stories about Route 66 while living in Kingman.)

Troop said the tune, as well as the words "Get your kicks on Route 66," came to him easily, but the rest eluded him, so he filled up the song with the names of towns and cities on the highway.

Well if you ever plan to motor west
Just take my way that's the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66

Well it winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than 2,000 miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66

Well goes from St. Louis down to Missouri
Oklahoma City looks oh so pretty
You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino

Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66

Addie and Momma's Excellent Route 66 Adventure

Fans of American Girl might recall that my dear friend Molly McGuire took a trip with her family in 1946 along Route 66.

Molly's Route 66 Adventure takes readers for an eight-state ride, from Illinois to California, along the Main Street of America.

Molly's family took a side trip off Route 66 to go to the Grand Canyon, and stayed at the Bright Angel Lodge where we had lunch Tuesday!

Bright Angel Lodge, designed in 1935 by architect Mary E. J. Colter, has a natural, rustic character, and is a Registered National Historic Landmark.

It has always been a popular place to stay and the center of South Rim activity. Located just a few feet from the Canyon rim, Bright Angel Lodge is the check-in point for the world famous Grand Canyon Mule Rides.

 

Addie's Route 66 Adventure

Whew! What a couple of whirlwind days.

I have enough material for several blogs, so stay tuned the next couple of days, but for now:

• Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 - we drove up to Williams, Ariz., to spend the night before boarding the train.

• Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 - we boarded the Grand Canyon Railway steam train to celebrate Arizona's centennial as a state. We spent the day at The Canyon before taking the train back to Williams. (The train was "robbed" by masked men on horses!) After leaving Williams we started home only to get into a blizzard near Flagstaff, Ariz. Despite Momma's excellent driving, we slid off the road and into a ditch! It took us three hours to get towed out of the ditch so we found the nearest motel in scenic Munds Park where we collapsed for the night.

• Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 - We returned to Phoenix (uneventfully!) where Momma rested before teaching her first class at the local community college!

Phew! I'm exhausted by that brief summary. But stay tuned for more in-depth reporting on my Route 66 Adventure!

The Mother Road

I shall be getting at least some of my kicks tonight on Route 66 as we head to Williams, Ariz., for our Grand Canyon Railway Adventure.

One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on Nov. 11, 1926 – with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in America, originally ran 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois before ending in Los Angeles. It was popularized by both a hit song, (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66, and the 1960s Route 66 television show.Route 66 served as a major path for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed.

Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but was officially removed from the United States Highway System on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. (Arizona saw its final stretch decommissioned in 1984 with the completion of I-40 just north of Williams.)

The first Route 66 association was founded in Arizona in 1987, and a section of Arizona's road has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.