Day 1 of Roadtrip 2008 with the Wood Family

August 2, 2008

Today we left Scotts Valley for our last roadtrip before Vienna goes off to college. We are going to see several national parks – Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Devil’s Tower and Yellowstone. We’re also seeing Monument Valley, which isn’t technically a national park but supposed to be awesome. I can’t wait. I’m especially excited to spend these two weeks just me and my family on the road.

Today we drove to Needles – about an 8 hour trip – 9 with stopping for lunch, and mostly through the central valley of California and the Mojave Desert. I am sure the temperature topped 100 degrees though I don’t know for sure. Most of the drive was uneventful but we were expecting that. We did take a detour through Amboy on route 66, which was cool. Route 66 seems to attract the strange, unusual and often goofy. We stopped by a shoe-tree - a tree on the side of the road that people have thrown many pairs of shoes into. We’ve seen one before on route 50 up north so it’s not unique to 66 but then we saw another shoe-tree and then a bra-tree. Now, that was unique.

Amboy, itself is a ghost town that has one famous attraction – Roy’s Café and gas station. A very famous 66 landmark, it is in the process of being renovated along with the motel on the property. Apparently, someone recently bought the town and wants to make it a thriving community. Good luck. It’s a long way off but it would be great if it works.

Just past Amboy we saw the stretch of road where people have spelled their names and made other things with rocks. It was very neat. We thought about getting out again, but after enduring the oppressing heat for the shoe-tree and Amboy we couldn’t bear the thought of getting out again.

We enjoyed the time in the car, chatting, listening to cool music and enjoying the scenery as we passed by. We made it into Needles at about 5:30 and cooled off in our air-conditioned room before heading off for dinner at a local 66 tourist restaurant – the Wagon Wheel. Good food, service and a little gift shop – all requisites for a good 66 place. After a good walk in the evening heat, I took a cold shower – not by choice and am now relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow’s adventure – the Grand Canyon.