Route 66 Road Trip Day 6 - Arizona - Prehistoric Forests & Meteor Craters! Gallup to Flagstaff

Here It is - Arizona! And this is Day 6 of our Road Trip along Route 66 as my brother and I continue our journey westward along the Mother Road.

The day began checking out of the historic Hotel El Rancho in Gallup, NM, one of the most unique and elegant hotels I've had the pleasure of staying at. The grand lobby alone with its massive fireplace and double staircases makes the stay worthwhile.

From there we explored Gallup and paid a visit to the legendary Galloop, also known as the Gallup Loop - a massive, twisted section of roadway that is formed in the shape of a rollercoaster loop or something Sonic the Hedgehog would run through.

We departed Gallup and crossed into the great state of Arizona, my new home! Arizona has such a beautifully exotic landscape that is ever changing from desert to mountain terrain. Just past the border, the Mother Road winds and enters the only National Park on the entire route - Petrified Forest National Park. An ancient tropical forest millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth is now a dry desert landscape full of sandstone hills and caverns. This region is known as the Painted Desert due to the many colorful red and purple hues the canyons display. Petrified wood from prehistoric trees dot the landscape providing unbelievable sites and scenery.

After leaving the park, we grabbed a late lunch in Holbrook and continued west until we saw a massive sign that simply stated Here It Is! This captured our curiosity and so we were drawn into the famous Jack Rabbit Trading Post - a must stop along Route 66. Next stop was Winslow, AZ where we stood on a corner...it's an Eagles song.

The highlight of the day was experiencing the Meteor Crater just west of Winslow. This is the largest and best preserved meteor impact site on the planet and it is magnificent! Really brings to life how fragile and vulnerable our Earth is to massive particles soaring through space.

Before reaching Flagstaff we paid a visit to the iconic Twin Arrows - but wait! There's only one now! The solo arrow, numero uno is all that remains standing. Its partner lays flat on the ground. Sad to see such a famous roadside attraction falling apart, hopefully someday it can be repaired and become Twin Arrows again.

My brother Connor and I ended Day 6 grabbing a couple beers at the Mother Road Brewery in Flagstaff and then checked into the historic Hotel Monte Vista where I booked the most haunted room in the hotel. There in the corner of the room sat a lone rocking chair, supposedly the ghost of an old woman haunts the room and sits in the chair. People say they have seen it rocking by itself at night.

Unfortunately the only spirits that got us that night was of the alcoholic kind, Connor and I did not realize Flagstaff sits at an elevation of 7,000 ft above sea level. So after a few beers and a cocktail at the Monte Vista lobby bar we quickly felt the effects and hit our pillows hard that night. So if there was an old lady ghost haunting that room, we both slept straight through it.

Route 66 Intro: 0:00
Historic Hotel El Rancho: 0:50
The Galloop: 12:28
Chief Yellow Horse Trading Post: 13:27
Petrified Forest National Park: 16:03
Holbrook: 33:35
Here It Is! Jack Rabbit Trading Post: 36:46
Standin' On the Corner in Winslow, AZ: 39:35
Meteor Crater: 40:28
Twin Arrows: 46:08
Mother Road Brewery: 50:18
Hotel Monte Vista Flagstaff: 51:10
Outro Song: 56:18

Opening Song - Route 66 Theme written and performed by me on my Stratocaster guitar

Closing Song - Under the Neon Light written and performed by me on my Stratocaster guitar