We want to Scamp rt 66 this Spring

[cmartin748]

Would love some input from folks who have done it.
We will leave from East Ohio and probably pick it up in Indiana or in St Louis.
Anyone done the camp grounds?
any advice? Any input would help.
We will take about a Month off
Thanks folks.

[Perk]

That sounds like loads of fun. I am interested in some experiences too and some of the suggestions.

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

Would love some input from folks who have done it.
We will leave from East Ohio and probably pick it up in Indiana or in St Louis.
Anyone done the camp grounds?
any advice? Any input would help.
We will take about a Month off
Thanks folks.

Firstly, you will not find old route 66 in Indiana.
It starts in Chicago and follows Rte I-55 (more or less) to St. Louis, then I-44 to Oklahoma City, then I-40 to CA.
Short stretches of the route go through small towns that the interstate bypasses.
You may be able to find detailed maps via google.

[DavidG]

Don't spend too much on the eastern part of Rt 66, which is easy to do. Lots to see ! But the best (original) section of Rt 66 is the roughly 100 mile section that starts about 25 mi west of Williams AZ. Peach Springs , Thruxton and especially Seligman are still a bit like they were in the 40s and 50's. Labeled "Historic Route 66, take your time with a good mile-by-mile guide book. I do this trip occasionally with my Scamp or motorcycle and think you could spend the whole day in a town like Seligman, or Kingman farther west. Don't miss Hackberry. And stop but be careful at Two Guns, east of Flagstaff. Williams and Flagstaff are worth a turn off the Interstate (40) because their downtowns are on the old RT 66 and they have museums and motels. The Williams old cemetery is interesting, as is the Sunset Crater, N. of I-40. And the Williams-Grand Canyon-Flagstaff loop is not to be missed. Get some good books and Rt66 Guide Maps or you will waste time and miss important sites and museums. I hope to be there in a few weeks, but will miss the Quartzsite Fiberglas Gathering this year. I sometimes tour 66 before or after Quartzsite in February. Good luck, take your time. And don't forget Winona ! ( Play the RT 66 song as you drive ! ) David in Fresno and Sonora

[DavidG]

Also, there is a Route 66 magazine available, and I think you can still get back issues. The General Store in Hackberry sometimes has back issues. And the Powerhouse Museum in Kingman has books, maps, and lots to see. But that would be at the end of your trip (beginning of mine ) so order maps on line. Also, there is a lesser known part of old 66 West of Kingman over Sitgreaves Pass ( careful !) to Oatman. And an almost unknown section south from Oatman ( Home of the Wild Burros) to Topock and I-40 near Needles. Lots of tourist traps, but lots of real fun ! David in Sonora (today) and Fresno, CA.

[cmartin748]

Thanks so much ! Very informative.

[Uplander]

Get on websites like...irv2.com and post questions about RV Travel on Rt 66.
There you will get much info from Travel Trailer veterans other than the Fiberglass group on this site. The folks over at "irv2.com" are a great bunch.

If you are an AAA member stop by one of their offices for free maps and campground directories. If you are a member an associate will help you with travel plans...start in St. Louis and give them a final destination and let them know you want to travel on old original Route 66 as much as possible.
They will give you a travel planner plus maps etc.

If you are not a member of AAA you might consider joining.
They have a special RV membership that can come in handy if you break down on the road. With the RV membership you get unlimited free campground directories and special extended towing in the event of a problem on your trips...well worth the membership cost!

Happy Camping !!!

[Rzrbrn]

When we left Los Angeles to come home to TN, in Sep 2015, signs for Rt 66 would pop up on I-40 in AZ and NM and we would drive Rt 66. In many places the road surface on Rt 66 was degraded to the point that after driving several sections I gave up and drove other roads. Quite disappointing. However a couple of sections were passable and it was very interesting to see the old gas stations, restaurants, motels, etc, that are disintegrating. Nothing is being maintained and the old places will not be around much longer. You should drive it, but don't expect much. Be sure to have good tires and plenty of fuel.

[cmartin748]

Thanks a bunch. From what I'm hearing so far I don't know if it's worth the time and expense to do it from the east. I'm glad I asked

[Jack L]

I have not traveled "old" Route 66 in years but I do hope to do it again sometime in the next few years. When I did it in the 90s it was very interesting, like I had turned my watch back 50 years. What's left of the old highway is a time capsule. We're only talking a hundred miles or so of original highway so bad roads or not, the scenery and experience is well worth it. DavidG posted some suggestions that I think would be perfect for this adventure. The only caution I can add is to get fuel on I-40. I got some of the worst fuel I've ever experienced on old 66. Have fun.

[Carol H]

I have only done some sections of it in California and Arizona.

A website with links with good info and links to lots more is:

National Historical Route 66 Federation.

[Gilda]

We drove 4,000 miles round trip during fall of 2015 on our Southwest Trip from California to New Mexico spending most of our time in Arizona and New Mexico. Unfortunately I am going by memory now so I'll only have a few recollections of the highlights. We did not carry a Route 66 guide with us and wish that we had. Note: We do not carry electronic devices with us, so we did not have a "Smartphone" or computer with us. It might have been helpful in lieu of a guidebook.

Regarding Route 66 I agree with Henry, posting #8, in that Route 66 itself was a bit disappointing. I'm glad we did not make it the focus of our trip. I also agree with David G., posting # 4.

I love to decorate our 13' Scamp in the theme of our trips. This is easy to do and adds so much fun to our trip. See my photos of our Southwest theme! For some reason I am not able to attach my photos. Do check out my previous posting titled "Southwest and Route 66 theme". http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...eme-71431.html

All in all we had a great trip but there is a LOT of driving between towns and campgrounds were few and far between, often difficult to find and often not great. We DID, however, like the campground in Taos and in Santa Fe. We happened upon Seligman as it had the only campground around for miles. It was a large RV parking lot, not usually our favorite type of camping, and it was almost empty. The bathroom was clean and decent, the host could not have been nicer and we were within walking distance of a decent diner. Unfortunately my DH was very tired from a day of driving and did not want to detach the trailer and drive the very short distance to Seligman town which is supposed to be a great sample of the old-timey Route 66 town. On the other hand it could have been too "cutesy" for him.

Williams is a quaint, cute town to visit. They have played up the Route 66 theme there. I can recommend the train ride from Williams to the Grand Canyon. We made sure to board their vintage steam train so we had the whole ol' timey train experience. Ours was a special trip called "Man vs. Machine", a race between the train and bicycles. 2015 was the first time in over 40? years that it has been done. It took about 3 hours each way, while you could drive it in about 1 hour each way. Once a month the regular steam train operates. I understand they have a wild west robbery and entertainment. We had none of that, and frankly were glad for it (too touristy for our tastes). The RV park at Williams is the biggest, most modern and slick of any I've seen. We find that kind of park, though, to be too "sanitized" as no one seems to leave their rigs and there is no scenery. On the other hand, it is well run and clean. On the way out, we did stay in a rural BLM camp site that we liked very much.

Basically, we took the Southwest tour to enjoy the natural beauty, see the towns and to learn more about Native Americans. It that regard the trip did not disappoint. Because of the long drives involved, when I return to the Southwest I will fly to the city of my choice and stay in a hotel. I do dream of going to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, NM one year soon.

I wish you a very wonderful trip! Please feel free to PM me for details. I should be able to put my hands on my journal and supporting materials soon.

[Rzrbrn]

Charles, During our Sep 2015 trip we left TN and basically went to San Jose, then Los Angeles and back to TN, with many side trips. W took I- 80 thru Nebraska. Near Kearny is a museum that spans all lanes of I-80. Something every one should visit.

If you are able, go to Congress, AZ then to Yarnell, AZ. what an interesting road. 4 lane divided highway up a mountain range, with Yarnell at the top. It is a small non touristy town. I wish we had spent the night.

The drove by the Chino mine. First time I have seen an open pit mine. Stunning.

Also you should consider going to the VLA: The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array is a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, some 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. Really enjoyed the tour there.

Just a couple of non typical, non touristy places places. Have fun on your trip.

[Rzrbrn]

From TN we took I-80 basically to San Jose, CA, then to LA, then home. Made many side trips. There is a museum near Kerney, Nebraska that spans all lanes of I-80, like a bridge. Privately owned, but a must see.

On the way back try to go to Congress, AZ, then to Yarnell on a 4 lane divided highway that winds up the mountains, a stunning drive. Wish we had spent the night in Yarnell, which is a non tourist type of town, but seemed like a very neat place.

Also try to go to the VLA located in AZ: The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory located on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, some 50 miles (80 km) west of Socorro, New Mexico. The telescopes are on railroad tracks and are moved over a nine month rotation. Very interesting tour.

[Rzrbrn]

One thing you should be careful of: One night we stayed in a Walmart parking lot, among the truckers. Not understanding the situation, we are relative newbies, we parked near a refrigeration truck, which had a gas generator continuously running. Fortunately the trucker understood and actually started his rig and backed up so the exhaust pipe, located about half way down the trailer, did not blow directly into our window. I did not realize what was going on until the next day when we went to breakfast at a restaurant, and it hit me. The trucker saved our lives. We would have been killed by carbon monoxide being vented directly into our open bedroom window.

If you stay at a Walmart, a Truck stop, rest stop, or anyplace where truckers or large RV's run their generators or motors for the night, please be very aware and try to park as far away from them as possible.

[Rzrbrn]

Sorry about the double post regarding our trip. I did not think it took the first time.

[Jim99]

The only part of route 66 I've been on runs between Topock and Kingman, AZ. At Topock visit the Mystic Maze, and for a touristic experience you will get it at Oatman.

The road was in poor condition, very narrow and winding. If you travel this portion of Route 66, when you hit the mountain curves north of Oatman, I saw two cars (one a VW bug) towing 20' (plus?) sailboats; they were heading south.

I was not towing anything and once I got to the mountain curves, was amazed they made it through.

[Raz]

As I recall there is a very short section of rt 66 going through Winslow, Arizona. Just east of town is Homolovi Ruins state park. A nice campground with a very interesting historical site. Raz

[DavidG]

Originally Posted by Jim99

The only part of route 66 I've been on runs between Topock and Kingman, AZ. At Topock visit the Mystic Maze, and for a touristic experience you will get it at Oatman.

The road was in poor condition, very narrow and winding. If you travel this portion of Route 66, when you hit the mountain curves north of Oatman, I saw two cars (one a VW bug) towing 20' (plus?) sailboats; they were heading south.

I was not towing anything and once I got to the mountain curves, was amazed they made it through.

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Jimmy and Fiberglas Friends, (!)
A few other ideas from the posts: There is a KOA in Seligman,AZ. You might miss it because it is just E. of town, on old 66. In town the campground is behind one of the grocery / general stores. A parking lot yes, but some small trees and OK rest rooms. When I stayed there last Feb, I caught up with a MBZ Adventure type off road camper like you see in the Paris-Dakar Rally. In fact he was just returning from the Rally which is now held in Argentina. He was heading for Mardi Gras in New Orleans and then driving back to Mexico City where he leaves the truck in winter while he returns to Hamburg, Germany for work. Then in the fall, back to Mexico city, picks up the Mercedes and drives back to Argentina to the Paris-Dakar Rally. The reason I had noticed him on old 66 was that I recognized his license plate as being from Hamburg, where I visit and have friends. In Seligman be sure to visit Angel Delgadillo at his barbershop; now a major tourist attraction. Angel is one of the founders of the Historic Route 66 Association. And next door is the family's "Dead Chicken" drive-in where tons of tourists get pranks and good food. Don't get there when the huge Tour Buses pull up with Japanese tourists. Bring extra batteries and memory cards for your camera ! And invest in a Mile by Mile Rt 66 Guide of some kind.
Hackberry is a 'Must Stop" on 66, W. of Seligman . The store and grounds are on lots of calendars and photos and tourist brochures. That part of 66; Seligman to Toppock or Oatman IS rough, but slow down ! I haave Scamped it and it IS doable, and every shack or hole in the ground has a story if you have a guide book and the time. The Calif parts of 66 to the west have the poor surface but also surprises around the corner if you know what to look for. Check out Ludlow Crater near famous Roys Motel in CA. Long ago boys started a fire with car tires in this dormantvolcano . Can you imagine the stir it caused ?

[floyd]

Here's a little info...

http://il66assoc.org/