Photographing all of Route 66 is one our our major projects as photographers. We plan to drive the entire route in one trip some day. We have been photographing portions of Route 66 for many years. Flagstaff to Oatman is 200 miles and can take as long as all day if you drive Route 66 and stop at all the good locations. We planned for three days with overnight stays in Flagstaff and Kingman. Here is what you might see.
Flagstaff – When in Flagstaff we highly recommend you stay at the Little America Hotel, just on the outskirts of town. It is adjacent to the most beautiful truck stop you will ever see at the Sinclair gas station. Little America was built and is owned by the Robert Earl Holding family, who own Sinclair Oil. It is a beautiful property with top of the line furnishings and a fine restaurant.
The Lumberjacks are called Louie and are original muffler men converted to Lumberjacks in 1970s for the Lumberjack Café and later donated to Northern Arizona University.
Williams – There is a lot to see in Williams. You could probably spend a good half day here. It’s a good place to stop for lunch, too.
Ash Fork – There is not much left here except De Soto’s.
Seligman – This little town is super fun because it has Snow Cap Drive In and Route 66 Gift Shop and Visitor Center owned by the Delgadillo brothers, Angel and Juan. Juan is the founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. For his work in promoting Route 66, he has been called “The Father of the Mother Road,” “The Guardian Angel of Route 66,” and “The Ambassador.”
Truxton – Really, the only thing to see in Truxton is the Frontier, but wow is it a good subject to photograph.
Hackberry – this general store is pretty fun to visit and has quite a few vintage Americana items strewn about.
Kozy Korner is just outside Kingman proper. It is the home of “Giganticus Headicus”, the 14-foot tall tiki head sculpted of metal, wood, chicken wire, Styrofoam and cement.
Kingman – This is great place to home base in western Arizona. There is a lot see see and photograph, as well as many hotels and restaurants.
Goldroad/Cool Springs/Sitgreaves Pass – Kingman to Oatman is only 30 miles but it takes an hour because you must take AZ 10, the Oatman Highway which is a very tight, no shoulder, no guardrails road over the 3,500 foot pass.
Oatman – This is truly a destination location and was crazy crowed for a spring weekday. The local burros roam freely in town. After walking around a bit, shopping, and a snack, it’s time to head back to Kingman the or drive on to Needles, 30 miles away, and the first stop of Route 66 in California.
We have quite a few Route 66 books at hour house, but I find these three the best for planning our trips.
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