Had a good free (Courtesy of Total Rewards) leisurely (a bit slow) breakfast at The Beach Cafe in Harrah's. Checked out of hotel a little later than I hope to at about 9 am.
Crossed the Colorado River From Laughlin, Nevada to Bullhead City, Arizona. Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone. My GPS unit deals with time zones seamlessly, it shows you the arrival time in local time zone of the destination.
Went about 30 miles to the Powerhouse Visitor Center and Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona. Kingman is very proud of Andy Devine who spent his youth there. They are less happy being associated with more recent resident Timothy McVeigh. I picked up some brochures, and bought some Route 66 earrings.
Drove through Flagstaff without stopping, and on to Holbrook, Arizona. Holbrook has one of the somewhat mandatory Route 66 stops: Wigwam Village #6. This is one of three remaining Wigwam Motels built in 1930's through 50's. The Holbrook Wigwam is on the National Register of Historic Places. Possibly more impressive to some people is that Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King stayed there during Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure. An obliging pedestrian took my photo, and then it was back on the road.
Since I was running a bit late on my schedule, I decided not to stop at Stewart's Petrified Wood.
Gallup, New Mexico is about 23 miles past the Arizona Border.
I arrived at The El Rancho Hotel, in Gallup, about 4:30 pm. The El Rancho is historical and very unique. There is a lot of movie memorabilia throughout the hotel and each of the rooms is named after actual guests (such as John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Jane Fonda, etc.). Of course, Ronald Reagan's name was on the Presidential Suite. My room was Joel McCrea (who???). The El Rancho is the type of place where everybody is friendly with each other. There was an interesting assortment of Europeans, retired couples, a couple on motorcycles with their pocket dog, and a group of women doing an escorted Route 66 tour in a passenger van.
I ate at the Olympic Kitchen with some friends who moved to Gallup about a year ago. We share several plates of Native American food, which included Navajo Tacos, Mutton Stew, Lamb Stew, and Frybread. The restaurant staff was friendly and accommodating and the food was very good.
I used the wireless internet in the hotel lobby, and chatted with some other guests until about midnight.
