Day 1:
When we head east on I-10 in the morning we usually stop at the Cabazon dinosaurs for a bite to eat. This time we stopped at the Burger King (last time it was the Wheel Inn where Pee Wee's Big Adventure was shot). The flies give it a rustic charm in a strange way.
We stopped for gas at the Love's Travel Stop in Quartzsite. Not only do they usually have the best gas prices, but they also have a Subway sandwich shop inside. It gives us a chance to eat a meal with some vegetables and no greasy fried food (we get enough of that elsewhere). There wasn't time on this trip to stop by the Hi Jolly Monument (dang). Unfortunately we missed the older part of Wickenburg and simply stopped at a Vons supermarket to buy ice cream. Much of the scenery along the way reminded me of the California desert. It wasn't until we gained elevation on AZ-89 nearer to Prescott did we see a big change. The chapparal near Yarnell looked like the area around my home in Orange County (oak trees, grass and brush). As we came to the south side of Prescott we drove through ponderosa pines and enjoyed the greenery.

We stayed at the Prescott Resort and Conference Center for 2 nights. Usually I travel on the cheap, but to keep my wife happy I picked comfortable lodgings (and to keep the kids happy I chose one with a nice pool). Classical music wafted through the corridors and open spaces in the resort, and it made a most relaxing atmosphere. After reading through yelp.com and tripadvisor.com for recommendations on places to eat that evening, we couldn't find a clear winner. We went to a local shopping center and were surprised to find it about half vacant. We ate at the Applebee's as it was convenient, and to my surprise my wife and kids said they liked it so much they wanted to come back the following night. I even got to watch baseball during dinner (two thumbs up).

We'd never been to Prescott, and I was interested to see what the former territorial capitol was like. I read that Lt. Beale led his camel corps through there from Texas on his way to California. That piqued my interest to find out more. We stopped by the Sharlot Hall Museum to learn more about Prescott's history, and a treasure hunt program for the kids kept them interested. To keep our travel budget down we bought fried chicken and drinks at the Albertsons supermarket and ate a picnic lunch on the court house lawn. It felt humid all day, and by the time we finished lunch it began raining lightly. I noticed there were many college-age kids and panhandlers around the downtown area as well as many retirees around town.

We took AZ-89a up through the mountains to get to the old mining town of Jerome. The highway was being resurfaced, and we had to wait about 10 minutes for a pilot car to take us through. Jerome is a tourist destination with art galleries, wine tasting, a museum or two, and cafes to attract tourists. I enjoyed the late 19th-century architecture, and my kids enjoyed the fudge we bought.

Old Route 66 has intrigued me since I drove it out to Flagstaff from Los Angeles when I worked for an advertising agency back in 1991. Back then we stopped by the Snow Cap hamburger stand in Seligman and received the comic antics of its owner, Juan Delgadillo. Juan has since died, but his son continues the tradition. As we pulled into the parking lot we saw bus loads of tourists (mostly French) wandering around the area taking photos. We munched on onion rings and shared a shake as we soaked in the ambience and diesel exhaust of the bus parked near us. Little did I suspect that my 6 years of French classes in junior and senior high would pay off when we stopped for lunch in Kingman. A youngish couple (early 30s?) stopped their rented Harley there to use the phone, and the woman asked me if I spoke French. Usually when foreigners ask me if I speak their language, they ask in broken English. This time I faced a couple who spoke no English whatsoever. While my French grammar has gone to pieces, at least I was able to help them use the pay phone to call France. I found it funny that the young woman claimed to prefer Spanish to English, yet she couldn't understand the Mexican Spanish on her calling card or the voice prompts on the phone.

My wife and kids didn't relish the idea of stepping out of the car's air conditioning into the 100+ degree heat, but I'd been looking forward to seeing Hoover Dam for a long time. Traffic advisory signs warned us of high winds around Hoover Dam, and we felt the effect as soon as we exited the car. It was like standing in front of an enormous hair dryer as the hot air assaulted us at high speed. The best view of the dam itself was from the US-93 bridge, but my fellow travelers didn't like the idea of parking and walking across the bridge in the inense heat. Parking in the parking structure near the dam cost $7, and the visitor center had an $8 entrance fee. As cheap tourists in a hurry, we couldn't see paying over $30 for a quick stop at the visitor center in addition to parking. We took a number of photos, stretched some pennies on the machine in the gift shop, and piled back in the car.

I kept my expectations low for our stay at the Fiest Henderson Hotel and Casino. The special $17.64 per night special (not including the $11.64 resort fee) for a room with double queen beds seemed too good to be true. It was certainly a bargain. The entrance to the lobby took us through the casino, so we were greated with lots of cigarette smoke. It's Vegas-- what did we expect? The room was of average size and looked like what one would expect from a $50 to $80 per night motel. The pool wasn't heated, but artificial heating wasn't really necessary in the 109 degree heat. After signing up for an "Amigo Card" the dinner buffet only cost $7.99 each. Believe it or not, hushpuppies, chicken gumbo, and other southern favorites were in the "International" section. The food was fair to middling, and the best item by far was the BBQ beef brisket. Again, tempering one's expectations to match the low cost kept the experience enjoyable. As we headed home on our last day we decided to stop by the Ethel M Chocolate Factory in Henderson. The factory is fairly small, but our kids enjoyed watching the chocolate being made and packaged. They especially liked the fairly expensive chocolates in gift shop.

Barstow is another stop on old Route 66 and has its own charm. Main Street (old Route 66) was under construction, so half of the lanes were closed. After hearing about it for years, we finally stopped at the original Del Taco. The founding family still owns and operates this location. While it doesn't have the 49-cent taco specials of the other locations, the portions are larger. My wife and kids didn't want to spend much more time in the heat, so we stopped only briefly at Barstow station so I could take photos of the old buildings.

All in all it was a fairly relaxed trip. My wife appreciated the fact that I didn't drive long stretches like I usually do and go from location to location each day.