Road Trip: Part 2

Now for part 2 of the road trip.

When planning this trip, BD came across an unusual motel she found listed online. It was called the WigWam and it was located in Holbrook, Arizona. Each room was an individual teepee. It sounded interesting so she reserved it and tried to convince me to look forward to it. (I was a little doubtful)



We pulled in to Holbrook right about sunset. The WigWam was located right on historic Rte 66. It looked just as advertised online.
Among it's unique points is the fact that there are several old cars parked all over the parking lot and in front of the teepees. They belonged to the original owner. He placed them all over the property. His daughter now runs the motel....she checked us in.It was truly a motel and not a hotel or inn by any means. It was built in the 1940's but has been updated a few times over the years. We asked about an ice machine and she told us to just bring the ice bucket from the teepee up to the office before 9 PM and she would give us some ice. After 9 PM the office is closed and she goes home!


So I brought the bucket back up front....she took it in a back room, I could hear some ice trays cracking and she returned soon with a full bucket.

The teepee was a little claustrophobic with only one small window and quite small but the heater and TV worked and the water was hot in the shower.

However, the carpeting and the sheets on the bed could have easily been from the 1940's. Also the main east / west line for the BNSF railroad was only about 100 yards away. It is a well traveled rail line....at least one train went by every 10-15 minutes all night long! Oh well.....it was only $60 for the night.

I wondered what kind of critters would invade this place during the warmer months....scorpions, snakes, etc.



No bugs this night though...it was way too cold.



Morning came and it was time to get up and continue eastbound. Checkout consists of leaving your key in the teepee and locking the door behind you. Very simple.

All in all I can say that it was an experience....just that. Not great but not terrible either.
That square has now been filled. I have now slept in a wigwam...sort of.

I'll save the final leg of this road trip for my next post.



For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple

Road Trip: Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, I would probably soon be posting something completely un-aviation related. And this is it.
But the photos are pretty good and most readers can relate to a road trip. So thanks for reading.

My knee surgery last month was the result of a fall down some wet boarding stairs as I was helping an elderly lady off a flight in Mexico. We had parked on the ramp and no jetbridge was available so a set of portable boarding stairs was being used. It had just rained and they were wet... .I slipped and ended up at the base of the stairs with a damaged knee. She didn't fall...just me.

Because it was a work related injury, I was forced to jump through several hoops to get permission to non-rev on my airline while I'm on sick status. It was a hassle getting the associated doctors to send their letters of approval to the workers compensation people at AA but eventually it got done and I had the OK from everyone.

Why was I non-revving?.....For the road trip!

BD, my roommate/girlfriend, has family in Livermore, California. It's not too far from San Jose. There was some antique furniture at her family's home there that she needed to transport to her home in Texas. About the only way to get this stuff home to Texas was to do it ourselves with either a small cargo van or a large SUV. The professional movers wanted a small fortune for this and she didn't trust them with her antiques anyhow. So we went the way of a large SUV and planned for the long drive to Texas.

The flight from DFW to San Jose went right over Northern Arizona. The Grand Canyon was looking pretty good this day.



San Jose was reporting some fog with low ceilings but our crew today was able to find the airport with no trouble.....They did a nice job.



We rented a fully loaded GMC Yukon for the road trip. It was very nice. At least we would be comfortable on the road.




I can't go to California without visiting my favorite burger joint in the country. In-N-Out. Darren can attest to their goodness!! I even display their bumper sticker on my flight case at work!
After a day and a half in Livermore getting stuff ready and refueling with In-N-Out burgers, it was time to head for Texas.


We launched from Livermore at 5 AM and headed towards Arizona. The route took us down Interstate 5 through the San Joaquin valley where the thousands of trees and crops were showing off their colors.





Passing Tehachapi pass we could see the hundreds of windmills on the hills. It's a great place for them...the wind was howling this day.






On past Barstow joining Interstate 40, the Hector (HEC) VOR went by on our left. Then came Needles, the Colorado River and then the Arizona State line.

Dinner would come in Kingman, Arizona. After a short drive through town and a shot of the old Santa Fe locomotive in a city park, guess what we found? In-N-Out Burger!! I sure wish they would expand to the rest of this country.


After that fine meal we pressed on past Williams, Flagstaff, Winslow and finally after a day of driving, it was time to stop. Our home for the night would be in Holbrook, Arizona.


Our accommodations for the night could be a story all by itself so I'll save it for the next installment. Stay tuned.





For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple