Planning Our Trip Down

The initial plan is to visit my Aunt Marilyn and my cousins, Joe and Linda, in California.  Aunt Marilyn lives in Palm Springs, so I start with a route from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Palm Springs, California.  We decide tentatively on September 15, 2000 (Friday) as the departure date.  Terry says I have nine days...September 2000 Calendar

There are a few places that I definitely know I want to visit...  If we have time...
Los Angeles (been there a few times, need to go again)
Death Valley (never seen it)
Las Vegas (been there once, loved it)
Ghost towns
Parts of the original Route 66
Sanders, Arizona (because of my last name)
Indian Reservations (to get cheap cigarettes)
Since Terry's sister, Becky's, house is on the way, in Harrah, Oklahoma, we will stop by there...

First I run the trip through Rand McNally's TripMaker program (I have the 1999 version):
Friday: We leave Fayetteville at 3:00pm; we get to Becky's around 6:30pm, about 200 miles; we spend the night.  I looked in the Rand McNally Road Atlas, and I see there are a few options getting to Harrah (just east of Oklahoma City).  We can take Hwy 62 out of Fayetteville, take Hwy 69 South a few miles and get on I40 West as TripMaker suggests or we can drive up to Springdale and take 412 over to Tulsa and catch I44 (Turner Turnpike) which is a toll road and runs right along Route 66 and goes right to Oklahoma City.  Hwy 62 looks slower...  Or we could just take the bypass south to Fort Smith and get right on I40 from there...
Saturday: We leave Becky's around noon.  TripMaker has us stopping out in the middle of nowhere that night to bed down, somewhere east of Albuquerque.  That's no good.  I'll have to work on that...  From noon till 8:00pm should get us around 500 miles.  I'll have to find us a nice place to stay...
Sunday: TripMaker says we can drive 12 hours and cover 780 miles and make it to Palm Springs by nightfall (which reminds me, I need to get the sunrise and sunsets for these days).

So, that's about 1,500 miles (add in a few for getting lost) and a couple days driving...  Gotta figure the gas costs next...  Double it for the trip back...  Add in extra gas for driving around and a couple of cheap motels for the two nights we'll need them...  And food...

To Do List
Get sunset times
Find a place to stop on Saturday night
Figure gas, food, and motel costs
Find cool places to visit all along the way (and the way back)!		 Things to Remember to Take
umbrella
inkpen/notebook
postcard stamps
gallon of water
In the Road Atlas, I see the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK, west of Oklahoma City.  I looked that up online through TripMaker which takes me to the Oklahoma Travel Page.  There I did a search and found the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum and the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City.  I also ordered a free state map...  The Oklahoma Museum will be on winter hours, Monday - Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm and there's a $3 admission; the National Museum's hours are Monday - Saturday, 9am - 5pm; Sunday, 2 - 5pm and admission is $5.  There's another page for the Oklahoma Museum at http://www.ok-history.mus.ok.us/mus-sites/masnum20.htm.
The other day, I also found a great Route 66 site.  It's at http://route66.netvision.be/.  It gives turn by turn directions down the back roads so you can follow as much of the original Route 66 as possible.
More Route 66 Pages:
Route 66 Events Calendar
National Historic Route 66 Federation
Historic Route 66 Web Ring
Route 66:
  • starts in Chicago and ends in L.A.
  • commissioned in 1926
  • decommissioned in 1985
  • 2448 miles long
  • crosses 8 states and 3 time zones
... the trip plan as of August 8, 2000...

I found sunset times at the U.S. Naval Observatory's Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year page.  It says to add an hour during daylight time which is from April 2 to October 29 in 2000.  Of course, daylight time isn't observed in Arizona...
Sunset Times in 2000 (PDT, MST, and CDT)
September 1 7:20pm (CA) 6:50pm (AZ) 7:45pm (AR)
September 15 7:00pm (CA) 6:30pm (AZ) 7:20pm (AR)
October 1 6:40pm (CA) 6:10pm (AZ) 7:00pm (AR)
October 15 6:20pm (CA) 5:50pm (AZ) 6:40pm (AR)
We still haven't decided on a date.  Terry wants to go later in the year, but I don't want to lose the light.  OK, I can check that off the To Do List.  Next, I will figure the gas cost.  I am terrible with math so I have the formula written down.
miles / miles per gallon = total gallons x price per gallon = gas cost
My new car is supposed to get about 25 mpg highway and gas is around $1.50 per gallon now.  So...
3,000 miles / 25 mpg = 120 x $1.50 = $180
That, of course, is not counting any side trips or driving around town...
Now, food...  If I figure $10 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, and $25 for dinner every day, that's $55 per day.  Add in snacks and drinks along the way...  $65 per day...  at least 7 days...  at least $455 for food!?!  damn!  Maybe if we take an ice chest (which we always do), we can get lunchmeat and cheese and bread and cut down on the food cost.
Motels...  We'll need motel rooms for at least two nights.  If we stop in small towns, we can get by with probably $80-$100.  But that's if we just drive out there and stay a day with Aunt Marilyn and drive straight back.  I don't think we'll be doing that.  But these are minimums, for the feasibility study...  And there are a few other costlies to keep in mind, buses, tours, museums, souvenirs, film...  So, for a preliminary table of costs, we'll go with this:
gas $180
motels $150
food $450
other transportation $20
tours,museums,parks, etc. $60
souvenirs $70
film $50
Total So Far $980
I guess we can pretty much go with at least:
$1,000
for this trip...

... the trip plan as of August 16, 2000...

To Do List
Find which of 3 options to Harrah, OK is shorter (miles, hwys) (Terry requested this)
Find little towns all along Route 66 to explore
Look up online all the points of interest listed below
Do mileages and times online through MapQuest
Print extensive maps of L.A. and other towns from MapQuest
Check out Rand McNally Road Trip Guide when their server is back up
Through Rand McNally's online Trip Planner
Estimated Total Driving Time: 21 hours, 40 minutes
Estimated Total Driving Distance: 1,483 miles
Some Goals
Get a good picture of the Hollywood sign
See a TV show taping in L.A.
Swim in the ocean
I am looking through the Rand McNally Atlas, all along Route 66 for the points of interest marked with a little red box; I am listing the ones that are within a few miles of Route 66.  One of these places will probably be where we stop that first Saturday night:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Route 66 Museum (Clinton)
National Route 66 Museum (Elk City)		 Texas
Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (Canyon)
Stanley Marsh's Cadillac Ranch (Amarillo)
Devil's Rope Museum/Texas Route 66 Museum (Old Route 66, McLean)
New Mexico
National Atomic Museum
Isleta Pueblo & Mission
Enchanted Mesa
Acoma Pueblo & Mission
Bandera Volcano & Ice Caves
El Morro Nat. Mon.
Zuni Pueblo
Hawikuh Ruins
Continental Divide
El Malpais Nat. Mon. (Grants)
Indian Reservations:
Isleta
Zia
Santa Ana
Laguna
Jemez		 Canoncito
Acoma
Ramah Navajo
Zuni
Arizona
Sanders
Petrified Forest (been there before in the north, maybe we'll see the south part)
Homolovi Ruins State Park
Meteor Crater
Walnut Canyon Nat. Mon.
Sunset Crater Volcano Nat. Mon.
Grand Canyon Caverns
Grand Canyon (it rained the whole time we were there before)
Walnut Canyon Nat. Mon. (Flagstaff) (Sinagua Indian cliff dwellings)
Arizona Historical Pioneer Museum (Flagstaff)
Indian Reservations
Navajo
Hopi
Zuni
Off the Path:
I see what might be an interesting alternate route from Grants, NM to Sanders, AZ.  It cuts south, Exit 81 off I40 to Hwy53. It runs along the southern edge of the Cibola Nat. Forest and the Zuni Mountains, near the Acoma Indiana Reservation, by the El Malpais Nat. Mon. (Spanish for Badlands), by the Bandera Volcano & Ice Caves, cutting west through the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation, by the El Morro National Mon. (with Anazazi Petroglyphs), through the Zuni Indian Reservation, by the Zuni Pueblo and the Hawikuh Ruins, to the south of the Painted Cliffs where it crosses the border into Arizona and becomes Hwy 61.  61 hits US191 North which takes us back to I40, right at Sanders, Arizona.  We would go through (or right next to) the towns of San Raphael, El Morro, Ramah, Pescado, and Black Rock in New Mexico; Tripmaker also lists Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico.  That route is 127 miles from the point where we leave I40 till we get back on it.  If we stayed on I40, that stretch would be about 100 miles.
Above map from MapQuest

I just found a Fall Festival on Scenic Byway 53 on October 6-8, 2000!!

Bandera Volcano and Ice Caves
Ice Caves Walking Trails - $7
Ice Caves Motor Tours - $12
Ice Caves are open from 8:00am till an hour before sunset year round.
They have a coupon you can print out to use at the gift shop.

Grants, New Mexico
Next to the El Morro and El Malpais National Monuments and the Ice Caves and Indian Pueblos
Calendar of Events
Sept. 1 - Harvest Dance and Annual Feast of San Estevan at Acoma Sky City
Sept. 7 - Festival of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Encinal
Sept. 18 - Festival of San Jose de Los Lagunas
Sept. 24 - Festival of St. Elizabeth at Paguate
First Saturday in October - Fall Chili Fiesta
Chaco Culture National Historical Park has ancient Indian dwellings

I wonder what time of day would be best to drive through the Painted Desert?

... the trip plan as of August 21, 2000...


...Received the Oklahoma travel guides/maps/brochures...
Both TripMaker and MapQuest say to go from Flagstaff, AZ to Palm Springs, CA via I17 and I10 instead of staying on I40.  I40 looks good to me; I will figure the miles...
TripMaker: Flagstaff to Palm Springs via I17 & I10 = 405 miles (5 hrs, 52 min)
MapQuest: Flagstaff to Palm Springs via I17 & I10 = 406 miles (7 hrs, 35 min)
TripMaker: Flagstaff to Palm Springs via I40 = 493 miles (7 hrs, 13 min)
MapQuest: Flagstaff to Palm Springs via I40 = (146m (2h,45m) + 202m (3h,45m) + 126m (2h,25m)) = 474 miles (9 hrs)
hmmmmm.....

I found this great detour that could include a part of the Grand Canyon that we haven't seen...

(MapQuest Map) The green part on the map is the Grand Canyon;
the blue around that is the Colorado River.
Lots of towns along there, more than are shown on the map;
also Seligman, Nelson and Valentine.
Also Grand Canyon Caverns are at Nelson, just east of Peach Springs...

Zoomed in Map of Above Area
showing more towns and Grand Canyon Caverns

To Do
Order free brochures/travel guides from Arizona, New Mexico, and California
Print zoomed-in maps of Route 66 from Seligman, AZ to Kingman, AZ
Print zoomed-in maps of Route 66 PAST Kingman (west)
Print zoomed-in maps of Grants, NM to Sanders, AZ
Print maps of Death Valley, Sanders, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and other cities

... the trip plan as of August 25, 2000...


I see the Ghost Town of Calico, at Yermo, CA, just east of Barstow:
About Calico Ghost Town
Calico Ghost Town (desertusa.com)
looks pretty touristy...

Terry says he wants to go shopping at Venice Beach...
And he wants to know if he can get fresh sea creatures to eat in Marina Del Rey...
The Fish Market Seafood Restaurant 2-for-1 coupon (Fisherman's Village, Marina Del Rey)

... the trip plan as of August 27, 2000...


I just found a page on Ghost towns!  Ghost Towns and History of the American West
I'm looking through Arizona and New Mexico at the ones that are along I40...

Also, today I printed a map to Aunt Marilyn's house at three zoom levels!

I found the New Mexico Department of Tourism Official Website.

... the trip plan as of August 31, 2000...


Here is the list of cities and attractions that we will go through or by on our side trips (off of I40)....
From Grants, NM to Sanders, AZ
(east to west)
San Rafael
El Malpais National Monument
Bandera Volcano and Ice Caves
El Morro
El Morro National Monument
Pine Hill
Ramah
Pescado
Black Rock
Zuni (Zuni Pueblo)
Hawikuh Ruins		 From Seligman, AZ to Kingman, AZ
(east to west)
Audley
Pica
Yampai
Grand Canyon Caverns
Admission is $8.50
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
The Subterranean Grandeur of Grand Canyon Caverns
Nelson
Peach Springs
Peach Springs is the trading center and headquarters for the Hualapai Indian Reservation
Truxton
Crozier
Valentine
Hackberry
Walapai
Berry
Kingman
Powerhouse Visitor Center
Home of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona
120 West Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66)
502-753-5001
Welcome to the State of Arizona
Sedona, Arizona (sedona.net)
Sedona, Arizona (arizonan.com)
Arizonan.com: A Complete Guide to the State of Arizona

Hey! That piece of Route 66 that I found in western Arizona turns out to be the longest stretch of Route 66 still in existence!

Homolovi Ruins State Park

Wupatki National Monument

Terry has decided that he does want to go back to Tijuana...

Swansea is a ghost town in Western Arizona...

Montezuma Castle National Monument
five-story, 20-room cliff dwelling of prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago
50 miles south of Flagstaff, Exit 289 off I-17

... the trip plan as of September 5, 2000...


Los Angeles Stuff
The Museum of Contemporary Art
250 South Grand Avenue · Downtown Los Angeles
Tuesday - Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
General Admission: $6 -- FREE admission every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Print out any page from the MOCA Web site and present at the box office for a 2-for-1 discount on general admission!
Photography permits are required and are available at the information centers
The Geffen Contemporary
152 North Central Avenue · Downtown Los Angeles (in the Little Tokyo district)
The Geffen Contemporary is about 1 mile east of MOCA. You can take the DASH shuttle (From MOCA to Geffen Contemporary-get on at 1st St. and Grand Ave, get off at 1st St. and Central Ave. - 25 cent fare)
Places of Interest from Destination Guides
Little Tokyo
Bunker Hill
Universal City (Universal Studios & Universal CityWalk)
Olvera Street
622 N. Main St
Birthplace of L.A, historic buildings
Mexican marketplace (10 am-8 pm)
El Pueblo Visitors Center( 10 am-3pm)

Audiences Unlimited
TV sitcoms ticket representative
Automated system for reserving free tickets
call 818-753-3470 (24 hours a day)

NBC Television Studio
3000 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank
818-840-3537
70-minute tour of the stages and facilities at the broadcasting complex
Monday-Friday 9 am-3 pm.
$7 adult tickets
Complimentary tickets to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno are distributed daily at NBC's ticket counter.


Getty Center
Art...
Admission is free, but parking (by advance reservation) is $5 per car
Tues., Wed.-11 am-7 pm, Thur., Fri.-11 am-9 pm, Sat., Sun-10 am-6 pm.
1200 Getty Center Dr. (off the San Diego Freeway between Brentwood and Bel-Air)
parking reservations - 310-440-7300
Parking reservations are being booked several months in advance...

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
20th-century American art, European art and an eclectic mix of costumes, textiles and decorative art
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday noon-8 pm; Friday noon-9 pm; Saturday and Sunday 11 am-8 pm.
US$7 adults - Parking US$5
5905 Wilshire Blvd. (between downtown and Westside)

Museum of Neon Art
501 W. Olympic Blvd
Wednesday-Saturday 11 am-5 pm, Sunday noon-5pm
Admission is US$5 adults

Norton Simon Museum
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
Eclectic collection ranging from Renaissance art to Native American sculpture
Degas ballet sculpture and paintings by Rembrandt, van Gogh and Renoir
Wednesday-Sunday noon-6 pm (Friday till 9 pm)
US$6 adults

UCLA at the Armand Hammer Museum of Art
10899 Wilshire Blvd.
Paintings by Rembrandt, Goya and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci
music, dance and spoken word presentations
Tuesday-Saturday 11 am-7 pm (Thursday till 9 pm), Sunday 11 am-5 pm
$4.50 (Free admission on Thursday)

Another expense realized:
Parking!

I am not listing the La Brea Tar Pits or Paramount Studios since I've been there before.  I would, however, like to go back to both...

Chinatown
Fans out from Gin Ling Way (Street of the Golden Palace)
bordered by Cesar Chavez, Spring, Yale and Bernard Streets

Little Tokyo
Cultural center of L.A.'s Japanese community
Four shopping courts lie within its boundaries of 1st, Alameda, 3rd and Los Angeles Streets
Japanese American National Museum
Japanese art and artifacts
Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5 pm (Thursday till 8 pm) - $6

... the trip plan as of September 6, 2000...


Pacific Park
Amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier
largest Ferris wheel in the western U.S.
Hours vary with the season
Admission is free. Pay-as-you-go rides are US$1-$3 each
380 Santa Monica Pier (off Ocean Avenue at Colorado Avenue), Santa Monica

Los Angeles Zoo
Daily 10 am-5 pm.
$8.25 adults
Located inside Griffith Park
Take the Zoo Drive exit at the junction of the Ventura Freeway (Highway 134) and I-5

... the trip plan as of September 7, 2000...


Route 66.com

... the trip plan as of September 8, 2000...


More Los Angeles Stuff
Hollywood!
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

Capitol Records - 1750 N. Vine
Mann's Chinese Theatre - 6925 Hollywood Blvd
The Original Farmers Market - 3rd and Fairfax Ave
Griffith Park - Vermont Ave. at Los Feliz
home to Hollywood Sign
Hollywood Entertainment Museum - 7021 Hollywood Blvd
Walk of Fame
Hollywood Blvd. between La Brea and Gower
and on Vine Street between Yucca and Sunset Blvd

 Complete Guide to Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs Air Museum
Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs Villagefest
Palm Canyon Drive between Amado Road & Baristo Road
every Thursday evening from 6 - 10pm
Palm Springs Star Walk
The Palm Springs, California Tourist Guide
Palm Springs Air Museum
745 North Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs Airport
7 days a week, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
The Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park
every day Sept 1 to June 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. -- $8.50
47-900 Portola Avenue Palm Desert, CA
located in the center of the Coachella Valley
From Hwy. 111 in Palm Desert, turn south on Portola Ave., go 1 1/2 miles, follow signs to main entrance
Palm Springs Desert Museum
101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA
Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm -- $7.50

@LA
Los Angeles.com

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
10 a.m. to 5 p.m -- $8.00

EL PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES HISTORICAL MONUMENT

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific
9am until 6pm -- $14.95
100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Mon,Tues,Thurs: 12 noon to 8 pm, Fri: 12 noon to 9 pm (Japanese Pavilion closes at 5pm) - Sat,Sun: 11 am to 8 pm - Closed Wed - $7

Gary wants photos of right before Albuquerque and right after Albuquerque...

... the trip plan as of September 10, 2000...

Day 1 - Friday
3:00pm - Fayetteville, AR to Harrah, OK (I540 & I40) - 214 miles
Day 2 - Saturday
12:00 Noon - Harrah, OK to Clinton, OK - Route 66 Museum - 116 miles
3:00pm - Clinton, OK to Elk City, OK - Route 66 Museum - 30 miles
4:00pm - Elk City, OK to Amarillo, TX - Stanley Marsh Cadillac Ranch - 146 miles
6:15pm - Amarillo, TX to Tucumcari, NM or Cuervo, NM - 104 miles
8:30pm - dinner and motel
Day 3 - Sunday
8:00am - Tucumcari, NM or Cuervo, NM to Albuquerque, NM - photos for Gary - 174 miles
11:00am - Albuquerque, NM to Grants, NM - 72 miles
12:15pm - Grants, NM to Bandera Volcano and Ice Caves, NM (H53) - about 23 miles
1:00pm - 3:00pm - Bandera Volcano and Ice Caves
3:00pm - Ice Caves to Zuni Pueblo, NM (H53) - about 56 miles
5:00pm - Zuni, NM to Sanders, AZ (H61 & H191) - 50 miles
6:30pm - Sanders, AZ to Winslow, AZ (I40) - 90 miles
8:00pm - dinner and motel
Day 4 - Monday
8:00am - Winslow, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ (I40) - 58 miles
9:00am - Flagstaff, AZ to Phoenix, AZ (I17) - 134 miles
11:30am - lunch
12:30pm - Phoenix, AZ to California border (I10) - 140 miles
3:00pm - California border to Palm Springs, CA (I10w) - 122 miles
5:00pm - Aunt Marilyn's
Day 5 - Tuesday
Aunt Marilyn's
Linda's (Morongo Valley)
Salton Sea?
Chocolate Mountains?
Day 6 - Wednesday
10:00am - Palm Springs, CA to Tijuana - 161 miles
12:30pm - 5:00pm - Tijuana
5:00pm - Tijuana to Palm Springs, CA - 161 miles
7:30pm - Palm Springs, CA
Day 7 - Thursday
10:00am - Palm Springs to Los Angeles, CA - 100 miles
12:00 noon - 6pm - Los Angeles, CA
6:00pm - Los Angeles, CA to Barstow, CA - 100 miles
8:00pm - Barstow, CA - dinner & motel
Day 8 - Friday
8:00am - Barstow, CA to Ghost Town of Calico - 9 miles
9:30am - Ghost Town of Calico to Baker - 50 miles
10:30am - Baker, CA to Death Valley Jct. - 83 miles
12:00 noon - Death Valley Jct. to Stove Pipe Wells - 55 miles
1:00pm - Death Valley back to Baker, CA - 138 miles
3:30pm - Baker, CA to California/Arizona border (I40) - 85 miles
5:00pm - California/Arizona border to Kingman, AZ (I40) - 50 miles
6:00pm - Kingman, AZ  to Peach Springs, AZ (Route 66) - 50 miles
dinner and motel
Day 9 - Saturday
7:00am - Peach Springs, AZ to Seligman, AZ - 37 miles
8:00am - Seligman, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ - 67 miles
9:15am - Flagstaff, AZ to Fayetteville, AR - 1,103 miles
........

Frontier Motel & Cafe
16118 E Hwy 66
PEACH SPRINGS AZ 86434
(520) 769-2238

The Hualapai Lodge
900 N Hwy 66 PEACH SPRINGS AZ 86434
(520) 769-2230

Orlando Motel
16213 E Hwy 66 PEACH SPRINGS AZ 86434
(520) 769-2890

... the trip plan as of September 11, 2000...


Ghost Towns

Hackberry, Arizona
Route 66, between Seligman and Kingman
a few buildings, a few residents...

CANYON DIABLO
Arizona
off I-40 across from the old Route 66 stop of Two Guns. Within the Navajo reservation. east of Flagstaff
REMAINS: One large stone building and part of another


NATIONAL ROUTE 66 MUSEUM
ELK CITY, OKLAHOMA
Monday thru Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM -- Sunday 2 PM to 5 PM
Westbound take Exit #41 and travel 4.8 miles on Old Highway 66 -- The museum is located on the north side of the road
$5 for entire complex -- $3 for single museum

California Route 66 Museum
Route 66 "D" Street between 5th and 6th
Victorville, California 92392
Exit I-15 at D Street (Highway 18), Victorville
10AM to 4PM Thursday - Monday -- Admission is free!

Tijuana!
Tijuana.com
Tijuana map

Checking weather conditions at RWA Direct

http://www.azfms.com/

Shopping in Tijuana
Avenida Revolucion
Mercado Hidalgo

... the trip plan as of September 14, 2000...