Try starting your road trip at Albuquerque, New Mexico's Route 66 Diner. Located on old Route 66 (AKA Central Avenue, these days), this cafe has installed a memorial to the Mother Road within its walls. As you enter the Route 66 Diner, you'll see photos, maps...and even old highway signs...from the famous road's heyday. When you get hungry, you can munch down on the diner's old-fashioned "Blue Plate Special" and order a super-thick malt. (For a REALLY old-time treat, you can even still get an Egg Cream or an ice cream soda at the Route 66 Diner!)
Next, take a drive down Albuquerque's Central Avenue. You'll pass dozens of motels and restaurants which were once spiffy-new, built for the motoring crowds who spent the night in this popular Route 66 "hub city." While many of these motels have "slid downhill," others stay well-painted and maintained for today's tourists wishing to re-live an "authentic" Route 66 experience.
Before leaving Albuquerque, make absolutely sure that the boutique-lovers in your family visit Old Town Albuquerque, where you can find unique, hand-crafted merchandise while exploring the nooks and courtyards of Albuquerque's original old adobes. Old Town Albuquerque is also a great place to dine, to relax in a Spanish-style plaza, or to take interesting photographs.
On the other hand, make sure the theme park lovers in your group get to Cliff's Amusement Park for a dose of thrills. Cliff's hosts the state's largest roller coaster, the "New Mexico Rattler," and other scream-inducing attractions. For families with children, Cliffs also offers a good selection of family and "kiddie" rides, as well.
A major tourist sight--and natural wonder--lies just to the side of Interstate 40 at Arizona exit 311. That's where you'll find the Petrified Forest National Park. Its visitor's center, visible from the roadway, hosts interpretive exhibits explaining how an ancient forest fell, became steeped in a mineral bath...and literally turned to stone! You may purchase shined-up samples of petrified wood in the gift shop, or you may examine (but not take!) specimens in the raw by driving along the park's internal roadways.
Motoring westward, you'll find another natural wonder of a completely different kind. Between Winslow and Flagstaff, you'll reach Arizona's Meteor Crater. When you look at this giant crater, you won't believe that it's not really the Moon you're observing! The Meteor Crater's visitor's center hosts a movie and educational exhibits that interestingly explain this natural cataclysm which happened so very long ago.
You might wish to stop for a break at Flagstaff, Arizona. Flagstaff's downtown area has been "cutesified" and turned into a hip 'n' happening restaurant and shopping district frequented by the local university crowd. Flagstaff also makes a good base for day-trips...either to the red rock paradise of Sedona, to the south; or to the volcanic and Native American wonders north of town at Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments.
Ready to see the biggest natural wonder of 'em all? From Flagstaff (or from Williams, Arizona, further west on I-40) you can get to Grand Canyon National Park! You can gaze into its depths, take a hike, raft through the gorge on the Colorado River...or even fly overhead on a helicopter tour! Don't forget to check out the visitor's center, where you'll learn how the giant canyon was carved over eons by the Colorado's flowing stream. Also, the IMAX Theater, just outside the park, provides a visually stunning overview of the Grand Canyon and its history.
Author Vicki Funes has been traveling Interstate 40 at regular intervals since it was, indeed, old Route 66. To discover more exciting vacation attractions along I-40, check out the "Interstate 40 Road Trip Planner" page of her website.
Next, take a drive down Albuquerque's Central Avenue. You'll pass dozens of motels and restaurants which were once spiffy-new, built for the motoring crowds who spent the night in this popular Route 66 "hub city." While many of these motels have "slid downhill," others stay well-painted and maintained for today's tourists wishing to re-live an "authentic" Route 66 experience.
Before leaving Albuquerque, make absolutely sure that the boutique-lovers in your family visit Old Town Albuquerque, where you can find unique, hand-crafted merchandise while exploring the nooks and courtyards of Albuquerque's original old adobes. Old Town Albuquerque is also a great place to dine, to relax in a Spanish-style plaza, or to take interesting photographs.
On the other hand, make sure the theme park lovers in your group get to Cliff's Amusement Park for a dose of thrills. Cliff's hosts the state's largest roller coaster, the "New Mexico Rattler," and other scream-inducing attractions. For families with children, Cliffs also offers a good selection of family and "kiddie" rides, as well.
A major tourist sight--and natural wonder--lies just to the side of Interstate 40 at Arizona exit 311. That's where you'll find the Petrified Forest National Park. Its visitor's center, visible from the roadway, hosts interpretive exhibits explaining how an ancient forest fell, became steeped in a mineral bath...and literally turned to stone! You may purchase shined-up samples of petrified wood in the gift shop, or you may examine (but not take!) specimens in the raw by driving along the park's internal roadways.
Motoring westward, you'll find another natural wonder of a completely different kind. Between Winslow and Flagstaff, you'll reach Arizona's Meteor Crater. When you look at this giant crater, you won't believe that it's not really the Moon you're observing! The Meteor Crater's visitor's center hosts a movie and educational exhibits that interestingly explain this natural cataclysm which happened so very long ago.
You might wish to stop for a break at Flagstaff, Arizona. Flagstaff's downtown area has been "cutesified" and turned into a hip 'n' happening restaurant and shopping district frequented by the local university crowd. Flagstaff also makes a good base for day-trips...either to the red rock paradise of Sedona, to the south; or to the volcanic and Native American wonders north of town at Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments.
Ready to see the biggest natural wonder of 'em all? From Flagstaff (or from Williams, Arizona, further west on I-40) you can get to Grand Canyon National Park! You can gaze into its depths, take a hike, raft through the gorge on the Colorado River...or even fly overhead on a helicopter tour! Don't forget to check out the visitor's center, where you'll learn how the giant canyon was carved over eons by the Colorado's flowing stream. Also, the IMAX Theater, just outside the park, provides a visually stunning overview of the Grand Canyon and its history.
Author Vicki Funes has been traveling Interstate 40 at regular intervals since it was, indeed, old Route 66. To discover more exciting vacation attractions along I-40, check out the "Interstate 40 Road Trip Planner" page of her website.
© 2006 by "DiscoveringArizona Inc." · All Rights Reserved · E-Mail: jayq@discoveringarizona.com
You still love Route 66, the "Mother Road." Or, you're too young to actually have traveled that road...but you're lured by its lore. You love Southwestern scenery and marvel at natural wonders. Does this describe YOU? Then, it's time you plan an adventuresome road trip through fabled Route 66 terrain, traversed in these modern days by the Interstate 40 superhighway.
Can't Find What You're Looking for?
Try Google Search!
Try Google Search!
