Tipees ad Wigwams

We left Albuquerque soon after breakfast at the casino..... very tempted to play some more blackjack but we thought we had better hit the road. And so to our first stop of the day and amazing Red Rock canyon. Well we read it was amazing... unfortunately we were not allowed in as we were not taking part in the National Junior Rodeo Event that had seemingly hired the whole national park.... so we went off down the road to Gallup for a soda pop stop before heading down to the Petrified Forest National Park for an afternoon of natural beauty. An amazing desert / forest / landscape with jaw dropping vistas greeted us with open arms. The National Park has long been been a spiritual reside for the Navajo and Hopi Indians and you can see why. We stopped in an area of the park called ‘The Tipees’ - so called because all of the rock formations resemble them. After a short stop for Ice cream in Holbrook we drove down the short trip to the Wigwam motel, one of our quirky little stops. All the rooms are individual Wigwams! an amazing sight as you can see! K and D. x


PS we nearly added Gopher to the RKW but he narrowly avoided our wheel....

Winner winner chicken dinner....

After the storm in Tucumcari we woke up to a mild, cloudy day with the power back on......apparantly this had not happened since Terri and Bill had been working at The Blue Swallow (4yrs), we packed up and made our way to Albuquerque........half way we stopped at Clines Corner which is a famous gas stop and we found out that it’s 7,200ft above sea level!! after a bite to eat we started on our way again to the GPS telling u we had reached our detination which was in the middle of no-where.....we called the hotel and they said exit 140 so we caried along the beaten track a little worried to end up seeing the hotel but unable to get there as the road had finished.....it took us another 40mins to get on the interstate and arrive but as soon as we arrived we were greeted by a huge casino hotel with a water feature at the main reception and the sound of money being won at the casino.

We spent the afternoon chilling on the outdoor deck, catching the rays and splashing around in the indoor pool and hot tub......to then spending the evening playing roulette - we were up $47 and then onto black jack, which we were up again $45 - spent a few dollars on the slot machines but decided no big money to be won and went back to our room with an extra $65 in our pockets (paid for the hotel!)

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!! K and D xx

Tucumcari - the mom and pop place

Today we drove our shortest journey. It’s only 120 miles between our last stop at the Big Texan Steak Ranch to Our current reside - the imfamous Blue Swallow Motel. We stopped off on the way to see a weird and wonderful sight on route 66. 10 old cadillacs buried up to their windscreens in a field. Each one decorated in grafitti of passing viewers. As weird as Stonehenge but not quite as spiritual! We did wonder why someone would want to bury 10 cars...... maybe he was one a spiritual journey of his own. The Big Texan a Large all singing all dancing steak ranch and the blue swallow a small ‘mom and pop’ run motel on old 66. We were greeted by our hosts Bill and Terri who assured us that the whole town [all 7 blocks of it] was run by mom and pop businesses. Bill told us us how the big chains had tried to come in but the mom’s and pop’s had run them out of town! . So we went out for lunch [to a mom and pop place of course] and wandered around in the 100º heat for about an hour before we decided that we might melt. Spent the afternoon chilling and looking forward to the al fresco drinks with Bill and Terri and some other route 66 guests we had been invited to. However, a major thunderstorm hit Tucumcari. It was kind of scary! rain was like we’d never seen, thunder and lightening clapping and lighting the sky every 5 seconds. Needless to say the drinks were off! Finally about 2 hours alter the storm passed And we headed out to take a photo of the famous neon sign [below] Just as Dan took it so the whole town went dark! a power cut! the next two hours were complete darkness....... certainly a day and evening we will never forget. lots of fun in a place we love. K and D. x

Don't Mess With Texas.....

Our picture below says it all....we have experienced the best tasting steak EVER, didnt think Paris could be topped but it has....not only was the food good with salad, jacket potato, texas rice and macorni cheese but the service and atmosphere was friendly and warming that we didnt want to leave.....and we are wishing that you were all with us both.....night Kxx

Steak? you tasted nothin’ till you’ve had Big Texan...... d
PS new to RKW - Armadillo - not so hard on the outside when he’s been hit by a truck......

......Every night I've been hugging my pillow

When the day was dawning, on a Texas FRIDAY morning.....yes we are in Amarillo staying at the BIG TEXAN STEAK RANCH which gives you the opportunity to eat a 72oz steak within an hour and there is no charge....obviously Daniel and I are ready for the challenge!!!!.......On our way to Amarillo we visited an old Route 66 Museum and I sat in a pink cadillac while Daniel decided to pretend he was a fireman. Tonight we are eating in the famous steak restaurant...I am having a 6oz fillet washed down nicely with a cold bud light, nice way to end a yee haa day!!!!! Later cowboys/girls Kx

yipeekiyaye! hey y’all! we be rockin’ it down ‘cross the pan handle ‘o Texas where it’s a sticky 94ºF. We checked into the hotel that resembles a wild west high street right opposite our entertainment for the evening. Anyone who loves their Steak will love this place..... Dad, Rich, DadChad and MiniChad [Pete] - you would love this guys...... ‘bring me some Prime Texan Beef and lots of beer!’ I’ve already selected my steak as you can see from the picture...... d.

On our way to the Okies

Its 8pm and this morning feels so far away when we think back to what we have done so I will just name a few highlights as feeling very tired today.....I drove the car through Route 66 which was brilliant, even though Daniel was a little scared, I saw the BIG whale (see picture) - the whole place was magical as in the middle of the highway was a BIG BLUE WHALE.........after a long journey we arrived in Oklahoma City - I have too admit its not one of my favourite places but they can’t all be like the last 3 places.......before I go there we went past places called Kellyville and Chelsea Town!!! (just for you Dad)...K xx


When we look back at this point of the day of all the things we’ve doen we still can’t quite believe that it’s all the same day. Chicago and Illinois feel like about 3 weeks ago already!!! The highlight for me today was Totem Pole Park. A weird and wonderful place just off Route 66 in a place called Foyil. It contains the ‘Worlds Largest Concrete Totem Pole’, scultured by Ed Galloway - who worked day and night for 11 years to complete it........and before I go we have seen an interesting array of Road Kill so far...... previous favourites on what i’ll now be calling RKW [Road Kill Watch] included Racoon, Possum and Squirrel were today surpassed by Deer [blimey it was big!!!!] and Tortoise - Yes Tortoise!!! poor thing probably spent ages crossing the road only to be mown down as he got close to the edge...... one race the Hare will win! d.

Here we come Springfield

After a lovely day yesterday what better way to wake up than breakfast in bed...scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries, melon etc........the sun was shining and we decided to go for a wander and found a baseball stadium which was full of memorabillia (dan bought another t-shirt!) after a hot stroll we went on a tour around Anheuser Busch which resulted in free beer and then we started our journey to Springfield..........arrived at the most gorgeous motel which put a smile on our faces and we were ale to chill around the pool for about 30mins, it was still boiling hot at 6.30pm.......Springfield is a quaint, all american town Kx

What a perfect day! brekkie in bed, a baseball stadium, a brewery, a road trip, the most famous cowboy of all time’s hideout, a great burger, a cool kooky little motel, a few beers and a pizza - and all of that with my girl by my side. sign me up America..... I’m sold. d.

Chicago to St. Louis

Its 9.50pm and we are back in our room after having dinner at the Top of the River Front Restaurant which is on the 28h floor and as you are eating and drinking it gives you a panaram view of St. Louis which was amazing.......Today was the start of our Route 66 and we drove for a total of 5hrs....we stopped at joliet which was great and highlighted the beginning of our 3 week adventure.....I love the mail-boxes!!!!......it’s been a long but worthwhile day and I am looking forward to want tomorrow brings.......Lots of love K x

It’s been a long day but an amazing one! We picked up the car [not the American Chevvy we were expecting - boooo!] a Mitsubishi Galant - a brand new with only 400 miles on the clock - this morning in Downtown Chicago. We joined old Route 66 just round the corner and set off on the long journey West......... Such an amazing view, road and environment. The Great Plains allow the sky to feel so much bigger, so much bluer and vast. The horizon for hundreds of miles around was flat, the sun strong and the road straight, leaving a fantastic mirage in front of us...... roll on day 2!!!! ........ :) d.

A City of Skyscrapers, Sightseeing and Shopping

Chicago - what a place! We’ve had an amazing first full day of the trip. We got up around 5am! think the time difference was playing havoc. But it did mean that we were up and at ‘em in town really early. Headed downtown to Millennium and Grant Parks for a morning of sunshine and greenery. Follwed by a trip to Navy Pier and an amazing boat ride through the city focussing on the amazing architecture Chicago has. An amazing mix of Modernism, Post Modernism, Art Deco and [Mock] Ornate scultures rise from the banks of the Chicago river. It really should be seen to be believed. Then on to the shopping...... we smashed it. You name it we went there....... d.

We started the day with breakfast...I had a muffin with scrambled egg and Daniel had a huge breakfast buritto...lovely start to the day! The sun was shining and we went to see the largest water fountain called ‘Buckingham Fountain’ which was amazing - the fountain was meant squirt on the hour but by 10.10am it still hadn’t we decided to get moving to Millennium Park. As Daniel has written the boat ride was amazing and we have included one of the pictures from the sites....it was breathtaking.....but for me the most memorable will be when Daniel saw ‘Buckingham Fountain’ squirt from a far and the time was 2.15pm - if only we had stayed an extra 5 mins...typical!.....I can’t even begin to describe the shops except I am coming to chicago every year!!!!............Feeling tired, spending 11hrs exploring......both in bed, resting our feet and watching TV........Kx

Chicago Chicago....

I’ll tell you what.... i know why they call that lake michagen a ‘great lake’ that thing is wider than the english channel! We flew in over Canada in into the US over the lake and it is mighty big...... Breezed into Chicago O’Hare and straight to our fantastic Art deco / European style boutiquey hotel just off the ‘Magnificent Mile’ - the premier shopping district in Chicago. It’s a warm 74º F and blue skies.......Kel’s having a little snooze while I plan an evening of food and drink US style.... a dawg ‘n’ a beer at Wrigley Park could be the order of the day as the White Sox are playing the Cubs tonight..... anyway folks we are here and we are search out the finest Al Capone bars we can.... d.

In the Airport

Well here we are..... checked in, through security and ready to go........ See you all on the flip side! d.

We have walked through Duty Free testing the fragrances and now smell like a tart’s handbag!.....we have stocked up on sweets(daniel’s idea) and have had a lovely bagel so are full and waiting to go to gate 29.......will be in touch soon Kxx

4 Days and counting

Well the hotels, flight and car are booked and we are ready to go. The excitement is there and the fun start on Sunday!!! Can wait..... Vegas here we come...... Follow our travels on the blog...