Chasing the Spirit of Route 66 - Texas - Nevada
- Theri Gaynor
- May 1
- 7 min read
This is the 3rd entry of a 3-part series about my dream to drive Route 66. It presents the day-by-day summarization of the second half of our travels from St. Louis, Missouri to Las Vegas, Nevada, loosely following Route 66 and driving through the states of: Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
This post begins on the fourth day of our 8-day road trip.
Amarillo TX to Albuquerque, NM
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Like our previous two days, we checked out of our hotel late morning and spent a few hours in the area. We already had a destination planned out, where we could learn a little history about Route 66 and eat lunch, the Big Texan. Our meals were so huge that we drove away with doggie bags. We then headed for the Cadillac Ranch, which was about 30 minutes west of Amarillo.
Both places are worthy of a visit, especially if you like nostalgia. Between eating lunch, taking photos, and looking around we probably stayed two hours at the Big Texan. Cadillac Ranch was a quicker stop, approximately 45 minutes.
We continued to drive west on I-40, with Route 66 next to us. It was interesting to see the smaller road that carries such a big name. Our next stop was Albuquerque; New Mexico and it was 4-1/2 hours away. This week the city was hosting the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and I was hoping we’d be able to see some of the hot air balloons. For something different, I booked our night at a historic bed & breakfast which provided a casita (small home) for each guest. I received two calls from the front desk on our drive to find out when we’d be arriving. We weren’t very late, so I found that interesting. We arrived around 8:30PM.
Photo 1: Outside the Big Texan
Photo 2: landscape around the Cadillac Ranch
Photo 3: Cadillac Ranch
Albuquerque, NM to Flagstaff, AZ
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
We got up early (6:00 AM) and drove to the area where the hot air balloons were being launched to see what we’d able to see. Happily, I can report that we were able to pay for parking near enough that we could take photos of the balloons in the air. It was chilly! But so worth it. We headed back to the little home at Casas de Suenos Old Town Historic Inn (Listed on the Historic Registry) and grabbed breakfast at the Inn before we checked out, then went on the hunt for souvenirs.
I would have liked to stay longer in Albuquerque and the inn. The inn reminded me of a retreat for artists. We had our own little house with a parking space off the street. There was a kitchen with a stove, oven and fridge, so if you spent a while there you could prepare your own meals. The back door opened into a courtyard where you can walk to the main house for meals.
We had one little scare during our visit to Albuquerque, (low air pressure in one of the tires). Before we left the area, we went to buy a tire gauge and then found somewhere to put air in the tire, we were back on the road by 2:00PM and onto our next destination: Flagstaff, Arizona.
Photo 1: Hot air balloon festival
Photos 2 and 3: What we saw out our windows as we drove on I-40 in New Mexico
Flagstaff, AZ to Grand Canyon, AZ to Las Vegas, NV
Thursday, October 6, 2016
We arrived In Flagstaff, on Wednesday evening, around 6:00PM and checked into the Hotel Monte Vista as scheduled. I had a killer headache and really wanted to relax and get a coffee at the café on the main floor. Unfortunately, I fell asleep almost immediately and missed my opportunity to explore the coffee house. My partner used the evening wisely and found us a place for breakfast within walking distance from the hotel.
Our hotel and surrounding area were in Old Town. This gave us a little history tour on our walk to and from Mix Flagstaff, where we ate breakfast. As we were packing up, I received a call from work that delayed us about an hour. However, there was nice music coming from outside that was really relaxing. A man across the street from our room was playing a wind instrument. We had a really rough time finding a souvenir store in Flagstaff. After trying 3-4 different places, we finally found what we wanted at the Chamber of Commerce.
We were in the home stretch of our trip now, Las Vegas, Nevada. Less than 4 hours drive. However, my partner realized how close we were to the Grand Canyon and really wanted to go see it. I mean, when were we going to be back this way? But it was a 3-hour detour!
It was a fun drive; it would have been nice to have had a more leisurely drive. I mean we were only there for about an hour. We arrived at 3:30PM, it was still crowded. We had just enough time to get some decent photos. Then we were back in the car. One additional stop in Williams, Arizona, which is on the road to and from the Grand Canyon. I wanted to take some photos of a display outside one of the stores. Our adventure does not end here though…
Photo 1: View from the road to the Grand Canyon - Arizona
Photos 2 and 3: Grand Canyon views
Our phone batteries were in bad shape, we both really needed to charge, especially since we used them for navigation, searching for food, taking photos, etc. We headed to Kingman, AZ which seemed like it had a lot of places to eat, and there was a Starbucks too, we could stop and charge our phones before we continued to Las Vegas.
We arrived in Kingman, AZ and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and to say it was disappointing would be an understatement. Although it was after dinner hour, we ordered eggs and grits. The grits had skin on top of them and the eggs were cold. Not at all what I expected from a Cracker Barrel. The manager comped our meal and asked if we wanted anything else, but we didn’t. Instead, we headed over to Starbucks to get coffee and charge our phones.
While at Starbucks we decided that our dinner would be at In and Out, and Del Taco. We’d never been to either place and wanted to try both. We ate in the car. On the road again we were still 90 minutes away from Las Vegas, but gosh I was tired and getting bleary eyed. We made it to The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas a little after midnight. Although we had been to Las Vegas before, we had not been off the strip. The casino/hotel was like stepping into a movie script of a hotel casino you’d see in old time movies. I wish we had time to look around, but once in the room I was out like a light.
Las Vegas - Hoover Dam - Las Vegas
Friday, October 7
Today was supposed to be a lazy day in Las Vegas, exploring the hotel. But my partner really wanted to make the most of our time away; he wanted to see the Hoover Dam since we didn’t get to see it our last visit to Las Vegas. Our flight wasn’t until 11:55PM so we did have a full day to kill. We started our day with a breakfast buffet at the hotel and while we walked through the hotel & casino, we saw signs for a movie theater, bowling alley, and things to keep us busy. I hope to be able to stay at this hotel again.
After breakfast we returned to our room to gather our things to check out. With my last walk to the front desk, I couldn’t help but be disappointed that we didn’t spend any time exploring the whole casino and hotel.
The drive to the Hoover Dam was about an hour. When we arrived, we went on the power plant guided tour into the tunnels. I was still feeling pretty tired, so although there was a lot to still see, such as walking on top of the dam, I stayed inside near the museum area and took my time reading about the history of the dam and how it was built. We were on our way back to Las Vegas a little after 3PM. We stopped at McDonald’s in Boulder City, NV for a light meal. I try to limit what I eat and drink before flying. My thoughts are, I can always eat when we land. Plus, this was a red-eye, so I was hoping I’d sleep most of the flight.
Two views from the top of the Hoover Dam
When we arrived back in Las Vegas, we drove from one end of the strip to the other. We had never been down as far as the Stratosphere (The STRAT Hotel Casino & Tower), so I am happy we were able to do that. We also got to see behind the strip which is a different experience entirely. Before we left the area, we stopped at a place on Las Vegas Blvd for keychains and magnets. With the last of our plans behind us, we headed to the airport, returned our rental car and settled in outside our gate waiting to board our flight back to New York.
Things I learned from experiencing this trip: I want to do this drive again, but more on point with Route 66, starting in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles and being able to explore more places on or near to Route 66. I don’t rest better on red-eye flights.
Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Go back for more! I want to take a city photo of Amarillo at night.
Things I learned from typing up this blog: How to spell Albuquerque!
Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT and Perplexity.
©2025 Theri’s Travel Tales
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