Travel the “Mother Road”, a term coined by author John Steinbeck because Route 66 was the road people took west across America to escape the dust bowl and the Great Depression. On this guided tour, you will be treated like the “King and Queen” of the road as you gawk at odd roadside attractions, stay in vintage hotels, and eat hardy American road food. Get ready to saddle up in Texas and tour Cadillac Ranch. A highlight is the fabled town of Santa Fe, known for its’ Spanish and Native American culture. Afterward tour Albuquerque’s Old Town, stop in at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Gallup, and a walk through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert in Arizona. History, the beauty of the Wild West, and nostalgia makes this road-trip mythic!
Why you’ll enjoy this trip:
♦ Ever had the urge to drive along historic Route 66? Now is your chance to see a part of this historic highway before it totally disappears! From Amarillo, TX through New Mexico and into Flagstaff, AZ you will hear stories of small towns, Indian Tribes, and how Route 66 made it possible for people to travel to the west coast.
♦ From Amarillo’s Saturday Night Cruise Night to horseback riding like cowboys and cowgirls. A drive along Route 66 will take you past the Cadillac Ranch exhibit, visit ghost towns and learn how these towns became that way. Visit the Route 66 Museum, Tucumcari, Billy the Kid Museum and hear about the tragic history of Fort Sumner at the Bosque Redondo Memorial.
♦ Traveling from Santa Rosa to Santa Fe and into Albuquerque will have you visiting Pueblos, historic little shops and sites that have made Route 66 the most travelled highway in the country. From the Georgia O’Keefe Museum to walking the trail at Petroglyph National Monument where Spanish and Native Americans carved into the volcanic rock formations 400-700 years ago.
♦ Crossing the boarder into Arizona will have you stopping and hiking the trail at the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Continue the journey along Route 66 through Winslow, AZ and into Two Guns, where a bitter fight took place between the Navajo and Apache Indians. Take a walk along the rim of Walnut Canyon National Monument.
♦ Take a Pink Jeep Tour of Sedona National Park, and stop to take pictures at Oak Creek Canyon. From here it’s a short drive to the ghost town of Jerome, AZ. Once a booming copper-mining town, that eventually shut down and became a ghost town ~ now it is trying to come back to life.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive Amarillo, TX
Transfer to the airport and check-in for your flight. Upon arrival in Amarillo, we check into our accommodations for the next two evenings. This evening is free to hang out on Route 66 in the Historic District, where you can enjoy dinner at Big Texan Steak Ranch.
Day 2 - Amarillo
This morning we will enjoy a local guided tour, steeped in history and beauty. This afternoon enjoy time to explore Amarillo ~ maybe check out the artifacts and art at the Panhandle - Plains Historical Museum, there are other museums and the Botanical Gardens. Late this afternoon we get ready to go horseback riding at the Cowgirls and Cowboys of the West Ranch, and for those that aren’t ready to saddle up, bring your camera and learn to take beautiful scenic pictures, while touring the ranch. After our time at the ranch, we will enjoy a true cowboy/cowgirl style Chuckwagon dinner. (B,D)
Day 3 - Amarillo - Santa Rosa, NM
On our way out of Amarillo a quick stop is made at the famous Cadillac Ranch exhibit, paying homage to the ‘Golden Age’ of automobiles. Continuing our journey West, we stop in the ghost town of Glenrio, which straddles the New Mexico and Texas borders, before arriving in Tucumcari, NM. Visit the Route 66 Museum, Tee Pee Curious, and have lunch at Del’s Restaurant, serving travelers along Route 66 since 1956. Don’t forget to take a picture of the Blue Swallow Hotel, where travelers have been staying since 1939, and one final stop on our way out of town, at the famed Route 66 Monument! Later, we check into our hotel. Evening on own. (B)
Day 4 - Santa Rosa - Santa Fe
This morning we head to Fort Sumner, a military fort charged with the internment of nearby Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868. After it’s closing, the fort was privately purchased and its best-known visitor was Billy the Kid. We visit the Billy the Kid Museum and Burial before making our way over to the Bosque Redondo Memorial. This memorial depicts the tragic history of Fort Sumner and the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. After, we depart for Santa Fe, but not before stopping to have lunch in Santa Rosa, on own. Later, we check into our hotel for the next two nights. The evening is free. (B)
Day 5 - Santa Fe
This morning we visit De Vargas Street House and the San Miguel Chapel, the oldest house and church in the U.S. The remaining part of the day will be visiting many of the Pueblos that make up this area. The day will consist of the Tesuque Pueblo, which has been occupied since 1200AD, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. We will also get a chance to visit the Puye Cliffs Welcome Center and the San Ildefonso Pueblo (entrance is at the discretion of the Tribal Communities). All known for their pottery and jewelry. Upon our return to Santa Fe, the remainder of the day and evening are on your own. (B)
Day 6 - Santa Fe - Albuquerque
This morning is yours to explore. There is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi or the Palace of the Governors, the oldest continuously occupied government building in the U.S. This afternoon we continue West along our historic route, stopping in Albuquerque, NM. After checking into our 4-star accommodations, we depart for dinner where you will feel as if you’ve traveled back in time to a beautiful southwestern roadhouse found along old Route 66. From dinner, we will meet our guide and take a walking ghost tour of Old Town. (B,D)
Day 7 - Albuquerque - Gallup
This morning we will tour the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, before having free time in the historic Nob Hill area of town. This afternoon we will take a trail at Petroglyph National Monument before we continue West into Gallup, NM. (B)
Day 8 - Gallup - Flagstaff, AZ
Today we cross the boarder from New Mexico into Arizona, where our first stop along our historic route is the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert National Forest. This afternoon we continue our drive into Winslow, AZ, where we will stop for lunch at the famous Turquois Room. As our journey continues, we make a picture stop in the ghost town of Two Guns, AZ, sight of a bitter fight between the Apache and Navajo Indians, before stopping at Walnut Canyon National Monument. We will be able to walk the Rim Trail (0.7 mile roundtrip), where there are two overlooks that provide scenic views of the canyon and cliff dwellings below. After a busy day, we will check into our accommodations for the next two nights in Flagstaff, AZ. The remainder of the evening is free. (B,L)
Day 9 - Flagstaff
A local guide will take us on a tour of Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona National Park, and Jerome, AZ. Today is not the day to forget your camera! Oak Creek Canyon is famous for its beautiful scenery, and we will have the opportunity to see it up close. From here it’s a short drive to Sedona National Park, where our pink Jeeps will be waiting to take us on a rugged off-road adventure, with a local guide. We will be riding the rough terrain of the red rocks, stopping at lookout vistas, and where Hollywood movies were made. After, there will be a picnic lunch waiting for us. This afternoon we drive into Jerome, AZ. Another ghost town trying to build itself back up again. Stop in and shop at the world’s largest kaleidoscope store, set up in Jerome’s original brothel. Dinner is included tonight. (B,L,D)
Day 10 - Depart Flagstaff
This morning we say good-bye to our historic past and travel into Phoenix for our flight home. To be able to see parts of our country before it disappears is such an exhilarating experience. (B)
