Route 66 ends and the PCH begins

Los Angeles to Malibu
View Larger Map So we arrived the day after the Oscars ready for sunshine,but the forecast was for more snow!! However Nathaniel had spied the pool and prayed for blue skies and sunshine - so by 9am we were swimming (locals thought we were mad, it was a bit chilly).

The van wasn't running too smoothly today so we had to abandon the tour of L.A. streets -Azusa St. Beverly Hills and Hollywood :-(.

Changing the fuel filter hadn't helped with the engine problem, but the bus was ok once up to speed, so we headed for the freeway out of town.... To the Santa Monica pier and the end of our journey on Route 66 !!

The beaches were very inviting, but ...

First stop on the Pacific Coast Highway was at the Malibu Seafood Cafe for Fish & Chips - DELICIOUS !

Then spent a really pleasant day on the beaches along Highway 1 - Malibu, Leo Carrillo. Off to explore Santa Barbara tomorrow.............

Where has the sun gone !!

View Larger Map The forcast was for blustery showers and they weren't kidding. Heading down into LA was really quite scary. Driving in heavy rain and being blown all over the road was not our idea of fun !!.

Just after this picture a massive gust almost turned us into a convertible ! The hinge mechanism for the pop top on the passenger side will need some repairs now - but at least the top stayed attached !! JUST !! We pulled off the freeway and sat out the worst of the shower, then headed down into LA on the old route 66. The plan had been to drive the old 66 to the coast at Santa Monica, but the bus was struggling. The engine would die everytime we stopped at a junction or lights. A quick inspection revealed a very dirty fuel filter. This may well be the problem, but we didnt fancy experimenting in the atrocious weather. Instead, returning to the freeway, we limped into Pasedena where the Sheraton hotel kindly honoured the Virgin Atlantic crew rate! We did feel like tramps though as we checked in at the same time an immaculate crew checked out for their flight back to London !! Still, the feeling didn't last beyond the first beer, as we chilled watching the oscars highlights and reminisced over our battle with the elements !!!!

Sunday - Barstow to Victorville

View Larger Map Nice easy day. First stop was the McDonalds just across the road. Housed in railway carriages to show Barstow's connections with the railways.

Then continued the theme with a visit to the railway museum, which was full of really cool stuff to climb all over !

Heading out of town, it was time to get rid of some of the road salt from the previous week ! Luckily not all the paint came off with the jet wash ! A gentle drive had us in Victorville for midday. Unfortunately the place we had chosen for lunch wouldnt let in kids. All was not lost as though as Costco (and its pizza slices) beckoned from across the road ! Full of pizza, and with loads of Costco stuff that we didnt really need, we headed off to our hotel.

Saturday - Crossing the Mohave desert !

Up early, it was time to put the new frying pan to good use, with pancakes for breakfast !!

Then off for a paddle in the Colorado river (its melt water apparently !!) and a dunk in the pool, before taking in the amazing toys at the show !

Would have bought it but the engine wasn't quite big enough !

By lunch time we couldn't put it off any longer, so after filling up on a burger each we headed out across the Mohave desert!

Roys Cafe was a welcome break, allowing a stop for root beer and coke. We had hoped to spend Saturday night in Victorville but the heat and traveling had taken its tole on the kids. Both were sick and so we turned off 66 into Barstow to crash at the first motel we saw.
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Friday - Much needed rest !

We all felt the mamouth journey from the day before, so the decision was made to stay an extra day in Needles.

By chance we found a great RV site on the Colorado river and set up camp. Also by chance, Needles was holding a custom car and boat show that weekend !!!!

So in the evening we headed into town to watch the parade - the kids were soooo excited !! Sleeping in the bus was much warmer this time - the only snag being that Nat almost fell through his bunk when the old canvas ripped !! Emergency repairs required before we camp again !

Where did the last Few days go !!

The last few days have been great fun although a bit manic - long days, lots of miles, no WIFI and sick kids have all conspired to leave the blog blank for a while! Its now Sunday evening, just sipping Mexican beer in a nice hotel in Victorville CA, while the kids watch tv ! What better time to catch up ! So Thursday ... .

The plan was to get to California, It was hard, but we did ! After a fairly chilled start to the day we finally left Williams, and the Canyon Motel and RV park, about 10

Stopped in Seligman on route 66 to say hi to one of my boyhood hero's !! Although "Live fast, die young, have a beautiful corpse" may not be that apt for a family of 4 in an old bus, at 17 it seemed really cool !!!

Not sure if James would have been impressed by our attempts at train racing ? Probably not as neither of us could manage much more than 40mph on the long up hill drag !!

The old girl deserved a breather after the stirling first place effort !

It was then the long drag through Kinman and up over the pass to Oatman.

An amazing town where Donkeys roam the streets ....

... and certain words mean something completely different!!! That was enough excitement for one day! An hour later, at last light, we had descended down into the gloriously warm town of Needles CA and (after having our fruit confiscated at the border ) stopped at the first motel we saw !! Exhausted we slept like logs !!

4 States, 1215 miles and 12 days !!

Thursday evening - just arrived in Needles California !
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Wednesday - Arizona's largest hole in the ground

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Up early Wednesday morning and off to the Grand Canyon. Stopped by the Sunset crater lava flow first ....

.... and took in the ancient Pueblo ruins. Then started the long climb up to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

What can we say ? Mind Blowing !!Starting at the Eastern end we drove along the Southern rim.

Stopping for a picnic with some of the most amazing views ! Just dont drop your sandwich because its a long walk to go and get it !!

We finished up at the visitor centre where Nat and Amelia took part in a lecture on the forming of the Canyon from "Ranger Jack". This completed their work books and allowed them both to become junior rangers of the Grand Canyon.

Heading down to Williams we stumbled across the coolest aircraft museum so had to drop in !!! Turns out they offer flights in Mustangs and a P-40 on fathers day !! might have to come back !

Dinner was in a great Mexican place in Williams with a really lively atmosphere - no doubt helped by the fact that Margaritas were only 99c !! Exhausted, we checked into the Canyon Motel and RV park. Although we went for a standard room, options for accomodation here include these Railway engines and carriages !! A very cool place and great way to end one of the most amazing days !!!

Tuesday - Arizona's second largest hole in the ground

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Once the dinosaur had been dispatched we headed off towards Flagstaff and the Meteor crater. Stopping first for pancakes in Winslow. Well it was Shrove Tuesday. .

Laying just South of I-40 the crater was formed 50,000 years ago by a meteor that left a hole a mile wide and 550' deep !! It is now a privately run tourist attraction.

From the visitor center we could see San Francisco peaks and sunset crater, part of our journey for tomorrow. First it was off to Flagstaff for supplies......

....Stopping on a section of the old route 66 along the way for a cuppa and to check the map !!! Got into Flagstaff about 3 which gave us time to check over the bus, re-stock supplies and do the laundry before checking out the hotel pool and hot tub! It's a hard life !! Tomorrow the Grand Canyon !!!

Catching up

Sorry that the blog is a few days behind - Since leaving Santa Fe we have been making up for lost time, and packing so much into each day, that blog writing has suffered !! And to make things worse when we ventured out in Holbrook Tuesday morning, Sharon got eaten by a Dinosaur !!

Such an inconvenience!!!

Monday - The Petrified forest.

Full on day ! Woke up in a log cabin, went to bed in a Wigwam. Nathaniel and Amelia became junior park rangers and I got stopped by Arizona's finest for jumping a stop sign ! Well it was never going to be for speeding !!!
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Having left our cabin in Gallup we headed across the border into Arizona, and stopped for a cup of tea ! This fine buisness venture on old route 66 is for sale if anybody is thinking of relocating !

A small detour South from our route took us through the Pertified Forest National Park. The landscape was mind blowing! It was on entering the park that we got pulled for failing to stop at a stop sign ! Apparently I then made things worse by getting out the vehicle to greet the officer ! 20 minutes later (and after getting back in the vehicle) we were sent on our way with a warning! With the kids wanting to know when I would be locked up !!

While we stopped for a picnic lunch, Nat checked out the local rides !

The Park is so named because of the numerous "stone" trees deposited across the landscape. Having been buried, petrified then exposed again due to erosion !

Some hard study resulted in the award of "junior ranger" status for both Amelia and Nataniel. It was then off to the town of Holbrook to stay in our Wigwam ! Pixar fans will no doubt recognise it as the cosy cone motel !!!

Wigwam without WIFI !!

Hello, sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. We stayed here last night and strangely enough it appears that wigwam's dont have wifi !

Route 66 and El Morro

Yesterday we traveled down to Albuquerque via the amazing tent rocks national park.
View Larger Map Having lost a few days with "bus trouble", we decided to miss out our day in old town albuquerque, and push on West.
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So on Sunday morning we set off, with the intention of following as much of old route 66 as we could. Initially this was pretty easy as the old road ran along side the new Interstate.

At other times it was a whole different ball game !! It was a great experience and we managed to get most of the way to Grants without using the interstate. From here we headed off south to take in the El Morro national monument.

The monument was up at about 8000' (2500' higher than route 66) and the weather was much worse. Snow showers had been blowing through during the day and more was forcast..

During a lul in the showers we managed to walk around the impressive sandstone cliffs - but then the snow came back ....

...And it was time to leave. The idea of camping at 8000' in a snow storm didnt get many votes! So we made a dash for it before conditions got too bad !

It was a close call ...but two hours later we were settling into our very own cabin at an RV park in the town of Gallup!!