Route 66 through the Mojave Victorville to Seligman on Route 66
A Special Guided Road Trip Tour September 9-11, 2017 Your hosts: What's included: Jim Conkle & Steve Brown
3 days/2 nights tour on a 47 passenger bus 2 nights lodging (double occupancy) 2 breakfasts Welcome lunch All museum & attraction entries Cavern tour & dinner Distillery tour & sampling Driver gratuity Special guests/authors
Early Bird Rates: $995 per couple / $550 single After June 30: $1170 per couple / $595 single double occupancy
Jim Conkle is the founder & past chairman of the Board of Preservation of Historic Roads & Corridors, as well as the Route 66 Preservation Foundation, & the Route 66 & Highway 99 alliances. Jim served as the national spokesperson for Hampton Inn/Hilton Hotels from 2002 to 2006, & was integrally involved with their efforts to place 66 roadside attractions signs along Route 66 in 66 days. The efforts received the Smithsonian Magazine's top award for preservation, as well as the Presidential Preserve America Award. Conkle has led dozens of Route 66 tours ranging from French photographers to Chinese Cadillac dealers down Route 66, & is one of the leading experts on America's Mother Road. He has traveled the full length of Route 66 more than 300 times & knows most of the people who work & live along America's longest community.
Day 1: Saturday, September 9, 2017 Victorville to Needles, California
10 AM: Meet at California Route 66 Museum, Victorville. Introductions and museum exploration. Route 66 through Oro Grande, Helendale, to Barstow. Visit the famous Bottle Tree Ranch and visit with its creator, Elmer Long. Welcome lunch at Idle Spurs Steakhouse, Barstow (included). Author talk and booksigning: Claudia and Alan Heller (Life on Route 66: Personal Accounts Along the Mother Road to California, Curiosities of the California Desert). Visit to Casa del Desierto Harvey House railroad station, the Mother Road Museum, and the Western American Railroad Museum (WARM), Barstow. Bus tour of downtown Barstow murals. Visit to Desert Discovery Center and Mojave River Valley Museum (as time permits). Route 66 ( as much as is possible) from Barstow to Daggett, Newberry Springs, Ludlow, the new Mojave Trails National Monument, Amboy Crater, Amboy, Goffs, Needles. Visit the famous Bagdad Cafe, Amboy, the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association in Goffs (with a working 10-stamp ore mill), and the historic Goffs Schoolhouse and museum. Hear tales about Huell Howser’s connection to the Newberry Springs area, the plight of Okies heading to California on Route 66, the “eruption” of Amboy Crater, the history of Amboy, General Patton’s time along this stretch of Route 66, the new Mojave Trails National Monument, and when/if Mitchell Caverns will every reopen. Dinner & drinks: Pirate Cove on the Colorado River (your responsibility - we don’t know how much you drink). Overnight: Needles (double occupancy, included).
Day 2: Sunday, September 10, 2017
Needles to Grand Canyon Caverns, Arizona Breakfast at Juicy's Famous River Cafe (included). Driving tour of Route 66 in downtown Needles. Stop at El Garces Harvey House Railroad Station, Charles Schultz’s childhood home (1928-30). Visit the Topock Maze (if passable by bus), then cross the Colorado River into Topock, Arizona and up through the Black Mountains to visit Oatman. We’ll feed the famed burros of Oatman, learn the true story of Olive Oatman, hopefully catch a gunfight or two, and learn the real story about The Oatman Hotel, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard (myth-breaking!). Then we wind slowly over Sitgreaves Pass to Cool Springs, and into Kingman. We visit the Kingman Powerhouse Route 66 Museum and the Electric Vehicle Museum (the only one in the country), and briefly tour downtown Kingman. Lunch: Floyd & Co. Real Pit BBQ (formerly Redneck's). After lunch we follow a beautiful, unbroken stretch of Route 66 to Hackberry, Valentine, Truxton, and Peach Springs, on to our destination for the day, Grand Canyon Caverns. Full Grand Canyon Caverns tour (included). Dinner and overnight at Grand Canyon Caverns (double occupancy, included).
Day 3: Monday, September 11, 2017 Grand Canyon Caverns to Seligman, return to Victorville, california
www.sunrunnersw.com/ events
Breakfast at Grand Canyon Caverns (included), then on to Seligman. Plans are to meet with Angel Delgadillo for coffee. From Seligman we return to California Route 66 Museum, Victorville, but we’re not done yet! We stop off in Kingman for a tour and sampling at Desert Diamond Distillery, a family run maker of superb rums (included). Lunch in Laughlin. On to Nipton, through the Mojave National Preserve, Kelso Depot, Kelso Dunes, to Victorville by approximately 6 p.m. Group dinner for those who have time before heading home. This itinerary is subject to change, depending upon time constraints, road conditions, weather, etc. Stuff happens. We’ll deal with it. If you have any health conditions, mobility issues, or special dietary needs, please advise us when you sign up. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs so they can enjoy the trip to the fullest extent possible. Dress for warm to hot days and cool nights. Good walking shoes or hiking boots are a must. The bus will be air conditioned, but the desert? Well, the Mojave can be roasty toasty in September. If you have questions prior to purchasing the tour, please send them to Steve Brown at publisher@sunrunnersw.com. Sun Runner Media, Steve Brown, and Jim Conkle are not liable for accidents or injuries that may occur during this tour. There is risk in every road trip. Let’s make this one accident free!