Route 66 from Kingman to Amarillo, Stop by Stop

🌉 Leaving Las Vegas

Our Route 66 adventure started with a photo stop on the Memorial Bridge above the Hoover Dam, then a coffee at Mudd on 66 in Kingman, Arizona.

🦁 Keepers of the Wild and Seligman

East of Kingman we spent a fascinating afternoon at Keepers of the Wild, a sanctuary for rescued animals. Seligman, with its murals and neon, felt like stepping into a film set.

🔭 Flagstaff and Winslow

In Flagstaff we visited Lowell Observatory. Then it was on to Winslow for lunch at the Turquoise Room and the obligatory photo on the corner, before a night in a teepee at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook.

🌈 Petrified Forest and Gallup

A full morning in Petrified Forest National Park included the old Route 66 alignment with its rusting Studebaker. Then we crossed into New Mexico and Gallup's historic El Rancho Hotel.

The old Studebaker on the Route 66 alignment in Petrified Forest National Park Photo: Finetooth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

⛏️ Grants to Albuquerque

We went underground at the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants, bought earrings from an artist at Laguna Pueblo, and settled into Albuquerque for four nights, with a day trip to Santa Fe.

🚗 Santa Rosa to Amarillo

We had green chile stew at the Silver Moon Cafe in Santa Rosa, gleaming chrome at the Route 66 Auto Museum and cake in Tucumcari. Then we drove through torrential rain and lightning to Amarillo, Texas.

One thing to note: Route 66 often runs alongside or underneath the interstate, so a good guide to the exits is essential if you want to stay on the old road.