She’s Going Places

Day 12: Springfield, IL to Chicago, IL (part 2/2)

Day 12: Springfield, IL to Chicago, IL (part 1/2)

Day 11: Cuba, MO to Springfield, IL

Day 10: Carthage, MO to Cuba, MO (part 2/2)

Day 10: Carthage, MO to Cuba, MO (part 1/2)

Day 9: Tulsa, OK to Carthage, MO (part 2/2)

Day 9: Tulsa, OK to Carthage, MO (part 1/2)

Day 8: Elk City, OK to Tulsa, OK

Day 7: Amarillo, TX to Elk City, OK

Day 6: Tucumcari, NM to Amarillo, TX

Fun Fact: the “100% REFRIGERATED AIR” slogan on the Cozy Cone’s neon sign in Pixar’s Cars is in reference to the same slogan included in green on the real life neon sign for the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM

Day 5: Gallup, NM to Tucumcari, NM (part 2/2)

Day 5: Gallup, NM to Tucumcari, NM (part 1/2)

We’re roughly a third of the way through the trip now, and in the time spent traveling the road so far, I’ve met and learned about quite a few interesting people. There were the guys working at the official gift shop in Amboy, who introduced me to the fascinating story of their boss, Albert Okura, the founder and CEO of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain and the man who first purchased the abandoned ghost town in 2005. Sam and Monica, the chatty owners of the historic El Travatore Motel in Kingman. Tony, an ASU alum and the owner of the Jack Rabbit Trading Post, who gave me a free license plate when he heard I was graduating. And of course, Charlie, the friendly orange cat who greeted us at the Hackberry General Store. I tend to be a bit nervous and standoffish in public, and talking to strangers isn’t something that comes naturally to me. But I’ve been making an effort to engage with people more on this trip, and I’m so grateful for all the conversations that have come as a result. On Thursday, we stopped in Seligman, AZ to get lunch at the famous Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In, and, while we were waiting, took a quick walk down the street to look in Angel & Vilma’s Route 66 Gift Shop. When I asked the woman at the counter how she’d ended up living and working on Route 66, she told me her name was Mirna Delgadillo, that Angel & Vilma Delgadillo were her parents, and that after leaving for college and moving around for a while she’d come back to help with the family business in Seligman. Angel Delgadillo, who was the town’s barber, is known as the “Guardian Angel of Route 66” because it was his initiative taken in 1987 to form the very first route 66 association, in Arizona, and campaign for the historical preservation of the route, having grown sick and tired of watching his town waste away after they were bypassed by the interstate in 1978. In fact, head Pixar executive and creative director John Lasseter met Delgadillo during his hands-on research for the movie Cars (2006), and has said that the story of Seligman served as heavy inspiration for the entire creative team during the making of the film. Although Angel Degadillo officially retired from barbering earlier this year in July, at the age of 95, the corner of the store in the gift shop which served as his workspace is still preserved in tribute and filled with lots of interesting information and memorabilia. For more information on the Delgadillo family and the story of Seligman, see the link below for an interview with Mirna: 

Day 4: Williams, AZ to Gallup, NM (part 2/2)

Day 4: Williams, AZ to Gallup, NM (part 1/2)

The Red Garter Inn, Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff Visitor Center, Winona, AZ, Two Guns, Standin’ on the Corner Park, La Posada