The Long, Hot Road to Williams

June 16-20, 2016

Route 66 Through Williams

I know it has been awhile since I’ve written. The truth is, we have made few trips over the past year and none worth writing about. However, as I awaited the long month to retirement, I could take it no longer and knew I needed some road time. I happened to remember that, about this time every year, rodeos abound in Arizona and California. Although the weather was warming up, I felt it was still cool enough to make a desert crossing, So, with that in mind, I set my sights on the Annual Arizona Cowpunchers Reunion Association. Take almost everything you may know about professional rodeo and throw it out the window. This rodeo is for a different kind of “pro”, the ones who actually work on ranches in Arizona and neighboring states. The events are slightly different with wild cow milking and ribbon roping for the younger set. You won’t find bull riding but you will see youngsters bucking steers. No bareback bronc but plenty of action with saddle broncs and wild horse riding, the original bronc riding of the old days.

Now I’ll tell you, as retirement approaches, I am getting just a bit too old to drag myself to the ground and crawl into a tent these days. But, I’m not interested in spending my life savings on hotels and Julie and I still prefer a campfire to a TV in the evening (as long as I can still pour a Gibson). So, late last year, I purchased a used but in good condition motorcycle tent trailer. Finally up off the ground, we took it for a shakedown cruise earlier this year. The 1994 Kwik Kamp opens in less that two minutes and the king size bed gives us plenty of room. The only change we made was to swap out the camp pads we previously used for an air mattress. I don’t think we could ask for comfier digs. The one issue I had with it was the weight. Although the tare weight on the spec tag says 350, a quick trip to the public scales revealed the true weight of 420 pounds. Of course, that limits our baggage but we are learning to live with it. Total weight with supplies is about 540 pounds and it pulls (and stops) just fine.

Per my usual modus operandi, Julie I were packed up the night before and headed out of the driveway around 5 am. If I were going solo, I would be in Williams by 10. Julie is no ironbutt so we usually have to make extended gas stops for her comfort. Not a problem as we had no time table.  The biggest time consumer, I felt, was going to be dragging a 500 pound trailer through the California desert at 55 miles an hour. OK……65 miles an hour. Still, that was a far cry from my usual 75 to 79 miles an hour I usually do on these trips. As the trip progressed, I found myself caring less about the speed limit (hadn’t seen Erik Estrada for hours) and more about getting there at a reasonable hour.

The trip to Victorville was uneventful. Things were going well so we decided to continue on to Barstow where we stopped at the Pilot station near the outlet stores. Although we had the soak vests with us, we decided it was still cool enough not to need them. When Julie had been refreshed, we climbed aboard the bike once more and pointed it toward the Colorado River.

I make it a point to avoid Needles if at all possible. High gas prices and so-so breakfast don’t make for a memorable stop. So, we bypassed the off ramp and sped across the bridge to Arizona. We stopped for gas at the Pilot Travel Center off Highway 95. This is a good stop but, as we found out, it can be a bit tricky when you are hauling a trailer. It is also a busy stop so sometimes you have to wait for a gas pump. We didn’t have any trouble getting a pump but getting out and back onto the highway was a bit tricky when we went “high” on an embankment and had a bit of trouble with balance.

Good food at truck stops is mostly a thing of the past. There are a few independents that put on a pretty good spread but most of the Pilots and TAs are run by concessions nowadays. So, we decided to forego the restaurant and make tracks for Kingman. Kingman is a must-do stop for Julie. She had been looking forward to breakfast at her special place for the past week. So, the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Kingman was dialed in to the GPS and a short 60 mile jaunt later we were looking for a parking spot we could drive through.

Cracker Barrel Restaurants are known for the long line of custom-made rocking chairs (which they will be happy to sell you one of) on their porch, a kitschy gift shop reminiscent of the old Stuckey’s and good food at great prices. Julie likes to make her own breakfast. I settled for the biscuits and homemade gravy with sausage patties. I’m particular about my gravy so, if I recommend it, it has to be good. Anyway, we ate breakfast and dallied in the gift shop for quite a while. We weren’t in any real hurry to get back on the road and I wanted Julie to take her time. We had made good time so far, pulling into Kingman about 8:30 or 9 O’Clock as I recall. It was probably close to 11 when we left.

On Interstate 40 once again, we headed toward out eventual destination. We took our time, even though Arizona has no separate trailer speed restrictions. We picked up some light crosswinds along the way and I was surprised at how well the trailer handled.

As a side note, if you find yourself in this area of Arizona, I highly recommend taking Route 66 east out of Kingman or west out of Ash Fork. The ride is a bit longer but the road is smooth and the scenery is fabulous. It is also the only way to get to the Grand Canyon Caverns, a cool little stop that allows you to do a bit of spelunking along the way. The road into the Caverns, once you make the turnoff, is also an original alignment of Route 66, a road that suffered multiple “realignments” throughout its history.

We finally pulled into the Circle Pines KOA in Williams about 2:30 pm. The place was busy with cowboys and visitors who had come to see them. After a near miss a couple of years ago at another KOA, I don’t like to pull behind large RVs with no view of the rear. So, I pulled to the side (and out from between two behemoths) and parked. Gravel everywhere reminded me that I now carry a plastic disk to plant my kickstand on. Check-in and a quick escort to our campsite and we were ready to set up. One thing I like about most KOAs is they will usually allow you to use a tent campsite to park the tent trailer. It’s cheaper and they usually have electric and water either on site or nearby.

As I said in the beginning, the main reason we came to Williams was for the Cowpunchers Rodeo. When we came into town, however, we discovered this weekend was also Train Day at the Williams Depot. Discussion over breakfast at the Pine Country Restaurant (lose the biscuits and gravy here) had us make the decision to hit Train Days on Saturday and the rodeo on Sunday.

Williams is considered the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon” and they run trains twice a day up to the steps of the Bright Angel Hotel. The train is most often hauled by the GE Diesel locomotives. Once a month, however, they pull out the steam engines and give a real treat to the riders. On the same weekend, they offer a special excursion that takes train buffs out on private track for an hour-long ride through the Pinon pine forests. The cars are vintage Pullman, restored to their former glory by volunteers. Docents lecture on a variety of things pertinent to the railroad and Williams.

Grand Canyon Railway Trackside

Along with the steam engines and vintage train cars, the Grand Canyon Railway also pulls out a variety of railroad memorabilia and special use cars. Cabooses are opened up and available to tour. Docents dress up in period costumes including the Harvey House girls. There is also a great classic car show in the hotel parking lot. This, along with a drink at the local American Legion Post (open since 1929) and dinner at Rod’s Steak House, made our entire day.

Sunday was rodeo day. We started the day with breakfast at on of our favorite cafes on Route 66, Old Smokey’s The place is run by a couple of nice ladies and a guy that I will just assume is “Smokey”, although he doesn’t look that old. The coffee cup stays full and, unlike the Pine Country, the biscuits and gravy are the best. We wound up having to take a quick trip to Flagstaff 60 miles away because we discovered the night before that our 40 degree sleeping bag didn’t work so well in 30 degree weather.

Bronc Riding “Pro” Style

We made it back in plenty of time to get to the rodeo. Another great thing about this rodeo is the price: 5 dollars. There was a small vendor area with boots and other cowboy paraphernalia being sold. We bought some raffle tickets for a painting (they draw for it next month) by a well-know artist whose name escapes me at the moment. It’ll look good in our living room. Beer was available but you had to get a wrist bracelet so they could tell the drunks from the teetotalers. Seating was open so we found a nice shady spot and settled in with a beer and soda for Julie.

Monday had us saying goodbye, once again, to Williams. I knew it was going to be tough going back. Calamity hit as we left the campground. For hydration and to keep the soak vests charged, I have a six packer with a pass hole drilled in the side. I store a water bladder on ice in the chest and have an extended tube leading out to the passengers. Julie passes me the water tube when I need a drink. Unfortunately, we needed something out of the trunk. I had loosened the strap holding the box on the upper rack and forgot to tighten it up again. As soon as we got on the freeway, it went sailing off into parts unknown. After a brief search, we decided to just buy another one in Kingman.

Before heading out, I checked the temperature in both Williams and Kingman. At 5:30 in the morning, it was 67 in Williams and 95 in Kingman. I knew it was going to, literally, be a hell of a day.

The sign on the cab to my left: “Watch out for bikers”

In Kingman, we found a Wal-Mart and spent the better part of an hour securing and preparing our new water system. We decided to eat there at the mini McDonald’s as well. Soak vests came out (fortunately they weren’t in the box that went flying) and were duly charged. I waited until the Pilot station at Highway 95 to gas up and that was a brief stop to gas and recharge the vests. Coming down out of Kingman, we hit 115 degree weather. It would remain that hot all the way to San Bernardino. Although we stopped frequently to recharge the vests and refill the water bladder, we made excellent time, driven by the insane heat. Oh, yeah, and the fact I had a 3:30 pm doctors appointment back home.

By the time we hit the downgrade of the Cajon, I had put away all pretense of driving 55 miles an hour. However, I was unsure how the trailer would handle on the steep grade so I cut it back a bit and stayed toward the right. Big mistake. All the nut cases decided to drive to the right so it was all I could do to just get off the hill. The trailer hauled just fine. The pushing I expected was non-existent and, altogether, the trailer hauling was a pleasant experience.

We rolled into the driveway at 2;30 pm giving me plenty of time to dry off, change clothes (mine were soaked from the vest) and head out to my doctors appointment……in the car.

So, we had a great time and we are already making plans to go again next year. Since I’ll be retired, we might just make a few weeks of it and head down to the Prescott Days Rodeo as well. There’s a Cracker Barrel there too.