Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way . . .
Born to be wild . . .
These lyrics from Steppenwolf scored the 1969 counterculture biker film Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. It was shot on RTE 66. It is no surprise that the Mother Road today attracts many biker packs from all over the world in search of adventure.
The Hackberry General Store is a flash from the past and an oasis for bikers and motors from everywhere. We met a party from Croatia here, who were in the tourism trade and proud that the HBO series Game of Thrones was filmed in their homeland. Old cars litter the yard of the Hackberry General Store.
The old gas pumps no longer service travelers, but the owners of the store love to share stories about the Mother Road.
The Hackberry General Store is still operating and close to the actual motel used in the biker film Easy Rider. In the movie the fictional motel owner refuses to rent a room to the hippie bikers even though the place looks empty.
We saw these signs everywhere on the road. Frontier justice reigns here.
Entering reservation land in nearby Peach Springs, we loved all the Hualapai tribe touches. On a different note, Peach Springs was the inspiration for the fictional town of Radiator Springs in the Pixar animated film “Cars.”
Continuing our journey, we stopped at the Grand Canyon Caverns resort, a time warp of family vacations in the past.
Where else can you find a miniature golf course full of dinosaurs?
We stopped for lunch in Seligman. The famous Snow Cap burger stand has captured the spirit of RTE 66 and the friendliness and humor of its denizens.
With multiple doorknobs, the place makes you guess which one will allow entry into the ordering lobby. The owner is a jokester, who squirted Jill with a squeeze bottle of mustard that turned out to be a long yellow string. He then asked Pete if he wanted a small shake or a large one by showing him a 2 tablespoon medicine cup and a huge paper cup. Everything we tried to say was turned into a play on words. This is typical of the humor and friendliness of the locals. They love to engage in dialogue.
The whimsical backyard of the Snow Cap. A RTE 66 interpretation of being in the dog house.
One of the restrooms
More whimsy in the backyard
Jill surrounded by twin outhouses
Back to the future in Seligman
Every inch in the town is tongue in cheek
More kitsch aligns the road
A busload of Japanese tourists stormed the town and wallowed in retro Americana.
7 Comments
We love your pics Jill. Keep ’em comin! Dana
This stuff looks like fun. Next time I go to North Rim I will go along Rt. 66. Question: Is the poster of John Wayne in the bathroom supposed to increase peristalsis or defeat it? All class as usual!
This is better then the morning paper. Thanks!
I mean than the morning paper. I need to drink my first cuppa.
Looks like you’re having a little too much fun! I guess the people who live out there have to be a bit nutty. You’ll have stories to tell when you get home….
I can tell you’re enjoying your trip into the past.
Keep making those memories.
Hugs,
Flea
Love the dinosaur pictures have to take John there
to play golf. Maybe we can put a toilet in our back yard????