Joe Loesch's Blog – April 2005 Archive (3)

Day 3, April 20 (NM & TX) -

Heading on through New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle a lot of 66 is parallel to I-40 and a good portion is completely covered by it. But there are still many interesting sites such as the Midpoint Café in Adrian, TX located 1,139 miles from Chicago to the east and 1,139 miles from Los Angeles to the west. Fran serves up a great cherry cobbler. Just outside Amarillo is the “Cadillac Ranch”, a field where 10 Cadillacs in a row are half buried with their fins… Continue

Day 2, April 19 (AZ) -

With the beautiful but barren Mojave Desert as a backdrop we traveled through Topock, AZ to the old gold mining town of Oatman where wild donkeys roam the dusty streets and a few saloons and tourist shops welcome travelers. Olive Oatman’s Restaurant makes a mighty fine breakfast. The old Oatman Hotel, now mostly a gift shop, is where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon night after marrying in nearby Kingman. After several miles of treacherous-feeling… Continue

Part 1 - April, 2005 -



My friend and I have talked for years about traveling “The Mother Road”, Historic Route 66. Joe and I met in Vietnam in 1968. 37 Years later, in our 50’s, we decided to stop talking and start driving. The trip held special memories for Joe who, as a child, traveled it several times with his family from St. Louis visiting west coast relatives. We flew to Los Angeles and started a 4-day trek through history starting at 66’s western terminus at the Santa Monica… Continue