Any Rt. 66 caravans in western states next year?

[Greg_Lewis]

Hi folks:
New to the forum and hoping you can point us in the right direction. I've done a search here and don't see anything pertinent to my question.

My grandson has a '26 roadster pickup and since next year will be the 100th birthday of the truck as well as Route 66, it would be fun to drive it along parts of the route. What we're looking for is any info about a rally or caravan along the route in the western states, mostly between Barstow and Albuquerque. It would be much more fun to be with a group than to fly solo.

The back story is that my grandson and the truck are in the Portland, OR area, so we'll trailer the truck to our starting point, which will be Barstow, although we could start in Victorville. (We have no desire to drive through So Cal and over Cajon Pass. There is a minimal amount of sanity left in us....) And we'll trailer it when there's no alternative to I-40. I just drove the route from Barstow to Albuquerque last year so we won't be out there without some experience. (And I drove it six times in a Model A a lifetime ago before the interstate was built and 66 was the only option.)

We're limited to California, Arizona and New Mexico as grandson has only so much time off work. We just don't have time for the eastern parts of the route. But if you have any info about a rally or caravan on the route next year we'd appreciate a tip. THANKS!

[Steve Jelf]

I gather you're fairly familiar with the California part of your trip. The last time I was over the Arizona part several years ago, Topoc to Ash Fork was still quite driveable. From what I've seen online recently, I have doubts about old 66 from Seligman to Ash Fork. East of that, don't expect any of old 66 to be usable. There are short tastes of the old road, but nearly all of it has been replaced by I-40 well past ABQ. Surprisingly, the state that provides the most Route 66 driving is Missouri, where practically all of it is still usable as state and county roads.

I'm not aware of any caravans, but it wouldn't surprise me if you're quite limited in that search.

[YellowTRacer]

I might be, with a little arm twist and some others joining in the drive, be interested in doing that. Not in old #4 but maybe our 1924 Brand X (Chevrolet) truck.

[Greg_Lewis]

Thanks for your thoughts, Steve. Last year we went up from Kingman through Peach Springs and on down to Seligman but I can't remember if we bailed there or kept on to Ash Fork. A few checks with Google street view shows lots of open space and not much else. Before that we took the loop through Oatman and also the stretch to Bagdad. There we couldn't go all the way through as there was a bridge out at the east end.

YellowTRacer:
Let's keep this idea open. A big question is when my grandson could get off work — an issue I no longer have to care about . And such a trip is not a good idea in the middle of summer. On one of my Model A trips, it was early July and we pulled into a gas station in Needles to find the thermometer on the wall of the station at 118. That was not comfortable.

The story of his T is interesting: He is the second owner. The first was a company that bought it new in 1926, and some years later when it was no longer needed they pushed it into the back of a warehouse where it sat until about 2015 or so. Then for their 100th anniversary they had it professionally restored both mechanically and cosmetically and used it for publicity. After that, it got pushed back into the warehouse where it sat for another 10 years. New management came along and decided they weren't going to use the T again so they gave it to my grandson. As in free. Poor kid.

While we are new to the T, both of us have significant mechanical experience: he's a service tech at a Ford dealer and I did an off-the-frame restoration of the A-bone and have rebuilt many engines, clutches, and on and on. I've got a garage machine shop and have also built a 1/8 scale steam locomotive from scratch.

But let's not derail this thread — if anyone else is interested in working something out for next year, put it out there.

[Norman Kling]

One part of the route which I believe is still open is through Oatman. That is a very interesting mining town. There are wild burros around the area. They even wander into town. One time on a tour, we were in a restaurant having lunch when a group of motorcycles arrived and were in having lunch. They were all parked in a row facing toward the street when a burro knocked one over and the whole group fell like domanos. The bikers immediately rushed out to see if their property was damaged.
Norm

[Steve Jelf]

Oatman grade in summer? You bet. 1941 Plymouth sedan. The memory has stuck with me since the forties. The lack of any a.c. didn't spoil the adventure. This was the main east-west highway, so there was no shortage of traffic. You would crawl along in a line of cars following a big old truck as it slowly toiled toward the summit. At every turnout there would be a car with its hood up as the driver waited for it to cool down enough to go on.

Somehow the world as you experience it growing up seems normal. For me that normal world has theaters with double features, cartoons, and newsreels. At home I can listen to Baby Snooks or Don McNeill's Breakfast Club or Challenge of the Yukon because we still have real radio, and going to visit relatives I can ride a train pulled by a real locomotive.