Reuthers Harley-Davidson
Motorcycle Tours USA / Route 66
Kicks - 12 Days - Route
Route:
Chicago - Springfield / Illinois - St. Louis -
Springfield / Missouri - Oklahoma City -
Amarillo - Santa Fe - Gallup - Flagstaff -
Seligman - Barstow - Santa Monica
Day 1
Chicago
Welcome to Chicago. After the individual arrivals and the transfer from the airport to the hotel we will start off with a welcome drink and dinner and set the mood for our shared motorcycle tour.
Day 2
Chicago - Springfield/Il.
Early in the morning we will pick up our Harley-Davidson motorcycles at the rental station. A few safety tips and after a few miles on the Interstate and Highway we will see the first Route 66 street signs near Joliet. Around midday we will reach the Launching Pad in Wilmington, one of the last original Route 66 restaurants. After an obligatory stop at the Dixie Truckers Home, we will end our first day in Spingfield/Illinois which was for many years the chosen home city of Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States during the civil war.
Day 3
Springfield/Il. - St. Louis
Today we want to dedicate our day to the "Gateway to the West": the pioneer town St. Louis. The town's landmark is the more than 190 m high steel Gateway Arch. Inside, we will take trams to an observation platform to the top of the highest monument of the nation. The afternoon in St. Louis is free to your disposal, however for dinner we will meet at the "Hannegan's", a replica of the U.S. Senate dining-room in Washington D.C.
Day 4
St. Louis - Springfield/Mo.
We deliberately want to do without the unnecessary challenges of confusing streets in the city, bad road conditions and misleading signs to the "Mother Road". We will travel some distances of the tour on the Route 66 and others on the Interstate. Today's highlight and absolute must are the Meramec Caverns. The famous limestone caves have been a tourist classic since the beginning of the Route 66 and served the outlaw Jesse James as a welcome hiding place from his pursuers.
Day 5
Springfield/Mo. - Oklahoma City
The motto of the day today is: ride, ride and ride namely through three states: Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The latter is known through countless thunderstorms, the particularly striking red earth and for all Route 66 fans the probably longest continuous route on the Highway 66.
Day 6
Oklahoma City - Amarillo
We will start our day with a real photo highlight: A bridge with 38(!) huge arches spanning the Canadian River. And the Route 66 museum in Clinton that we will visit is a memorial that is different to all others in a double sense: each room is dedicated to a decade of the "Main Street of America" and one of America’s the best Route 66 experts Michael Wallis, is the narrator on the audios that are handed out for us to listen to. A further highlight on our tour is the next stop and overnight stay at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo.
Day 7
Amarillo - Santa Fe
We continue our adventure tour on the Route 66 to the legendary Cadillac Ranch. As a reminder of the golden days of the Route 66 ten Cadillac’s are buried vertically into the ground. Next stop is the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian. Say "Howdy“while strolling in. Adrian is the geo-mathematical center of the old Route 66. This is as important as crossing the equator. At the end of our eventful day, we will spend the night in historic Santa Fe.
Day 8
Santa Fe - Gallup
This morning we want to check out the original film location of Maggie's Diner from the cult movie "Wild Hogs" with John Travolta in Madrid. After taking a group picture our tour takes us past Mesas, cottonwood trees and continues on the gentle winding road to Laguna Pueblo where the Spaniards built the mission church, which we will visit. Just in time for dinner, we will reach the hotel El Rancho in Gallup after riding several more beautiful miles through Indian Territory. The heydays are gone, but there once was a time when famous Hollywood stars met up here. Ronald Reagan slept in room 103; Humphrey Bogart in room 213, Doris Day in room 109, Kirk Douglas stayed in 105, Gregory Peck in 111. The Marx brothers resided in room 118, John Wayne recovered in room 100 after a long days ride and for Hermann the German room 101 is regularly reserved for the night.
Day 9
Gallup - Flagstaff
Starting off in Gallup the first stage leads us to the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert. The more interesting of the two natural wonders is the „Petrified Forest", which was formed millions of years ago by a freak of nature. The northern part of the park, the Painted Desert, consists of sedimentary rocks that change color depending on the exposure to the sun going from red to orange to purple. On our journey towards the west ("Go West", is our phrase of the day!), we will have a lunch break in Holbrook, a typical Route 66 city. Secret tip is a visit to Joe & Aggies Cafe with the Mexican specialty of the house "Cheese Enchilada ´s". Greatly strengthened we will cruise on to Winslow, Arizona to Winslow Corner, known from the song by the Eagles. Today’s destination is Flagstaff which is located between the two Indian reservations of the Navajo and Hopi on the legendary Route 66. We will end the evening at the Museum Club that the locals call The Zoo which is probably the best dance club between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.
Day 10
Flagstaff - Seligman
Today’s highlight is the gigantic Grand Canyon, which we will head for early in the morning. Of course if you book early with us it is possible to schedule a helicopter flight. After lunch we will cruise over Williams to Seligman. Here the long loop of the old Route 66 begins right up to the Californian border. Even the very old street layout is navigable along this beautiful section. Arriving in Seligman, we will first visit the founder of the „Historic Route 66 Association" at the Route 66 Visitors Center. We will certainly have the opportunity to meet the "Guardian Angel", Angel Delgadillo and perhaps somebody might be in the mood to receive one of his famous barber shaves. By the way, in his barber shop, you can find many Route 66 souvenirs - a true paradise for bargain hunters. In the evening we will set up our sleeping quarters at a typical Route 66 motel in order to get to know something very simple and rustic.
Day 11
Seligman - Barstow
We will have breakfast today in Westside at Lilo's Café, an original 66 restaurant owned by an expatriate German, who ensures that all the guests in Seligman are well fed. Through Kingman we continue on to Oatman and the hottest city in America to Needles. Other stops are the Sahara Oasis and Roy ´s Cafe in Amboy. Just before we arrive in Barstow we will turn a few miles north -if time allows it - to visit an old silver mine in the Mojave Desert in the ghost town of Calico. In the still inhabited and lovingly renovated original Western town over a thousand adventurers once sought their fortune. If you want to you can pick up your very own personal Western photo. A beautiful day and a beautiful trip ends in Barstow. By the way in 1886, the town was named after the president of the Santa Fe railroad company. Barstow also managed to end up in the refrain of the Route 66 classic "Get your kicks".
Day 12
Barstow - Santa Monica
