Last week we covered Settlers Lifestyle Village resident Ian Langley’s plan to drive the famous Route 66 in the United States with good friend Paul Schollum. This week, we go on their journey, along with the many side-trips they took.
Rising early and turning in late, Ian and Paul took Route 66 by storm over the course of seven action-packed weeks.
Route 66’s easternmost start point officially begins in Downtown Chicago, Illinois on the corner of Western Jackson Boulevard and North Michigan Avenue, an inauspicious start to America’s most famous road.
It then heads west out of the city and south, but in true Kiwi tiki tour style, Ian and Paul headed east to Detroit and spent two full days at the Ford Museum, admiring some of Ford’s incredible early innovations (they were driving a Mustang so had to go to Detroit)!
From Michigan, the duo travelled to Indianapolis for Memorial Day Weekend, to watch the world famous Indy 500, made even more famous in New Zealand after Scott Dixon’s successes.
Ian describes the day as being “out of this world” and very electrifying as he was surrounded by 300,000 plus of the most colourful people, sporting American flag themed apparel in wild styles, and all petrol heads.
A friend of Paul’s gave them a tour of the Indy 500 vintage race car museum within the grounds of the race track, as well as a look behind the scenes of the museum – for a couple of guys enamoured with Mustangs, this simply blew them away.
The Indy 500 was another detour so they rejoined R66 and travelled to the town of Arthur, Illinois, an Amish community founded in the 1860’s. Being there was a step back towards a simple life horse-drawn buggies moving up and down the main street lined by traditional Amish-run businesses.
From Amish Country, they went to Saint Louis, Missouri to see the impeccable St. Louis Arch which Ian notes is “an amazing piece of engineering” and a must-see for a professional engineer.
They carried on down R66 stopping at many places for photos and often stopping just to check out the numerous rusting classic cars sitting in fields and people’s front yards. On through Illinois, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then on to Amarillo, Texas for some good old fashioned Southern comfort food and country sights.
Among the grand stops was Santa Fe, New Mexico, “a nice township with a very welcoming feeling and more amazing sites and history”, according to Ian.
A starstruck moment came for Ian when he stopped for lunch in Winslow, Arizona. This seemingly quaint town in the desert is the scene set by the famous Eagles song titled, “Take it Easy” where the music explains that the group was “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona”. There is a small monument to commemorate this scene and Ian quickly grabbed his camera to get a shot.
Ian and Paul also took a whirl-wind flight over the Grand Canyon, one of the most awe-inspiring views in the world.
Towards the end of R66, just before getting to Los Angeles, they went through a small township called Oatman where donkeys were “roaming free on dusty streets; it was something out of the real wild west,” says Ian.
The trip wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Sin City; Las Vegas. The pair walked along the Vegas Strip in Nevada and also did a side trip to the Hoover Dam, the famous U.S. landmark.
End of the Road
The end of their journey took them to Santa Monica, California, famous for its “end of the trail” sign on the well-known pier.
Sunny California prepared Ian and Paul to leave the U.S., saying a short goodbye to the convertible Mustang they would be shipping back to New Zealand after so many memories.
This trip was a dream come true for Ian and Paul, driving a Ford Mustang on the open road with good views, the Eagles, Queen and a number of other 60s artists playing on the car radio and nothing holding them back.
Back on Kiwi Soil
From visiting Amish communities to eating spare ribs near the Houston Space Center, Ian reflects on his time overseas and is thankful to have taken such an incredible trip with his good friend Paul.
Next on Ian’s travel wish list is to do a tour of Europe looking at the war history and famous landmarks. Alternatively, he’d like to research some of his family history in Scotland and take a trip out there to get in touch with his roots. But probably not in a Mustang.