Route 66 in Arizona

Route 66 crosses 8 states and 3 time zones.  The states are Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  The time zones are Central, Mountain and Pacific.

Only 800 miles of the road were paved when it was commissioned in 1926.  It took 11 years to get the road paved from end to end.

During its existence, Route 66 was constantly changing.  If a more direct or safer route from one town to the next was discovered, Route 66 was realigned and the old road was abandoned.

Kansas has the shortest section of Route 66.  Thirteen miles of the historic highway cross the southeastern corner of the state.  Three towns exist along this stretch – Riverton, Galena and Baxter Springs.

Route 66 was officially named US Highway 66.  The term “Route 66” came into existence with Bobby Troup’s 1946 song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”.

A hamburger stand owned by Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up on Route 66 in San Bernardino, California in 1940. Fifteen years later, McDonald’s hamburger stands started appearing all over the country.  The original hamburger stand in San Bernardino is now a museum.

85% of Route 66 is still drivable today.

The Route 66 Cruizer’s 6^th Annual What A Halloween Bash will be held in Kingman, Arizona on Friday, October 31.  The event will be held in the What-A-Burger parking lot near Beverly and Harrison Streets in Kingman, from 6:00 – 8:30pm.

The Halloween bash combines a classic car cruise-in with trick-or-treating to provide a safe trick-or-treat environment for Halloween revelers.

The owners of the cars on display will be hading out candy to costumed children.  The candy is for the children only; no adult trick-or-treaters please.  Random costume awards will be handed out throughout the event. 

For the safety of the children, all cars participating in the Halloween bash should be parked by 5:30pm.  All cars are required to stay in place until 9:00pm.

This sounds like a great community event.

The City of Kingman Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring the Kingman Fall Festival on Saturday, October 25.  The Fall Festival will be held in Centennial Park from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.  Centennial Park is located at 3333 Harrison in Kingman.

Events at the Fall Festival include carnival games, food vendors, a cupcake walk, hayrides, arts and crafts, and a pumpkin patch.

There will also be several contests including a diaper and toddler derby, a costume contest for children 3 to 12 years old, a pie eating contest for children 6 years old and over, and a pumpkin carving contest for participants over the age of 13.

Many events are free but some require a wristband in order to participate.  Wristbands are $4 in advance and are available to the Kingman Parks & Rec office.  The wristbands will also be available at the Fall Festival for $5.

The Arizona Shakespeare Festival will also be a part of the Fall Festival.  The touring company will perform Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” at 2:30pm Saturday in Centennial Park.  Admission to the performance is free.

This week’s restaurant review is for a restaurant far off the beaten path of Route 66.  Instead of staying in Kingman, we went to Laughlin Nevada on Saturday.

I love German food, but I haven’t had any in quite a while.  I had read in the Kingman paper that the Riverside Casino in Laughlin was having an Oktoberfest this past weekend.  Perfect.  It was an opportunity to get some German food and try out a new restaurant.  Laughlin is only about 30 minutes away from Kingman, so it was a nice little outing.

The Riverside Café is located on the main Riverside Casino floor, next to the Riverside Buffet.  The café is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It overlooks the Colorado River, so the view from the restaurant is spectacular.

While we were there primarily for the Oktoberfest, we did get a chance to see the full menu.  They have an extensive variety including breakfast, salads, sandwiches and full entrees.  There is a good kids menu, and even overnight specials.

There was a special menu for the Oktoberfest.  I had the Sauerbraten with mashed potatoes and red cabbage.  In case you are not familiar with German fare, Sauerbraten is basically pot roast Bavarian style.  It’s got a vinegary yet sugary taste.  Odd combination, but it tastes really good.

The food was excellent and really plentiful. I really wanted a piece of German chocolate cake for dessert, but I was so full.  There was no way I could have eaten another bite after that delicious dinner.

We’ll definitely go back to the Riverside Café when we’re in Laughlin to try out their regular menu.

Kingman, Arizona may be the Heart of Route 66, but Route 66 is definitely the heart of Kingman!    Located in Northwest Arizona, just 2 hours south of Las Vegas, Kingman is a must-see destination for Route 66 aficionados.  Route 66 is the main east-west artery through Kingman, where it’s also called Andy Devine Avenue, after Kingman’s favorite son and actor in many old Westerns.  You can learn about Andy Devine, and Kingman’s history at the Mohave Museum of History and Arts, located at the junction of Route 66 and Beale Street.  Nearby on Route 66 is the Powerhouse Visitor Center, which also holds a Historic Route 66 museum and shop.  Kingman’s third museum is the Army Airfield, located at Kingman’s Airport, a former World War II airbase.  The airport is located on Route 66 at the east end of Kingman.

At the Visitor Center, you can pick up a map for a walking tour of historic downtown Kingman, where you can view over 60 locations on the National Register of Historic Places.  Locomotive Park, across Route 66 from the Powerhouse Visitor Center, is home to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Steam Engine No. 3759.  The old locomotive provides a wonderful backdrop for your Kingman photos.

When you’re ready to take a break from sightseeing to have a bite to eat, try one of the down-home eateries along Route 66.  Near the Powerhouse is Mr. D’z Diner, with an old-fashioned 50’s atmosphere, homemade Root Beer, and wonderful burgers.  If you want food like you’d get at home, try the Silver Spoon family restaurant, farther east on Route 66.  Both restaurants are housed in original Route 66 buildings.  Kingman has plenty of other dining choices available as well, located throughout the town.

If you’re planning to stay they night, Kingman is teeming with lodging choices.  Nostalgia buffs can choose to spend the night in the smaller Route 66-era motor courts such as the Hilltop Motel or the Arcadia Lodge.  There are also the chain motels such as Days Inn, Best Western, and Holiday Inn Express.  Most of Kingman’s lodging options are located on Route 66.

Whether you’re planning a day trip or an overnight stay, Kingman Arizona has something to offer everyone.

Everybody loves a parade, especially Kingman, Arizona.   Kingman has had three parades (that I know of) in the last month, and there is at least one more scheduled in the next few weeks.

So far, there’s been the Andy Devine Days parade, the Kingman High School homecoming parade, and the parade before the Walk In The Park and Oktoberfest yesterday.  We went to the Andy Devine Days parade and the parade yesterday.  If I’d known about the homecoming parade, I probably would have gone.  Spirit parades are so much fun.

Being new to the town and the area in general, my husband and I are trying to experience as many events as we can at least once.  Kingman is a relatively small town.  I’ve been to small town parades before and some have been good, some have been a joke.  I was impressed with the Andy Devine Days parade.  There was a really good turnout, in both participation and spectators.  Unfortunately, the parade yesterday fell into the ‘joke’ category.  I figured the parade would be much smaller than the Andy Devine Days parade, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so pathetic.  Sure, the weather was cooler.  Sure, the event wasn’t as big.  But, really, what a waste of time and manpower.

The main street through town was blocked off for 5 or 6 blocks.  Cops were barricading the intersections to keep traffic off the parade route and to keep the spectators safe.  The parade started at 9:30am.  We were late and didn’t get there until about 9:40.  We planned on being at the end of the parade route anyway, so figured we were safe.  As we were fighting our way through the crowd of about 5 people who had lined the streets, the first parade entry went by.  Then nothing.  Looking up the street, we saw a group walking and passing out candy.  We waited for the rest of the parade.  This group passed us, then a couple more entries.  Then nothing.  That was it.  The parade was over.  It was 9:47am.   Wow.

The next parade in Kingman is November 1^st.  It’s a veteran’s parade.  I sure hope the turnout is better.

Here are a few pictures from the Andy Devine Days parade:

Welcome to a new feature of my Route 66 blog – restaurant reviews.  Since we are new to the Kingman area, my husband and I make it a date every Saturday night to go out to a local restaurant in town, to try and find our favorite.  Some weeks we’ll go to a restaurant that we’ve tried before, but right now most weeks we try to find someplace new.  Many of these restaurants are located right on Route 66, others are located elsewhere within the town of Kingman.  Occasionally I may feature restaurants located in other towns nearby.

Our choice this week was Vito’s Italian Cuisine, located on Northern Avenue in Kingman.  I’d heard some good reviews about this restaurant, and figured it was time to try it ourselves.  Being Italian, I can be overly critical sometimes of restaurants that bill themselves as “Italian Cuisine”.  Vito’s is pretty darn good.

The menu is quite extensive, containing salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, Italian entrees, and pizza.  We debated whether we wanted pizza or pasta, finally choosing to go with the pasta.  I had rigatoni with Alfredo sauce, my husband had cheese ravioli with marinara.  The part of the menu that I ordered from, you could choose your pasta (angel hair, linguini, spaghetti or rigatoni) and your sauce (Vito’s spinach artichoke sauce, roasted garlic, marinara, or alfredo).  Our dishes came with a salad and garlic bread.  We also ordered an appetizer of garlic herb cheese bread.

Everything was very tasty and nicely proportioned.  The salad was fresh and crisp.  My rigatoni had fresh parmesan grated on top.  The pasta was al dente.  My only complaint about the meal was that we didn’t get the garlic herb cheese bread appetizer until after we’d gotten our main course.  And, since the pasta came with garlic bread as well, we had a lot of bread with the meal.  We both cleaned our plates, although we did wind up bringing home some of the cheese bread.

We’ll definitely go back to Vito’s.  I think we’ll try their pizza next.

On Saturday, October 11, you can take a walk in Locomotive Park in Kingman.

The Kingman Downtown Merchants Association is holding its annual Walk in the Park celebration on Saturday, featuring a parade, entertainment, crafts fair and Oktoberfest.

The parade begins at 9:30am at Sixth and Beale Streets.  Beale Street is one block north of Route 66.  The parade will travel down Beale Street, ending at Locomotive Park, which is at the junction of Beale Street and Route 66.  The Route 66 Rotary Club is sponsoring Oktoberfest in the park, from 10am to 8pm.  Beer, brats and sauerkraut will be available.

There will be entertainment throughout the day, including performances by the Haulapai Nation dancers and a Kung Fu demonstration.  Bingo and games for the kids will also be available.  More than 50 craft vendors will be set up in the park as well.

The events this year are locomotive-themed to celebrate the first passenger train service to Kingman, 125 years ago this month.