A Great American Road Trip: 6 Quirky and Cool Stops Along Route 66, Arizona

Route 66 is legendary — conjuring up images of the golden age of the automobile and roadside America. Decades after the interstate highway system nearly wiped it off the map, the route is still hanging on. Today, one of the best places to see Route 66 in all its glory is in Northern Arizona, which is home to the oldest and longest stretches.

Measuring over 2,200 miles in its heyday, Route 66 stretched from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., passing through eight states along the way. It was the beginning of the great American family road trip. 

No matter how many times Kevin and I drive Route 66 (our 3rd time now), we still manage to find truly weird and wonderful places. For this latest trip, we ate a hot dog covered in mac n’ cheese (which was as disgusting as it sounds!), stared into the outer galaxies and watched a lion swallow an entire turkey in one gulp. See, I told you it would be pretty weird. We started our journey from Palm Springs, Calif. (an easy 3.5 hours drive to Kingman, Ariz., the first stop), but this route also makes an easy detour from Las Vegas (located just 1.5 hours away by car).

Stop #1: Kingman

Go Back in Time at the Route 66 Museum

There is no better place to start your journey than at the Route 66 Museum in Kingman. It’s here where you can learn the backstory of Route 66 — evolving from a Native American pathway to a major migration path during the 1930’s dust bowl years to today as a popular tourist destination. The museum is located on the top floor of a historic Powerhouse, the very building that supplied power to the surrounding Arizona towns and mines. Operated by the Mohave Pioneers Historical Society, the museum features murals, photos and dioramas. We walked through the museum in about 1 hour, but you could easily spend a few hours here, especially if you stop to watch the film strip about halfway through the museum.

Sip Down a Root Beer Float at Mr. D’z Diner

We were getting hungry after walking around the museum. So it wasn’t a tough decision to walk just 2 minutes from the Route 66 Museum to Mr. D’z Diner. This is one of the best diners located along the Mother Road to feel like you’re back in the 1950’s.

The diner is loaded with Route 66 memorabilia and has seen its fair share of celebrity visitors. Oprah Winfrey and BFF Gail King stopped by for lunch a few years back on one of their many road trips. I recommend sticking to the basics here — like the pulled pork sandwich, made with homemade barbecue sauce. And no question about it — order the overflowing root beer float. However, there was one item that seemingly was made for Kevin — a Mac & Cheese Hot Dog. The what what?! Now, while it sounds like the next epic food trend, in reality, it was pretty gross. Kevin had one bite, before eating half my pulled pork sandwich (and all the fries!). Oh well, I guess I wasn’t too hungry.

Stop #2: Hackberry

A Vintage General Store Worth The Stop

This stop is a quickie, but a nice way to break up the journey. Located just a short 15 minute drive east from Kingman, is the Hackberry General Store. The shop was originally run by a local artist, named Bob Waldmire, who helped get this dusty little town back on the tourist map. You’ll find plenty of nostalgia on hand here — vintage gas pumps, rusty billboard signs and a retro jukebox.

Clearly, this stop is an Instagram haven. And another fun fact: the shop along with the original owner were the unofficial inspiration of the character Fillmore in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.

Stop #3: Valentine

A Conservation Center for Former Movie Stars… of the Wild Kind

Keepers of the Wild is one of the best stops you can take along Route 66. Not only is it a fun detour, but you’ll feel good just knowing that you’re supporting an important cause. Your admission and purchase at the onsite gift shop goes directly towards the food, shelter and medical care expenses of the animals. The conservation center is home to around 150 exotic and indigenous wild animals that were either rescued, surrendered or placed with them by animal welfare agencies. Many of these animals were also from ‘showbiz’ or roadside photo opp places that cared more about the bottom line than actually maintaining any health standards.

This stop is another quickie, but so worth it! Travel less than 1 hour east to the town of Seligman to one of the most unusual stops of Route 66, Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In. You’ll have a hard time not cracking a smile as one of the workers unloads one “Dad joke” after another. The shop has been here for awhile, first opened in 1953, by the late owner Juan Delgadillo, the original prankster and practical joker behind the business concept. Today, the practical jokes are carried on by the younger generations of the Delgadillo family.

But beyond the practical jokes, the ice cream is well worth making a stop. In particular, be sure to order the chocolate dipped vanilla twist cone. Comedy and ice cream? Sounds like our kind of place.

Stop #5: Williams

Not Your Average Bears 

Bearizona is one of the top recommendations along Route 66. Kevin didn’t know what to expect but soon became my wide awake, action photographer! Bearizona is essentially a drive through safari park. But instead of African lions or baboons,  you’ll see North American animals (elk, deer, bears, wolves, etc) in their natural habitats. Cost is $22 for adults and discounts for seniors, elders and military.

The staff seems to take great care of these beautiful animals. We visited during a horrible snow storm (yes, it snows… A LOT even as late as May!) — and counted about 15 workers out shoveling the roads. As we pulled into the park, I wasn’t exactly sure what we’d do if the car got stuck in the bear enclosure. After all, this would be a typical scenario on one of our road trips!

Stop #6: Flagstaff

The Perfect Place to Wrap Up the Route 66 Road Trip

Flagstaff was established in 1882 and has deep roots well before Route 66 was built. Today you’ll find an energetic college town with comfy coffee shops, art galleries, several fantastic bookstores and top-notch restaurants all mixed together in a historic downtown. Pretty much, it’s the combo of all things we love. We recommend wrapping up in Flagstaff to join one of the nightly star gazing events at Lowell Observatory.

Lowell Observatory was established in 1894 and is among the oldest observatories in the United States. In 2011, the Observatory was named one of “The World’s 100 Most Important Places” by Time Magazine. And it was at this very location that the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. Or is Pluto really a planet? You can get the full backstory on what they think at Lowell from one of the workers. In short: yes, they think it still qualifies as one!

We recommend bundling up (it can get bone-cold freezing at night) and join one of their evening open houses, which typically kick off around 5 PM. We arrived for 7 PM to join one of the evening lectures. But this isn’t your boring Astronomy 101 lecture hall. Each of the staff members or volunteers keeps the program moving, with shorter talks sprinkled in throughout the night and telescopes pointing up at the sky. Before we knew it, it was already 10 PM. And Kevin didn’t even fall asleep. Clearly, he was in his element!