Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Since my '68 is running so well, took the chance to go on some abandoned sections of Route 66 east and west of Ash Fork, Arizona. I had one goal in mind, and had success (besides not breaking down).

Welch Road is the access, which is to the left here. This is the 1932 alignment.
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It's a rough road, more so at the culverts.
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This is the east end of the segment, I-40 slashed The Mother Road here.
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Looking west.
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There is still intact asphalt, bisected by the Right Of Way fence.
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I was here 8 years ago, spotted the hood down the hill. Found some other parts for the yard art pile.
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But I couldn't pick this up.
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The 1922 alignment is to the right. I'm on the 1932 alignment, used until the Superslab was built.
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This is past where I came in, going west.
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Looking east at the same spot. These straights must have been a relief between the notorious Ash Fork Hill and the next hill.
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Getting close the the west end.
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Locked and blocked at the west end.
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Looking east from the gate. That is a deceptive hill, imagine Pre War vehicles. I am going to the right next.
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Very nearby, is the start of the 1922 alignment, looks easy enough. (famous last words)
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A typical culvert, half steel pipe.
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Easy to miss if one doesn't stop, a survey marker.
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Oh oh, had to plan this route!
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Oh oh, it got real here, got stuck, had to use the little Army shovel. Now I want to get a Positrac read end!
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Lucked out, got unstuck. You can see this from I-40.
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Had a choice here, took the easier route.
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Almost back to the Welch Road.
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Wondered why I couldn't find this segment. The road went to the left.
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Ash Fork, west end, a very short segment. Got a Route 66 sticker. :bann:
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West of Ash Fork is the Crookton Road interchange. Everyone knows about the segment going west, but the EZ 66 Guide For Travelers book does not show this part that goes east towards Ash Fork. This is the start of the original red cinder asphalt.
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Good thing I got new shocks, and bushings! Still enough to cringe.
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The east end of this segment, Ash Fork is beyond.
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Looking west, Seligman is the next distant town.
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Concrete bridge, really need to go slow at each end. A Route 66 sign is painted on the end.
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Glamor shots:
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You can see this bridge from I-40.
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Hope you enjoyed the slide show!
THE END

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

great pics, gotta make that trip someday, thanks for the inspiration!

Jim

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very cool....

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very nice, comercial quality photo's, Thanks for sharing.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

That was nice to wake up to :) Thanks for posting and great pictures

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks for the joy ride. You mentioned the red cinder asphalt and nostalgic memories conjured right up.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thank you

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Nice- thanks for sharing!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

I enjoyed that very much . We rode 66 as much as possible on our cross country motorcycle ride . Dont think I would do that section on a bike .

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Great pictures!

You must have a lot confidence in your trucks reliability these days!

I might be tempted if I was driving a fully loaded water truck!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Awesome. Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the pictures of the culvert bridges.

Wife and I did a similar thing with the transcontinental railroad routing after watching the show, Hell On Wheels.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Cool. Spent some time cruising the back roads myself in that region. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Nice, I’m gonna have to give that a try one of these days. Once the ls swap in the K20 is done It’ll be ready.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Awesome pictures!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks for an inspirational post!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very cool sir. Don't have anything like that here in SC. I don't think my 71 would be a good choice for that route though. It's a little to low for that kind of driving but would love to do it.:chevy:

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very cool pics, never have explored that section. We have checked out areas near Winslow and Holbrook but it wasn't too far off the beaten path like your trip.

Thanks for sharing all the pics and info. Now a destination to explore for sure.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very nice, thanks for showing us. I didn't know that existed still. I feel the need for a road trip someday.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Great pics, cool adventure. The regular Rte 66 is pretty historical, did not know about the older ones, thanks for sharing!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Awesome thread and pics. That is definitely a bucket list item when I retire. Either on the motorcycle or vehicle, whichever I am inspired to do at the time. Thank you for the detailed pics and thread

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thank you for posting this. I have been wanting to plan a road trip in my old Corvette along 66 and am now even more fired up to get my act together.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Hey, what are doing taking an old pickup truck out bouncing and bumping along on an unmaintained abandoned road in the high desert?

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Dang, Kurt! That is a great catalog you put together there! Very cool being “out there”, I’m sure! Really well done! Thanks for sharing that.

How long did it take you to do the trip? How many abandoned miles?

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Great Pics ! Thanks for posting...would love to do a road trip like that !

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Good place to take the mask off set up the tent and open the cooler

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Very cool trip. Thank you. One of my bucket list trips.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

man that is some beautiful country out there

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Great pictures and thanks for sharing. I have all of the maps and have this on my bucket list to do. I haven't really decided where I'm going to start and end. I want to go where there is still some scenery left.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

The wife and I went with another couple to AZ. about 15 years ago and one of our stops was to see the other gals cousin, her and her husband ran a little store/restaurant that was in an old Route 66 Gas Station. First time I ever had Navajo Tacos aka Indian Fry Bread...delish!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks for sharing your road trip adventure with us. It's been 5 years since I spent time in that part of Az.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks for sharing.The culverts and bridges really caught my attention as my Granddad was a foreman on a crew that built ones like that back in the thirties. Nice scenery too.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Hey, I've been to that museum! I don't ride a motorcycle, guess it depends if you never ride on dirt. From the Superslab to the pavement, it's 0.3 mile. I would think you could weave around on the pavement, along the edge is more intact. You just can't go fast, that's what the Interstate is for. I suggest turning west, turn around at the gate and come back.

This is a screenshot of the Flickr map. I used the iPhone map app, with the satellite image enabled.
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Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

My rust bucket isn't worthy of car show and driveway pictures. There are people more crazy than me, who do rallies around the world, in older cars! Someone in town has a '39 Chevy coupe, modified for such rallies. Think it takes more money than I'll ever see.

Here is a bonus shot, from the same outing, but on the old US89. It's a very short drive off the highway, just looks like it's out in the sticks.
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Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks! For me it's an easy drive from Prescott, even at the speed limit. The Welch Road segment is about 4.5 miles total, the Crookton Road part about 2.5 miles.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

I know what you mean! There were several RV campers, think some were hunting, and/or ORV exploring. Definitely off the grid, but you hear interstate traffic.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

I would do it on a BMW 1250 GS not on my Goldwing. We did mostly two lane roads there and back took 7 weeks

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Welcome! I was using a map drawn by a well known Route 66 artist (he ran the Hackitt store), on my first trip to/from Chicago, but it wasn't useful. Stopped at a cool gas station in Missouri, found out later that guy is a legend, got the EZ66 Guide For Travelers by Jerry McClanahan. But it lacks information on the Crookton segment. My next goal is to drive over the Canyon Padre bridge near Twin Arrows. Been on all that you can to the Colorado River, and many parts towards New Mexico.

I'm sort of shocked how many left comments on this, really appreciate the enthusiasm! Thank you very much. Get the maps out, hit the Mother Road!

My Flickr Route 66 album

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

I love your rust bucket that would be frame off in N.H.

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us!

Re: Cruised abandoned Route 66 in Arizona
 

Thank you! It still has the Idaho dealer decal on the tailgate, and has a fair amount of rust, but probably isn't growing fast around here, with the drought we're in.