Albuquerque, NM – nowhere, NM – Holbrook, AZ – Flagstaff, AZ – Prescott Valley, AZ – Phoenix, AZ

Waking up next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. A quick dip in the pool at 9am at 25C degrees.

Cruising through the desert along canyons and passing by dust devils. The landscape is breathtaking. Before we are leaving New Mexico a little more serious off-roading on pre-1937 Route66… it feels once more like being in the middle of nowhere: especially, when the only road is all of a sudden blocked by dirt. Bummer.

A little deeper in the desert, more off-road and trying to avoid going through Native American villages… uff, made it. We are seeing asphalt again. Back on track.

Seeing many trains with hundreds of wagons & containers being pulled by 4 or more locomotives, carrying all kind of things from west to east.

Passing lava fields, the Red Rock State Park and the Continental divide.

Next stop: Arizona. More Wild West and the Navajo country.

The Painted Desert & Petrified Forest is the only national park in the country with a portion of Route66 within its boundaries.

Sleeping in a Tipi, a hotel chain set up in the 30s. Incidentally, the rooms are shaped like tipis, not wigwams.

A quick stop in Flagstaff before leaving the classic Route66 for visiting our dear friends, who moved to Arizona.

At 7,000 ft (2100m) elevation Flagstaff is the highest city in Arizona and experiences all four seasons. Flagstaff gets around 100 inches of snow per year, making it one of the snowiest cities in America. We drove alle the way up to snowball, one of the famous ski resorts. Nice, green & refreshing up there.

Expect the unexpected… What a scenic curvy drive. Amazing! We haven’t seen that much green in days… cannot get enough of it. Those views!

Twice today above 7000 ft. So many beautiful hair pin curves. First up, later down. Wow! Dreaming of sitting on a motorbike… excellent curves and good practice.

Seeing our friends after a very long time again. Having dinner in a saloon who’s “pleasing Americas toughest customers” (including us. Lol) on the Whiskey Road. Super delicious and such a fun night.

Tracing my German great aunt Ilse who immigrated in the 60s to the USA and lived in Prescott, Arizona. She already knew many years ago that driving 40mi for the best steak is absolutely worth it. It’s in the genes. Haha.

Moving south by adding another off-Route66 destination: Phoenix. It’s getting hot in here. 4am: 33C degrees. 3pm: 46C degrees. That’s the first time I’m grabbing ice for my coke in the hotel!

We are less than 500km away from the Mexican border.

The west is wild! We are wowed by Arizona’s landscape. Incredible and hard to believe it’s true what we have been seeing in the past couple of days! Those colors… orange, brown, green, and the daily blue sky… it’s unreal!

Day 12 on our road trip and we are loving it. We’ve done about ~3500km and another time shift. We are now on Pacific time. That’s one hour more adventure. Yeah!

Rolling on to California, getting closer to our final destination of our rod trip.

Amarillo, TX – Tucumcari, NM – Santa Fe, NM – Albuquerque, NM

Bushland & Wilderado are the last villages in Texas. The name says it… not much going on here, even the mobile phone signal is gone…

The end of Route66. Entering the interstates across the gras – only possible in the land of the free.

Reaching exit 0 on the interstates: Glenrio. Population: 0. Zero! The last people left the village in the 80s. It’s a ghost town, directly on the state line between Texas & New Mexico.

No mobile phone connection. A quarter tank of gas and one liter of drinking water – let’s go off-road.

Those were some of the best 19miles on Route66 so far. Dusty and Wohooooo! In case of a car break down… we would have been out of luck or walk some miles to get help. No risk, no fun. We made it.

We arrived in the desert. The country seems empty, the sky is blue, the land endless, almost scary if there wasn’t the highway looking like a straight line and leading the way to go. And when you got stings from cactus first under your shoes and later on your foot (and fingers)… you know you arrived in the desert. Ouch!

Hello New Mexico! We gained one hour, the time zone changed from central to mountain time. About time for lunch.

Tucumcari is celebrating the mother road like no other town: the Route66 goes right through, and you can find many restaurants, hotels, gas stations, who all remind you of where you are. Or how about a drive-in tattoo?

The most famous neon sign:

Chilling in front of our motel (from 1939!!!) listening to 50s/60s/70s music. Life is awesome.

Rolling on to Albuquerque, also called „Q“. But not before another awesome “mile marker favorites” for breakfast.

Just not sure what to think of sitting next to a man with 2 guns, one on each side… also that is the land of the free.

Hard decisions to make today: taking the older Route66 (pre 1937) via SantaFe, the capital of New Mexico. After many miles on a very straight highway we were climbing up to 2000 meters altitude.

Passing by Las Vegas, NM, the little brother of the casino Las Vegas, Nevada.

34C degrees. Bush fires causing road closure and big traffic jams…

Santa Fe, our new favorite town, we would move immediately… the architecture a mix out of Mexican & Mediterranean, very nice people, snow & skiing in winter.

The turquoise trail to Madrid is as amazing.

Another night in a retro motel from 1937 including outdoor pool and bar service. Yeah!

Wow! We are in love with the Wild West. That’s definitely our new favorite part of Route66.

Let’s go more wild & West. Rolling on to Arizona!

Elk City, OK – Amarillo, TX

Good morning, America!

Last bar in Oklahoma, and Texans come for drinking (dry state).

Howdy!

We arrived in Texas, first town: Shamrock ☘️ the name was given by Irish immigrants. Obviously.

Texas is the second biggest US state (after Alaska).

We have the pleasure to drive 300km along Route66 in Texas via the „panhandle“, the north of Texas. The landscape is changing.

Texas, full of cliches? Cowboys & oil, rancher & republicans, rattlesnakes, Dallas & family Bush.

Don’t mess with Texas (a slogan for a campaign aimed at reducing littering on Texas roadways by the Texas Department of Transportation). Let’s spray graffiti on Cadillacs instead.

Let’s have steak & don’t get confused with the ounces… the steak challenge: Can you eat a 72 ounce (~2kg) steak incl. sides within 60 minutes? If you make it, it’s for free. If not, you pay $80! Well, we shared a 36 ounce T-Bone steak. Sooooo delicious!

Let’s talk about cowboys.

Lonely men who drink coffee or whiskey and smoking Marlboro like in the advertising in 1954 living in peace and freedom? Well, reality looked a little different. It was hard work watching up to 5000 cows 10-12 hours daily, rain or shine, badly paid. A cowboys career started already with 12. The only thing which hasn’t changed until today: the outfit.

The Grand Canyon of Texas. The second largest canyon in the country lies in the heart of the Texas Panhandle.

Bye bye, Texas!

We managed driving already half way of Route66… excited for the 2nd half.

Springfield, MS – Kansas – Tulsa, OK – Elk City, OK

We are passing on to an area where everything is about weather & tornadoes. You can even book a „tornado adventure tour“… Alternatively you could just watch the film twister, a much safer option.

Joplin – a town, famous for 2 things: Bonnie & Clyde were hiding here in 1930 and sadly the south of the town was destroyed in 2011 by a tornado with wind speed of 402km/hrs. Wow!

Finding the way along Route66 has become more difficult. It feels a bit like rallying. But hey, no problem, team Deutschland Rally is on. We keep finding the route signs.

19km on Route66 through Kansas! Yeah! Another state checked. Lol.

Bye Kansas, hello Oklahoma!

Mexican lunch in Oklahoma: Molcajete in Miami.

The Turleys are everywhere! Even in Oklahoma.

Time for more nostalgia: watching „Top Gun“ in one of the few left old Autokinos from 1951. We also found zebra popcorn ♥️

Oklahoma is flat & wide, green & wet and the more west you go the less villages you find. Its nickname: the dust bowl!

It’s raining. A very good opportunity for shopping: first outlet since arrival (I cannot believe that we bought nothing…). Instead we had lunch. Still our favorite and the very best burger. It tasted as delicious as we remember.

We are leaving the mid west of the USA & rolling into Texas. Wohoo. Cowboys, here we come!

Chicago, Il – Springfield, Il – St. Louis, MO – Springfield, MO

Leaving the big city of Chicago behind. We found the entry of Route66. Yeah!

Countryside. Green lush fields. Cows & horses. Relaxed driving. Lots of Harley’s and Oldtimers. Beautiful weather. Temperatures getting higher. Sundae ice cream for lunch.

We get lost and we get back on the historic Route66. Not to get confused with different options out of different years…

We passed Springfield or “the land of Lincoln” – the capital city of Illinois. Illinois designated “Land of Lincoln” as the official state slogan in 1955. Regarded as a great symbol of democracy, Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States (1852) and is honored for his noble vision, statesmanship, humanity, and political skill.

Happy St. Memorials Day! The reason why we had sushi for dinner (the only restaurant with available seats): St. Louis rolls! ♥️

By the way, the USA counts >40 Springfields: the home of the Simpsons (they never defined which one though) & Brad Pitt was born in Springfield, MO. Happy birthday!

A bit about Amish people living in Illinois: apparently they don’t drive cars but horse carriages. They don’t use electricity or phones and tailor their own clothes and dresses like 300 years ago. Men are wearing black hats and beards. We didn’t see any since they are living about 100mi south of Route66.

Hello, St. Louis! I always wanted to be here because of Louise from St. Louis (sex and the city).

The city is beautiful and home to the baseball. St. Louis nickname is „the Gateway to the West“.

In 2006, St. Louis made it no.1 as the most dangerous city in the USA. One year later that status changed to Detroit. Nevertheless, the murder rate is here 3 times higher than in LA (dear mums, don’t worry, we made it and moved on…).

The 630-foot Gateway Arch is the centerpiece of downtown St. Louis— backing up to the Mississippi River and overlooking the Old Courthouse. After we’re done ogling the massive man-made monument from afar, we got transported by tram to the top for a panoramic view that stretches for up to 30-miles. Wow!

The ride up in the little 5-person pod (that looks like something from the future) takes about 4 minutes. From the top we peeked out of the thin rectangle windows to get the spectacular view below.

Cruising on the big river – the Mississippi.

It’s getting hot in here… Hot is when you stop blow drying your hair. Hot is when you appreciate A/C in the night. Hot is when you prio the shade. Hot is when you sweat even you don’t move.

Windows open. Wind in the hair. Cruising along…

A proper BBQ is when even the baked beans are mixed with meat… not for vegetarians.

Happy Memorial Day!

Moving on to Oklahoma next 🖖

The Historic Route 66 is the most famous road in America. The road, which stretches from Chicago to LA in a broad, meandering curve, has been called America’s “Mother Road”.

16 days time to find & drive along the legendary Route66.

We are planning to cross the USA from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles. A road trip of 4000km, passing 3 time zones, 8 states, several climate zones and landscapes.

Route 66 is no longer part of the US highway system, so many parts of it have fallen into disrepair or are basically just dirt roads or routes aren’t even on the maps anymore. So, we are prepared: a special Route 66 map, and we are willing to do some off-roading. Let’s go!

A trip along many different cultures, the past, present and the future, comedy and tragedy filled with stories and history. A road with movies, cowboys and Native Americans, tornados and deserts.

We are looking forward to old motels, endless highways, Art Deco diners, ice-cold cokes & re-fills, Walmarts and burgers. Lol.

Route66: one word and one number = freedom, peace, endless emptiness, amazing landscape, hells angels and police sirens.

We arrived in the USA. The country where you just meet people on the train and they wish you a fantastic holiday. It’s so good to be back. It still feels a little home.

Start of our trip: Chicago. City feeling (staying on 23rd floor), skyscrapers, deep-dish pizza, the very best steaks, jazz & blues. And friends. The loop & the bean. And so the vacation begins.

Chicago – the windy City. The rainy city, the sunny city. We had everything in one day. That’s Chicago how we know it & love it.

Chicago love. We enjoyed every single minute. It’s so great to be back. Dear friends, thanks for being with us!

Jetlag gone. Kind of. Ready for kicking off our road trip: let’s go Route66. All the way from Chicago to Los Angeles. Yeah!

The car is packed with cold drinks and road trip music. Off we go! First planned stop is St. Louis, Missouri. Wohooooo!

Hungry for traveling & seeing friends again, we haven’t seen in a long time. Vacations are locked in. Flights are booked. It took us a long time to 1) decide where to and 2) click that button to book a flight. A luxurious problem & the last 2 years definitely leaving memories… It’s summer time, and the Covid situation is under control. Kind of.

Our required Covid test: negative. Yeah!

Tourist visa: confirmed & printed! Yeah!

Bags packed. Yeah!

Checked in. Not so easy but made it. Yeah!

Our travel destination: USA.

A road trip & meeting friends along the way! We are so excited to be back in the country we lived in. It feels like a very long time ago. Too long. 6 years. Time to be back: steak, wings, cheesecake & burgers on the food agenda. Oh, it’s going to be great! American friends, get ready, we are on our way!

Stay tuned. Bon voyage!

It’s my birthday. One year ago, hubby was brought back home from hospital. This year it’s party time. Together & with friends.

A little beauty program including hairdresser and a 2 hour Thai massage followed by a wonderful 6-course-dinner with hubby. In between I enjoyed taking every single birthday call or message yesterday! I pretty much talked all day – thanks for thinking of me ♥️

Friends for Sunday brunch in our garden. Weather was perfect.

I & we had a fantastic weekend. Thank you!

How do sunny weekends start back home in Frankonia? With a local brewery tour & tasting or learning what a beer & a pork schnitzel have in common. It was a great night out. Happy (early) Father’s Day!

A delayed Mother’s Day celebration.

It’s wedding time! My favorite cousin got married! We had a blast & a hangover next morning. Ouch!

A wonderful weekend back home. Goodbye family, see you soon again! 👋