Precious Memories: From Seligman to Williams

RV Trip on Route 66--California to Arizona (Day 3)

Seligman to Williams, Arizona October 7, 2020

We had a good night sleep here at this tiny campground. With an airport and train tracks nearby and being right off the main road, it was surprisingly quiet.

A gorgeous morning to start our day.

I have read about this restaurant in town that serves great carrot cakes and giant cinnamon rolls and determined to get our hands on some. Westside Lilo's Cafe is just across the street from the General Store so son and I just walked over with anticipation.

Sculpture right outside of the General Store.

Quiet morning at the General Store.

Westside Lilo's Cafe across the street.

I suppose it is because this restaurant is located at the west end of town for it's namesake.

Festively decorated.

A talking scarecrow greeted us outside.

Seems like every business is a gift shop here.

Yummy pies in the case.

A special guest sitting at the counter.

After getting our giant cinnamon roll to go, we walked to the back of the restaurant to check things out. When we were walking in, a gentleman was telling us about some old machineries back there that we should take a look at. We were curious to see what all are there.

A colorful and cute mural was the first thing we saw and then some old, discarded old cars and machineries.

Patio of Westside Lilo's for those who want to dine outside.

Across the street is the Roadkill Cafe.

I later found out that they will cook the roadkill if you bring them in. Not sure how true that is.

Behind Roadkill Cafe.

Some buildings with western feel.

Walking back to the campground for breakfast.

I did not expect the $7.50 cinnamon roll would come in a big box like this.

And it lasted for a few days.

Taking a walk around the mini campground after breakfast.

We only have a short distance to go today. The drive from Seligman to Williams is only about 50 minutes. We can take our time and enjoy all the sights along the way leisurely.

Seligman

Seligman is in the central section of Route 66 in Arizona. It is also the birthplace of Historic Route 66.

This is the most colorful and fun town rich in preserved old collection of items and restored buildings of the glorious highway era. There are vintage cars everywhere and main street is filled with decorated murals and signs. The story behind this is about a man named Angel Delgadillo who was born in Seligman the year after Route 66 was established. He had seen a lot of changes through the years, with busy traffic including the movement of war equipment and troops during World War II, families going on road trips while on vacations during happier time, and then the closing of businesses that caused abandoned buildings after the new Interstate 40 which bypassed these little towns. Having lived here all his life, Angel, together with other local residents, petitioned the State of Arizona to designate Route 66 as a Historic Highway and in 1987 it was granted officially. Angel has been referred to as "The Father of the Mother Road" for his effort in reviving this section of the highway. Making it possible for us to have a taste of old time today.

Mural outside Seligman Grocery Market.

One of the local motels that has kept the 50s design.

Unfortunately we did not get to see the neon lights lit in the evening.

Such a fun place to see!

Oh, dear!

Motorporium

All these are on the east end of town.

Rusty Bolt

This used to be Angel Delgadillo's barber shop, it is now a gift shop.

An important building in town.

If you're lucky, you may be able to find Angel inside.

Birthplace of Route 66.

At the very end, there's the Snow Cap Drive-in.

They are famous for their malts which we wanted to try.

Unfortunately, the place was closed for some reason.

We waited until past 11:30 and still no sign of anyone working there that day.

The clerk inside the gift shop told us that they open seven days a week at 11:30.

Well, not on that day!

The garden behind the restaurant was fun to explore.

Quite a collection!

Ashford

After leaving Seligman, we went back on I-40 which took us to Ashford. We found a gas station near the freeway exit here with good prices and filled up our tank. Then we drove into town. Since we did not want to go inside any buildings we skipped the museums and sites that are indoors. The only outdoor sight we found was the historic De Soto's Salon with no one around.

There was absolutely no one around.

The main attraction is the car on top of the roof.

Does that mean it's an Air-bnb now?

From Ashford, we went back on I-40 and continued our drive to Williams where we would spend the night. It was a pretty drive with some uphill pull on the not-so-perfect freeway. Soon, we arrived at Williams taking the second exit off.

Williams

This is the office of the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel RV Resort. A very nice, deluxe RV park for which is also part of the Passport America program. For their nightly fee of $76, we only had to pay half of that because of our PA membership. An excellent deal.

Our site #220 at the end of the row.

Wonderful, we only had neighbors on one side of the RV.

After settling down and hooking up the RV, we walked the two blocks to downtown Williams.

We could see our RV from the other side of the train tracks.

At the west end of town on Route 66, there is a statue of Bill Williams, a trapper, trader, and mountain man.

A small Veterans Memorial is also nearby.

Monument Park

Across the street of Monument Park is an interesting Gift shop...

with old gas pumps,

a teepee, and some vintage cars.

Route 66 in Williams

Williams is just about six blocks in length.

The famous Cafe Route 66.

The very busy downtown.

It was not easy to keep a safe distance from others.

Then we walked down to the park near the train station.

With the Route 66 zipline.

A very short zipline ride.

Interesting building across from the ziplining.

By now, we were kind of tired and it got a little chilly as the sun goes down. We found Pine Country where we would get some food to go and brought it back to the RV to enjoy. It was very crowded inside this restaurant and we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to dine in there.