Patti and I woke up in the Jack Oakie room of the El Rancho hotel in Gallop, New Mexico. We got a late checkout, so we didn’t have to be out until noon. We took showers in the awkward bathroom and collected our luggage, large snack bag, cooler, and other assorted items back into the car. Traveling the highway for about three hours and we were in Williams, Arizona. At some point, we got the hour back we lost when we were traveling east. It is the “Gateway to the Grand Canyon” according to the sign we parked by.
We walked through the town. There were bikers, other tourists, and locals walking the streets. It was getting late, and nothing seemed to interest us. This was a historic stop on the Route 66 map, but it wasn’t our type of town. Unlike the other towns we visited on Route 66, this one was crowded and full of locals. There were several bars that advertised beer. Neither of us likes beer. It just wasn’t our kind of place. Down the highway we went.
Patti had seen a road sign for the Roadkill Café on our way through Arizona when we started our Route 66 adventure and really wanted to go there. It was about 40 minutes from Williams to Seligman, Arizona. A sign outside declared, “You Kill It, We Grill It.” I couldn’t tell where to park. What I thought was the entrance wound up being a back door. We walked by the kitchen and restrooms before we saw tables. There were a few people eating at the tables and in the OK Saloon at the bar. The “Sit Anywhere” motto was still in effect.
Looking around, there were taxidermy animals on all the walls. Inside a glass front room, there were animals posed in a forest scene. It was straight out of a natural history museum. I don’t agree with the practice of posing dead animals that died by a hunter’s hand, but I must admit the practice fascinates me. Patti brings up that she would like to be stuffed when she dies. While I don’t think this is legal and I will never agree to do it, taxidermy is an interesting science. It allows us to see animals up close that would be dangerous if they were alive.
The menu was a mix of stories and descriptions of the food. I decided on the “Swirl of Squirrel (A Farm Burger).” They didn’t make the burgers with squirrel meat, but the top of the menu said, “Sub any burger with elk or buffalo patty for an additional charge.” This was not a place for vegans. Good thing I was on vacation. Vacation me only looks for things that sound good. It was a burger with Texas toast for buns, bacon, hash browns, and onion tangles on top. The whole thing added up to the greatest burger I’ve ever had. Patti had a Reuben sandwich called the Bird That Smacked the Curb. She liked it.
A mere two hours after leaving the Roadkill Café, we were back in Lake Havasu City at the hotel where we started our trip. This was our last night sleeping away from our house. Tomorrow, we will stop a couple more places and head home. This last night in a hotel was bittersweet for me. Tomorrow night, I would sleep in our bed with the cats surrounding us. I’ve missed the cats but their absence from our bed has been a relief on my throat. It’s proof of what I didn’t want to admit. My throat and sinuses can’t take the amount of fur in and around our bed at home. Even wearing a mask over my nose and mouth helps only so much.
Thoughts from Life 
Leave a comment