Starting for Home
Leaving Bakersfield in 1938
When my Larson relatives left Bakersfield, California after their two week visit, they took a different route home than they did on the way there. To get to California, they went south first, down to Mobile, Alabama where they paid respects to Frank’s son Walter and his family. This side trip at the beginning of their journey brought them all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, and they drove from there along the gulf, through New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana up to Shreveport, where they crossed Texas and toured El Paso before driving across the southern tier of New Mexico and Arizona, into California and up to Bakersfield.
To get home from Bakersfield, the same route would make no sense because they were not going back through Alabama. Instead, they had plans to visit family in Rockford, Illinois, near Chicago, and then drive on to Detroit before heading across Canada to Buffalo, so they opted to follow the national road, Route 66, for most of the way.
They left Bakersfield on March 23, 1938 and drove over 330 miles that day to Kingman, Arizona. On their way to Kingman, Route 66 took them across the Mojave Desert and through some iconic western towns such as Barstow and Oatman. At Barstow, California, they had lunch and got gas, but also took several dramatic photos of the flood damage from the epic storms and rain that had hit California just a week before they arrived in the area.
This is one of several pictures they took in Barstow as they passed through. The extensive flood damage was clearly visible from the main road and impressive enough that they wanted to record it.
After Barstow they drove into Arizona, where they encountered the “Gold Road” that includes the mining town of Oatman and also the “Sidewinder” portion of the road that I spoke about in my “Letters from Home” article.
When they drove through that mountainous portion of Route 66 between Barstow and Kingman, my grandfather Fred made a note on his map that there were “50 gold mines within 50 miles,” an impressive number in 1938. Of course, when it comes to mining, all good things must come to an end, and within a few years after the Larsons drove through that area (that had produced over 1.8 million ounces of gold by 1930) the boom was over and Oatman went into decline. When highway 40 was built in the 1950’s, it was a death knell for Oatman because it was no longer necessary to traverse the harrowing mountain pass that included Oatman and Cool Springs to get through the desert and to Kingman.
My Larson relatives definitely passed through the middle of Oatman just as I did. It was still an active mining town in 1938 so probably did not have all the tourist attractions that exist today.
Oatman opted to capitalize on renewed interest in recent years in the old west and Route 66, and is now a vibrant tourist stop for families and bikers looking for off road mountain adventures and a full family tourist experience. Many of the old historic buildings remain.
On March 24, the group drove from Kingman, Arizona to Gallup, New Mexico, a distance of over 330 miles. I’m guessing this was a particularly long driving day for them because they took a detour at Flagstaff to go see the Grand Canyon, driving north to Cameron, Arizona and then west to the southern rim of the canyon. This would have added to the mileage total for the day.
There are no photos of the Grand Canyon in my grandfather’s scrapbook. I found it interesting that he chose instead to photograph the shepherd beside the road.
I stayed in the Flagstaff area for three nights and my original plan was to follow the Larson trail all the way to the Canyon. Once I arrived in the area, however, I decided it was more of a detour than I was willing to take. From Flagstaff (where Route 66 runs through), it would have taken me over 1 1/2 hours to get to the Canyon rim (and it would have cost me $35 to drive in with my vehicle). I have actually been to the southern rim so my decision not to make that three hour round trip gave me some flexibility to explore other places in the vicinity.
I did follow the Larson trail to Cameron, and even turned in the direction of the Canyon before deciding not to go the entire way. I stopped at the Little Colorado River Gorge, which is on Navajo land, to get a flavor of the Canyon without actually going all the way there. (I know, I know, not the same…)
Given that I decided against the extra miles and time to go all the way to the Canyon, I’m pretty impressed that the Larsons decided it was totally worth their time and effort to do so. The roads they had to work with no doubt made their trip to the Canyon much longer than it would have taken me had I decided to go there. They also stopped here and there along the way to photograph the scenery, which of course extended the time frame of their trip that day.
Even though I didn’t go all the way to the Canyon, I did drive a significant chunk of the way there and had fun thinking about the Larsons looking at the same scenery I enjoyed on the drive. Same mountains. Same colors. Same vistas. And who knows, maybe even some of the same farms run by the same families that they photographed in 1938. Probably not, but still…
Besides the fact that the family took a significant chunk of time out of a long driving day to see the Grand Canyon, equally amazing are the additional stops they made that same day on their way to Gallup, New Mexico, where they spent the night. After leaving Flagstaff, they stopped at Meteor Crater (which was 6 miles off the main road for a 12 mile round trip detour) and then drove through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.
Hard to tell if I saw this exact rock formation when I went through the Painted Desert, but I believe it is possible!
When the Larsons drove through this area in 1938, Route 66 would have taken them right through the desert and past many of the petrified logs lying around on both sides of the road. Now, to see the desert one must go through the National Park prescribed roadway to get access.
I see the flat mesas behind my great aunt in the blurry black and white photo and I’m imagining that they were near the same spot where I took this picture. I did not hike down to where the rock formations and petrified logs were, but that area may have been more accessible by road in 1938 than it is today.
Theodore Roosevelt designated the Petrified Forest National Monument in 1906 and it was redesignated as a National Park in 1962. When I drove through the national park in 2023, I had to exit Interstate 40, which speeds traffic past the area so fast that the stunning beauty of the area just goes by in a blur. The old Route 66 doesn’t exist at all along that part of the interstate, which is the only option for passing through the area. The good news is that there is an exit one can take that leads you to a protected and very accessible driving and hiking sightseeing adventure if one cares to take the opportunity. I did, and no regrets that I took probably a full 2 or 3 hours to drive the public road that runs the length of the park. I stopped at virtually every scenic vista and trail that was offered, and took many, many pictures because every stop I made opened up totally new and amazing scenery and colors. I know that the Larsons were equally awed by what they saw but I have to say that my amateur photographs in living color with my Samsung phone depict the amazing beauty and color of the area better than the blurry black and white photos they took in 1938.
After all those side trips and touring on their way through Arizona, I’m sure it was late in the day by the time they got to Gallup, New Mexico for their overnight stay. But apparently there was no time to waste at that point in the trip because the next day, March 25, they got up early and drove over 500 miles to Shamrock, Texas where they spent the night. Remember, there were no highways, so I’m thinking they couldn’t have gone more than 50 or 60 miles per hour on Route 66, depending on the condition of the roadway.
I can’t imagine what that day in the car must have been like for the five travellers. At that point they were on a mission to get to Rockford, Illinois and after taking so much time out the day before in Arizona I guess they felt they couldn’t afford any more detours and just blew right through New Mexico and the panhandle of Texas, stopping just short of the Oklahoma border. While stopping for gas in Tucumcari, New Mexico, Fred noted on the map “cattle” and this would fit with the history of the area, which is known for two very large cattle ranches that began in the 19th and early 20th centuries and were still going strong in 1938.
When the group stopped for gas and a meal in Amarillo, Texas, Fred noted on the map “gas helium plant.” I was curious about that as I had always associated Amarillo with cowboys and big cattle herds being driven into Amarillo for the auctions. When I did a little research into the helium connection in Amarillo, I was surprised to discover that apparently the plant in Amarillo was the sole producer of helium in the world throughout the 1920’s and 30’s. Knowing Fred and Frank and their interests in gas and oil, I’m sure they found this tidbit interesting as they drove through Texas.
I will save the next part of their journey across Oklahoma, Missouri and into Illinois for a future article. Suffice it to say that once they left Arizona they were not really in touring mode anymore and were intent on reaching their Rockford, Illinois relatives and then heading home, with just a couple of small diversions along the way.
2023 Roadtrip Respite
After following the Larson homeward-bound trail through California and Arizona, my travel itinerary included a built-in respite week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When planning the trip I figured by the time I reached New Mexico at the end of Week 6 I would be ready for a little break from all the camping, driving and one-night stopovers. Also, I had plans to be in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving and I had some buffer time to spend as I waited for Thanksgiving week to arrive. So I booked myself an AirBnb in the heart of the Old Town neighborhood with the intention of totally taking it easy, doing laundry, cleaning out the camper, writing, and generally luxuriating in the warmth and space of a bricks and mortar dwelling. Also, I’ve never been to New Mexico before and was looking forward to some exploring in the area.
The respite week was everything I had hoped for and more. The bonus was when my sister Carol (best sister EVER) decided to join me! Yay! We spent the week doing all kinds of things together, from exploring the Turquoise Trail, to going horseback riding in the mountains, to hiking to see petroglyphs, to driving to the Acoma “Sky City” Pueblo (which included an unintended adventure of taking a scenic byway - as opposed to the big interstate - only to discover that Google doesn’t know the difference between an actual road and a road that used to be a road but stopped being one when the highway was built, which required poor Nellie Bly to rattle and shake across rough dirt pathways as we tried to find a driveable way forward that would get us where we needed to go, which ended up being a gully-ridden, sort-of road - more of a drainage ditch, really - that went down a steep slope, curved under the highway and back up on the other side where we finally found our way to an actual road that people drive on), to the ride to the top of the Sandia Mountain range where we had lunch overlooking the city of Albuquerque and beyond, to amazing museums and cultural centers, and of course restaurants and shopping trips.
A definite highlight of the week was the visit to Acoma, which made the three hour arduous trip to get there totally worth it. We took the interstate back to Albuquerque, which got us to the AirBnb in about an hour.
So much more fun to spend that week with Carol than spending it by myself! And yes, I did take care of all my laundry and other tasks I had on my to-do list.
After that relaxing week I am once again doing a series of one-night stopovers as I continue to explore the area and work my way toward Santa Fe. Sadie and I visited some pueblo mission ruins, and we stayed at more breweries and The Enchanted Mill and Ranch, where I learned that Sadie is not quite ready for prime time when it comes to making friends with large farm animals. She was interested and curious in the sheep, donkeys, alpacas and llamas, but it was way too much stimulation and she kind of freaked out, wanting to get closer and then getting frustrated (i.e. barking incessantly) when she couldn’t take a little taste. We went into training mode, but I wasn’t there long enough to make much of a dent in her predatory instinct. She really just wanted to get inside the fence and chase them around.
Sadie did get close enough to lick some noses, but when the adorable alpacas gathered around her to check her out, she couldn’t handle it.
The owners were very sweet to let her get that close, and the animals themselves did not seem overly stressed at all, so it was all good socializing for Sadie to get a new experience like that. Candace and John also run a fiber mill and I got a full tour of their entire operation. So fun!
I spent a delightful cold, rainy evening chatting with Cindy, Tom and Ammon at the Hub City Brewery, where I had a delicious pumpkin spice beer that Tom told me was a one of a kind brew that he may never make again and that was not available for purchase to take off-site. Needless to say, I savored every sip!
The brewery is right across the street from the Belen rail station, so I was serenaded by trains all night. Trains don’t seem to bother me at all - thankfully, because they were going through all night long!
Next Steps
Next time you hear from me I will be back on the road headed east, hot on the trail of the 1938 group. Until then, peace be with you as we enter the end of year holiday season. Whatever holidays you celebrate (or not), hold your loved ones close, the time we have with them is so precious.
