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DDC 50: Day 05, Route 66, Arizona

September 24, 2004

Hackberry, A Hot Shave and High DesertWoke up, enjoyed hot showers and hit the road. Breakfast was scarfed down at the Silver Spoon Restaurant. Dad was pleased with his Denver omelette; to the point of passing out tips directly to the beaming cooks.We climbed into the mountains of Northern Arizona, with a quick pitstop at the Hackberry general store. Dad loved the old cars rotting beautifully in the hot sun. Gotta watch out for those rattlers around that place. Up to three feet long, as the gallery of stretched skins don't lie.On down to Seligman. coming to rest at Angel Delgadillo�s barber shop. Angel is there all day; offering handshakes, autographs, good cheer and a trim or hot shave to all who pass through. One of the most amazing fellas I have ever had the opportunity to meet. The biggest smile, with lyrics along the line of, �Life is good, I am blessed.� and, �I�m here to make people smile.� And he did. We shot the shit a bit and I saddled up in the barber�s chair for a hot shave. Hot towels, a straight razor, confident flicks, tonic and a little cranium massage for 10 bucks. I paid double, cuz, that�s how we do it on the road. I walked outta there smooth, with no itch.�I�ve been doing this for 57 years.� he said with a big toothy grin. 77 years young.The world needs more people like Angel. Wow. Dad hugged him two or three times.- - - -On the way outta Seligman�as you head back to I-40�watch for a quick turn off to the right. That�s the old road, and it turns out it�s the longest �original stretch still intact� of the entire Route 66. Savor it. We did. We�re cruising along and notice the �old old road� off to the right. We pulled over and hiked over to check things out. Old pavement, overgrown and cracked�the original road.Standing there, thinking about the migration west by some 50,000 families�blows yer mind a bit. Of all those folks who braved the road for a better life, but 8% were allowed to stay in California. Everyone else was turned back. Fascinating.- - - -Over to Flagstaff where the 85-90 degree temps dropped to a comfortable 66 degrees. Perfect. We cruised the gut a bit and had a bite to eat at Zip�s diner before heading back to I-40 for a beeline for the gigantic 4000� wide meteor crater, which was closed for the night, much to our dismay. We were gonna jump the fence, but then again, eight stitches in my palm way back in 1990 swayed my decision to stay on the right side of the law.As the sun set behind us, we hauled ass toward Gallup, New Mexico. Two states down, six more ahead of us.

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