After enough time on the WiFi to ake us up to check-out time at 11 am, we left Kingman on Route 66, heading NE and following the railroad. The road was well-surfaced and very quiet – more freight trains than traffic, which had taken the more direct I-40 eastwards. We climbed gradually, the Grand Wash Cliffs defining the horizon ahead, levelling out at about 4,300 ft on a dry grassy plain with a few cattle.

After 29 miles, at the tiny settlement of Valentine, we passed a new building marked by the Stars and Stripes flag: The US Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. We had entered the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Soon we passed a pair of young male touring cyclists coming towards us, and later a lone rider, as well as several motorbikers doing Route 66. The temperature was 79 degrees at noon, as we approach the autumn equinox.

10 miles further on, at Truxton, a motel and café were still in business. At Peach Springs, after another 8 miles at 4,800 ft, there was a defunct 'historic Route 66 gas station'. However, the new Hualapai Lodge motel and restaurant showed that tourists and travellers were rediscovering the route.

We left the Indian Reservation 3 miles before reaching the Grand Canyon Caverns, which are 65 miles from the centre of Kingman (we'd done 61) and half-way to Williams. Just a mile off the highway, up at 5,555 ft with a refreshing breeze, the Caverns made a good lunch stop. The complex had a 24-hr gas station, restaurant, gift shop, motel and simple RV park ($12.50 a night, with hook-ups for the lucky first 6). The caverns, open since 1927, are 35 million years old. Every half hour, you can take a 45-minute tour, descending 210 ft by elevator to walk three-quarters of a mile of paving through the caverns and see a mummified bobcat and a 15 foot sloth! Price $13.50 per person (which did not tempt us, even with the $1 discount for Seniors!) The caverns are dry (which is rare), with air drawn in from the distant Grand Canyon through 60 miles of limestone caves and crevasses. More on www.grandcanyoncaverns.com.

The road now descended slightly for 25 miles to Seligman (5,263 ft), which claims to be the birthplace of Route 66 and is also on Interstate 40. Selig is German for lucky or blessed and there is some German connection, with a restaurant bidding Willkommen and promising German cuisine (if that's not a paradox!) The mood is nostalgic, with vintage motor courts, 1950's bars and a Wild West façade to  photograph, with its replica 1860 Arizona Territorial Jail.

Continuing on Route 66, still following the railroad, we climbed up to 5,800 ft – watching out for animals and falling rocks, as instructed (total: 3 horses, no rocks falling). Then, down at 5,000 ft just before Ash Fork, the 66 came to an abrupt end, joing I-40 eastwards. We took the Ash Fork exit to see the small town, 27 miles after Seligman, now bypassed by interstate and railroad, still clinging onto life. 

Back on I-40, the cab radio was tuned to 'Route 66 – Golden Oldies of the 60's', which did make us feel old! The news flash was ominous: Hurricane Rita is heading for the Texas coast near Galveston, and being taken very seriously after the recent devastation of New Orleans and Biloxi by Hurricane Katrina. August/September is the hurricane season, but these are exceptional phenomena.

The highway climbed slowly to 6,700 ft, into cool pine forest with signs warning: 'Elk Country – Be Alert next 65 miles'.  We took exit 161 for Williams, another town whose main street was on Route 66, founded in 1874 and claiming elevation 6,762 ft (about 135 miles from Kingman). The Grand Canyon Railway (serving the Grand Canyon since 1901, closed in 1968, then back in service since 1989) runs daily services from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park. See www.thetrain.com for details of fares and tours.

The GC Railway Hotel, next to the station, has been refurbished in grand 19th century style but the adjacent GC Railway RV Park, due to open in summer 2005, is not quite finished! The nearby Good Sam's RV Park was neither friendly nor attractive, so we continued 2 miles east, then turned north up highway 64 towards the Grand Canyon, a narrow road demanding daytime headlights and watching out for deer. After 5 miles we came to the KOA campground and turned in for another warm welcome (and free WiFi internet). Sadly, the heated indoor swimming pool was freezing (problems with the boiler), but the showers were hot. At 6,635 ft, it was noticeably cooler after dark (about 7 pm). It was amazing to chat on-line with Australia (Bec) and New Zealand (Charley) in such a remote place – no mobile phone signal; water trucked in!