Route 66 - Road trip therapy

Do you feel the need for an inexpensive escape and relief from the stress of daily life?  I found a great cure for the winter blues for about $200, that will leave you refreshed and ready to return to the challenges of modern life. Recently I attended at trade show in Las Vegas. Being a veteran of many of these shows, I was anxious to break away from the bright lights and casinos.  Hertz has a well kept secret with a fleet of 800 specially built Corvettes. Five hundred are coupes and three hundred are convertibles. This is not your typical rental fleet car. These were specified for Hertz with virtually every option offered. These cars listed at over $80,000. They have a special  engine option with over 400 HP and a low restriction exhaust with paddle shifters and adjustable suspension.  My wife had never been to the Grand Canyon, so a plan was hatched to take as much of the old route 66 as possible to the Grand Canyon.   After crossing the new Hoover Dam bridge, we headed to Kingman Arizona. At Kingman, we took Route 66 to Peach Springs and on to Seligman. This section is about 160 miles of beautiful two lane highway through some canyons and across wide desert valleys. The Corvette just ate up the miles. In the empty high desert, I was able to exercise all 400HP. This is an amazing car. We drove nearly 500 miles with 25 MPG due to the six speed automatic transmission. The great sound system went unused ,since the sound of the low restriction exhaust across the desert was a soundtrack not available on Sirius or I tunes.  Along the way are about eight of the Burma Shave signs. If you are under 50, you probably have never seen these signs with their series of rhymes. Burma Shaves ad campaign was one of the first highway ad campaigns started in the 30's. This campaign made Burma Shave a household brand and ran from the 30's until the late 50's. The Rusty Bolt trading post in Seligman, is a must see stop that offers all kinds of Route 66 memorabilia and is a really funky place to visit. I even spotted a tattered post card of a Shelby Cobra taped to the wall near the cash register that was signed by Carroll Shelby on a trip through many years back. From Seligman, you have to combine the freeway and some of the old Route 66 until you exit  just past Williams to take highway 180 North to the Grand Canyon. Williams old downtown is a remainder of Route 66 and is worth a stop. The Grand Canyon has been written about, photographed and painted for well over 100 years. I won't attempt to do this natural wonder justice, other than to recommend that if you have never been, GO!  If you have visited before, it is always different and changes minute to minute depending on the weather and the season. We watched a snow storm move from the North across the canyon while we had a hot toddy in the Grand Canyon Lodge. We left to return to Las Vegas in a snow storm, not a condition suited to a 400HP sports car with wide low profile tires.  Arriving late in the evening, we had a late dinner and relived our adventure.  I found that a little Corvette - Route 66 therapy is a bargain compared to the cost and uncertainty of any health care program. I've now driven all but a few hundred miles of Route 66 over the years. I'd make this section a priority for your personal bucket list.  Travel safe.  Michael