Carsland

A Cars Inspired Road Trip, Part 4: Tucumcari, New Mexico to beyond Williams, AZ

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There is an item on my bucket list that my family and I have partially completed, a drive from Chicago to Santa Monica along the famous Mother Road, Route 66.  Last Spring we drove half of the route on our Cars inspired trip to Disneyland…

IMG_0928We were only supposed to go about 500 miles today, but as you will discover when you read to the end we ended up going much further than planned…

We said goodbye to the Blue Swallow Hotel early, wanting to stop in Albuquerque for breakfast at the Famous Frontier Cafe across from the campus of the University of New Mexico.  

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Frontier Restaurant 

My husband grew up in Albuquerque and the owners of the Frontier, the Rainosek’s,  are family friends.   180sNo stop to Albuquerque is complete without a Frontier Cinnamon Roll, some homemade tortillas and my personal favorite, green chile stew.

 

We will save the 66 Diner, which serves American comfort food to hungry travelers of Route 66,66 diner 2

Route 66 Diner

in Albuquerque for another day whose chrome and stainless steel Streamline Moderne decor and 1950s-inspired waitresses uniforms serves as inspiration served as inspiration for Flos V-8 Diner in Carsland.

Our next stop was just across the New Mexico-Arizona border at Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post (which was closed).  

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It was easy to see what part of Cars and Carsland was inspired from this location…

At the same exit for Chief Yellow Horse, you will find 2 other locations that inspired both Cars and Carsland…3E76CE89-C137-4DEB-9BD4-F1ED7173DE88

 

Take a look at the cliffs and it is easy to picture this location in the movie right behind the Cozy Cone. And across the highway at the same exit you will find the inspiration for Fillmore’s Taste-In.

The Cars character, Fillmore is also based “unofficially” on an actual person, Bob Waldmire.

He is  “unofficially”  Fillmore because he refused to lend his name for the film.  Waldmire lived a hippie lifestyle, driving up and down Route 66 in his VW microbus (complete with a solar panel for supplemental power), and selling his intricate artwork. You can see his microbus at the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac.

Our next stop was in Holbrook, Arizona home of the Wigwam Motel…

My “boys” had a great time exploring all of the old cars parked around the motel.  Can you guess the how the Wigwam Motel inspired both the movie and Carsland?

Continuing down I-40/Route 66 we came to the exit for the Jack Rabbit Trading Post (which of course was closed) but we still had fun locating the next inspiration for Cars and Carsland…

We then continued on to Winslow, Arizona (Are you already singing along?)…

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While it is not an inspiration for Cars, Winslow is just one of those places you have to stop at for a photo opp… standing on the corner and singing!  We would drive another 90 miles to Williams, Arizona where we planned to spend the night…only to arrive and discover that I made reservations for the next week at the hotel and there was no room in the inn.  Oops…IMG_1028

 

Taking it all in stride we decided to head for the California boarder and spend the night in Kingman, Arizona in order to get an early start on our next day and arrive at Disneyland in time for the fireworks.  I am glad, I messed up the reservation because we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset that evening.

Stay tuned for Part 5:  Oatman, Arizona

 

A Cars Inspired Road Trip: Part 2

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In Case you Missed Part 1:  LINK

There is an item on my bucket list that my family and I have partially completed, a drive from Chicago to Santa Monica along the famous Mother Road, Route 66.  Last Spring we drove half of the route on our Cars inspired trip to Disneyland…

Adrian, Texas to Tucumcari, New Mexico

Leaving the Cadillac Ranch we got back onto I-40 (or the highway that killed Route 66) and travel about 40 miles west to a little town called Adrian, the next stop on our Cars inspired road trip.  

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Adrian, Texas is the official midpoint of Route 66, if you travel 1,139 miles in either direction you will find either the start or the end of Route 66 (Chicago or Santa Monica).  

Midpoint Diner Link:  https://www.facebook.com/MidpointCafe/

Adrian is home to the Midpoint Café which at one time was run by Fran Houser, the woman who inspired the character Flo in Cars, and sisters Mary Lou and Christina Mendez who served the famous “ugly crust pies” and inspired the twin-sister Cars, Tia and Mia. Fran has since sold the Midpoint Café, but you can still get a taste of those ugly pies which are also sold at Flo’s Diner in Carsland.  

When we arrived the café was not open, but we did get a few pictures as the sun was setting.  A man in pick up truck noticed us taking pictures and came to greet us. He was delighted to tell use the story of the diner and of Fran, he even gave us a couple of postcards. Now that the cafe has changed owners, it is open more often and we are hoping to take a trip soon for the famous Ugly Crust pies and burgers!

Home of the ugly pie crusts
During our recent preview tour, we sampled a few “roadside” dishes that will be served at Cozy Cone Motel and Flo’s. We tried the “ugly crust” pie, dill pickle flavored popcorn, spitfire Rotisserie meats (turkey and pork loin), shakes, Red’s Apple Freeze, baked beans, a veggie Shepherd’s pie, and a bread cone stuffed with chili and Fritos corn chips.

Another 25 miles west takes us to the deserted town of Glenrio, Texas which straddles the Texas-New Mexico Border. Glenrio is home to the abandoned Little Juarez Diner which in Cars is transformed into the Racing Museum and Doc Hudson Internal Combustion (a wing of Flo’s Diner used for inside seating) in Carsland.  

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Continuing our road trip across the New Mexico stateline we find the town of Tucumari and Tucumcari Mountain.  The mountain, is actually a plateau that can be seen for miles around and local high-school students repaint the town’s initial on the side of the mountain each year.

The mountain shaped like a radiator cap that overlooks Radiator Springs and is prominently seen in the background of Radiator Racers was inspired by Tucumcari Mountain.  Our final stop of the day is only 2 hours from home, but was well worth the overnight stay…

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A Cars Inspired Road Trip: Part 1

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KaChow!

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It is no secret that in my house the #1 Disney Movie (still edging out the Avengers, only slightly) is Cars…no, not Cars2 or Cars but the original Cars  The #monsterchild (now 12) literally wore out 3 DVDs when he was little from watching the movie repeatedly.  In fact, I still remember a road trip to Carlsbad Caverns that Cars was played continuously for the 8-hour drive, both ways.  I remember smiling to myself as he would laugh always in the same parts, no matter how many times he had seen that scene and how at 2 years old he could practically recite the entire movie.  #Mosterchild was then and still is Lightnings #1 Fan.

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It was a magical moment at Walt Disney World when he met Lightning in person, or should I say in “car”.

The #monsterchild is not the only one in the house that loves CARS, my husband has been a fan of any kind of car since he got behind the wheel, I won’t tell how long ago that was.  As a teenager he restored several cars along with his brother and father.

Today, that passion of restoring cars continues with #monsterchild and Boo.  Did I mention that we even have a Doc Hudson waiting his turn to be restored to his glory days?

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Cars was set in the fictional town of Radiator Springs, but did you know that many of the places you see in the movie are based on actual places along Route 66 and even some of the characters are based on real life “characters” along the way.

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Last Spring, we took a road trip on the Mother Road to Disneyland and along the way we stopped at those places. Follow along the next few weeks as I look back at that trip and share the real places along Route 66 that inspired the fictional town of Radiator Springs depicted in Carsland and at Disney California Adventure.

Our trip began only a few blocks from our home on Historical Route 66…

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In it’s hay day, Route 66 beckoned millions of travelers to California, but like the road in Cars it was by-passed when the interstate opened (I-40) and literally left the road any many towns along it abandoned.

As we turned onto Route 66 it was just a few more blocks before we came to what I consider to be the first two inspiration points, Flo’s Diner & Sarge’s Garage…

While I know that there are many Quonset huts that can be found along Route 66, but I like to think of the one near my home as the inspiration for Sarge’s, after all it was at one time an army surplus store.

Next door is the remains of an old drive in diner, which you can find in the design of Flo’s V-8 Diner…

Leaving the Mother Road for the Interstate we travel just outside of Amarillo and stop at the Cadillac Ranch…

 

 

Looking at map of the “Carburetor County” region, where Radiator Springs is located, you find the Cadillac Range a few miles away. In the film, it appears as mountain range whose jagged peaks are reminiscent of the famous sculpture, the “Cadillac Ranch”.

Ten Cadillacs were driven into a field, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza). They faced west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas panhandle, just like the Cadillac Mountains of Cars.  While the Cadillac Ranch is in our own backyard, this is actually the first time the boys have ever seen it up close and personal.

Stay tuned next week as we continue down the Mother Road in our Road Trip to bring Cars to life…

Friday Fives: 5 Things Disney that I loved in 2017

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Yep, this is going to be another one of those ends of the year reflection posts that are so prevalent as we look forward to flipping that calendar to a fresh New Year.

I did not expect 2017 to be a year full of Disney, put some how it just happened that way (not that I am complaining or anything). So, humor me while I look back at 5 Things Disney that I loved in 2017…

1.  Neon Lighting at Carsland

Nothing was more special in 2017 then  then getting to see my boys faces as they explored Carsland, and that includes Mr. Grumpy.  The movie CARS has been a part of our lives for over 10 years when #monsterchild fell in love with Lightning McQueen, after all he is Lightnings #1 Fan still to this day as a near teenager.  Grumpy however, has been a fan of cars all his life and the whole pit crew of CARS has allowed him to really bond with our boys.  Watching the neon light up was amazing for all of us and one of those special moments that will last forever.

 

2. Going Solo to Walt Disney World

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Don’t get me wrong, I do love my family and girl’s trips to Walt Disney World, but there was something totally freeing about going solo. I had so much fun bouncing around and doing whatever caught my attention. For the introvert in me, that time alone was precious, although secretly there was times when I wish I was sharing the magic with someone else.

3. Lunch at Satu’li Canteen

Are you tired of hearing about this place and this meal? Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my high expectations for this meal adventure would be met let alone be exceeded. I am already dreaming of my next bites, now only if I could be there when they serve that adult oatmeal!

4. Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters

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I don’t know what is it is about this attraction, but honestly if there was not a crazy long wait it would become just like the People Mover for me at Walt Disney World, one that I would ride over and over again. The music and the spinning makes me happy, and oh at night under the lights, takes me back in a weird sort of way to the dance scene in Roman Holiday and the time we spent as a family in Italy…yep, in the happiest place on earth when I am dancing with Lugi and his cousins from Carsoli.

5. Sharing the Magic

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This same time last year, I was earning my “ears” to become an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner as an affiliate with Academy Travel. Since then I have gone on to share the Disney magic with 10 families in my first year and have many more counting down the magic in 2018.  I have loved every stressful moment trying to make sure they have the most magical vacation ever and enjoyed being a part of their trips. 

It was certainly a great Disney 2017!  Just like 2017, 2018 is starting off with no definite Disney trip plans for myself but you never know where I might end up.  I do know that I will be sharing my love with more families as they go one their own magical trips and with you.  Thanks for following along, and I hope to see in you 2018.