Route 66 and London Bridge

The folly of wealth. The story goes a successful American business man heard London Bridge was for sale and snapped it up, thinking it was the picturesque Tower Bridge, and had it dismantled and transported stone for stone, to Lake Havasu in Arizona.

I was expecting a true folly -- the bridge re-built in the middle of the lake, going from nowhere to nowhere; or the same but on dry land. But in fact the bridge is being used as a bridge, and is a nice bridge at that. The 'English Village' tourist attraction at one end, however, is quite missable. That said, apparently London Bridge ranks as the second highest grossing toutist attraction in Arizona after the Grand Canyon...so the foolhardy businessman didn't get it all wrong now, did he?

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Ludlow consists in a gas station, a diner, and a motel. That's it. We made good use of all three.

Got back on the I-40 about 11.30am and drove on through to Needles (where Snoopy's brother is from), then took the detour South to Lake Havasu and London Bridge. Desert heat, 97F in the shade.

Drove the 88 miles along the Old Route 66, from Kingman to Seligman. None too spectacular: one or two tiny hamlets, tough green scrub and a desert air. Seligman is a veritable Route 66 kitsch heaven -- facades, in-store content, all branded branded branded. (See photo)

Got into Flagstaff after our approx 350 mile drive at about 6.30pm. Booked into the international hostel (got a room with 4 bunk spots to ourselves), and had dinner at the Mountain Oasis.

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I'm writing last thing at night before going to sleep, on my blackberry (as I can be fairly sure of a mobile connection, whereas wifi access/coverage has been sparse and/or weak). I'm planning to return to flesh out posts and add photos once we stay in one place for more than a night.

Thanks for taking the time to visit in the meantime :)





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