“USA 🇺🇸 ~Arizona on Route 66 at the Canyon Motel and RV AND About “Jonah” The Bug”

• April 29, 2022
• By Pen
• 6 Comments

Getting back to America 🇺🇸 from spending six weeks in interior Mexico 🇲🇽 of Sedona, where life slowed way down, and we had almost zero wifi, it feels good to put together a blog again, now that we have a signal.
I know I’m way past due.

Soon, I will do a summary blog of some type, from our six weeks in Mexico, with mostly photos, as soon as I have time. Currently, time has been fleeting, as we haven’t t felt very retired since we left Mexico! 😂

We did just arrive at our final stop on our Arizona agenda; since December 24th, 2021, detouring to California and Mexico, we did have to cancel a few stops in Arizona, when we unexpectedly bought “The Whale.” Instead, we went back to California again to get into the beginnings of outfitting her, starting with our storage unit, there.

Choosing to hit up Mexico was an easy choice, after our short California stop, since we did not need a reservation! In the USA, everybody has to plan way ahead to get into RV parks. I’m currently making reservations for winter and many places are already full.

I kept this Williams, Arizona  reservation all along, so we could enjoy the Grand Canyon. It has all worked out and we continue to live this amazing lifestyle, going here and there and everywhere the wind blows us!

Here, at the wonderful Canyon Motel and RV, we find ourselves getting our “kicks on Route 66” again, and we will be taking the Vintage Train to the Grand Canyon on the 18th of May.
From our Glamping spot, we hear the whistle blow, whenever the train leaves for the Grand Canyon, and upon its return. It’s super cool, since we are only one mile away from the Train Depot.

As I mentioned, we’ve been on the go since leaving Mexico 🇲🇽. We spent three nights staying over in Walmart parking lots, (for free) as we made our way up here. We went from sea level at the Gulf of California with 90 degree days and 80 degree nights, to an elevation of 7,500 feet above sea level. Nights here, in Williams, are still dropping below freezing on some nights, and days are just under 70 degrees. It’s sunny and clear, with typical spring wind. I absolutely love the cooler weather, truly!

We find ourselves barely finished with outfitting The Whale properly, when we now have a new project, with our “new to us” ‘72 Super Beetle Volkswagen. We want to have it ready to tow by June 1st, when we leave Arizona for Utah. It would also be extra great if we can sell our Rusty (AWD Dodge Journey) by that time, too!

Barely a day after our arrival in Williams, we are getting up in the morning at 3:30AM, to drive five hours to Yuma again, to pick up “Jonah” the VW. From there, we will drive three more hours to Kingman, AZ, to drop our Bug off at Ron’s VW for awhile, to get all these items checked off our list:

*Tune-Up
*Adjust rag top (it’s crooked)
*Install back window (we have window kit)
*Attach the Tow Bar (we have it)
*New gasket replaced (to stop oil leak)
*Want to replace spare tire for new
*Another key made for Bug

After dropping  “Jonah” off in Kingman with the VW specialist, it will be another two hour drive, back to Williams, where we will both collapse with a yummy nap! We refuse to pay for a Friday night hotel, at $230 for a Motel 6! We will share driving.

This is “Jonah.” We could not be more excited about our Bug!

Where we are in Williams, Arizona, and we love it! 

The Canyon Motel & RV Park is located on 13 acres, in the town of Williams, Arizona on the famous Route 66.

The Canyon Motel & RV Park is a remarkable 1940 Historic Route 66 property in the Pine Trees of the Kaibab National Forest.
It has the Original eighteen (18) Flagstone Cottage type rooms as well as (2) two 1929 Train Car Caboose Suites and (3) three 1950 Pullman railcar rooms.

Aside from the unique lodging choices, there is also an RV Park and tent camping, as well as an onsite Nomad RV home.
They also have the Hidden Garden Patio for small gatherings. They are a great place for families, friends, car clubs, motorcycle clubs, and reunions.

The Canyon Motel & RV Park is surrounded by the mountains of Northern Arizona and has excellent mountain views. The Kaibab National Forest adjoins  their property.

We are a few blocks away from restaurants, retail stores, galleries, Old West attractions, the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, and the Grand Canyon Deer Farm: https://deerfarm.com/ We are one mile from Bearizona Wildlife Park, and the Grand Canyon National Park is 52 miles to the north.

These are the cutest hotel rooms, found in various spots amongst the pines

If we didn’t love The Whale so much, I would enjoy spending the night in the Caboose Cars

We Recommend The Canyon Motel & RV Park
On Route 66 in Williams, Arizona
1900 E. Rodeo Road / Route 66 Williams, AZ 86046
928-635-9371

Our route in the morning to get our “Jonah” picked up and taken to a place to get the work done, will make for a long day, if all goes as planned, but we are lucky Arizona has a large vintage Volkswagen community, or we don’t know what we would do!

UPDATE:
Here’s what happened on our day to get Jonah to her appointment at the VW shop! 

Our “Toad being Towed” 

We were up and on the road from Williams to Yuma, Arizona by 4AM. By 9 AM, I was zipping down the road in “Jonah,” towards Kingman, and I was having a ball!

We had pre-arranged an appointment at Rod’s VW, where we had a long list of items we wanted to take care of. Normally, the drive is three and a half hours from Yuma to Kingman, but it turned into an 8-hour drive there, instead.

Not knowing the vehicle very well yet, but knowing enough that the previous owner only drove it 500 miles in the five years he owned it; mostly tinkering on it when he had the time, obviously it needs some work to make it  dependable, again.

We did know the gasket, related to the oil delivery system needs replacing, and it definitely needed a tune-up (timing is off). So, about 1/4 of the way, we decided to just tow it to the shop. BUT, AAA could only get us towed to the nearest gas station where we might have had to wait till the next day. That was a fine Howdy-Do AAA. Very disappointing, to say the least. So, we drove further, then we decided Daryl could tow me. That only worked for about 45 minutes, because the tow strap eventually broke…bummer. We drove on some more, and decided at the halfway mark, (near Lake Havasu) we would call AAA again. We were in luck that time!

You see, under pressure, the oil leaked enough onto the engine, it caused smoke. We (mostly me) were uncomfortable with this, as my last ‘72 Super Beetle I owned, back in the 90’s, caught on fire with me in it! Some things ya never forget!!

So, once the tow driver arrived, fully expecting to “change our flat;” really AAA? …. Glad to learn the driver could still tow us and not change a tire with no flat! 😂…..we all made our way to Kingman.

The tow driver then got a flat tire on the tow truck along the way. Obviously we missed our appointment at the shop in Kingman, but Jonah is there and ready when they are!

After accomplishing this huge driving loop, the good news is, we are now only two hours from Kingman, directly. We have no idea when Jonah will be ready to pick up, but we are here in Williams for a month, and pray any parts needed will be available!
In the meantime, we have a serious interest for buying Rusty, and said he’s coming next week.  When we see the $, we will know.
How we get back to Kingman without Rusty to pick up Jonah, will be interesting.

Incidentally, when riding and driving in a car for that long, the body vibrates for awhile after being out of the car. It’s the weirdest thing; liking it to being on ship at sea for some time, and getting your land legs again. Anyway, all is well, and we got back home from our crazy day at 7:30PM; 15 and a half hours and 617 miles later. We traded that yummy nap we had planned, for bedtime! 😂