Sam Frisher, owner of the recently refurbished El Trovatore Motel in Kingman, Ariz., soon will offer day trips on Route 66 on a bus he purchased, according to Kingman-based writer and roadie Jim Hinckley.
Hinckley wrote in an email:
The centerpiece is twofold, as it will be a full Route 66 immersion that includes a night at the El Trovatore, breakfast at the Hot Rod Cafe, several museum tours, and (drum roll please) yours truly as an occasional tour guide with signed copies of my book as a souvenir.
The primary tour will be to Seligman, with a stop at Grand Canyon Caverns.
Other proposed tours will include Oatman with exploration of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge near Topock, and a photo tour of the Kingman area that includes the site of Fort Beale, the historic wagon road at White Cliffs, numerous Route 66 locations, and lunch, as well as exploration in the old mining town of Chloride.
Hinckley said Frisher will offer two- and three-day trips on Route 66 as well.
After using it as apartments for years, Frisher reopened the historic motel to overnight travelers in December and embarked on renovating the rooms, sprucing up the neon sign next to Route 66, and relighting the huge neon sign tower that overlooks the complex from an adjacent hill.
I;ve got an old book about the Fred Harvey tours in Arizona and New Mexico from the old days he can borrow to get some ideas. I think one key to those were the guides, who were well educated and trained young ladies. Plus, local Harvey Houses provided the food for their meals. Some of those tours lasted several days.