The choice to make this US crossing trip stems from an old dream, from the reading of Kerouac’s “On the Road” or by Steinbeck’s book from which the movie “The Grapes of Wrath” and last but not least from the amusing adventures of Sir tow Mater and company.
Studied and planned at home well in advance, looking for the most suitable flights, cars, hotels, attractions and the most important and relevant places to visit.
Chicago — R66 first step — R66 Second step — Las Vegas and Mojave desert and Death Valley — Yosemite e Sequoia National Park — R66 last step
So the journey becomes a snaking path that includes all the stops of the Route plus a quick plunging into the two most famous Californian national parks, Yosemite and Sequoia.
We start with an Alitalia Rome-Chicago flight, Chicago, the city where we spend the first four days walking the length and breadth of its streets, its bridges, its riverside, the Loop, its parks and so on.
Then off to the main stages of the journey such as Springfield (the city of Lincoln) then St. Louis, the gateway from which the settlers left for the wild west. Oklaoma city, Amarillo, Albuquerque and Santa Fè, Gallup (where we enjoyed an unexpected bull riding festival) and Flagstaff (with a visit to the petrified forest) a short detour to Las Vegas (where we were guests of the Trump Tower … ) a hot passage in the Mojave desert and a trip to the hot death valley.
A detour to Yosemite park and then the Sequoia before returning to Barstow and Santa Monica. One last effort to get our breath back on the island of Hawaii by spending a week in Kailua Kona.
Return to Rome from Los Angeles with a direct Alitalia flight. A challenging journey but full of interesting insights, places of remembrance, some typical “American” installations and a sense of neglect rather than of opulence.
