Route 66 and all that

Just watched Man Utd lose to Barcelona in a town called Holbrook on Route 66 (or 'just off I-40' as it now is, Route 66 kicked the bucket a while back.) That isn't the half of it though... arrived last night to stay in a concrete wigwam, a legacy of the days when this really was a stopover for people getting their kicks. It was an amazing place,  quite compact but still bigger than the average UK hotel room. Outside sees old cars, abandoned workshops and weirdness. The saddlery now caters for the numerous Harley riders (all men over 50 searching for something it seems) who need repairs to their leatherwear...

We had a couple of pints last night when the town takes on a quite ghostly air a la Norman Bates motel. We avoided several of the bars on personal safety grounds. But it is still a great

 place to see. Had a chat with a Navajo guy in the laundromat this morning who told me that we were staying in a redneck town and none of them were welcome there.  He was really

 fascinating and we talked for ages. He couldn't understand why the Northern Ireland political situation had lasted for so long since basically we all look the same! It did give a good personal insight into the US Native American situation, hearing a first hand account of life on a reservation... and this guy had fought in VietNam..