3/23/2026 - Needles, California (Route 66)

 I am doing something different.  I know put up a couple of post for Route 66 in Needles, CA but here is the rest of the buildings I saw.

The Old Trails Inn used to be The Palms Auto Court aka The Palms Motel.

It was at one time a cabin court built in the 1930's.  It has several separate "cabins" as units for its guest.  "It promoted itself being "Clean, Air Cooled, Modern - Reasonable - The Home of Friendly Service."

It is a two-story complex with stucco plastering with an L shaped layout. Imperial 400 was a motel chain in 1959, and its buildings had a characteristic "Gull Wing" shaped roof (like this motel has) with Space Age connotations.  It went broke in the mid 1960's and sold out to new owners.

"Imperial 400 Motel on Highway 66, Downtown, 644 Broadway Needles, California, Air Conditioning, TV, Room Phones, Kitchenettes, Heated Pool, Free Coffee, Free Advance Reservations, Major Credit Cards Accepted."

Here is just a random Route 66 sign on one of the buildings along the route in Needles, CA.

This building is located in Needles, CA.  This building was Claypool's Hardware store opened in this elegant Art Deco building in 1930 and closed in 2002 after being in business for 70 years.  This was the largest building in downtown Needles at the time it closed.

Claypool family donated the building to Palo Verde College that opened in 2009.  The Claypool & Co. sign is still on the front of the building.

In 1929, this building was built.  The main level is the Needles Theatre, two shops, a real estate business and a sweet shoppe.  In the theater there was 700 seats when it opened.

This was a random monument that is in the park area of where the train was.

The El Garces Hotel and Depot opened in 1908 and was considered, "The Crown Jewel" of the Fred Harvey chain.  The lunchroom had two horseshoe shaped counters that could serve 140 people.  In 1949, El Graces closed as a Harvey House but was still used as a Santa Fe Railway office until 1988.

The corner building is the Needles Regional Museum. What is important about the building it use to be J.C. Penny store across the street from the railroad.

In this picture you can still see the J.C. Penny sign.

This is Snoopy's older brother Spike.  The creator of the Peanuts comic strip and its characters, Charles Schulz and his family lived briefly in Needle's in the late 1920's.  This is where Spike is from.

Route 66 sign near the old train station.

The Sage Motel was an independently owned.  Six room established 1946-47 that closed in 2009.

Coin Collections

 This year I will be starting a new collection and that is getting coins from the parks.  My mom got me the collectible token album from the Dinosaur NM.  You get a coin from each park you go too or use it for any kind of coins that you collected.

Here is the book:

You can get 30 coins in this book.  Here is the first coin I got.  I wasn't with her when she got but I have been to Dinosaur NM before.

5/16/2026 - Valley National Bank Building

 

Over the weekend we went downtown and looked at some old buildings in Tucson, AZ.

This was the Valley National Bank Building.  Built in 1929 and located at 2 E. Congress St.  This is the oldest skyscraper in Tucson.  The building has 10 floors consisting of a three-part vertical block with basement.

The Tucson building is known for its ornate styling, including marble columns, a grand staircase in the interior and intricate detailing on the ceiling,

Valley National Bank Building (Tucson, Arizona) - Wikipedia

5/16/2026 - Charles O. Brown House

 

Over the weekend I attend a concert downtown.  Before the concert we walked around the downtown area and looked at some old buildings of Tucson, AZ.

This is the Charles O. Brown House located 40 W. Broadway.  Built in 1876.  This listed as " The Old Adobo Patio."  Charles O. Brown house is one of Tucson's oldest territorial houses.

I read that this house is two dwellings, each facing a street and opposing each other on a north-south axis.  On the east side, the houses are linked by a series of rooms which lie in a straight line.  A wall and a carriage house border on the west, thus enclosing a patio in the center.  This house represents two distinct styles in Tucson.  Older section represents a territorial style closer to the Mexican origin and the latter building represents the American-Anglo version of the Mexican adobe with ornamental wood trim, columns and increased number of windowpanes.

Old Adobe Patio - Tucson, Arizona - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

3/23/2026 - Welcome to Needles Borax Wagon (Route 66)

 Has you can see up a head is the entrance to Needles is the welcome wagon.  This wagon was originally part of the decor of the motel El Rancho Motel before it got torn down.  It wasn't a chuck wagon, it is a borax wagon, that was used to move out to borax (a type of salt) dug up at Death Valley to the railway sidings in the 1880's. These wagons were pulled by teams of eighteen mules and two horses. 

3/23/2026 - BLM Needles Field Office

 While we were in Needles, California we went to Bureau of Land Management Needles Field Office to pick up some stamps.

We were traveling in the Mojave Desert.

Mojave Trails National Monument

Needles Field Office | Bureau of Land Management

4/18/2026 - Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area - Tucson Bird Alliance

 

On 4/18/2026, My mom and I decided to go search for stamps for the National Park Service.  We drove down to the University of Arizona campus and stopped by Tucson Bird Alliance.  This is a nature shop about birds and wildlife in the country.  They have a little front area that you can watch birds that come into the yard.  Inside there are a lot of different books to read.  There are some arts and crafts to buy.  They also have bird feeders, bee homes and little tables to put the bird food on,

Also, what this post about is you can get the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area stamp.  Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area celebrates the region's natural resources, rich history, and heritage shaped by generations of Native American, Spanish and Mexican cultures.

Tucson Bird Alliance- We speak out for wild birds and their homes

4/18/2026 - Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail

 

4/18/2026, My mom and I went to Downtown Tucson the look for some National Park stamps.  This one I found at Presidio San Agustin del Tucson.  There is a little gift shop and a museum to look at.  This stamp is of the Spanish Army Crest.

I also got this stamp for the National Parks Service Centennial year, 1916-2016.

Tucson Presidio Historic Museum | Best Area Walking Tours

4/18/2026 - Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area - Southern Arizona Heritage & Visitor Center

 

On 4/18/2026, My mom and I went downtown Tucson to look for National Park stamps.  This stamp is for the Santa Cruz Valley NHA located only in Arizona.  We got this stamp at the Old Courthouse that turn into a visitor center for Tucson.  There are also some other things there to see.

Home - Southern Arizona Heritage and Visitor Center 1-800-638-8350

3/23/2026 - Route 66 Motel (Route 66)

 This motel is located right next to Carty's Camp.  It was built in the 1940's during WWII.

It is typical one store motel with a rectangular plan: a central office surrounded by six units.  Since the 1990's it has been used for single room apartments.