We made an extensive trek over the California. We had decent weather (albeit high winds) and very few traffic hang-ups. As a bonus, we avoided driving through any part of Los Angeles. We listened to blues music and talked about the crazy world.
We arrived at our scheduled Harvest Host, Hooch’s 66 Bar & Grill around 6:30PM, only to find that were closed for the day. (We later found out that it was a last-minute decision.)
Well, damn, I thought. I was really looking forward to not cooking after driving for nine hours and instead eating the veggie burger on their menu. But my dream was dashed and so I cobbled together a delicious nutritious dinner from lunch leftovers along with a fresh salad.
The night was very warm. I put on my summer jammies and Ron and I sat outside looking at the stars until about 9:30 when the wind kicked up. We’d had enough of the blowing sand for a day — I felt gritty — and we went inside the trailer.
Because of the extreme winds, the trailer rocked and rolled all through the night. I slept terribly, but everything else was fine.
The next morning was fairly easy since we hadn’t decoupled the truck and trailer. The owners of Hooch’s arrived on site and welcomed us inside for coffee.
Don, the owner, took us on a tour. We were blown away by the creative interior design, which he and his wife and a couple of friends did on their own. There are separate rooms for different purposes:
The front of house is the restaurant with a small bar. There’s an outdoor seating area off that, which is next to the parking area. It’s fenced off and has a small stage for solo and duo musicians.
The next room (past the commercial kitchen) has a billiards table and some seating, and it’s called The Peaky Blinders Room, dedicated to a show about prohibition. At least I think that’s what Don said.
The back room is a swanky speakeasy-style bar and cigar lounge.
Just outside the swanky lounge is a large outdoor area with high-tops, tables, and a decent sized performance stage.
I didn’t have my phone or my camera with me at the time, so I wasn’t able to get any photos of the interior. Suffice to say, it’s a cool joint.
We will definitely return when we can fully enjoy the ambiance of Hooch’s 66 Bar & Grill.
We departed just before 11:00AM to make our way to our next destination, further east. On the way, we stopped at Fort Tuthill County Park to stretch.
It was brisk and refreshing. We traipsed into a miniature forest of Lodgepole Pine trees (more like a series of little groves, I guess). The pine smell was mesmerizing. Yeah, people, I touched the trees and picked up fallen pinecones. I looked up to see the sun peaking through the pine needles.
Ron wandered off to eat his lunch. Then I found this rock, which was part of the border between the parking area and the grove. It looked like a little stone chair. I immediately sat in it, of course! It was warm from the sun and it suited me perfectly.
After that, I scoped out the other border rocks for one that I could stand on. There was one that was relatively flat on top, so I kicked off my sandals and carefully stepped onto it. Wow! It felt so good to have my bare feet on that warm rock as I stood under the sunshine, smelling pine and listening to birdies.
And then break-time was over and we needed to get back on the road. With our trusted Spicy, we wound our way down the steep mountain road to our next destination, which I will tell you about in my next post.
Until then, I wish you all excellent health, well-being, and life-affirming creativity!💝
409 miles! Wow that's a lot! Sorry you didn't get your restaurant cooked meal after that. We stayed at Hooch's too! It was one of several Route 66 related HH's we stopped at last year during our mini Route 66 adventure. Glad you had a nice little county park stop! Hugs!
As someone who LOVES to travel, especially by vehicle, and camping and all the ROAD life, I so envy you! I wanna hit the road, too, and just never stop travelling. If I had the wherewithal, I'd do it. So... at least I can vicariously do it when I read your posts! Yay! Hope everything goes easily and have fun! Love the photos and narration. xo xo