They say there’s a corner in Winslow, Arizona, made famous by the Eagles, but my most meaningful Route 66 nudge came at a different kind of crossroads—standing beside a roadside fence covered with hundreds of random stickers.
In my previous post about the inspiration for my series, I mentioned that Mr. Embers and I had sold our house, moved into an RV, and created a bucket list of California Route 66 sights to see before leaving the Golden State. We also discovered my dream series concept along the way.
So we purchased a Route 66 Passport from the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville and began checking off tourist attractions. Sadly, we didn’t get our passport stamped at most stops, but we took plenty of pictures. Completing our passport with all those unique stamps will be a future adventure.
Our trip highlights included the Harvey House and train station in Barstow (unfortunately, the Barstow Route 66 Museum on the premises was closed that day), the vibrant Route 66 murals throughout Barstow, Peggy Sue’s Diner, and the amazing Donut Man in Glendora. We visited Santa Monica Pier twice for research—as the official western starting point of Route 66, it’s the perfect launch location for my first book.
But I received an amazing confirmation for my book series at Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch.
We parked alongside the road, next to a chainlink fence covered with metal signs plastered with so many stickers, there was no telling what those signs originally said! I took pictures of them and the inventive bottle trees beyond the fence, each one composed of posts with spoke-like branches holding colorful glass bottles. Every tree wore a unique topper, but the rusty typewriters and sewing machines were my favorites.
Not until we drove away did I look closely at my photos. Zooming in on one image, I discovered a single sticker among the masses that held a powerful message: Live A Great Story.
I cried.
We had just sold our 1900-square-foot home and given away what we couldn’t take with us. We’d gone from spacious house living to cramming ourselves into our tiny 17-foot travel trailer while waiting for Forest River to ship us our new Salem Hemisphere. Our entire RV journey was just beginning.
And while the clock had run out before we could finish our California trek down Route 66, that message left a lasting impression. My spooky travel series kept percolating in the back of my mind, and suddenly I understood—this wasn’t just about writing books.
Live A Great Story.
My stories, both real and fiction, aim to do exactly that. Sometimes inspiration finds you when you’re open to seeing it.