Disney-Pixar's immensely popular children's movie, Cars, takes place in Radiator Springs, a small town on the primary highway across the country. Once the interstate is built, Radiator Springs all but dies until the main character (Lightning McQueen) and his "girlfriend" (Sally) save it. Sally lives at the Cozy Cone Motel where the rooms or units look like orange traffic cones.
The Disney-Pixar people visited towns all along Route 66 to see and experience it for themselves, to talk to folks who had businesses along it during its heyday as prep for the making of Cars (released in 2006). Radiator Springs is a conglomeration of many small towns on the Mother Road as it crosses America. For example, the fictional Ramone's Body Art looks just like an old 1930's gas station/cafe in Shamrock, Texas.
We visited the Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop-Inn cafe on Route 66 in Shamrock, Texas in April, 2010 as we drove across America. We expected to see Lightning McQueen come around the corner any second!
And the Cozy Cones Motel in Radiator Springs is modeled after the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona (#90 on my "100 Things in Arizona" list)- and our overnight destination.
This cozy motel is right on Route 66 and is also home to some fabulous vintage cars.
Each room is its own teepee! Fifteen teepees make up the Wigwam Motel. There were quite a few families there the night we stayed, including a family from Europe.
And here I digress for a moment. The name of the place is Wigwam Motel but the structures are clearly teepees... which made me wonder what the difference is, if any. One would think that having grown up in Arizona I would know this but that was not the case. And none of my traveling companions knew the difference either. So, for clarification, both are conical dwellings used by Native Americans but that's as far as the similarity goes. Indians in the northeast built wigwams, permanent structures with a frame made of arched wooden poles. The frame was then covered with roofing materials such as grass, reeds, bark, mud, animal hides, or cloth. They are difficult to assemble. The nomadic Plains Indians built teepees- easily assembled, portable structures made of wooden poles and animal hides. They are the only structure to have an opening at the top and smoke flaps to allow the occupants to have a fire (for cooking and warmth) inside and control the smoke.
Sleeping in a teepee, albeit a concrete one, is an experience not to be missed! For starters, the room is ROUND! It's a little disconcerting to be in a round room, especially one where the walls slope inward to the ceiling. Hanging things on the walls (like a mirror) is a challenge- and using it is even more of a challenge!
Our cozy room was small but functional.
Statues and sculptures of dinosaurs are common all across northern Arizona where many dinosaur remains have been found. This little guy, standing right outside our teepee, reminded me of "Dino" in The Flintstones. (*Notice the ONLY window in our teepee!*)
In the light of morning, we noticed the many vintage cars parked around the motel. We had fun trying to find all the characters from Cars- Lightning McQueen and Sally were noticeably missing!
Tow Mater, Doc Hudson and Flo (left to right) hangin' out at the Wigwam/Cozy Cone Motel!
I remember as a child driving through Holbrook several times on our way to Denver and asking my dad if we could puleeeze stay in the teepees. We never did. Finding it on the original list in the Arizona Republic (Oct 2011) of 100 places to see in Arizona was just the motivation I needed to do it. We had a fun time and definitely recommend it. It's an experience just waiting to be had!
Thumb Up or Down: Up!
Miles Round Trip: see next post
Miles To Date: see next post
Percent of List Completed: 62%
Date of This Trip: June 15-17, 2012
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