New to Me Little Free Libraries in Bakersfield, California

 

9909 Mesa Oak Dr., Bakersfield, CA

2408 Mountain Oak Rd., Bakersfield, CA

Bakersfield, California was our last overnight stay before returning home from our eleven day roadtrip to and from Monument Valley. There wasn't anything special we wanted to see while in Bakersfield, California. It was simply a city for us to stay in overnight on our return journey home. 

However, there were tons of Little Free Libraries in Bakersfield, California. We chose to find two of them near the hotel where we'd stayed the night. Both Little Free Libraries we found were super cute and filled with with many books. I loved how the second LFL shown above in my post was decorated for Halloween!

We also stayed in both Williams, Arizona and Kingman, Arizona on our roadtrip journey. Unfortunately, we didn't find any LFLs in either city on the Little Free Library app we have on our smartphones.

We loved Williams, Arizona immensely and we would like to return to Williams another time for a longer stay to see the attractions we missed seeing during our very short visit there. 

Kingman, Arizona offered a decent overnight stay. We made a quick stop to the Kingman Visitor Center before we headed out of town for Bakersfield. The Kingman Visitor Center has a drive through Route 66 sign and a museum attached to it as well. 

It's also worth noting that the Kingman Visitor Center use to be a powerhouse before it was turned into a visitor center. There's also another museum near the Kingman Visitor Center called the Mohave Museum of History and Art that I would have liked to visit during our trip along with the Kingman Railroad Museum... But alas, we simply didn't have the time to visit either museum during our quick stay in Kingman, Arizona.

We saw several places in Williams, Arizona, but the Poozeum museum was a highlight for us. It's a small museum featuring fossilized dinosaur poop. Poozeum offers free admission.

We visited the Poozeum in Williams, AZ. Free admission to see fossilized dinosaur poop!

Interior photo of the Poozeum! Small, fun museum tovisit!

Below are a few of the many photos we took while visiting the Kingman Visitor Center. I liked the drive through Route 66 sign, and the Route 66 gift shop and Arizona themed gift shop inside the Kingman Visitor Center. Plus, displays on the second floor for visitors to see.

Exterior view of the Kingman Visitor Center.

One of two gift shops within the Kingman Visitor Center. This one focused on Arizona themed items.

Two New to Me Little Free Libraries in Flagstaff, Arizona

3801 E Summer Run Dr, Flagstaff, AZ 86004

My husband and I spent the night in Flagstaff, Arizona after visiting Monument Valley and also the Four Corners Monument.

While in Flagstaff, we found two very cute Little Free Libraries!!

2583 N Grey Fox Way, Flagstaff, AZ 86004

My husband and I stayed in Monument Valley for three full days. Monument Valley is managed by the Navajo Nation and is part of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It was our first visit to Monument Valley and I hope it won't be our last visit!

If you haven't been Monument Valley before, it's a massive region of land that is very remote!! We stayed four nights at the View Hotel, Premium Cabins, and RV/Campground. We chose to stay in one of the Premium Cabins, which is sort of like glamping. The Premium Cabin comes with a full bathroom, bedroom, and main living area that has a full sized refrigerator, microwave, kitchen sink, coffee machine, dining table, sofa, and outdoor seating area. Plus, heating and air conditioner too.

I liked the privacy of the Premium Cabins at The View Hotel, but next time I think we will stay inside the View Hotel itself as the cabins are about a half mile away from the hotel and located on unpaved roads. Plus, staying at The View Hotel is closer to dining at the hotel itself and the tour pick up area for Navajo guided tours of Monument Valley.

The Sunrise View of Monument Valley From Our Cabin the First Morning!!

A View of our Cabin and One of the Buttes in Monument Valley.

Another View of Monument Valley

We did take a three hour tour of Monument Valley with a Navajo tour company called Native Spirit Tours. There are several Navajo businesses that offer tours of Monument Valley. We absolutely loved our guided tour from Native Spirit Tours and wouldn't hesitate using them again in the future or recommend them to others. Below are a few photos taken during our guided tour of Monument Valley.

Below are photos of the Elephant Feet roadside attraction as well as the Navajo Moenave Dinosaur Tracks. Both attractions are free and worth the visit. Additionally, both attractions are located between Monument Valley and Flagstaff, Arizona.

Elephant Feet which is seen as a roadside attraction on our way to Monument Valley

Navajo Moenave Dinosaur Tracks

Have you visited Monument Valley before? 

I understand that spring and autumn are the best times of the year to visit Monument Valley for the milder weather... Not too hot, nor too cold weather wise.

New to Me Little Free Library in Winslow, Arizona!!

While still on our 11 day roadtrip, my husband and I made the city of Winslow, Arizona our third overnight stop. While on our way out of town, we stumbled upon this Little Free Library. I left a book here and took one with me.

We even had a short chat with the LFL owner who came over to talk with us. She said she started her LFL at the start of the pandemic during the lockdown. There are a lot of children in her neighborhood and she wanted to provide books for kids to read while they were sheltering in place during the lockdown. What a great inspiration for starting a LFL!!

Winslow, Arizona was a fun town for us to visit. We enjoyed our very short stay there. Winslow, Arizona is located on iconic Route 66! 

By the way, this was the first time I'd left book(s) inside a Little Free Library outside the State of California.

Below are a few photographs of the various places we saw in Winslow, Arizona!

We visited the Standin' on the Corner of Winslow, AZ attraction based on the Eagles song, Take It Easy.

This is billed as the world's smallest church!! Winslow, Arizona.

Finding this painted Volkswagen Beetle on display was fun to find in Winslow, Arizona.

This larger than life bulldog statue was another find in Winslow, Arizona. The bulldog is the local high school's mascot.

We stayed one night at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona. What a magnificent hotel with a rich history! I wish we could have stayed 2-3 nights there, but alas (hopefully) next time. 

The following information about La Posada Hotel comes from their website:

In 1930, La Posada (The Resting Place) opened to great acclaim as the crown jewel of the Fred Harvey series of luxury railroad hotels. Renowned architect Mary E.J. Colter envisioned every aspect of the design and considered it to be her finest work. Today, that vision is impeccably preserved for the modern traveler. La Posada is more than a hotel stay, it is an immersive experience in art, architecture, fine dining, and the history of early travel in the southwest.

La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona

Lobby and gift shop at the La Posada Hotel. They even have a bookstore!

I'll be sharing more LFL finds from our roadtrip and other sites we saw on another day.

New to Me Little Free Library in Barstow, California!!

 

My husband and I returned last weekend from a long, roundtrip roadtrip that began in the San Francisco Bay Area to Monument Valley and the Four Corners Monument and back again to he San Francisco Bay Area.

Our first overnight stay was in Barstow, California. During our brief visit to Barstow, we found a Little Free Library the following morning before hitting the road again to our next overnight stop.

I left two books at this Little Free Library and only took one with me.

Traveling by car across the country is interesting as you see the landscape you'd not encounter while flying on an airplane. The vast difference in landscape throughout the state of California is really something else.

We traversed mainly desert landscapes on our way to Arizona, where major cities become far and few between. This can be difficult/frustrating when one needs a potty break. Cellphone service is also very spotty, where we'd have only a couple of bars of LTE vs 5G on our cellphones... Sometimes, we encountered no cell service at all for periods of time.

Love the cloud formations during this leg of the trip.

We noticed tons of windmills at various points in our travels. They are HUGE in person!

One of the gas stations/rest stops along the way during the 1st leg of our trip.

More posts of our journey to come!