Stalking a speeding Bullitt...Mustang, that is.

The morning found us slightly drowsy from the semi-regular trains passing in the night. Seeing as how the Holbrook section of the Mother Road is a mere block or so from the train tracks, and our hotel was situated on the Road itself, the price we paid for nostalgic lodging and supporting a Route 66 business was a few hours of semi-interrupted sleep from the semi-regular trains passing in a semi-atypical night.

Luckily, our day was looking to be a semi-relaxed day of big hole viewing and mountain town strolling.

Couldn't leave Holbrook without a few snappies of the dino kaffee-klatch at the Rainbow Rock Shop in Holbrook, but once my digital camera was begging for mercy from the jurassic head-shots, we pulled up stakes in search of a jackrabbit. And we found it, just outside of Joseph City. Here it is.

No really, HERE it is, the Jackrabbit Trading Post, yet another Route 66 icon.

We bought a magnet and a shirt, took a few snaps, and ran into a fella whom we've dubbed, "Mr. Bullitt."


Our previous encounter with Mr. Bullitt and his wife occurred last night while exiting Joe and Aggie's Cafe. They were parking and going in, we were belching and coming out. I immediately noticed the vintage '68 GT fastback in "Bullitt" Highland Green as it pulled and parked into the same small lot where our import family truckster sat.

Mr. Bullitt exited his car, looking more like an accountant from Koekuk than a cool and streamlined lieutenant in the SFPD (although the tag on his car read "LT SFPD" - awesome), but he saw me oogling his ride and responded to my rapid fire questions with the ease and acumen of an enthusiast, not just some Barrett-Jackson deep pockets collector.390?
Yep.
67 or 68?
Early 68.
325 horse?
It dynod at 290 last year.
Toploader?
(Nods) I was going to put a T-5 it it, but it's still sitting in my garage.Trust me, this is the stuff car guys crave.

FF to this morning and this time the roles were reversed...the Bullitt couple were leaving the Jackrabbit and we were just arriving. We exchanged a few comments about how I wouldn't think of stalking Angelina Jolie but I would happily follow a Bullitt Mustang across Route 66, then I paused a few seconds before entering the curio shop to listen to the 390 powerplant motor and shift onto the old Mother Road asphalt.

A sweet sound indeed.

However, the story doesn't end there. A mere hour later as we turned into the parking lot for our touristy destination of the day, the Meteor Crater, there sat the highland green beauty.

This was the last glimpse of the classic 'stang that I would get for the day, but for now and forever, the image of my most favorite version of the Blue Oval pony car motoring down my most favorite version of America's black top will keep the gray matter in my noggin happily occupied.