Route 66 - Bellemont & Easy Rider

West about 10 miles or so from Flagstaff and the haunted Hotel Monte Vista, we came to the unincorporated community of Bellemont. This  place got it's beginning as a railroad stop in 1882 because natural springs in the area provided water for the steam engines. After a while, it became a lumber center with a sawmill  and by 1887 it was large enough to have a post office. When Route 66 came through, the small town got a welcome boost due to the services needed by the travelers. After WWII began, the army built the Navajo Army Depot  near the town to store ammunition and bombs and then ship them out as needed. Even so, the town never grew beyond a couple of stores and two gas stations.

The old Whiting Bros gas station and Pine Breeze Inn
on Route 66 in Bellemont.

One of those business' was a Whiting Bros gas station and motel, the Pine Breeze Inn. It did a decent amount of business, but eventually, I-40 bypassed Bellemont, most of the few business concerns in town closed and the little community became a near ghost. In 1968 though, a scene in the classic movie "Easy Rider" was shot at the old Pine Breeze Inn and the community's future changed.

Publicity photo from Easy Rider

In the scene, Wyatt (Peter Fonda's "Captain America" character) and Billy (played by Dennis Hopper) have ridden their motorcycles from Ballarat, California into the night almost to Flagstaff. They stop at the Pine Breeze Inn to get a room, but the proprietor, upon seeing their appearance and motorcycles, shuts the door on them and turns on the neon "NO VACANCY" sign. They are forced to get back on their cycles and head on down the road a bit to camp at some old ruined shacks. Hippies and outlaw bikers were definitely not welcomed in Bellemont!

Today, in a rather ironic twist, the town is still alive, mostly because it has become known as a biker friendly town with motorcycle riders on road trips comprising the majority of travelers who have not forgotten this lonely stretch of Route 66. Bellemont is now home to Grand Canyon Harley Davidson and the interesting Route 66 Roadhouse Bar and Grill which brings your food to you raw and you cook it yourself on an indoor grill. If you visit, stop in at the Roadhouse at least for a cold beverage and see the refurbished "NO VACANCY" sign from the movie which is hanging from the ceiling.

No bungalows for hippies or outlaw bikers at the
Pine Breeze Inn!

When we pulled up to the Pine Breeze Inn, Youngest-daughter, being just 13, had no idea of the history of this place or of the cultural significance of the Easy Rider movie or of the almost impact it had on me. I saw the movie when it first came out in the summer of 1969 and I immediately began dreaming and planning to buy a motorcycle and hitting the open road. The seed had already been planted in my brain years earlier from watching the classic TV series "Route 66" and what is now a little-remembered TV show titled "Then Came Bronson," a show much like "Route 66" except the main character was a guy traveling the back roads on a motorcycle. A short time later, after I had managed to save most of the funds needed for my chosen bike, I went to the dealership to try and talk the salesman down on price and to look again at my dream machine. I was almost ready to pay and ride it out, but for some reason I still can't explain, I backed out at the last moment.

I never did buy that motorcycle or chuck it all to cruise the roads of America. Who knows how my life would have been different. I've owned a couple of bikes in my life, but not now and I was never more than a weekend rider. I'm really glad things worked out the way they did because I'm very happy and satisfied with my life now - 3 fantastic children, a really great wife and some very close and dear friends. Still, there's that tiny little devil's voice that every now and then, when it's dark and I'm all alone, buzzes in my left ear, "You should have." Some dreams die hard.

Go to the first Route 66 entry here.

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Route 66 - Haunted Hotel Monte Vista

We stopped by the Hotel Monte Vista in downtown Flagstaff pretty early one morning so we didn't see any ghosts ourselves - everyone knows they only come out at night. Right? OK, so I've never actually seen a ghost, but it was still pretty cool walking around what is supposed to be one of the most haunted buildings in America.

The Hotel Monte Vista

Built in 1926 and opened for business on January 1, 1927 as the Community Hotel, it was the tallest building in Flagstaff for a number of years. Shortly after it opened, a contest was held to rename it since nobody liked the plain "Community Hotel" moniker. The contest was won by a 12-year-old girl with her suggestion of Monte Vista.

During the 1940's & '50's, over 100 major movies were filmed in and around Flagstaff. Since the Monte Vista was the best hotel around, many movie stars made it their home while working on location. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Esther Williams, Barbara Stanwyk, Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Debbie Reynolds, Carol Lombard, Jayne Russel, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Walter Brennan, Humphrey Bogart, Anthony Hopkins and many more stars have all stayed in the hotel's rooms. You can request to stay in the same room as one of these when you make your reservation. If your inclination is more musically inclined, you can request the same room stayed in by members of Air Supply, Jon Bon Jovi, or Freddy Mercury and Queen. I'm not so sure I would want to stay in the Robert Englund room though. He's the actor who played Freddy Kruger in Nightmare on Elm Street. He must have a sense of humor - on the door to his room (310) is a photo of him in full Freddy Kruger mode and he autographed it with his signature and the words, "Where the hell is room service?!!" I don't believe I would be delivering a cheeseburger to Freddy Kruger either!

For years now, the Monte Vista has become a legend for being haunted. Paranormal investigators and several TV shows like "Unexplained Mysteries" have all confirmed what many, many guests have reported - there's a lot of weird, unexplained stuff going on in this hotel!

For the best chance of a ghostly encounter, if you do not have a dog traveling with you, stay in room 305 (the Jon Bon Jovi Room). The hotel will not rent this room to anyone with a dog as they go crazy, barking and tearing the room up in their fear while trying to run away from something. In the late 1940's and early 1950's, an elderly woman lived in this room on a long-term basis. She would sit in a rocking chair for hours at a time, day after day, looking out of the window. Perhaps she was looking and waiting for a husband gone to war and never returned, nobody knows for sure. One day the cleaning lady found she had passed away, her cold body still sitting upright in the rocking chair, her eyes open staring out of the window. Since then, many guests have reported being startled by walking into their locked room and finding an old lady sitting in the room's rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth. But when they speak to the lady, right before their eyes, she simply "goes away." Other guests have reported hearing a noise in the middle of the night which woke them. Looking around, they find the rocking chair moving back and forth all by itself. Hotel cleaning staff have stated that if they move the rocker to another part of the room, when they return the next day, the rocker will be right back by the window even if the room has been vacant. They also have said that while going about cleaning room 305, they have seen the rocker begin moving so often that they don't pay it any mind. When finished with their chore, they simply leave, locking the door behind them with the rocker still moving slowly back and forth as the old lady's vigil evidently continues.

Another persistent reporting is of a young boy wandering around the halls. Most of the time, guests report hearing the whispering voice of a little boy behind them. When they turn back to look, sometimes there is nothing there and sometimes they briefly see the transparent figure of a little boy which seems to evaporate.  Occasionally, the figure will reach out to take the guest's hand. A cold little hand on their fingers is briefly felt and then nothing. Everyone has said it was like the little boy is talking to his mother and reaching out to hold their hand as they walk the hallway. There is no record of a young boy dying in the hotel so nobody is sure where this ghost came from or what he is doing eternally roaming the halls with his unseen mother.

If you have the courage, you might want to stay in room 220. An odd little man lived in this room as a long-term border. He had the strange habit of hanging raw meat from the chandelier. In the early 1980's, he was found in his room dead. The coroner's report said he had passed away 3 days earlier. Guests have reported the TV to come on by itself with the volume on high and sheets on the bed to be rumpled even though nobody had been in the room since the bed was made in the morning. Perhaps more disturbing are the reports of guests waking up in the night hearing someone pacing back and forth in the room at the foot of their bed, a man coughing, and then smelling raw meat.

Even John Wayne encountered a ghostly apparition during one of his stays. He and a number of other guests have reported hearing a knock at their door and a soft voice announcing, "Room Service." Upon opening the door, nobody is there. Guests in room 210 however, have reported this more than any other room and when they open the door, there is often a ghostly bellboy who slowly vanishes in front of them. Mr. Wayne reported he thought the ghost was friendly, he didn't feel threatened and it wasn't a particularly scary event.

The poor "Working Girls" were thrown from the
3rd floor window.

In the 1940's, Flagstaff's Red Light district was just 2 blocks from the Monte Vista. Sometimes, male guests of the hotel would bring back a "date" they had met in the district to their room for a visit. One night, 2 of these working girls were brought back to room 306 (the Gary Cooper room). It is unclear exactly how or why, but during their visit, they were both killed and thrown out of the window to the street below and the renter of the room disappeared. Since then, many male guests have reported a feeling of having a hand over their mouth and throat and waking up because they can't breathe. After awakening, they cannot get back to sleep due to a strong anxious feeling and sensing they are being closely watched.

For about as long as anyone working at the hotel can remember, there have been problems in some rooms with what they are convinced are ghosts unscrewing light bulbs. Most of the time the bulbs are merely loosened, but sometimes, a guest will check into their room and find one of the light bulbs completely unscrewed and lying on the floor. The housekeeping staff ensures all light bulbs are fully screwed in before a new guest arrives, but if you find a light not working in your room, just screw it back in.

In addition to ghostly couples dancing in the lounge and music coming from the lobby when no band is playing in the hotel, front desk staff reports the lobby phone will often ring, but when answered, the only sound is static and an eerie, other-worldly voice saying, "Hello? Hello?"

There are many more ghostly stories surrounding this place, but I think you get the idea. Sleeping with ghosts is not on my bucket list, but if it is on yours...

Go to the first Route 66 entry here.

Or go to the first entry of each state:

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