Route 66

"KINGMAN! WHERE THE EFFINHYMER IS KINGMAN?!"

"Uh, surprise?"

We put Lake Mead behind us and headed to Kingman, Arizona.

Route 66 goes right through Kingman. It is a great place to remember about the days of old. When America was still young and auto traffic was still new. This area is still hanging onto the "good ole days". If you have the time to slow down and check this place out you should.

We got a campground in town and there are plenty to choose from. Going west on route 66 takes you to Oatman, Arizona. You go over a mountain pass to get there. Do not bring your RV over this road. It is very narrow, but it is paved. Lots of switchbacks. The views are great.

As we were driving to Oatman we notice a set of stairs on the side of a rock wall.

We looked at each other and we both wondered where they might lead. It is by mile marker 30. I remembered that so on our way back we could stop and explore it. We also stopped at a spot that had many crosses on it. Not sure of the story behind it or what they were for.

Once we got to Oatman, the street was blocked.

They hold a shoot out a couple of times a day. We didn't see it but we heard the shots ring out, one after another. The big draw to Oatman is that they have donkeys that roam the street looking for handouts.

The last time we were here was in 2004 and at that time you could purchase carrots and feed the donkeys. Which our kids loved to do.

Roman and Kendra feeding a donkey and my mom walking through manure. Good times.

We stopped in one shop and I asked the guy working there if they stopped feeding the donkeys carrots. He said they don't feed them carrots anymore because the donkeys were becoming diabetic from all of the sugar in carrots. That's according to the BLM he said. So now you can purchase donkey food and still feed them if you wanted to. If you have the hankering to be a tourist for a little while, this is a great place to go.

On our way back to Kingman we stopped at the stairway we saw earlier. We climbed it and were looking around and I saw a rock wall that someone had built up there. That's odd we thought.

Water seeps out of the rocks here and this little rock wall catches it to make a bowl.

 As we were looking more closely at it something moved inside it. Whoever built it put fish in it. Or maybe someone added the fish later.

So if you ever try to find it, bring fish food because I don't know if anyone goes up there and feeds them. Remember that it is close to mile marker 30.

This used to be a gas station on the way up to Oatman. Now it is a little gift shop. Very cute and it makes for a great photo opportunity.

Our second day in Kingman was going to take us to the Route 66 visitor center/museum and then east on Route 66 to Seligman Arizona.

The museum charges 4 dollars a person to go through it and it explains the history of the road. Not all of the history is nice. After the museum we hit the road. There is a small pamphlet that tells you what to look for along the side of the road as you travel it.

Like Giganticus Headicus. A roadside attraction to lure you into their gift shop. 

There are many gift shops along the way. This is one of the originals that is still operating. Angel and Velma's. There are other signs from the past. From the hey day of the road.

We think that Disney came out here for inspiration for their "Cars" movie. It would have been neat to travel the road in the fifties. Another roadside attraction is The Grand Canyon Caverns.

This is an interesting cavern. It is a dry cavern so there are really no stalagmites or other types of formations. But the rooms are large. So large it was designated as a bomb shelter for 2000 people. So the government hauled down supplies to last them for 2 weeks.

Those were brought down in the fifties and they are perfectly preserved because of the dry environment. A Bobcat fell through the natural opening many, many years ago. Because of the dryness, it was perfectly mummified and preserved.

They removed a leg to find out the age of it. It was a young bobcat, maybe 2 years old and it has been in the cave since 1850. They also found a prehistoric 4 toed sloth skeleton in the cavern also. They removed it to study it but put in a life size replica in its place.

All caves are different and this one just proves that. If you want you can eat your lunch down there. They have a dining area set up. There is also a wedding chapel down there and also 1 room if you want to spend the night in a cave.

Route 66 was fun and interesting. Well worth the stop. 

On a more personal note. We stopped at the local Wally World and we think we have viewed the Wally Worlds of the future. They had 6 lanes for human cashiers to work at. I think one was open. Then they had 22 self checkout stations.

With one lonely employee trying to cover all of those registers. What a joke.

"Gladys, I am letting you pick the next destination. Knock my socks off girl!"