Historic Route 66 and Oatman, Arizona

We heard there were lots of asses in Oatman, Arizona.  We were right!  More on that further in this blog entry.

Historic Route 66 runs through Kingman, Arizona.  We drove part of it on our move to Peach Springs from Phoenix, and then on to Seligman and back.  Now it was time to explore that old road west of Kingman.  On this stretch, Historic Route 66 has been designated a National Back Country Byway.  That is not an exaggeration.  The drive from Kingman to Oatman, known as the Oatman Highway, is not to be missed!

Along the drive to the Southwest through the Golden Valley into the Black Mountains, and up through the little development known as "Cool Springs," this remarkable peak dominates the scenery:

The formation, a volcanic plug that has been left as the soil and rocks around it eroded away over the eons --

-- is known as "Witch's Teat."  The view below from behind it includes some dramatic sandstone formations still left as the land around has been eroded:

Leaving the views of the Golden Valley behind, we reached Sitgreaves Pass, at an elevation of about 3,600 feet, gives spectacular views west (ahead of us, in the photo below) and east (behind us, toward Kingman).  A pull-off just below the top of the pass on the eastern side has a gravel road or path leading up to numerous crosses and other markers and memorials.  It resembles a graveyard, but appears actually to be a collection of memorials to people and animals who have passed.  It is said that the cremated ashes of many human and animal souls have been spread here.  The site is dominated by this boulder with modern pictographs and memorial sayings:

Beyond the "graveyard," we descended down the highway, historically sometimes known as the "Gold Road," past the Gold Road Mine, which was originally founded in 1900 but is now operated by a large mining company.  Remnants of the original mine site are visible directly on the road, but the current mine is on private property and cannot be accessed.

We arrived in Oatman, an old mining town -- now tourist trap -- a little too early to have lunch, so we decided to continue our drive further west on Route 66, where we discovered vast swaths of bright orange desert poppies:

The recent rains have caused many of the cholla to bloom:

Below the highway, we spotted the ruins of a stone cabin.  We parked the Jeep to hike down to it, but were stopped by a "No Trespassing" sign.  Out West especially, one disobeys such signs at personal peril, so we turned back, sorry we couldn't get a better look at the old place.

Climbing back up the hill, we spotted some beautiful violet flowers gracing the roadside in front of Boundary Cone:

We headed back to Oatman, interested in lunch and burros (and maybe a cheesy Wild West Shootout at high noon), but first stopped to admire some more desert poppies in front of more volcanic prominences:

Our entrance into Oatman was blocked by a Burro Jam.  We had to wait patiently for the occupants of cars ahead of us to take their opportunities to pet and photograph these cute wild burros, and then we had to carefully navigate our way around the burros themselves.  While signs in town warned us that the burros are truly wild and can bite and kick, we found them to be very gentle.

Kathy couldn't resist buying some burro kibble, and the first cutie she encountered repaid her with gentle kisses and kindly glances:

The whole town was full of wild animals of all kinds:

We got a seat at the only local restaurant serving real food, the Oatman Hotel --

-- just in time to avoid a shootout on the main street.  These disreputable looking characters packed pistols and  created quite a ruckus, robbing the Oatman Hotel before running into the Long Arm of the Law.  A loud, fiery gunfight ensued, and we assume the Good Guys won.

Inside the Oatman Hotel, munching our spicy veggie burritos, we marveled at the decor, which consisted of thousands of dollar bills taped, pasted and otherwise fastened to every reachable surface.  Below, Kathy marvels at the bills cascading down over her head on one of the pillars of the restaurant:

After lunch, we roamed the town a little further, feeding burros, watching other tourists, and the like -- and, most importantly, successfully resisting the siren call of tourist schlock -- until we reached our Jeep.  It was parked, at Kathy's wise suggestion, on the east end of town where we could pull out and begin our drive home without having to navigate all the wild asses that crowded the street, oblivious to the dangers of the traffic.

We took the drive to check out Oatman itself, but the richest rewards we got included the dramatic and gorgeous scenery all along the route.  If you're near Bullhead City or Kingman, Arizona, be sure not to miss it!