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| Historic Rt 66 red, this column green |
After retracing old Route 66 across California's
Mojave Desert, we headed north from Needles to Bullhead City, Ariz.,
where I planned to camp for a few days alongside the Colorado River.
Kingman is the western Arizona hub for Route 66, but despite being
nearby, it's nearly 3000 feet higher and quite a bit colder in late
December.
New Years Eve dawned mostly overcast and rather
blustery, but I decided to explore old 66 anyway. Entering Kingman from
the west, we were immediately greeted by a large, hot pink Historic 66
sign at Locomotive Park. It was literally a sign of things to come.
Another nearby sign invites tourist to "Get your kicks in Kingman".
Across the street the entire wall of the Mohave
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| Route 66 mural at Mohave Museum, by jkbrown |
(yes,
that's how it's spelled in Arizona) Museum is a Route 66 mural complete
with a 60's era Corvette. The Route 66 Museum at the historic
Powerhouse visitor center is just beyond. A bit farther down the street
is Mr. D's Route 66 Diner and the Mother Road Harley shop. And past
that, the biggest Route 66 sign (anywhere?) is painted across a large
silo, with the message "Welcome to Kingman, Heart of Historic Route 66."
Yes,
they embrace their 66 heritage in a big way in Kingman. As we drove on
into town, I saw many more businesses proudly displaying 66 shields and
numerals: Nick's on 66 (restaurant), Club 66, Route 66 Business Center,
Motel 66. After checking all that out, I was ready to traverse some
highway.
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| Route 66 is big in Kingman, by jkbrown |
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| Westbound on Oatman Highway (Route 66), by jkbrown |
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| Get your snacks on Route 66 (in Oatman), by jkbrown |
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North and east of Kingman stretches the longest intact segment of
the Mother Road in the country, about 100 miles joining such places as
Hackberry, Peach Springs and Seligman. It still bears the number 66,
now as a state highway. But my plan for the day was to head south and
west down Oatman Highway, an original 50-odd mile section from pre-1952
alignments of Route 66.
The scene south of Kingman was very reminiscent of old west movies
with the highway curving through a canyon defined by blocky dark brown
stone walls. It soon leveled out, then ran arrow straight across the
sandy and arid Sacramento Valley. Straight horizontally anyway;
vertically it rose and fell with each wash it crossed, like a
mini-roller coaster. Then we headed into the Black Mountains, following
the old mining road that twists through canyons and climbs several
short but steep grades. This tortuous road was selected in the 1920s
when they laid out the original 66 routing because Oatman gold mining
was then at it’s peak. I was glad I wasn't towing my fifth wheel
trailer here.
After crossing Sitgreaves Pass, the road rapidly descended into the
town of Oatman. Apparently this place had quite a reputation at one
time. Like Tombstone and other old west mining towns, it is now a
tourist attraction, though not as well known as some. Mock shootouts
are staged in the main street several times daily. The Oatman Hotel is
said to be haunted by the ghosts of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, who
spent their honeymoon night there and returned frequently. Besides
numerous souvenir shops and eateries, Oatman’s other attraction is the
friendly band of burros that roam the streets looking for handouts.
Many shops sell bags of carrots for burro snacks. We arrived just as
the 1 p.m. shootout was taking place. With the street full of
gunslingers, burros and tourists, traffic came to a standstill. We
parked and joined the crowd.
Back on the road a bit later, we drove several more miles of winding
highway through mountain spires and canyons before the road leveled out
again. The last few miles of Oatman Highway pass through the
communities of Golden Shores and Topock. Their location along Topock
Marsh and the Colorado River make them popular fishing and winter home
locations. From there Route 66 crossed the Colorado and swung back to
the northwest to Needles, but only a few original miles of that segment
remain.
We returned to our Bullhead City camp to get ready for New Years
Eve. We'll continue with our Mother Road travels one of these days.
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Route 66: Lonely Planet Road Trip
Get your RV kicks on Route 66. Most of it is easily negotiated by RVs of all sizes. This pocket-sized book is crammed full of useful information plus maps and more.
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Blue Highways
Join William Least Heat-Moon on his 13,000-mile journey along the back roads of America. First published in 1982, the author’s account of his journey has become a classic, an inspiration to all who love to travel the back roads of America.
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The New Roadside America
This is it! The guide to goofy America. Learn what’s along the back roads – giant statues, huge balls of twice, flying pigs, live rattlesnakes, muffler men, mermaids and much more.
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