Giant Schnauzers

Route 66 In Western Arizona

On our trip up north this weekend, we got to see just a short part of Route 66.  We joined it as it went up in to Oatman, AZ and then on to Kingman.  As we left to come back to Phoenix, we took the road northeast out of Kingman and followed it to Seligman, Arizona.  It is amazing to see the numbers of signs and restored businesses along the way, many old gas stations that are now tourist destinations.  In that short distance, the condition of the road varies considerably and it is nice to see how nice some portions of it were.

These are just a few of the many pictures we took of Route 66 on that small portion of the road last weekend.  We want to explore more of it when we are near it and have the time.

The above sign is just as we left Oatman and headed back to Kingman. Below is Route 66 as it winds through the mountains east of Oatman.

Cool Springs is in between Oatman and Kingman.

One of many signs in Kingman about the historic route.

Route 66 at Hackberry, Arizona and this is a very interesting place.  There is so much to see and is a great place to get out and stretch.  Wonderful people own it.  He said during the summer about five hundred people a day stop here.

The above is the garage at the station.

Couldn't resist putting a picture in of the sign on the front door!

Or a picture of the resident dog in the station.  He obviously could have cared less that we were there.

A blazing sunset over the north country of Arizona, and.........

fall color in Prescott.  We do have four seasons in Arizona, kind of.

Almost home down our own dirt road in northwest Maricopa County.

Road To Oatman, AZ and Other Points of Interest

This last weekend we left the giant schnauzers at home and headed for Kingman, AZ and points beyond.  It was a fascinating trip and one we thoroughly enjoyed.  We have a love of junk stores and antique shops which are numerous in Kingman.  Early Saturday morning we drove towards the Colorado River and then south and came in the Western road and on to Route 66 to Oatman.  Tom pointed out some plate shifts that had occurred thousands of years before.  These can be seen right along I 40 in Kingman. Now you know what is going on  during earthquakes. 

We stopped and took old roads along the way, enjoying some rock hounding and the scenery.  We only have 4WD and not a Jeep, so we had to turn back sometimes. But the scenery was spectacular!

We drove over to Laughlin and these are the Arizona mountains from the Laughlin side of the Colorado River.

Our favorite part of the trip was visiting Oatman, Arizona and the burros.  Oatman was founded more than 100 years ago as a gold mining camp.  Supposedly two miners found a ten million dollar strike in 1915 and the two swelled to several thousand people.  Fire burned down many of the wood shacks in 1921 and then in 1939 Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned there.  Gable returned several times to play poker so the story goes.  In the restaurant at the Oatman Hotel where the Gables stayed is a restaurant that has the walls papered in signed one dollar bills.  It is quite amazing to see and the buffalo burger was very good!

But our favorite part of Oatman is  the wild/semi tame burros that wander the town.  Vendors sell bags of carrots and the burros will follow people  anywhere to get them from you.  One of the burros even yanked on my shirt from behind and tried to nip at me to get the last of the carrots I was hoarding.  Reminded me a lot of giant schnauzers!!!

Tom had fun with the burros.  Some of the people who visit are a little intimidated by the burros, but they did remind us a lot of giant schnauzers.  Tom quickly had the burros taking carrots from his mouth.  But he did so very carefully.  I will post photos of Route 66 and some of the sights from that part of the trip tomorrow.

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