Get Your Kicks on Route 66

We did arrive home safely after our Farmington trip. As usual, I had good intentions--even photos of our campsite in Moab along the Colorado River on the way home, but, as usual, I got lazy once I got home, and never posted it.

We are now in Kingman, AZ for a week-long rally with one of the FMCA groups that we joined while we were in Farmington--the FMCA 4-Wheelers. This is the group we were supposed to meet up with this past summer in Colorado before Steve had his mountain biking accident in Crested Butte that cut our trip short. We got here yesterday and signed up for rides every day this week. The rally is so big--50 or more couples?--that we are spread out into three different RV parks. There are five or six different rides offered each day, of varying difficulty. We chose the easiest ones, suitable for "stock" 4 WD vehicles. Some of the Jeeps here have been so spiffed up that they cost more than our motor home. Our little 1987 Suzuki Samurai looks a little out of place among all those big, fancy guys, but it's a tough little thing and we are doing just fine so far.

Kingman AZ seems to have two claims to fame. It is the birthplace and home of Andy Devine (Wild Bill Hickock's pal "Jingles" in the 50's TV series) and historic Route 66, which runs through it. Today's ride went from Kingman to a little town called Oatman, and followed Route 66. Our trail leaders, Kim and Shelly Pollock, really did their homework, and we learned all about this historic "Mother Road." Route 66 was built in the late 1920's, although not totally paved until the mid-30's. It was 2,448 miles long, connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. At one time, it was the only uninterrupted highway from east to west. Tourists drove to California on it in their Model A's and Model T's. Okies fleeing the Dustbowl traveled it. It carried troops to the coast from forts all over the U.S. during WW II. Sadly, the invention of freeways and the building of I-40 in the 1950's caused the demise of Route 66. But little sections of it still exist, and are lovingly preserved.

The little building at Cool Springs was once a welcome stopover on Route 66. Travelers could fill up with fuel and water, have a meal, and even spend the night in one of the four little tourist cabins. It closed in the 1960's, and by 1999, all that was left were the bottom of the two front pillars and a few sections of wall. Someone bought it then, and, using old photographs, carefully restored it. You can't buy gas there anymore, nor spend the night, but it's a cute little museum and gift shop, and the manager is friendly and very knowledgeable about the history of the area and Route 66. He says that the section of Route 66 from Cool Springs to Oatman is the most scenic of the whole highway, and I believe it. It's only 9 miles long, but has 122 curves, winding through a canyon and up and over Sitgreaves Pass. From the top of the pass, you can see California, Nevada, and New Mexico.

Oatman was a mining town, now a little tourist town. Way too many T-shirt and souvenier shops, but there's a gunfight on Main Street every afternoon (they pass a hat and proceeds go to Shriners' Hospital). Burros, descendants of the prospectors' burros, wander the streets looking for handouts. We saw one stick its head inside a car window, hoping for a carrot and a muzzle rub. The babies were darling. I wanted to take one home, but Steve wouldn't let me. He said its mother would miss it, and anyway, it wouldn't fit inside the Samurai.