The other day, the four of us took a trip up to Oatman, Arizona. It is a two plus hour drive to get there from here but was well worth it. Oatman has had a lot of ups and downs and it is only the tourist trade that continues to support the town. Like a lot of small towns this one was affected by a major fire and most of the town was destroyed, so the buildings that are standing are replicas to made to look like the way it was. Wooden sidewalks, buildings that are made to look like they are about to fall down, and a gunslinging shootout a few times a day round out the experience.
They even had the obligatory jail cell, which again, just like in Phoenix, Patty found herself inside for a short spell.
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| I don’t know why she is smiling |
Other than the tourist shops the biggest draw are the burros. From what we could see there are a number of different families of four or five wandering around. One was pregnant and looked like it was about to delivery any moment, and all but one brown one were grey with a dark line down the spine and across the shoulders. Every store sold feed for them and they would gladly eat from your hand. From what we understand if the desert wildflowers and other fauna are out they will not typically be in town, but this day we saw perhaps upwards of twenty or so.
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| The lone Brown Burro |
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| Burro with Baby |
To get to Oatman you take the Oatman Highway, which runs from Topock to Kingman. This is a segment of the original Route 66 and is probably one of the most hazardous sections, with steep grades and numerous switchback up and over the mountain pass that sits roughly half way along the route.
Shortly after passing the peak you come across a single gas station at Cool Spring Station. The building is a rebuilt version of the original and is a souvenir and trinket shop. When it was built it had gas and water as well as cabins for tourists to stay presumably if the mountain pass was weathered in or something because otherwise there is not much there to stop for. From the pictures on the wall it appears to be a ‘go-to’ destination for anyone with a motorcycle or hot rod type vehicle and a lot of car rallies make a point of stopping there on their way through. I can imagine the highway would be a thrilling ride for anyone on a motorcycle.
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| View from the station |
There are springs in the area, hence the name, and you can tell there is a water source with the trees in the gulleys. Along the way out of Oatman to Kingman there was ample evidence on the side of the roadway about the burros, so they don’t just hang out in town, they are out in the desert as well.
Kingman was our destination for lunch. As with most towns on Route 66 they promote the whole 50’s and 60’s era with the diners and old cars and such. We went to one that was highly recommended called Mr. D’z. It is an old gas station converted to a diner and was decorated as you would expect. Food was also as you would expect and was pretty good. Everyone else tried the recommended Root Beer and said it was good, but for some reason I have never been a fan of root beer and don’t drink pop so had water.
Bullhead City is right on the Colorado River and across from Laughlin, Nevada. Laughlin is set up like a mini Las Vegas with eight casinos all along the riverfront. Some have names similar to those in Vegas and I am sure it is a fairly good tourist draw. If you are a classic car lover then the Don Laughlin’s Classic Car Museum would be a great stop as well.
The drive back to Quartzsite was uneventful and we drove back through Bullhead City and down the Mohave Valley to Needles, California and then roughly paralleled the Colorado River on Highway 95 to cut back across at Parker.
A great day out, and thank you for stopping by to read.