Day 14 - Kingman AZ to Barstow CA

Waffles for breakfast! Finally, after passing all of those Waffle Houses, our motel offered waffles as part of their continental breakfast. They actually had a very nice spread, surprising considering they were the least expensive place we've stayed along the way.

Leaving Kingman, our first adventure was driving on the Gold Road thought the Black Mountains and over Sitgreaves Pass. This is an original section of Route 66 with a lot of hairpin turns and switchbacks - it is so hair-raising that some of the original travelers of 66 used to hire local folks to drive their vehicles through, or have them towed over. I can understand why, as I wouldn't attempt to navigate it in a vehicle lacking power steering. This section of road was replaced on 1953 with an new straighter alignment. The terrain in this section of the roadway is gorgeous - lots of red and brown rocks, and funny cacti and other succulents. Mark safely navigated us through, and we then entered the old gold mining town of Oatman (see Trajan peeking out of the cactus).

Oatman was established about 100 years ago, and there have been several large gold strikes there since then. The town today is very charming, with wooden sidewalks, lots of little shops, and a haunted hotel. There are also a group of wild burros, who are descendants of the original pack animals used by the gold miners in the heyday of the town, that arrive in Oatman at 9:00 every morning, and depart for the outskirts at 5:00 each evening. You can buy carrots and burro chow to feed them while you are visiting. Oatman is a definite "Not to be missed", and would make an interesting side trip if you are visiting the Laughlin area.

Shortly after leaving Oatman, Trajan was happy to proclaim that we had arrived in California(!). After a lunch stop in Needles, CA (high temp 112), we pressed on to our first journey on CA Route 66 - through the ghost town of Amboy. Amboy is rumored to be the inspiration for Radiator Springs in our favorite movie. It used to be a thriving small town olong the Mother Road until Interstate 40 opened in the early 1970s. The owner of the gas station and cafe Roy's stated that the day the Interstate opened, the traffic through Amboy was zero. The town was privately owned by Buster Burris, who ended up bulldozing most of the town's buildings in the late 70s to avoid paying taxes on them. All that remains in the town are Roy's Cafe and a Post Office. The town is used frequently in films and commercials.

Just west of the town of Amboy is the Amboy crater - the remains of a volcanic explosion approximtely 6,000 years ago. There are a few craters along this stretch of Route 66 along with fabulous lava beds, full of black porous lava rock. You can hike up to the rim of the crater - supposedly there is a white lake in the center of it, but being that it was well over 100 degrees, we passed. :-) Mark and Trajan picked up a few lava rocks, after pouring cold water over them first to be able to handle them without burning their hands.

You may have noticed our picture at the top of this blog changed ever so slightly - or maybe you didn't. We've been on a "treasure hunt" of sorts to find the spot where this photo was taken, since I got it off of the internet with no attribution. Obviously from the setting, it had to be in the western section of the Route, but we weren't sure precisely where. Well, Mark "Eagle Eye" Miller spotted it yesterday just east of Chambliss on the Amboy section of 66. We had seen several other contenders, but they weren't right for one reason or another. We actually passed this one by initially, since we were distracted by a half demolished concrete building covered with graffiti that sits off to the right just out of view of the place in the photo. But M did a quick U-ie and there it was! He gets the gold star for the day.

The final stop for the day was the beautiful town of Barstow. We had dinner at the original Bun Boy - surprisingly they have very excellent food. I had a wonderful Gyro plate with delicious pita and a Greek salad. Mark had a yummy chili size, and Trajan had his standard chicken tenders.