5C's Que Pasa

So there we were at the top of the pass.

Time to hairpin our way down.

We saw an abandoned mine and hence evidence of many homes that used to make up the community.

This was only the second gas station that we saw on the drive, also abandoned.  Whatever did folks do back then when they had a breakdown?  There were no cell phones.  The road was narrow and constantly winding.  I can’t image trying to get a tow truck in those days.  Even now it would take hours for someone to get to your broken down vehicle.

We turned a corner and with no warning, there it was, Oatman.

Back to Colin as the photographer.  Neat place but oh so very smelly.  Watch where you step!

Almost too much to take in at first glance.  All shops wanting to get your attention.

No we did not pose that donkey there.  The sign under his chin reads ” I found my sweet ass in Oatman, Arizona “.

A satisfied customer?

The burros came with the miners and still roam the streets.

We walked up one side of street and down the other.  It was after two and my eating time and I was hungry.  This is the Oatman Hotel, one of two restaurants in town and it has a liquor license.

A hotel, an ice cream parlor, the only bar in town and a fabulous restaurant.

What kind of wallpaper is that?

Dollar bills, all signed by guests over the years and taped or pinned to the walls, fans, railings, napkin containers, just everywhere.  All those dollar bills are still valuable currency and when we asked, we were told that there was at least $150,000.00 hanging around.  Likely much more as in some areas the bills were eight deep.

We each had a tuna melt on sourdough with fries. One of the best meals I have ever had.  It was difficult to not eat it all, so I ate almost every bite.  Yummy and decadent.  Needless to say that was my only meal that day.

The hotel  was built in 1902 and is said to be haunted.

But we went upstairs anyway.  Original stairs, floor and handrails.  Clarke Gable and Carol Lombard spent their honeymoon upstairs in March of  1939.

The honeymoon suite as it looked back in 1939.  Room 15 was the only one that had a private bathroom.  Apparently they frequently came back to Oatman because they enjoyed the solitude and Clark played cards with the miners.

A very young foal still enjoying mom’s milk.

A fun place to visit at least once.

But you need to behave or you will be put in jail or worse hung from the gallows.

So ended our full day of exploring the Kingman area.

We started at the Visitor Center, picked up a Historic Downtown Walking Tour and just meandered from there.

Mr. D’s is still in business and the diner is so authentic inside.  Hopefully we will have a chance to stop in for a snack.  There is not much that we can eat on the regular menu but a pumpkin pie milkshake sounds tasty:)

The town is full of old vehicles.

This one is so cool.  Love these colors.

Lots of fun.

On Colin’s 16th birthday he came home from school to find his birthday gift.  It was a teal colored 1956 Oldsmobile just like this one.  He didn’t even have a driver’s license!

Many of the old buildings now house current businesses.

In the window of a closed building.

This used to be the Post Office and was built in 1935 as Kingman’s first standalone office.

The former Elks Lodge-Kingman #468 was founded in 1899 and formally dedicated in 1904.  It was built of locally quarried Tufa stone.

The Mohave County Courthouse was built in 1915 at a cost of $80,000.00.  A huge amount of money back then.

The Little Red Schoolhouse was built in 1896.

Built in 1928, the Santa Fe Locomotive #3759 ran passengers between Los Angeles and Kansas City for over 20 years and traveled more than 2.5 million miles.

Don’t those letters A.T. & S.F. make the song run through your mind.  Click below to listen to the song.

Much as we wanted to stick around town and look at more old buildings it was time to hit that historic Route 66.  As we drove we imagined what it might have been like back in the day.  Of course we wished that we were doing the drive in my Z3.  What fun that would be.  The following photos are mine as I wasn’t driving.

What a unique message 🙂

This guy just appeared out of nowhere.

We really had no idea what this drive would entail.  But as we approached the Black Mountains it became apparent that the previous warning signs were serious.  “Mountain Crossing Ahead”.  “No truck over 40 feet”.  Okay we were in the Jeep so we were good to go.

We could just image the folks back in the day stopping for a cold soda or to top up their tank. Nice to see it still open.

The road was getting curvy.

Interesting formations.  The terrain kept changing.

We came around a turn and there they were. Not at all interested in us.

Quite the climb complete with drop off edges.  It took several hairpin turns and curvy roads with little road space to get us from the bottom of the valley to up here.

We drove exactly 108 miles.

There is a new interstate I – 11 out of Las Vegas towards Kingman.

Nice new highway but it is only 15 miles long at this point.

As you come around a corner there is a breathtaking view of Lake Mead.  Note the two helicopters in the sky.

Hard to miss that we are near the Hoover Dam what with all the helicopters and electrical towers.  The red helicopter is just waiting to take off.

You would think that those driving in these vehicles would have helmets on, but they don’t.

Good to be back in Arizona, our last US state for this year.

Stunning views.

Always nice to get 97% green setting up the dish.  We did it this time in a record 90 seconds.

We discovered that we have a problem with our water pump.  It leaks, something about a valve not shutting off.  The pump is way in there.

Not easy to replace the pump due to its location.

Fortunately we always carry a spare.

We found a mobile RV tech with available time to come out a few hours later.   Young muscles were needed to deal with the exchange of pumps.

Not an easy task as he had to take off the entire fibreglass panel in order to reach the pump.  To the left of his left hand are the black and grey tanks.

It was a good thing that we opened up that area, as there was this large mouse nest that needed to be cleaned out.  No apparent mouse damage was found.

The new pump is in.

Before closing it all in again.  Normally we would not have had to do this as long as we stayed in an RV Park. But because we would be dry camping next week we could not have the water pump draining our water tank by leaking.  Our water tank is the white one on the right.

Our last Las Vegas sunset.

I did manage to get my runners looking almost new again.  It certainly was a good thing that I got them stretched three times before we left.  I can’t wear them more than three hours without a break but at least I am wearing closed toes shoes which have enabled me to do things I would otherwise have been unable to do.

Colin tried at my insistence to do a lens restore.  Others like George do it all the time.  This is the before.

Sadly the after does not look any different.  He thinks that needs to get a coarser sand paper or ???  He will have to do some further research.

We had Eric install a fridge fan for us last winter.  It worked great but the last week I have had a large build of ice over and over.  The fan had died.  We don’t think it was an RV fan but perhaps a computer fan.

Does anyone have an idea what might have caused the paint to go like this?

Because of the windows we think it is a newer model 5th wheel.  They winter in Mesa.  Sandstorm??

This 5th wheel has an unusual side patio.

Now that is a toy hauler.  The RV/truck is beside it.

The park is amazing.  After a quick stop at the impressive visitor center we headed directly to what the ranger referred to as the most difficult hike of the two we asked about.

We were starting with the Fire Wave. It was early in the morning and with a light breeze it was perfect timing.   This is the desert area and there are signs all over saying that today the heat danger was low.

It would later reach 23C/74F with no shade.  I love the poles.  It did not take long to get used to them.

I certainly relied on them for balance and support.

I would have been unable to walk along here without the poles.

The photos speak for themselves.

A small natural arch.

By now the sun was overhead and we could feel the heat, especially standing in this white sand at the beginning of the White Domes Trail.  The heat reflecting off the sand made it feel very hot plus the breeze was gone.  The sand was deep enough in areas that it came over the top of my shoes and even between my socks and my feet.  I am holding the pole on the left up with no weight.  The pole on the right has my weight on it.  That little tip on the end is called a mud basket and it is to prevent you from sinking.  It works even though I had them on upside down:)

Getting through the 1/4 of a mile in this deep sand in the heat was grueling.

Colin went ahead as he was worried about me.   At the end of the sand was a straight decent and then many large boulders as the trail continued down.  What goes down must come up and that put an end to the White Domes hike for this day.  We had to slog back uphill through the sand and that really was enough for me.  Next time it will be an early morning hike when I am fresh.

So many places where you are able to stop and take photos along the road. We also did the Fire Canyon Road.

Rainbow Vista was a nice stroll, again in the sand but not so deep as at White Domes.  The sand is red along here.

Finally, a selfie.

Our next stop was at Mouse’s Tank, so named for an outlaw who used the area as a hideout in the 1890’s.  Mouse’s Tank is a natural basin in the rock where water collects after rainfalls.  We did see water in the tank.  The trail is not too bad but has a few high steps up and then down.  I did need Colin to steady me twice further along.

Along the trail are numerous prehistoric petroglyphs.  However it is up to you to stop and spot them.  We saw several people just dashing along and not taking the time to stop and look up and around.

Some where more complex than others.

Perhaps done at a later time than these were.

The short 1/4 mile hike to see Elephant Rock was straight up.  Again I fully relied on my poles.

We had read that the best way to see Elephant Rock was to climb up and around back of the rock.  Colin did so.  Can you see the elephant now?  That is me down there under his trunk.

Can you see Colin in the photo?

Once again another lovely sunset.