May 26 321 miles . Lots of old Route 66 made for a long but enjoyable drive . We're finally in Barstow,CA at an unassuming Travelodge. You know the type - says "No Smoking" on the door but the previous 20 years of use smell otherwise.
Started the day with another nice breakfast at the Southwest Grille then retraced our way back across some mountain ridges and into the desert going down hiway 93 some 75 miles to Kingman to rejoin Route 66.
Not far outside Kingman the old Route 66 heads up Sitgreaves Pass through the Black Mountains. During the dust bowl years this was a feared passage. After nursing their vehicles across many miles, they now had the daunting task of asking those vehicles to climb a steep twisting narrow road with shear cliffs in the cold of winter or sweltering heat of summer. A stop just part way up at Cool Springs was a welcome sight for many as it offered the only available water for miles around. The building had fallen into ruins until a man bought the property in 2001 and rebuilt it to preserve the history of the store. And as an added bonus there's wild donkeys that roam these mountains.
From there it was further through the mountains to Oatman. It had all but become a ghost town when the interstate opened but has a rich history. During the early 1900's up until the start of WWII it was a very successful gold mining town. The $36 million in gold pulled from the mines during WWI are said to have been a key source of funds for that war effort. But the gold paid out and the main route got moved and the town pretty much died. When the mines closed the donkeys that worked in them were turned loose and have prospered in this rugged terrain. They become another hazard to this already tough stretch of road as they'll be standing in the road as you come around a blind bend. In Oatman they have become accustomed to the tourists (and their handouts) so walk freely through the town which now embraces the donkeys and their "ghost town" history. Oatman was named as a tribute to Olive Oatman. While her family was traveling west in 1851 most of her family were massacred by Indians. She was held captive and traded as a slave to several different tribes before finally settling in with the Mojave tribe and being accepted by them. So much so that her chin was tattooed in their style. She was eventually found by her brother who had been left for dead in the massacre and returned to a celebrated life in white society.
Finally got down off the Black Mountain successfully. Crossed over the Colorado River into California. Next came the long trek across the Mojave Desert. Long stretches of the old route going through pretty inhospitable land. Not many cars out here and very limited services spread far apart. This is true desert. Temperature hit 102. Plenty of sand and dead brush. One bit of interest out here in the middle of nowhere is the Bagdad Cafe. Made famous in the 1988 cult classic movie of the same name. I'll need to watch it one of these days.
It was a long run today but finally made it to Barstow. CA. This has always been a big railroad town shared by Union Pacific trains headed to Kansas and Santa Fe ones headed to Chicago. Still has a huge railyard in use today.
