It is also on the old Historic Route 66.
The road to Oatman starts out on the desert and quickly the scenery becomes impressive. There are a couple of old (very old) points of interest along the way.
Cool Springs, which sits between the edge of the highway blacktop and the lip of a cliff, now consists of only one building where you can buy a Coke and off to the side, an outhouse. (Forgive me for not photographing that!)
Then there was Ed’s Camp. I don’t know what to say about that place. It pretty much defies description, except to say, there was actually somebody living there. I have no idea why!
Route 66, if you will remember, was the main road across the country. It was an incredible piece of highway, very narrow, extremely twisty, and there were no guard rails anywhere along the route…
…no matter how high the road or how deep the canyon…
We found a turn off at one point that wound up being a very unusual stop.
This place was high on a cliff off a hairpin curve in the road. It was not visible from the highway. I walked a short distance to the edge of the cliff intending to take a picture of the valley. When I glanced down the steep hillside slope, I found what at first I thought was a cemetery.
However, apparently the numerous crosses that are here are memorials. It is sort of a strange place as it is pretty inaccessible, but it does overlook the valley and is just a couple miles from Oatman.
It is hard to tell from these pictures, but this is a very steep downhill grade. I wouldn’t walk down to where the crosses were. Don checked out a few of them as he is more sure footed than I am.
Next, we passed Goldroad Gold Mine. This is an old mine that has been there many, many years and produced a lot of gold in the past.
However, in recent years, when the price of gold dropped, it was closed. Needless to say, at the current gold price, it is once again actively producing gold. (Sadly, no tours or free samples were available.)
…and a note of caution about folks packing heat, just in case you were wondering…
Stores and shops in town were authentic and original with just enough updating to keep them from falling down.
Sidewalks were either boardwalks or uneven broken rock. This spot involved “sucking it in” to avoid getting stuck by cactus thorns that overhung the walkway.
The Oatman Hotel is actually a rather famous place.
It seems that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon in this hotel and would return periodically for romantic get-aways.
Clark Gable would also play cards with the miners. The actual Honeymoon Suite was currently under renovation, so we did not get to see it.
The bar in the hotel is completely covered with one-dollar bills. There is literally thousands of dollars stuck to the walls.
Most are autographed or have notes handwritten on them. The bills are all still very spendable. I don’t think any excuse to touch them would be acceptable...remember, they carry guns here, so I guess the cash is safe.
One of the biggest attractions in Oatman arrives on four legs and pretty much takes over the town…
…Burros…lots of burros! They OWN Oatman! Just ask them! OK, they won’t answer, but if you watch them, you pretty much get your answer…
They totally ignore traffic…
… have no respect for the high-noon gun fights in the middle of the street…
…they don't bat an eye at the very loud gun shots…
…and they never miss the opportunity to shake down tourists for a snack.
There were two babies among the burros that visited town that day, one white one and one grey one. Babies are fuzzy little guys, especially on their foreheads.
The little grey baby got either tired, or bored and decided to take a nap by just laying down on the sidewalk. Mom stood close by and kept an eye on him as people walked around him. A store-keeper told me that this is a common sight.
The burros come into Oatman every day. Watching them was a lot of fun.
When we got back to Kingman, we went to a Route 66 Museum. Another museum close by had a great mural on the building (a little different than the murals at Chloride!)
In the Route 66 Museum was a display associated with the Ernest Hemingway book, Grapes of Wrath, because many of those who traveled the highway back then were part of that movement of desperation.
These pictures showed what the movement looked like at that point in time. It was rather disturbing, actually to get a hint of what these people went through…
On a lighter note, a display of old Burma Shave signs and rhyming sayings brought back fun memories.
This old Studebaker also brought back memories…note the window air conditioner.
If I remember correctly, and that means going back a long, long time, it was called a “Vornado.” And if that’s not right, it is probably because I was just too young to remember it correctly.
I certainly hope you are buying off on my excuse…it was the best I could come up with.
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