One more day to finish off Route 66 and I was hoping to get
back to Flagstaff early enough to hit the gym and take a nice shower and get to
bed early.
I also didn’t want to miss
out on anything too major on Route 66.
But Needles is only 3 hours away from Flagstaff on the expressway and
Needles to Kingman is only 1 hour on the expressway.
Figured I’d take the Route 66 portion to
Kingman and take the expressway from there.
I’d already done all the Route 66 stuff between Kingman and Flagstaff,
so I can make up some time.
Needles had
a number of list items I was able to take care of pretty early.
There were a few things around the
California/Arizona border and Colorado River.
Route 66 lead me through the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge and I got
some great pictures of the Colorado River and wild donkeys.
Apparently, there are bighorn sheep here and
I might come back and spend a few days looking for interesting wildlife.
The drive through the Refuge was really
beautiful and I loved taking photos of the Teddy-bear Cholla cactus which stood
out and played off the light in an interesting way.
After an hour or so through the Refuge I
landed in Oatman, AZ.
Oatman is an old
mining town that is now famous for its wild donkey’s.
The downtown area is pretty small and most of
it is pretty modern, due to a fire in 1921 that burned down everything except
the Oatman Hotel, and a few other buildings separate from the main strip such
as the post office and lumber company (both gift shops now).
The town was built to support the gold mining
industry from 1863-1924.
The donkeys
were all brought to the area by prospectors to help with mining and
hauling.
When the mining closed up, the
donkeys were no longer needed and released into the wild.
The current donkeys are the offspring of the
original donkeys.
Many of the donkey’s
live in the wild but a small percentage hang out in the towns center and beg
for handouts from tourists.
Most of the
gift shops sell brown bags of alpha-alpha nuggets to feed the donkeys.
When I was there, there were a number of baby
donkeys under 6 months old.
When the
babies are still nursing, they have stickers on their head stating not to feed
them.
Around 6 months old, they are able
to chew the nuggets without choking or other problems.
The road from Oatman to Kingman I figured would be smooth
and quick.
It wasn’t that far away.
I was very wrong.
The drive went through mountains and mining
areas and there wasn’t a direct line anywhere.
Due to recent rock falls, there were huge rocks littering the road
through the area.
I found a number of
old Route 66 stops that have been saved and refurbished, but I didn’t stop at
any for anything except photos.
Finally,
I hit Kingman and my Route 66 journey was officially over.
One more day to finish off Route 66 and I was hoping to get
back to Flagstaff early enough to hit the gym and take a nice shower and get to
bed early. I also didn’t want to miss
out on anything too major on Route 66.
But Needles is only 3 hours away from Flagstaff on the expressway and
Needles to Kingman is only 1 hour on the expressway. Figured I’d take the Route 66 portion to
Kingman and take the expressway from there.
I’d already done all the Route 66 stuff between Kingman and Flagstaff,
so I can make up some time. Needles had
a number of list items I was able to take care of pretty early. There were a few things around the
California/Arizona border and Colorado River.
Route 66 lead me through the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge and I got
some great pictures of the Colorado River and wild donkeys. Apparently, there are bighorn sheep here and
I might come back and spend a few days looking for interesting wildlife. The drive through the Refuge was really
beautiful and I loved taking photos of the Teddy-bear Cholla cactus which stood
out and played off the light in an interesting way. After an hour or so through the Refuge I
landed in Oatman, AZ. Oatman is an old
mining town that is now famous for its wild donkey’s. The downtown area is pretty small and most of
it is pretty modern, due to a fire in 1921 that burned down everything except
the Oatman Hotel, and a few other buildings separate from the main strip such
as the post office and lumber company (both gift shops now). The town was built to support the gold mining
industry from 1863-1924. The donkeys
were all brought to the area by prospectors to help with mining and
hauling. When the mining closed up, the
donkeys were no longer needed and released into the wild. The current donkeys are the offspring of the
original donkeys. Many of the donkey’s
live in the wild but a small percentage hang out in the towns center and beg
for handouts from tourists. Most of the
gift shops sell brown bags of alpha-alpha nuggets to feed the donkeys. When I was there, there were a number of baby
donkeys under 6 months old. When the
babies are still nursing, they have stickers on their head stating not to feed
them. Around 6 months old, they are able
to chew the nuggets without choking or other problems.
The road from Oatman to Kingman I figured would be smooth
and quick. It wasn’t that far away. I was very wrong. The drive went through mountains and mining
areas and there wasn’t a direct line anywhere.
Due to recent rock falls, there were huge rocks littering the road
through the area. I found a number of
old Route 66 stops that have been saved and refurbished, but I didn’t stop at
any for anything except photos. Finally,
I hit Kingman and my Route 66 journey was officially over.
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