Kingman, AZ - February 18, 2020
Ended up at a hotel last night. I figured out I could get a cheap room for the same price as me sitting at Chili's for 8 hours drinking margaritas would be. So I hit Dollar Tree for some cheap microwavable food and booked a cheap room Kingman has lots and lots of hotels and its off season. Slept in a bit and enjoyed a standard hotel breakfast. Met a gentleman who previously traveled for business quite a bit and we exchanged stories for awhile. I got my car loaded up and off to the two things on my list for the morning: Historic Bonnelli House and Kingman Powerhouse Museum.
I started at the Bonnelli House since they had the weirdest hours. It was a guided tour and when I showed up there was a sign on the door that said "Tour in Progress, please wait on porch". So I waited. I walked around the house and took photos. I sat on the porch. I got cold. So I waited in my car. Two people came out of the house and I asked them if the current tour had ended, and they said it had. We made a little small talk and I went in. I debated about waiting until the sign was switched, but I didn't want to wait if the guide forgot to switch it. So I went in The door was immediately blocked and a guy told me to get out. I was really surprised by the abruptness and I said I just talked to the couple leaving and they said the tour had ended. He said 'Not yet, get out'. So I got out, got in my car and left. Fuck him. Originally it wasn't on my list of things to do but went because it was recommended by the Mojave Museum of History and Arts. Needless to say, I'm not recommending it.
Next on the list was the Kingman Powerhouse Museum and Visitors Center. This was another real well done museum. They obviously had a lot of funding and space. Its primary focus was Route 66 and the exhibits were well designed and I spent a lot of time reading the wells. I loved the personal memoirs written by people that traveled Route 66 in its prime. At the end of the Route 66 section was a small section designated to electric cars. There are so many Route 66 museums along the route and many of them are free. I was hesitant to pay money to see the same old stuff. I justified it when I realized that if I did the History Museum, I got a voucher to do the Powerhouse Museum for free. These two museums ended up being two of my favorites along the route. Well worth the hours I spent there.
It was still early in the day and I needed to determine if I was going to spend the night in Kingman for a 3rd night or if I was going to work my way to Needles. I'd driven the route before and was looking forward to it. The drive from Kingman to Needles along Route 66 is one of the most beautiful I'd seen on Route 66. I figured the milage vs my slow driving added a dozen stops for photo taking and burro petting and decided to drive to Needles.
The drive was even prettier than I remembered. I stopped for a short time in Oatman where a couple of burros tried to shake me down for alpha alpha. I enjoyed the journey.
Got to Needles early enough to enjoy some dinner at the Giggling Cactus. Had a lovely soup and salad and a couple of beers. Slept in the same parking lot I'd slept in the last time I drove through this area. Lots of Criminal Minds on the Amazon Fire and a good night sleep.
I started at the Bonnelli House since they had the weirdest hours. It was a guided tour and when I showed up there was a sign on the door that said "Tour in Progress, please wait on porch". So I waited. I walked around the house and took photos. I sat on the porch. I got cold. So I waited in my car. Two people came out of the house and I asked them if the current tour had ended, and they said it had. We made a little small talk and I went in. I debated about waiting until the sign was switched, but I didn't want to wait if the guide forgot to switch it. So I went in The door was immediately blocked and a guy told me to get out. I was really surprised by the abruptness and I said I just talked to the couple leaving and they said the tour had ended. He said 'Not yet, get out'. So I got out, got in my car and left. Fuck him. Originally it wasn't on my list of things to do but went because it was recommended by the Mojave Museum of History and Arts. Needless to say, I'm not recommending it.
Next on the list was the Kingman Powerhouse Museum and Visitors Center. This was another real well done museum. They obviously had a lot of funding and space. Its primary focus was Route 66 and the exhibits were well designed and I spent a lot of time reading the wells. I loved the personal memoirs written by people that traveled Route 66 in its prime. At the end of the Route 66 section was a small section designated to electric cars. There are so many Route 66 museums along the route and many of them are free. I was hesitant to pay money to see the same old stuff. I justified it when I realized that if I did the History Museum, I got a voucher to do the Powerhouse Museum for free. These two museums ended up being two of my favorites along the route. Well worth the hours I spent there.
It was still early in the day and I needed to determine if I was going to spend the night in Kingman for a 3rd night or if I was going to work my way to Needles. I'd driven the route before and was looking forward to it. The drive from Kingman to Needles along Route 66 is one of the most beautiful I'd seen on Route 66. I figured the milage vs my slow driving added a dozen stops for photo taking and burro petting and decided to drive to Needles.
The drive was even prettier than I remembered. I stopped for a short time in Oatman where a couple of burros tried to shake me down for alpha alpha. I enjoyed the journey.
Got to Needles early enough to enjoy some dinner at the Giggling Cactus. Had a lovely soup and salad and a couple of beers. Slept in the same parking lot I'd slept in the last time I drove through this area. Lots of Criminal Minds on the Amazon Fire and a good night sleep.
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