“”””You’ll notice this post is a day late, for some reason it didn’t post, most likely operator error.”””””
We left Williams and continued our westward journey. We have been blessed the entire trip to not have hit any major traffic, that all changed this morning just outside of Seligman, AZ. A major accident at 2am caused I40 to be closed in both directions. This turned out to be a two-hour delay. The traffic report stated a tractor trailer had rolled over, they speculate the driver fell asleep, caught on fire and took out several power lines. This caused a townwide blackout in Seligman we would learn, once we finally made it there. At last report the driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and we were thankful to hear that. Once we were able to exit the highway, we got back on 66 and made a stop at the Copper Cart, a fun spot with lots to see. They were fortunate enough to have a generator, one of the few stores in the town with one. We took some pics and bought a couple of things and headed out.
Next up was Kingman, another of the recommended stops along the way. We decided to stop in have a bite to eat and shop a bit. We had a great lunch at the Siren Café, the folks were very friendly and the food was yummy. The only item we purchased during our shopping was a cookie (again, I’m going to gain 50lbs.), it was worth it! We also took some cute pictures of original spots long since abandoned, and lots more signs.
After Kingman, we entered Mohave County and headed towards Oatman. We stopped in at the Cool Springs Cabins and Gift shop. They have a sign and boast that they are the real Radiator Springs, another reference to the Disney Cars movie along our route. I guess Joey and I will have to watch that when we get home. I am sure the movie franchise has helped keep these areas of the route popular. They need to capitalize whenever they can!
While you’re at Cool Springs you notice a large sign which reads – “I survived Sidewinder” – this is your heads-up things are going to a turn, pun intended, 191 of them to be exact, it’s 8 miles of twists and turns and no guardrails to speak of. Oh, and to add to that, you must watch out for the wild burros who think they can just meander out in front of you at any time! My girl Clutch Cargo would have not been happy on this road! 😁 I took some videos and I’ll see if I can post them, just to give you a feel for it all. It was a treat for Joey, we know how he loves to drive challenging roads! Towards the end, it was comforting to see a car smashed into the side that most definitely came from above, NOT! We are hoping this was an intentional act, maybe trying to collect some insurance money, or maybe a scorned wife, hmmm???
After I checked my pants, we continued into Oatman. I have been looking forward to this stop; the town looks like it just came out of an old western. Many of the buildings are original and date back to the 1900’s, while they lost several during a fire in 1921, it stills has the charm and dirt from the old west. The walkways are old boards, just like you see in the movies, there’s a hotel, general store and what all good western towns have, a saloon. But the best part for me, they have wild burros🫏 roaming the streets and sometimes walking into stores. They were cute, a lot of places will sell food, and you can hand feed them. Of course you know I did. Periodically throughout the day a couple of cowboys stage a gunfight in the middle of the road. Traffic must stop and wait for the show to be over, we must be getting closer to Hollywood. We spent about an hour here walking around and taking it all in, including the smells…and I’ll leave it at that. 😩
We left Oatman and headed towards the last big stop before the end, Roy’s Motel and Café. This is not a functioning business, just a stop for a picture as the old building and sign are maintained, it is one of the iconic stops along the route.
Off to our final stop of the day in Barstow and then tomorrow we finish off the route. It’s a bittersweet night for us. On one hand it feels like we left a month ago, on the other hand it feels like yesterday. 😕
See you down the road.
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