Looking over the images from our Route 66 adventure in July 2010 when we drove 4,437 miles of the Mother Road from Joplin, Missouri thru Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (a side trip to Hoover Dam and Las Vegas in Nevada) and finally reached pier Santa Monica, California, makes me want to start packing to get "on the road again"!
This morning, it was in the low 40s when I left the house for an appointment with a career and employment counselor. After the meeting, I walked over to the library and then to class to get ready for the presentation. My classmate almost did not recognize me when we walked into the building together because I had the fleece hood and scarf wrapped around my face trying to keep warm.
It is supposed to get colder this evening and we might even get a few flurries. The temperature was 116 when we were in Oatman, Arizona. Perhaps looking at these photos will help
keep me warm and less depressed!
Oatman, Arizona is an old rough and tumble mining camp from 1915 to 1941. It is hard to believe that back in its glory days, the town had two banks, seven hotels, twenty saloons and over 40,000 residents. Since 1960s, the town became a Living Ghost Town with wild burros roaming and begging for food from tourists. We noticed that most of the burros just stood in front of the shop and wait for visitors to feed them. We did not see any re-enactment of "Wildwest" gunfights. The current population is less than 100 people, mostly owners of shops that catering to tourists.
Back in 1939, this Oatman Hotel was a grand palace that was good enough for Clark Gable (Rhett Butler) and Carole Lombard (not Scarlett O'Hara) to make it a honeymoon stop after their wedding in Kingman. Of all the hotels from those hay days, this is the only place still in operation. There are about 40 gift, antique, souvenirs and native American craft shops, restaurants, saloons, and old time photo shops, lining both sides of the streets. Of all the towns on Route 66, I must say that Oatman is most interesting. We will be sure to stop by again on our next road trip and stay a day or two instead of just passing thru.
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