This morning, we explored Route 66 in Kingman, AZ and got our passports stamped at the Powerhouse Visitor’s center. While there, we met a guy from Brazil who was traveling 66 from San Diego to Chicago and then back to San Diego. Hardcore! He asked us to take a photo of him with his phone and we gave him our blog address. Hopefully, he visits us…he also had a blog but we didn’t get the info.
From Kingman, we headed west in search of Oatman. Oatman, AZ is an old mining town where wild burros (donkeys) roam freely in the streets. We were excited to see them but until we arrived in Oatman, we had no idea what we were in for! Read more about our Oatman expedition in our special post on Tuesday. 
We continued on the Old Route 66 all the way to the California border, stopping once in a while to see the older towns and take a couple photos. Some of these towns are so small and barren that if you blink, you will miss them. We stopped for lunch just on the border at the Topock Spa & Resort, which sits on a marina at the base of the Colorado River. We had our lunch and watched a pretty cool speed boat dock for a visit to the bar.
California! We reached the border just a minute after leaving the Topock resort. Setting our sights on Barstow for the night, we were able to find a pretty long stretch of the original Route 66 and we took in the surrounding landscape which again, can’t be justified with photos.
Driving the Mojave Dessert was a sight in itself. Mountain ranges way off in the distance and nothing but brown grass & bushes, some cacti, and the occasional palm tree. After a couple hours, we stopped in Ludlow, CA to let Lady T rest and use the facilities. Jazz left her sunglasses in the bathroom and they disappeared. They magically reappeared on some lady’s head that was just about to drive away. Luckily, I noticed and Jazz was able to get them back without any violence.
Apparently, there are strong beliefs in this area that there is a portal to interplanetary space travel. A man who was driving through Ludlow in 2010 witnessed some strange activity and started a website to inform people: alienalerts.com. Of course, Jasmine picked up a postcard with the web address. On the way back to Lady T, I had to break the news to her that we lost a wheel cover somewhere is the desert. She wasn’t happy but now a piece of Lady T will be on Route 66 forever!
We decided to get back on Route 66 and we wished we hadn’t. For about 15 miles, the road was so bad that we had to drive between 10-15 miles per hour. The only redeeming part of this was that we saw the beautiful sunset. We hopped on the freeway as soon as we could and stayed there until we got to Barstow.
Gas prices have been pretty decent all the way to California. We have been able to stay in the 3.21 – 3.49 range except for one or two occasions but immediately after we crossed the state line, we saw signs for $4.99 and one place in the middle of the Mojave Dessert was $5.24!!! I used the Gas Buddy App to locate a cheaper rate, which ended up being $3.99 at an AMCO station is Barstow.
Our home for the night is another Flying J/Pilot travel center. This one has lanes specifically for RV’s so hopefully it won’t be so noisy!
~J&J
Leave a Reply