March 20th – March 22, 2023
Left camp and took the direction of Lake Havasu and joined Route 66 at Topock.
This is the only portion of the old original Route 66 that goes through mountains (Black Mountains range). It was the original Old Trails Highway that paralleled the Beale military road from 1857, and became Route 66 in 1926.
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 or “The Mother Road” was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926. The highway quickly became a popular route because of the active promotion of the U.S 66 Highway Association, which advertised it as “the shortest, best and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles.
Although it is no longer possible to drive US 66 uninterrupted all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, much of the original route and alternate alignments are still drivable with careful planning.
We stopped at Oatman ( elevation 2,700 feet), old mining town, retaining its charm despite the obvious touristy shops. In 1930, it was estimated that 36 million dollars worth of gold had been mined around Oatman. The town boasted two banks, seven hotels, twenty saloons and ten stores. There were over 10,000 people living in Oatman area.
Oatman’s famous “Wild” Burros (donkeys)that wander the streets are the descendants of burros brought here by the miners, and when no longer needed were turned loose.
We drove on and found a nice camping spot, surrounded by flowers.
Next morning we stopped at Cool Springs Station, the site of an original coach road stop and the last place where you could get water before crossing the Mohave desert on the way to California.
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We drove on to Kingman and on to the famous Hoover Dam.
Hoover Dam was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It is a concrete arch-gravity dam ( a dam that resists the thrust of water by its weight using the force of gravity) in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. The dam’s generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
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We spent the night at a campsite on Lake Mead and drove on to the Valley of Fire State Park the next day. The park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago and which appear as though it is on fire, especially at sunset. It covers an area of 185 square km and the main attractions can be done in one day.
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