An Auto Enthusiasts Life: Road Trip to Arizona - Day 3

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Road Trip to Arizona - Day 3 - Route 66 part 2

So the adventure does continue! Well it did the weekend it actually took place. Anyways, After leaving Middle of the Road Antiques, we ended up stopping at the Old Powerhouse Museum. This is one one the cool old buildings that has actually been restored. But it also has the Museum on the upper floor. There is a theater downstairs, and it also hosts the "Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona".

Me! Outside The Powerhouse

With the rain coming down pretty good at this point of the day, it was nice to get indoors. We got to the Powerhouse and relaxed for at least an hour. We went upstairs and walked through the museum. One of the exhibits that really stood out was the set up of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". It included an old Flat Bed truck, a good amount of photos of the day, as well as large pages from the book that talk about the life of those that traveled old Route 66. Besides the "Grapes" display, there were also a few store front displays, and a very cool wall mural. Oh yeah! There is an old Philips 66 pump, a large Chevron sign, Texaco sign, and the 1 sign that I really was attracted to was the old rusted road sign at the end of the "Grapes" display. There is also a Studebaker, and an Classic Sears motorcycle that was originally built in Italy. Well after I had my wife take several pictures of me in the museum, we went back down stairs and I just had to grab some memorabilia. So I grabbed a couple of patches, some postcards, a decal, and of course, a T-Shirt. Once we were done, we went outside and the rain was even worse than it was when we went inside. So, while my wife and parents ran to get in the car, I stopped and took a couple more photos. Then we were on our way again.

So we left the Old Powerhouse and headed West on Route 66. After a few miles I had to stop and make a U-turn to grab more photos. I had come upon a cool lot full of classics that are for sale. I took a bunch of photos with my iPhone and then back down 66 we went. Then again I noticed something I had actually seen before. Not in person, but on American Restoration. There it was! The yellow Volkswagen Bus sitting on top of the building at a auto recycling yard. But, I didn't get to stop. I kept on going West on 66. Then after a couple of turns, we came to a Historic Route 66 sign. So of course I just had to stop and get a picture with the sign. So I got it! Then off again down the highway. And yet again after a few miles we came upon a different Route 66 sign. And yes, I stopped for another photo. Then again, we took off on the highway. After driving actually for several miles, we stopped for some desert shots. We spent about 5-10 minutes taking photos, then we took off again.

While enjoying the beautiful scenery on a rainy day, we came to a place that was suggested as a stop by a gentleman at Middle of the Road Antiques. This place was Route 66 history, but has been completely rebuilt on it original foundation. This place, the old Cool Springs Station. So I stopped to check it out, and of course I spent some time admiring the place and taking my photos of the exterior. The old gas pumps, the Flying Pegasus sign, and all the decals that are on the entry door glass. The details are what I was checking out, more than the building itself. The I walked in the door. The man at the counter was on the phone, which is expected when you're this far away from town. So I just went on to check everything out. There was the usual Route 66 items, but then I looked up. The wall is plastered with some sweet Rolling Stones Records. There must have been at least 50 records on the walls. Besides the Stones records, there is some cool Automobilia for sale. Including pieces of the Mother Road. Of course I had to have my piece. For a cheap $5.00, I just couldn't resist. Besides the asphalt, I also picked up a hat pin, another patch, and a postcard of the old Cool Springs Station.

Be sure to drop a donation for "NEDLEY"

While at the counter, I noticed a donation box. on the box was of course a detailed explanation of what the donations are to be used for. Well, it is for food for "Nedley" and his gang. Who's "Nedley"? Well Nedley and his gang are the local Road Runners. They have a photo on the counter showing Nedley eating from the owners hands. Well I just had to do my part and make a small donation. Hey! Nedley and his gang needs to eat right. Anyways! We finally got out the door and kept driving West. Then I saw a the what is left of "Ed's Place". I stopped, yet again, and took a couple of photos. Looking around though got me thinking again as to how cool this place was in its prime. Yes it's in the middle of the desert, but it is on Route 66. This had to have been a cool place back in the day. Then I jumped back in the car for more driving. But, 50 yards up the road, on a curve, was a tractor trailer that was pretty much stuck there for a while. On the other side were 2 Arizona Sheriffs vehicles. And, on the curve, the driver didn't make a wide enough judgement and one of his wheels was blown out by the sharp boulders that are on the roads edge. So the officers were sitting there waiting. Not sure how long they had already been there, but the were still going to be there for a bit longer.

Me! Inside The Powerhouse

So we kept going up the winding road to towards the top of the mountain, and then we saw some people stopping on the inside of a curve. Wondering why I had to look. Then we all noticed that there were stairs in the side of the mountain. So of course I had to stop to see why the heck there are stairs, on the side of a mountain, in the middle of the desert. So we checked it out. They didn't go up to far, but at the top area, there was a deep pool of water. Come to find out, apparently some miners back in the day had built this pool into the side of the rock. not sure why, but it was there, full of water from the rain run off. I thought it was actually a cool thing to see, so I snapped a couple pics from the view looking East, as well as some of the pool. Then we were off again.

We got to the top of Sitgreaves Pass, and headed down the other side. After a few miles, we ran into the people that stopped at the stairs. One of them asked us to stop. So I did! Like any idiot in the middle of the desert would. Right? Anyways, he told us there is a young Desert Ram Horn that ran across the road. So we checked it out. It was cool to see. So, looking around, I noticed we were surrounded by mine property. So I grabbed a few photos, but, for some reason, I did a crappy shoot here. Oh Well! Then we jumped back in the car, all of us this time, and kept on going. After a bit of driving slow, lolly gaggin' at the scenery, taking more photos of the old run down rock houses in the area, we finally made it Oatman. A town full of Jackasses! Really! This place is known for having jackasses running through the town. The minors left them behind back in the day, and now there quite a lot still here. See the 9th pic below!

After getting through a few mules, I found a place to park. So we got out and checked out a few of the stores. But, at this time of the day, we were very hungry. So we went inside the OLD OATMAN HOTEL. Inside this place is a well known place to eat. When heading in the door, to the left you can grab some ice cream. And, to the right, some history of what this hotel is famous for. Mostly for when Clark Gable and Carol Lombard had stayed here for their honeymoon. Mr Gable also used to come back to get away from the craziness of Old Hollywood for some time of solitude. Imagine being one of the miners back then that used to play cards with him. Very Cool! Anyways, also to the right is the door to get into the bar and the restaurant. You walk through the door, and HELLO! this place is full of money. Bills all over the walls, the ceilings, doorways, anywhere you can put it. Tourists have been leaving their bills here for nearly a hundred years. So we walked through to our seat, and I started checking them out. Mostly U.S. bills, but then you would occasionally come upon some foreign bills as well. Then looking where those that left their bills were from, you would see Canada, Italy, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, and many more places. I thought this was pretty cool, so of course, I had to leave one too. So I asked for the Sharpie and the staple gun. I drew one of my favorite automotive icons on the bill. FLAMES! Then put our names and date on the bill, and stapled it to the wall. Oh yeah! We ate too! No complaints about the food. I was too hungry to care. Then I grabbed some shots around the place, and headed out the door.

After leaving the Oatman Hotel, we did what most tourists would do in this place. I pulled out the camera and took more photos. I got my shot with a mule, took a shot of my wife in the pine box playing dead, and looked around for some small details in areas that others don't look. But I couldn't go too far though. I didn't want to go where I wasn't supposed to be, Especially since people still live here. About this time too, it was getting late and we needed to head out to get back to Laughlin and get our rest for the next day. So we headed out, a bit tired from this long, fun and exciting day.