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.

1966 Italian Motorcycle made for SEARS

Road sign for the "Grapes of Wrath" display 

I'm happy! Really! I am!

I'm even happier here!

Alone on "The Mother Road".
Well not really alone. Someone had to take the photo.

"Cool Springs" Station

Remnants of "Ed's Camp"

I told you there were stairs!

SEE! A JACKASS!

My FLAMED Dollar Bill

Road Trip to Arizona - Day 3 - Route 66 part 1

As the title says, this days writing has been broken up into two parts. I have so much to talk about, that I didn't want to have such a long reading. And, I didn't want to cut some things out of it either. So please read on, then check out part 2.

After having a good nights rest, we got up and headed downstairs for breakfast. Then we were off to check out Kingman. We left the hotel, hit the highway, and today was a little like the previous day. Only with more rain. But hit 68 and we headed East anyways to make the best of it. As we were on our way, we drove through Golden Valley. This place is pretty wide spread, but the only thing that caught my eyes was a place on the North side of the highway that was full of classic Ford trucks. I wanted to stop and get a shot, but I wasn't able to. Oh Well! Then we came up and over the crest on the East end of the valley and hit Highway 93 and dropped in to Kingman. Once off the highway, I decided that I wanted to just drive down through to see what I would want to stop in and check out. So we headed down Beale Street, made a quick right, then a quick left and we were on Old Route 66.

As I drove and looked around, I was pretty much amazed at how many old buildings were still there. After the first turn off of Beale Street, there was the Old Power House, and Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner. Then we turned left and headed up 66. While driving, I was looking around, and while seeing the old Hotel Beale, the Arcadia Lounge & Lodge, as well as many other buildings, my mind got to wondering about how it must have been when the Mother Road was "The" road to be traveling. It was pretty cool to see these old places, but I was amazed actually by how they weren't being kept up. Yeah the Arcadia was still being used, but it would be nice to see it in better condition. The Hotel Beale had obviously seen much much better days. For a town that is part of the history of Old Route 66, I think it would be nice if they would find some way to preserve these buildings. The one that was very nicely restored though, was the Old Power House. More about that further down in the read.

So I kept driving and was getting a little far out of town, or so it seemed we were far out of town. So I turned around and headed back into town. But, as usual, I had seen somewhere that I just needed to stop. First was a  yard that had a few cool old items that caught my eye. So I pulled off the road and had my wife take a few shots with my iPhone. There was an old dirt bike with a side car that looked like it had been raced hard at some point. The motor wasn't even with the bike anymore. Then there was a cool old small tractor that also looked to have seen better days. But the one thing that really stood out, an old Quarter Midget Race Car. Now this was something that I would have loved to have seen if it was for sale. But not on this trip. Oh Well!

After having a look at the yard full of cool stuff and getting a few shots, I drove off. Then after a short drive I pulled into an antique shop. Middle Of The Road Antiques. As much as my wife hates it when I like to go walk through antique shops, I still stopped. Besides, my father like to hit them too, and I felt it was time to get us all out of the car for a few minutes. So we got out of the the car, in the rain, and walked in. As we walked in the door, sitting just a few feet away was a beautiful Ford Pickup. Yeah! That's what I said. It was inside the store. Then I started hitting the booths to see what I could find that wouldn't break the bank. So I kept it to a few small items. First I had seen a few items in a counter case, but decided not to get them. Then I found some records. I started going through them and found one I just had to have. Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, "Me and Jerry". It has an old Ford Convertible on the cover. This is now in my collection of records that I have with cars on the covers. They get framed and then hung on my office wall. Then I found a couple of old 45 RPM records. So I kept looking and then I came to find a Ferrari Pin in a case. So I had to have that. Then I kept looking, found a few maybe items, but then found an old post card of the old novel "Go, Mam, Go!" with some cool Hot Rod art. Then I kept looking, found a few more maybe items, but I decided to just get the few items I had. I paid for them and talked with the lady at the register about some Moon Disc wheel covers that I was curious about. And of course, Not For Sale. Dang It! So we left and headed back down 66 to the Old Power House Museum. The adventure continues!

Ford Pickup at "Middle of the Road" Antiques

Me and Jerry
Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
This will be on my office wall soon.

45's for my collection
It was rotated, but this is how it loaded up.

Postcard
Had to have it!

Lapel/Hat Pin
Another one for the collection

Road Trip to Arizona - Day 2 - Lake Havasu City

The day started out a little on the mellow side. We got up around 9:00am and got ready, then hit the hotel buffet for breakfast. We then left and headed South to Lake Havasu City to visit with my parents. We had not had any opportunities to get to visit them since they moved there, so we made sure to do so on this trip.

Looking North-East on Interstate 40

After checking directions on my phone, we headed out across the river to Bullhead City and drive down from there. What a mistake that turned out to be. If we had only known it was a much slower drive, we would have made the drive down on the California side where there is only a few traffic lights, and these were just south of the Casinos, with nothing until you get to Needles. Yeah the speed limit was only 55, but, I would rather drive than sit at traffic lights. Our drive down ended up taking about 2 hours. If we had gone the other way, we could have cut out at least 30 minutes.

Anyways! We got through the traffic lights, down to Interstate 40, and headed East. Since the drive to Laughlin was quite long, I never did pull off the highway to get any photos of Historic Route 66. So, I found a chance to get it done and pulled off. I asked my wife to take a pic of me with a road sign. The weather was a little on the bad side, so my wife took the shot out the open car window. Then I grabbed it took a shot of the sign itself.  Then we were back on the road.

Under the sign!
Yes my wife didn't realize
her finger was in the way

After a short drive, we made our exit onto Highway 95. Then we made it to Lake Havasu City. I got to my parents place, and, they were not at home. So I called them, and they had been in town and would be heading home in a few minutes. Well that few minutes ended up being about 30 minutes. Possible longer. They finally got home and since we were all hungry, I asked my father to decide where to go. 5 minutes later we were at a place called Rusty's. My parents said they come here quite a lot. The place was very clean and the waitress was very friendly. I knew then why they came here. We got our order, which was actually pretty decent. Then I stepped away from the table for a few minutes, and when I returned, my wife had mentioned that she invited my parents to come with us to Kingman, as well as the Grand Canyon. You would think I would have been a little upset about it, but since I don't get to visit with them as often as I used to, I was okay with it. But, we then had to get another room at the hotel for the to stay. So back on my phone I went to check room availability via Hotel.com. First I had to download the ap to my iPhone. Once that was completed, we checked for a room. However I had to wait to complete the transaction due to issues I wasn't able to deal with at the moment. So we finished up our meal and headed over to the "London Bridge" since my wife had wanted to check it out.

Entrance to London Bridge

London Bridge

We arrived, parked and walked into the visitors center. After about 10 minutes of looking around, we walked out to the river walk under the bridge. My wife was hoping that there were some English Style shops, but was dissappointed when we got there and as it turns out, there are none to be found. So we made the best of it. We took a few photos, then went back to my parents place. Once we got back to their house, I got the reservations completed so they could get things together and follow us up.While my mother was gathering their things, my father and I made a run to the local Safeway supermarket to grab a prescription that he had forgot to grab when he was at his appointment earlier in the day. On the way, my father also needed to go to th bank. So, while he was at the bank, I hit the Big Lots in the shopping center to see if they had any Hot Wheels. As luck would have it, they did. I ended up finding an error. To top it off, it was a Ferrari. So this find will stay in with my collection. After that we got his prescription and headed back to the house to finish up. 30 minutes or so later, we were on the road. But, my mother forgot her purse at the house. Fortunately, we were just around the corner when she realized she had forgotten it. So my wife and waited until they came back. After sitting on the side of the road, and freaking out a gentleman that just arrived home, because we pulled over in front of his house, I saw a road runner crossing the road up ahead. I hadn't seen one in probably 20 or more years, so I pulled forward to show it to my wife. It was kind of cool to see one again. MEEP! MEEP!

Desert Storm

My parents returned after about 10 minutes, and back on the road we were. As we headed out on highway 95, it started to rain. Yay! We're on vacation and it's raining. No big deal though. It wasn't to bad. But, the smell of the desert during a storm is definitely something I was enjoying. It may be the only thing I actually miss from the time I lived in the high desert here in California. Well that, and chasing the reptiles around to catch them. Anyway, we took it easy on the way back due to the weather, and after about an hour and 30 minutes, we were back at the hotel. So I checked in again, and we got everything into their room. We relaxed for a few minutes and then went back down for dinner. After that it was time for bed. We had a day of Route 66 touring to complete. But that happens tomorrow. THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES!