Next day we did a bit of exploring around Victorville. Had a couple of postcards that I wanted to find out where they were taken from and take photos of what they look like today. We took some photos of Seventh Street from a couple of different angles. Then we drove out to Joe’s Café (now Peggy Sue’s) and took some more photos.

Our stomachs are growling now. We decide to try the new Kicks Kafe in the Greyhound/Amtrak station across from the museum. Very good food and reasonably priced. I had a turkey sandwich and Earl had tuna. They make their own bread, soups and salads. They also have some nice murals on the walls inside.

We’re now making our camp at the Desert View RV Resort in Needles. There is a modem hookup, but have to bother the owners in their residence to obtain it so won’t check email real frequent. I’m surprised at this since it is a new park. It’s right next door to the KOA. This morning we walked down the old road towards town. Our destination is the Old 66 Wayside Park and Nature Trail. It’s a great little rest area. The city has adopted it. The picnic tables have been painted and the nature trail has labeled plants along it. This park is off of the West Broadway exit, about .08 mile west from the off ramp. There is an old abandoned and boarded up drive-in on the right side and the park is just a bit from there, kind of behind it on the west side. It’s a nice leisurely walk and interesting to know the names of all the surrounding plants. We made sure to make lots of noise so as not to surprise any snakes that might by sunning.

Saturday we headed over to Laughlin NV for a car show. This was a ‘55, ‘56 & ‘57 Chevy only show. It was great! There were about a hundred cars. They looked so good. There were also quite a few Nomads there. Kewl! Played the slots a little, I won $50 and quit. Monday we woke up hungry and decided to head over to the Hungry Bear restaurant for a great, filling breakfast. The food was good, plentiful and reasonable. We weren’t sure where or what we were going to do for the rest of the day. We flipped a coin, heads we go west, and tails we go east. It was tails and we decided to cruise on up to Oatman. It was a beautiful day for this trip. We cruised through Golden Shores and it was rather busy, surprisingly. As we headed out through the desert we were immediately struck by how green it was. The mountains looked great. The road was lined with lavender, yellow, purple and white flowers. It was quite the sight.

Caption reads: “Oatman, Arizona on U.S. 66. A Truly Western Gold Mining Town.”

Oatman Road near Sitgraves Pass, Arizona

(Another of our favorite drives)

For a Monday, Oatman was really busy. Parking was a bit bard to find. For the first time we are there while the gunfight was going on. It was fun to watch. We cruised around town and bought a few trinkets. There were quite a few baby burros, the main tourist attraction. It’s really funny to watch them while the gunfight is going on; I swear they were watching it too. They were getting run out of stores several times. We tried to find our friend Jackie, but didn’t succeed. There are several outdoor vendors now. We actually noticed a few changes since the last time we were there. Of course one of the bar/eating establishments had burned down. The Oatman Motel was really busy. Wish we would’ve been hungry, their Navajo tacos are delicious. We left town and rode up to the summit. Before we got to the mine we were struck with the magnificent colors of yellow and orange poppies blooming all over the hillsides. We were going to take the mine tour but a tour bus was just unloading so we decided not to. We explored around the old site of the gas station and ice cream shop that used to be at the top of the summit. Took plenty of photos. We turned around and took the same route back home. Great day.

Today we hit the Interstate and headed east. Exiting at Park Moabi we turned north and started looking for a water tank. There is a road directly in front of this tank, we turned right onto it. We are following directions from the Summer 2000 Federation News, “Found! The Lost Highway” by Jerry McClanahan and following the pre 1947 alignment of Route 66. Wishing that we had our Blazer rather than the Vette, we drove the dirt road for about three tenths of a mile and parked. We walked for about a mile following the old road enjoying all the wildflowers in bloom and checking out the road. And watching for snakes. There is a great stone and concrete gutter along here. We had thought that we had started this trip early enough in the day. Wrong! When we got back to the car the temperature read 85 degrees. No wonder we were sweating. We got back on the main road and went to the bottom of the hill and turned east following the National Trails Highway all the way to the river. It sure looked inviting. We had noticed a dirt road off to right and turned around and parked here. We hiked up to the top of the ridge to find the section we hadn’t yet hiked. We hiked the remaining half mile. When we came back we stood and enjoyed the view. We could look out over the river and see all the bridges. We could trace the path of the old road up to the PG&E compressor plant, where once there was the Teapot Dome gas station. It was a great hike. Thanks, Jerry.

Wonderfully preserved stone gutter along the old 66 alignment off Park Moabi Road - Needles, California

Old alignment off Park Moabi Road Needles, California (For directions we followed “The Lost Highway” article By Jerry McClanahan)