Route 66: Day Eight

Back on course to Rt 66 today!

After breakfast at the Grand Hotel, we headed out at 10:50 am mountain time (9:50 local time) and proceeded south on AZ 64 to Williams, AZ and back onto Rt 66. Though we were coming down a mountain, the car reached it's peak fuel mileage at 34.4 mpg. And soon, we were about to enter real desert country, and primarily on old 66.

Our first stop for roadside attractions and fun was in the town of Seligman, where not only are they located on the original Route 66, but one store features a number of mannequins. There were a number of other shops and cafes there as well. It was a refreshing sight to see a town that survived so well though the years on 66.

As we continued, the weather got drier, sunnier (is that a word?) and hotter. According to the car's thermometer, it was as high as 95, and it was only 2pm. We even witnessed a couple of those mini-tornado, dust swirls along the way. We stopped at a gas station to acquire some water and snacks in the event we don't come across any places to eat. Our next stop was going to be in Oatman, AZ and we hoped that we could find some food there.

As we started getting into real desert country, the road began to twist and twine up another hill/mountain. We made a quick stop to see the Schaffer's Fish Bowl Spring, where there is a natural stream of spring water, with the water getting caught in a bowl of rock that looks like cement. Wow, what a sight. The water was all green and complete with an empty beer bottle in it. We continued across the pass and twisted and twined until we reached Oatman, AZ.

Oatman's claim to fame is to be the honeymoon location of Clark Gable and Carol Lombard at the Oatman Hotel. This town's tourist gimmick, if that's what you want to call it, is that they allow mules to roam freely through town. You can purchase carrots to feed the mules, too. Beth got some carrots to feed the mules and almost got herself into a feeding frenzy. The mules know who's got the goods.

The town is nothing but shops and restaurants, but in the style of the old west. It was actually a pretty cool place to visit. It appears to be in the middle of no where.

We spent a couple of hours there looking around and having lunch. By the time we were leaving, the temperature reached 100 degrees! On our way to California!

Route 66 continued as it did before. It twisted and twined until we hit Interstate 40 to cross the Colorado River. By then the temperature was 102. It did reach a peak of 104 degrees. But yes, it's a dry heat... (end sarcasm). It may be better than humid heat, but it's still hot. And like fools, we did all this with the top down. I'm not so sure about doing that tomorrow.

With only a quarter tank of fuel, getting late in the afternoon/early evening and about to enter the Mojave Desert, we decided to stay the night in Needles, CA, where we are now camped out in the local Best Western. Tomorrow we'll start out early to beat the heat. We expect to come into Santa Monica by the end of tomorrow, if we don't get carried away at the Joshua Tree State Park or something.

Stats:

Miles Travelled, Today: 254
Miles Travelled, Total: 2,239

Today’s Avg Speed: 34.25 mph

Today’s Fuel Mileage: 33.3 mpg

High Temperature: 104 F