6/5/2017 - Kingman

Monday - We traded cars in January and now drive a 2015 Buick Enclave.  We had to have it wired to tow, and this is only our second tow trip since we got it, so we haven't quite got our routine down.  Joe had to do some re-wiring after our first trip, so we are still learning.  When we unhooked the car in Kingman yesterday, I flipped the switch to stop the theft alarm from blaring, and Joe told me to start the car.  Well, there was no power.  At all.  We thought we had a dead battery.  But then I remembered there was another switch I had to flip, and when I did that, lo and behold, the car started!  Crisis averted.

This morning, we made our morning breakfast stop at McDonald's, where we had a bit of excitement.  The elderly lady at the table across from us was not feeling well at all.  Some guy parked her car for her and was telling her where it was on the parking lot, and something about how to get in it.  They sat there for quite a while, but when they tried to help her walk out to her car, she was unable to walk.  They finally called for an ambulance, and we heard the EMT thought she was having a heart attack.  They took her out on a gurney but we don't know what happened after that.   We finally headed out to begin our day of sightseeing.

We split up from the Johnsons today, they ran errands (shopping) and we took a drive, what else.  We toured two museums in Kingman, the Arizona Route 66 and Electric Car Museum, and then the Mohave Museum of History and Arts.  The first one had nice exhibits of the history of this area -- covered wagons moving west, then the old trucks filled with belongings of people seeking a better future in the West during the depression. Burma Shave signs, old gas pumps.

The last part of the museum had a small collection of electric cars.

The second museum was only about a block away.  It had portraits of all the Presidents and First Ladies, and a beautiful painting of the faces on Mt. Rushmore.

One of the most beautiful displays was a quilt with lots of different quilt pieces depicting events from those early years.  I can't get this photo upright,

but I especially liked these: 

and the work that went into these, especially this list of contributors, is mind-boggling.

They also had outside exhibits of old machinery and equipment, and a railroad car.

We finished with the museums and continued on our drive of Route 66, up over the mountain and into Oatman.  Along the way, there was a gift shop with an outside outhouse that Joe thought deserved a photo.

This road became quite curvy, much like the Apache Trail out of Apache Junction.  Not much shoulder either, but it had some nice views, and we spotted some wild burros down in a ravine.

Finally, Oatman appeared over the rise, and the resident burros were in residence there.  We probably saw 12-15, several heavy with baby.

We made friends with some of them, careful not to get behind them so we didn't get kicked.  They were definitely traffic-stoppers.

We went in a couple of shops, then had lunch at the Oatman Grand Hotel.
 

The walls here are covered with dollar bills -- it is estimated that there are between $130,000 and $150,000 taped or stapled to these walls.  So Joe and I added ours, in honor of our mothers.

We drove on through town, and continued on south, through Golden Shores, and over to the Colorado River, where 3 more wild burros crossed in front of us on their way down to the river.

 We were probably in the hottest spot in the U.S. today, a balmy 113. 

We finally headed north, through Needles and on to Laughlin where we spent a couple of unproductive hours donating to their economy (me, not Joe -- he found a seat and saved his $$).  We got a bite to eat in Kingman and got back to the cqmpground about 7:30.  Dave and Mazie were outside their RV with another couple, and water was dripping from the rear of their coach.  The ground underneath their coach was all wet as well.  Turned out that the hose came off their hot water heater and drained the heater and their fresh water tank.  But Joe fixed it, so all ended well.  It's always good to have an old mechanic along.

We were briefly out of Arizona today, in California, then in Nevada.  If all goes well tonight (no more emergencies), we intend to head to Barstow, California tomorrow.  Another hot day in our future.

For my followers, you should be able to click on the picture and enlarge it to see it better, if you so choose.