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.

June 4, 2017 - Route 66

Sunday--We reluctantly left the Brundiges behind and headed on up the road about 8:30 this morning.  Our first destination was the RoadKill Cafe in Seligman, Arizona, on old historic Route 66.

Breakfast was good, little pricey.  And of course there there was a gift shop.  The town of Seligman has several gift shops celebrating the old highway.  Right next to the cafe were storefronts of the bank, feed store, etc., and the jail.

Mazie blew a fuse in her CB right after we left the Brundiges but Joe was able to rig it up with some aluminum foil to get her back in communication.  Fuses goes on the shopping list.

Our next stop was the Grand Canyon Caverns near Peach Springs, AZ.  This is the country's largest "dry" caverns, no stalagmites or stalactites in here. A constant temperature of 57 degrees (which really felt good!) and zero humidity. We took an elevator down about 210 feet (22 stories) and had an hour-long guided tour.  These caves were discovered in 1927 and have been on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures.

They also consider this a bomb shelter and store disaster supplies down here, enough for 2000 people for 2 weeks, I think he said.  And you can make a reservation for a small fee!

Also, you can spend the night down here in the suite.  I think that was $850 and they are almost always booked.  The suite includes 2 beds, a sofa and chair, dining table, tv and sound system.  They have a lot of weddings down here too.

We finished that tour (we received a "Certificate of Completion") and headed on down Route 66 to "Keepers of the Wild Nature Park", a rescue park for abused animals.  The walking tour was 1 1/2 to 2 miles and it was 99 degrees outside, so we opted out of that.  The next safari tour (riding in open-air trams) wasn't for an hour and a half, so we all decided to save this for another trip.  We browsed the gift shop, then headed on into Kingman, and called it a day.  We arrived at our campground, Zuni Village, about 3:00 p.m. and just hunkered down.  Too hot to do anything else.  We only drove 145 miles today, but we thought that was enough for a first day (I guess this is our second "first day").  But we left home last Thursday and we are not even out of the state of Arizona yet!

The Beginning of the 2017 Excellent Adventure

First of all, a big shout-out to Cathy Croxton and Joe Myers for getting my 2017 blog up and running.  Although they make their living by doing this sort of thing, I keep reminding Cathy this is a non-paying job, but she certainly gives me first-rate service.  So, thank you Cathy and Joe



We have finally begun our trip, but it has been a slow start. Our slow start is due to some health issues of Collins' and he can't get into the doctor until 6/7. So we are dragging our feet, or wheels, in the hopes that they can catch up with us next week. We've sort of been in this slow-down mode for a couple of weeks, finding different jobs to keep us occupied I guess -- we don't want to get too far ahead of them.

Mazie started us on a mission of CB antennas because the antenna they had was magnetic and would not stay on the fiberglass roof of their RV.  Mazie was researching CBs on the internet, then called Joe, who started his own research project.  He located a CB dealer (which Mazie had also found) just 4 miles from our house, so we went over and talked to him. We got our new antenna first, on Tuesday, 5/23, since we of course had to check it out before we could recommend it to our friends. Collins and Marilyn came down on Friday, 5/26, for a couple of days, with the main purpose of getting a new CB antenna for their RV. Unfortunately, they also had to replace their CB, so it became an expensive trip.  But that mission was accomplished and they left on Sunday. Dave and Mazie Johnson arrived at our house on Tuesday, 5/30, also to get a new CB antenna. So if we ever get on the road, we should be able to communicate.

Having gotten the CBs taken care of, we (the Johnsons and the Froeschkes) left on Thursday, June 1. But we only went 141 miles, to the Brundiges in Chino Valley. We have been here 2 days and will probably leave Sunday, although the hospitality here is hard to beat.  And in the meantime, we are helping Marilyn reduce the contents of her refrigerator and freezer!

But this is an excellent campground.  Plenty of room, with electric (although Joe and I are only on 20 amp, Dave got the heavy-duty plug-in). Collins' RV is still in the back, not packed yet.

Not only is this a full-service campground, it's also a bed and breakfast (and lunch and dinner).  And we have certainly made ourselves at-home.

So we spend our days just messing around, reading a little, playing cards (teaching Hand and Foot to the Johnsons).  Marilyn and I went to some garage sales on Friday while Collins gave Mazie some lessons on using a scroll saw (she just bought one, after their recent visit up here to the Brundiges).

Today (Saturday), Joe worked on our RV again -- still having trouble with our step.  Mazie got Lesson #2.  Looks like we should be ready to move on tomorrow.

Our plan is to head north to Grand Canyon Caverns, near Peach Springs, AZ for a tour. Then along historic Route 66 to Seligman and Kingman. Not sure of our route from Kingman, and we are hoping the Brundiges get good news at the doctor on Wednesday and will be able to head out to meet up with us, probably in Reno. This has been a tough year to get on the road, so many variables it was hard to know when to load, when to leave, and when the 6 Rusketeers will be able to regroup.  Hopefully, better days are ahead. Oregon and Washington -- here we come.