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Day Ten
On leaving Seligman, the road heads northerly away from the Interstate and into the hills. The next 70 miles out of this 90-mile portion is two-lane, mountainous, and very winding with sharp drop offs and minimal traffic barriers. With only five or six towns on this leg of 66, the passenger has the benefit of viewing some of the most beautiful and remote stretches of road anywhere in this country. Unfortunately, the driver is dodging oncoming traffic and trying to stay somewhere on the undulating roadway. We did trade off driving chores a few times.
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We stopped at Hackberry for a Coke and whiz and also a photo op with the 2cv, nose to nose, with a beautiful 1958 Corvette. |
After Hackberry, the final 20-mile drop into Kingman came into sight.
| It is more like a final approach in an aircraft than driving on the roadway. Straight as a stick and all downhill. My 2cv was in heaven. Gravity was our friend. |
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Into and out of Kingman. The next 50 miles was more mountainous and torturous than that of the previous 90 miles.
Switchbacks abounded from Ed’s Camp, Goldroad and finally into Oatman at which time we needed a beer or three and lunch.
| Oatman’s main street is filled with the omnipresent burros, the wild donkeys of this area, who roam the streets and pester tourists (that’s us) for food. Local shopowners sell bunches of carrots for a small fee in order to feed the burros, which keep them from eating your top and upholstery. |
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We descended into Topock near the California border. The official Route 66 Association guidebook, written by Tom Snyder says “Except for the pavement, this sobering desert section of old Route 66 has not changed since Dust Bowl days. If it’s anytime around summer, you’ll know why the Joads walked into the Colorado River shallows and just stood there after driving the stretch. The road from Oatman to Topock can be as tough as any road ever gets.”
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One hundred-seventy more miles at breakneck speed and we entered Barstow, the next to the last city mentioned in Nat “King” Cole’s Route 66. It had been a trying and tiring day for the both of us. With over 330 miles on challenging roads, we were happy to stop in Barstow. No one else has ever said they were happy to stop at Barstow. We stayed the night at the El Rancho Motel. It wasn’t great, but it was mentioned in the guidebook. |
The next afternoon I lose Rick and gain a son.
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