Day 17 - Williams to Needles

After 2 weeks on the road, some people are finding it hard to get going in the morning!

One way of getting her up! 

Once up and breakfasted, we packed up and took a drive a few blocks to the Grand Canyon Railway. A train was just coming in as we got there. Catherine grabbed the opportunity again, to jump aboard and have  photo taken with one of the staff! We took some photos of the old steam locomotive, then hit the road. Stopping briefly, at an old bridge over the railroad, we arrived in Seligman, home of Angelo (Angel) Delgadillo the founder of the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and the owner of the Snow Cap ice cream parlour, plus the barber's and souvenir shop next door. I'd been here before and actually met Angel back in 2010. He wasn't around today, which is a shame, as I could do with a hair trim. Shaven before we left blighty, I'm now like an old tennis ball! Probably good job Angel wasn't around, with six coachloads of people swarming around!  We took a look around and decided to have an ice cream. The Snow Cap was closed last time round, so it was something I wanted to do. The parlour used to be run by Angel's brother, a practical joker, who died in 2004, so it was no surprise when I asked for a cone, that the young lady behind the counter produced a small orange traffic cone! The ice cream was really nice, when we finally got it.

The Snow Cap

From Seligman, we dropped by The Grand Canyon Caverns (not much to see unless you actually go underground), an old gas station and trading post, plus a training school, which used to be a boarding school for Indian children. This wasn't like boarding schools back home though. Google Truxton Canyon Training School for more info.

Moving on from Truxton, we came to Hackberry and the famous store. If you have ever seen pictures from Route 66, odds are you've seen the Hackberry store with it's 1950s red Corvette outside. It's very famous and a real attraction along the Route. The full car park, was testament to that. I've been here twice before. The last time was in 2013 on the Wild West Tour, with my pal Dudley (Bill Walker). At that time I took a picture of him, resting on one of the wooden seats under the canopy. Today, his bandanna took his place, for another photo call. Rest in peace Dud!

For Dudley

A photo call at a giant Easter Island type head, led us to Kingman. We stopped here to check out Mr D'z, a diner, where I had eaten lunch back in 2010, interesting for the artwork on the entrance to each restroom, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. It was packed, another coach, parked up outside. Also on the agenda, just across the street, is a huge Santa Fe railroad locomotive. Catherine really liked this one, particularly as she was able to climb aboard. It really is massive. I probably said as much in my 2010 blog.

Leaving Kingman, we were soon into the Black Mountains, making a quick stop at Cool Springs, before taking the tight and twisty road up and over Sitgreaves Pass. Just before the summit, there is a pullout and some steps leading up the mountain side. These lead to a small rock pool, fed by a natural spring, which at times apparently, contains gold fish. There were none today though.

Over the pass we entered Oatman. This is an old gold mining town, inhabited these days, by a number of wild burros or donkeys. Once, these animals pulled the wagons in the mine but when the mine closed, they were turned loose. Now, all these years later, they roam free, seeking out any tasty morsels they can find in the town. We walked up and down the main street, a scene right out of the wild west, with wooden boardwalks, taking photos of the donkeys, some only a few months old! Aaah, so cute.

Baby Burro

Leaving Oatman, it wasn't long before were were crossing the Colorado River and entering California, our eighth and final state on the tour. First thing we noticed as we entered Needles, was the price of fuel. A gallon in California is more than a dollar more than that in Arizona. We paid $2.55 on our last fill up in Winslow. The cheapest in Needles is $3.99, with some over $4! Might be worth driving back over the state line!

Tomorrow we cross the Mojave desert on our way to San Bernadino and our second Wigwam motel, village number 7. Temperatures when we arrived in Needles were just shy of 100, at just before 6pm, so we're expecting a hot one tomorrow.

Come back soon, to see if we survived the journey.