Day 25 and day 26: Oatman

I’m putting two days blogs together here for very good reasons.  First we don’t have internet  so I have to go to the outlet mall and use a hot spot.  And most of you know how much I do not do malls.  Outlet or otherwise.  So the fewer times I have to go there for me the better.

Second reason is Friday was a rainy laid back day where we didn’t do much of anything.  We did a little town touring but not much else.  Other than we went to Walmart and I bought a reading light for our trek into Death Valley because  we have to be completely self-contained and no generators after 7 pm and I will be dark as dark gets there.

                                                My hosts Ms Shirley and Mikey.

fun playing with my new head light;( back in Charlemont we call them ”Pumpkin stealing lights”)  last night.  I tried also to play with my camera with no flash.  When you see the pictures you may also wonder if maybe the wine started to flow a little earlier than normal. 

My blog has been very sterile in reality as to how much fun I am really having in this RV and with these two great people I have the pleasure of traveling with.  We laugh a lot. But like in Vegas, this RV is no different, what goes on here stays here.  Well at least until I get home.

Day 26: Oatman, Arizona

So after a very slow but fun day yesterday we headed out today to play tourist.  We had breakfast over in Bullhead, Arizona which is right across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada,

 For a tid bit of knowledge for all you trivia pursuit people,  when we  do the time change on Nov 7, fall back, there will be one hour difference in time from one side of the river to the other.  How many missed dates would that cause … your time or my time….

 

I am still at awe about the view from everywhere you stand or sit around here mountains just outlining this magnificent river valley.   And yes I did enquire like I promised and this mountain range is called the Eldorado Mountains.

This is the view from the restaurant window where we sat. 

We headed south after breakfast to a small place called Oatman,  I had not a clue what to expect when I got there and the  long and windy road was no hint.

Well Oatman was once a prosperous mining town in the 1850’s but

I’m thinking that even prosperous didn’t mean rich.  But to the burrows, it was and still is home.

We entered this town of  Oatman I my first thought was OMG where are we and why are we here.

Get a gander at the shanties lining the beautiful mountainsides.

Now another tidbit of history and to see if my readers are paying attention.  Well remember that Williams, Arizona was the last town to be bypassed by with I-40.  Well Oatman was the very first town to be bypassed and with good reason.  The trip up here was narrow roads and hills, dips and curves. 

When we finally arrived and my thought was, oh no not another Route 66 tourist trap.  Can I deal with one more junk store filled with Route 66,  in reality, yes I can! I do enjoy the nostalgia of it all and  realize that these towns  are trying desperately to survive. 

To my very pleasant surprise I loved Oatman,   It’s an old mining town trying to survive through the generous hearts of tourism, but I has kept itself so original and so unique I loved it.

The Oatman Motel was where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their honey moon.   I’m thinking the place hasn’t changed a bit since then.

The stores here were not the usual Route 66 paraphernalia, there were some very beautiful items found here.  Amazing stone artwork and jewelry just about something for everyone.   I even bought a bracelet that is ‘SO not me” but I love it.

It also had one thing most towns don’t have.  Wild Jackasses! They just roam the streets. Of course people feed them so they keep coming back but they have called this area home for hundreds of years and won’t be turned away by tourism.

A lot like Williams there also is a daily gunfight here in Oatman.  I can only get a couple good pictures  because of the all the tourists…. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.  People have no considerations for others trying to play tourist…

I had my picture with this cowboy because his name was Reno, same as my brothers.

Of course those that know my brother Reno, know he smiles a whole lot more then this cowboy.

One last picture of the beautiful scenery in this lost hidden treasure of a ghost of a gold mining town.

I had a glorious day here in Oatman, Arizona and it will be one of my many highlights of this trip.  Hope you all enjoyed my trip with me.   I’m not sure what is next on my venture westward but whatever it is I promise to share with you.

Thank you all for reading my blog and being patient with the delays in posting it lately.  I hope you are still enjoying it. I am still very much enjoying my trip.

Okay this is a new added photo for duel purposes.   My brother says it’s what he sees every night here on this trip.  What he doesn’t know is I have the power; this is my blog, payback may be tough. And it shows my new headlight and my new bracelet.

So I have decided my new song for good bye will be…

I see the lights, I see the party lights. All red and blue and green…

I’ll sign this now with a new name I have picked up along this venture. 

Hoot, Toot and Whistle.