Definitely another day of breathtaking views. I got a late start out of Kingman because I needed (NEEDED) my sticker and magnet from the visitor center… AND had to smash more pennies. I also wanted to stop by the post office to mail a few things I didn’t want to try and take through TSA… not dangerous, just too much hassle. The Kingman post office doesn’t open until 830, and there was no-one at the window at 901… oh.. .and they don’t take card payments.
On the road… this was another day of stunning scenery – even the desert was full of vegetation.
Next came the mountain roads on the way up to Sitgreaves Pass – this was some real Wiley Coyote stuff – “Hairpin turns and Steep grades (up to 12%)” is what the web has to say about it. No guardrails, or MAYBE a short concrete and rock wall. Definitely went slow and stopped for photos.
I got to Oatman, AZ, having heard about the Donkeys, but not sure what to expect. I missed one photo op before getting there, but I was enjoying the scenery, and watching the turns. The car in front of me stopped to take a photo of a lone wild donkey grazing on the side of the road.
I was pleasantly surprised with how tame the donkeys were – until they thought someone was messing with their foal, then they made a real ruckus.
On the way out of town, I saw another group of 4 donkeys wandering in the road. I pulled on to the shoulder to get around them… that didn’t work. they expected me to feed them now… they surrounded my car, and came up to the window. A snoot did get booped. and I got to pet the fuzzy foal and adult as they came right to my window.
After this point, the road wound down, and then started to level out – nothing quite as impressive as the previous mountain pass. I would have liked a few more photos as Golden Shores – driving through the desert, and all of a sudden you see jet ski rentals and boat sales… what??? oh – it’s the Colorado River. Didn’t see that coming – right at the California state line. You can almost smell the tax jumps when you get to the state line. Needles was about as I expected… not a whole lot of fanfare. No real Route 66 things. but I saw it.
I trekked across the Mojave, it was much as expected, I did get some photos of the long “boring” highway… running along the railroad tracks, and occasionally crossing over, which means the possibility of waiting for a train. On top of that, there’s always the risk of road closures in the desert as they fix things. Fortunately, the road wasn’t fully closed, just detoured (a gravel strip around the closed bridges they were working on – not a real detour… just driving around the gate, so to speak).
Eventually, I made it to Barstow, CA. Managed to find the post office to mail things. The local Rt. 66 museum is open from 11 – 2 ONLY, so plan for that, because I didn’t. I managed to find the Barstow Station… something between a bazaar, a truck stop, and a food court. I got a magnet and sticker… they’re a cash only establishment at the moment, or at least the store I found was. I would have stuck around for the real museum, but I have a busy day tomorrow of getting to Santa Monica (4 hours without stops.. and I make stops), and then LAX by 6 or 7 PM!