One thing about the Grand Canyon Trips, there flexible to change the roads, which we do quite often. While we may stick to the primary roads to the canyons themselves, it's all the other highways that make each trip unique.
Oatman Arizona -
Below is a topographical image of historical road route 66 near
Oatman that travels across parts of the Black Mountains, which is mostly
desert. It would be nice to see them fix this road instead of filling in
the cracks, sometimes it makes me angrier than mud wasp in a dry gourd. It requires much
caution due to the hairpin turns AND switchbacks. So, this is
the little road that will get us warmed up as we get ready to explore
every type of road condition, every curve, every twisted hairpin switch
back. Is there such a thing as a twisted hairpin switchback? We'll I'm
afraid to say, yes, and it's not pretty but you'll find every bit of a
statement like that and more in a little town called, "Oatman" that is
located on historical route 66 just outside of Laughlin Nevada.
Oatman
Searchlight, Nevada
Drive into Oatman
Oatman - Aside from the aesthetics when driving into Oatman, Oatman is
alot
of fun.
Oatman's Wild Wild West Gun Slingers
Ania about dropped over as they started firing blanks into
the air as part of the wild west gun show, as you can see by the
expression on her face, it was loud! Off to the distance you can see the
small hotel and restaurant. We'll definitely want to hit that before
leaving town, not for the food, but for the pictures.
BLASTED!
Great little shops to browse and pick-up a few small gifts like Route 66 souvenirs, leather goods, t-shirts, belts, hats, key-chains and so forth. I
got a great XXL t-shirt for only $4.75! We picked up a nice pair of
suspenders for about $9 as you can see hanging up behind Ania. It's
just a fun little town that we'll enjoy for a bit on day 1 of our guided
tour.
Route 66
ALL DAY LONG! - Isn't that right squinty eyes?
El Donkeys combing the streets looking for hand-outs. Vendors sell
carrots to feed them. They were warning folks not to get
to close to the back legs as they kick and not to feed the baby donkeys
carrots, as they choke.
This mighty stead looks proud to be in Oatman.
The picture is a bit blurry below because I was being chewed out for
taking photos in the small gift shop by Bob's employee... Anyways,
(Below) Bob from Tama's Rt 66 Biker Den, tells some interesting
stories about the hwy we were about to traverse. He said, "Last month, 5
motorcycles went over the edge. People just get to looken at the sites
and not paying attention to the road. There are 2" rocks on the road and
different types of gravel that cause riders to loose their grip to the
road. Last Sunday 3 motorcycles in one day went over the edge including
one Honda Trike. One motorcycle tour operator just got done
talking to the group before the Honda Trike went over the edge. We've come to call this the Oh-My-God Road," instead of something
with a term of blood in it.
Tama's RT 66 - Biker Den - (928) 768-9841
141 Main St
Oatman, AZ 86433
Past Lives In Oatman - Olive Oatman part of the Royce Oatman family
members killed by raiding Indians of the past.
Oatman Hotel
Oldest 2 story adobe building in Mohave County that still reflects the
good-ole-days of Oatman.
This hotel has thousands of dollars bills stapled on
every single wall.
Oatman is just out-side of Laughlin, Nevada and a real joy to visit.
As you can see, some nice Hardware was setting around town.
Lets take a look at Historic Route 66 out of Oatman.
Video: Historical
Route 66 East of Oatman (Day 1 of this Tour)
As you can see, the road is in need of repairs but not to bumpy.
Below is a nice attempt of a wall to keep people from taking the plunge.
Bob from Bikers Den, said "You have the mountain on your side headed
from West to East". I really didn't know what he meant until we started
down the road and noticed that instead of hugging the shoulder, we had
the mountain to hug, which definitely made us feel a little safer.
Ok, Bob got us a little nervous but in the end, WOW what a Motorcycle Road,
we really enjoyed the ride.
Here's a few more photos of the trip from Oatman.
Vegas Valley Motorcycle Guided Tours -
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