Ever since I first heard the classic jazz tune, Route 66, I’ve wanted to do what the lyrics say and drive the entire historic highway from Chicago to Los Angeles.  Then the Pixar movie “Cars” came out and made me even more interested in getting my “kicks on Route 66.” Unfortunately, a total beginning to end drive is not really possible anymore due to the construction of various bypasses and decommissioning of the official route by the U.S. Highway Department (1985).  But, you can still drive about 80% of the road if you’re willing to do some navigating.

When Bailey and I were on our recent Grand Canyon trip, we had a chance to drive a portion of the old historic route.  We started in Flagstaff, drove along Route 40 for a few miles, then branched off on to Route 66 as soon as it split from 40.  We intended to drive from there to Kingman, hoping to see some beautiful landscapes and some quirky, roadside nostalgia.

The nostalgia portions of the trip were fun, but much fewer and farther between than we expected.  We did stop and walk the streets of Seligman, which was more or less deserted except for several souvenir stands, snack shops, and the coolest and most comprehensive general store I’ve ever seen.  That place had everything!

Seligman claims to be the real town that inspired  Pixar’s imaginary town called Radiator Springs (Cars).  It may be true- it sure has that vibe!  

After Seligman, we drove a long time through some very pretty scenes and a road that was mostly deserted.  It was interesting, but much more sparse than I imagined.

So, when Headicus Gigantic came up on the horizon, we had to do the tourist thing and stop for pictures and a snack.  It was just like something you’d see in the movies- weird, lonely, quirky and awesome!

From there, things basically continued the same as before until we reached Kingman.  The trip took a few hours and ended with a late lunch in Kingman.  As we were deciding whether to visit something 66-ish in Kingman, or just push ahead back to Las Vegas (where we had to be at night), I started looking through my trip notes.  The Route 66 drive was fun, but I admit, it lacked a little excitement. 

I started to wonder if we had time get to Oatman before the town closed up for the day.

Oatman was all over my social media feed as a super tiny little settlement in the mountains where wild burros roamed the streets like celebrities.  It was on Route 66 and was a popular tourist spot.  Going there was on my mind for several days even though it was take us a bit out of our way.

We decided to do it.  And it turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip!

As soon as we left Kingman, it became immediately apparent that Route 66 is a basically a forgotten road.  It was deserted.  It was narrow.  And it was somewhat bumpy.  Dust and sand blew across it, leaving some parts even more narrow than it’s already slim two lanes would allow.  We were on the look out for wild burros from the start and it didn’t take long to see one milling around near the road.

A few miles in, Bailey and I realized that this was the way it was going to be all the way to Oatman.  We checked in with GPS and confirmed that the 29 mile drive would to about 50 minutes- that’s pretty slow driving for a deserted road!

A few minutes later we were in the midst of a long series of very hair-pin turns, very close to the edge of the giant mass of sandy dirt we were driving over.  It was awesome!! It was also a bit nerve-wracking and maybe just the slightest bit dangerous.  Our rental car was little thing, and I can’t imagine trying to manage a bigger car or truck around that mountain, especially when the occasional car comes on from the opposite direction.

When we finally got to Oatman (and Bailey’s blood pressure came back down), it was like we drove into another era.  Oatman is nothing more than a wide place in the road with a bunch of “old west” styled, touristy shops, bars and snack stands, highly populated by wild donkeys who come to town each day for food and possibly attention.

They certainly do get attention!  The shop workers know the donkeys and have named them.  To hear them tell donkey stories is like listening to a soap opera where all the characters are burros.  It’s a really fun place to spend a few hours! 

Oatman is unincorporated.  It has no town government.  Technically, I think that means the county manages it, but honestly, it seems like a great place to be if you’re trying to avoid detection in any way.

When the sun goes down, the shops close and the workers leave.  I didn’t see any street lights either, so if you decide to stay into the night you’re probably in for a very lonely and extremely eerie time.  Then, you’d have to make that crazy drive back to Williams in the dark.  No thank you!

We headed back before things got dark.  The return trip was not quite as dramatic as the first time because we knew what to expect, and we were on the inside lane this time.  But it was still cool!

What turned out to be a mildly amusing day exploded with adventure once we decided to go to Oatman.  I would definitely recommend the whole Route 66 driving experience, with Oatman as a “must-see”.

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