Day 8 - 29 Palms, CA to Kingman, AZ

     

Another day, another state. California is long and beautifully varied, but today we got through it and into Arizona. It's been less than a month since we left Tucson, so we had an easy feeling (a peaceful easy feeling?) to get back here. But to begin at the beginning....

A quiet, dark night at the 29 Palms Inn and we slept like logs. After breakfast and some exercise (our first of the trip other than walking), we strolled the grounds and saw three ravens yelling at a coyote who was at the spring for a drink. The oasis was beautiful in the morning light, especially since the desert was literally 10 yards away.

As we drove away from the oasis, we got back on the road that stymied us the day before. Truly, do people live here? Then we came across The End of the World sign, and all became clear.

Back at Amboy, we stopped to get ready for another day on The Road. I was trying for a picture of the long empty highway behind a Route 66 sign when two busloads of Japanese tourists pulled in. They pretty much took over the place, including the highway, to the annoyance of all. Several narrowly escaped being run down on the highway, just to get that perfect selfie. This shot looks mostly deserted but there are 50 interested Japanese just off the left side of the photo.

After Amboy, part of The Road was closed so I-40 took us to Needles, CA, renowned for often having the highest summer temperatures in the country. Today was mild, though, so we didn't need a Big Gulp or a Mr. Freeze. 

At Needles, we got back on Route 66 for a ride with amazing geology, wild burros, a tailings dam, and 192 twisty turns that kept the speed down to 10 mph. Take a look at the area around Oatman, AZ, on Google Earth.

We cruised down from the heights into Kingman and the El Trovatore Motel. The old town and the hotel are loaded with icons of Route 66 and claims to fame. For example, Clark Gable was married to Carole Lombard in Kingman and honeymooned in Oatman. Also, Jean Claude Van Damme was nailed for speeding through town and was fined $1500 and sentenced to two weeks of community service. Our stay was tame in comparison - our only touch with fame was occupying the Audrey Hepburn room in the hotel. These was no indication she stayed there, only photos of her all on the wall.

Another barbeque joint for supper, but this time we scaled way back on the portions. The idea that we would split an order of chicken wings and a salad raised some eyebrows in the place; we regained a tiny bit of self-respect by ordering bowls of gelato for dessert. On our way out the door, we heard a guitar and singing down the street at a wine bar. We closed down the place (at 9 PM) and committed to finding more live music on our trip.

201.6 miles today.

License plate count - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee. Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. And from Oh Canada - British Columbia and Quebec. 

We heard that Gordon Lightfoot died a few days ago, and we have been thinking of him. He had the gift of combining the magic of poetry to the sweet sound of an acoustic guitar. We listened to him all along the 'historic 66' all morning. Hard to pick a tune, but we came up with this one. 

Carefree Highway (Live In Reno) - Bing video