arizona – OsteoPraxis on the road

Needles California, boiling in Barstow and searching for a Sign. The Mother Road Episode 29

With the truck repaired and the test run to Seligman completed successfully, we were hitched up and ready for the next leg of the journey. Across the Mojave Desert …my sister asked if the truck had a name….(🎵 I’ve been through the desert in a truck with no name🎵)

Arizona surprised me by being greener than I expected……vivid colours with red rocks and the painted desert type rock formations……and California surprised me by not being flat…….I don’t know why I expected it to be flat….but let me tell you it most certainly is not…!!!!

I must have blanked on the fact that the Rockie Mountain range extends all the way from Alaska down to Mexico.

The backdrop of the desert was always mountains…. spectacularly beautiful and impossible to photograph, you just can’t encompass the sheer scale and the wrap around nature of the landscape.

California welcomed us with an inspection station (like a border crossing) on the highway to enter the State…and palm trees. The sand turns from red to mostly white /beige….and the plant life switches from impressive cacti to palm trees and yuccas.

Then there is the road. The road has several long slow serious climbing grades. The shoulder lane punctuated by dying and dead transport trucks unable to manage the combination of the grade and the heat, and perhaps the patience to get up those hills without blowing the transmission, the engine or the tires…!!! Given our experience in Kingman…there was a bit of breath holding happening as we hauled up those grades carefully watching the transmission temperature.

The early travelers of the 66 must have despaired when they hit Needles (The eastern edge of California……) They had made it to CA and the promised land… but now there were a whole bunch more mountains and desert to go (and not a lot of water sources) CA is even drier than AZ.

Just before Barstow is Daggett…I hesitate to describe it as a town…but it is part of the original road.

We made it to Barstow in 46-degree heat…. the worst of the heatwave already behind us. We had changed our plans slightly to not linger here in the heat…but to find the sign…take the picture of it, and head north.

We did a bit of a tour through the old town of Barstow to take some pictures of the remaining relics of the road..

It was a daytime version of me slow rolling along the main drag and the guy with the camera screaming ‘PULL OVER’ at the worst traffic moments and leaping in and out of the truck…..🤣

Barstow’s other piece of interesting trivia…..Its military base, Fort Irwin….considered to be one of the top training bases for the US military. It is also the only part of Route 66 not accessible to the public as it runs right through the base itself. (Fort Irwin has its own fascinating history for those interested)

One of Barstow’s legends is the El Rancho Hotel which burned to the ground in 2022 under questionable circumstances.

In these temps…when you get out of the truck it’s hard to tell what’s worse…the crushing heat of the sun from above or the furnace roasting of the tarmac from below. Whichever it is…moving quickly is just not an option. An added bonus as you hit California….the gas prices are as eye watering as the heat….but the wine is incredibly excellent and inexpensive…. unfortunately the truck doesn’t run on Chardonnay.

We made the decision to rise in the early hours and do the last 2 ¼ hour drive in to LA…Hit Santa Monica Pier at sunrise and get the heck back out of the city.

I had had my doubts about finding a campsite a bit closer to the city of angels. It turned out that Barstow was about as close as we wanted to get and was an ideal launching point for the final push.

There was heavy commuter traffic all the way, I was very grateful for the quick reflexes and nerves of steel of my driver guy as the traffic weaves from lane to lane with commuters dodging in and out of the transport trucks while the whole throng of traffic moved down the seemingly endless grade, well in excess of the posted speed limit. This would not be the case just a short time later.

I don’t think I did much breathing the whole way in. There was no real sunrise because of the morning fog of the beach. But we did pass Muscle Beach, several ‘bodies’ on the steps of the pier and on the shoreline.

Much to our delight, arriving in LA at 5am is perfect……because street parking is free until 7am…….we were long gone by then. Luckily for me I had a sweatshirt in the truck (not so much the other guy…LOL)…from the scorching temps in Barstow….it was a balmy 18 degrees C (64F) in Santa Monica…Brrrr…!!! Shivering in cold was a bit of a welcome change….!!!

The sign which we have been seeking was before us, marking the end of the trail..quite an emotional moment in fact. We had the pier to ourselves to soak in the accomplishment.

Did one of our very few selfies….

then jumped in the truck to head back to the trailer.

It was a much easier drive back….well it was for the passenger anyway..!!

The grade was not huge….but it was unrelenting…and the temp was 47 degrees (I am imagining that the tarmac was a bit hotter yet.) we did a quite a bit of finger crossing and some silent praying for smooth driving, which we were granted. On the way home we were very glad that we set off at that ungodly hour…..the commuter traffic was nose to tail into the city all the way back to Barstow, just like you see in the movies…..but plain sailing for us returning east for a big nap.

We got back before 8.30 am and fell back into bed…

Mission accomplished…!!!!

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Kingman to Seligman. The Mother Road, Episode 28

After slurping down our delicious skillet lunch and milkshakes at Mr D’s diner, we braved the 47 degree C (117F) Arizona roasting and jumped in the truck to head across the road to the Kingman Visitor Centre for a look. (and hopefully a pin for my collection..!!).

We did a quick stop in the gateway for that essential tourist picture….pulled forward to head for the parking lot and………… chug chug sputter sputter……the truck died. Unceremoniously we rolled to a stop and looked at each other with a mix of horror and relief….. Horror cos the truck had just died….but incredulous relief because of all the places we had been that morning we would have been in serious trouble if this had happened out there on the Oatman Highway, or even the I-40 coming back.

Here we were right next to an airconditioned public building in a place where there was a cell signal to call AAA (yes we are members, works in USA and Canada).

The ladies in the visitor centre were lovely and gave us cold water and lots of encouragement….

Eventually the AAA guy arrived to flatbed the truck….

Now we have a problem……..We both jump in the cab and Mr Tow Guy turns to us and says…..so where do you want me drop you ?? Luckily there was AAA approved shop in town so off we went. They were excellent, quick, courteous and professional. A fuel pump failure was diagnosed and we were dispatched with a helpful chap and one of their vehicles back to the campground. Once repairs were completed, we were retrieved and sent on our way.

We needed an extra couple of days in the campsite …well we could not move the trailer without the truck..!! The garage were great, the campground were great (the lady in the office even gave me an extra discounted rate because I was taking it so well…LOL……humour helps people..!!!)

The next box to tick, the backtrack to Seligman, became a convenient test for the newly installed fuel pump to make sure everything was tickety boo before we hitched up to tow again. First stop though was a return to the visitors’ centre to thank the ladies, and reassure them we were back on the road and none the worse for wear, with some new friends and a story for the blog to show for our experience.

We hit a few of the Kingman motels on our way east out of the city.

The road back to Seligman is all old 66, just like you’d imagine it. If you have watched the Cars (Pixar) movie…..Peach Springs and Seligman contributed much to the flavour of that movie.

At some point you start to realise that this route 66 journey is a pilgrimage of memorobilia… Lots of old cars either the shells of them along the road or the lovingly restored versions proudly displayed.

So many little preserved gems along the way…

….and some not so preserved….!!!

When we made it all the way to Seligman….the Roadkill Café seemed like an adventure in itself……LOL.

…but first we had (just had to…!!) do the wander up and down the main drag….gawking at the history…and the kitsch…..

I’m guessing that Seligman, like many other places and businesses, saw lean times through the ‘Pandemic’ years……

Maybe I’m wrong….but it had the feel of somewhere that is used to being busier…..

There was certainly lots to see….

….and did I mention ….it was hot……

Time to escape indoors for some a/c and lunch…whatever that may be…!!!

The truck behaved itself impeccably…..all ready for the next leg of the journey….

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Oatman Highway. The Mother Road , Episode 27

After surviving Independence Day, it was time to head back down the other side of the mountain dropping over 1,000m (3,333ft) in elevation…..next destination Kingman, Arizona. Now we were leaving the relatively cooler temperatures in the mountains and facing the blistering heat of the edge of the Mohave Desert. I was not looking forward to it.

Zuni Village RV Park was my choice…..I spent time picking this park poring over google maps in satellite view looking for the one promising the most shade.

The daytime temp in Kingman as we headed there was 47 C (116F)…I was absolutely dreading it. Stepping out of the truck was like stepping directly into an oven, there was a breeze but even the air movement was like a giant hairdryer. Sunglasses were necessary to stop your eyeballs from drying out…it was hot.

The lady in the office did a bit of juggling to get us in a site with trees……but the trees had kinda passed their sell by date….the ones on our site were large ..but sparse…and not really cutting it. There was a pool…but it was green and soupy….and did not look cool in any sense of the word.

We were booked to be there for a couple of days. From Kingman we planned to take the original 66 road up through Oatman and also to backtrack to Seligman. Kingman, Seligman and Peach Springs being important checkpoints for Radiator Springs (Pixar Cars movie) and also being parts of the original path of Route 66.

We set off for Oatman at 7am the next morning……it was already 39 degrees C (102F) by 8am….!!!…and it only got hotter……

The road to Oatman is an iconic one for its 191 curves…..and for the platoon of burros that live in and around Oatman. ….and by curves I do not mean gentle sweeping bends in the road…..

Its kinda hairy driving…..steep ups and downs and hairpin bends….. (and no barriers…!!)

As the passenger on the edge of that never ending cliff it was hard to look out the side window…!!!(Much to the amusement of the driver)

There is very little traffic on this road….I think we may have passed just a couple of vehicles……and a couple of groups of motorcycles, it’s a destination road to drive on a motorbike….

It was bad enough in the truck let me tell you.

We stopped at a lookout to take some pix and suddenly this donkey appeared and came running towards us……full on EEE AW-ing…!!!

I had heard tell of the donkeys in Oatman…but I was not sure how friendly they were going to be outside the town…..this guy seemed determined to get snacks….but I was not taking any chances of being the snack..!!

The town is something else….

If you imagine a gunslinger cowboy town from the 1800’s decked to the nines in tourist kitsch you are still not close to how this place is.

Its a tourist trap for sure….but also manages to be quite charming… (and boiling hot in July..!!)

…and then there are the donkeys…..

They just wander around….in great numbers…..apparently the donkey/burro population of Oatman is about 1700….. they sell burro feed for the tourists…..we watched a couple of German girls trying to tempt one so they could take some photographs. The donkey walked up to the girl…grabbed the paper feed bag out of her other hand and walked away munching…..we did laugh….LOL….

Driving out the other side of town…you are quickly in to the Mohave desert….. it’s beyond imagination what this must have been like in the 20’s and 30’s as people migrated west on this road…… we were grateful for the engine cooling system and the air conditioning….!!!

We chanced on another group of donkeys…they were clearly used to being fed by tourists in black Chevy trucks judging by the way they emerged from the clumps of cacti and swarmed us…LOL. (They completely ignored the Arizona Utilities Truck that passed the other way….. 🤣)

Of course, we had to stop to take some pictures of those super cool cacti…

….and by we, I mean….(Editor. The things I do for the blog, really needed asbestos soles on my shoes, was at more risk from the wildlife than traffic)

There is not much on this road……and if one were to break down…..1.) cell phone coverage is pretty sketchy and 2.) there is very little traffic passing 3.) the environment could not be more challenging ……it’s a bit scary.

There is a rest stop along the way that is another sobering moment thinking back to those ‘Grapes of Wrath’ style travelers

There are a couple of small towns on the edge of Arizona/California where we joined back on to the I-40 and completed the loop back to Kingman.

Back in Kingman…..it was time to stop at the iconic Mr D’s Route 66 diner for lunch….

It was pretty good by the way……

…and then…..in the blistering heat we headed across the road to the Gateway at the Kingman Visitor centre for the mandatory tourist photo op….

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Flagstaff part 2. The Mother Road Episode 26

The road from Sunset Crater up through Wupatki National Monument is not dissimilar to the road through the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, one follows on from the other.

The first Pueblo, Wukoki Pueblo, is off down a side road….we were following a map provided by the visitor centre. As we turned into the little parking area it was quite a WOW moment seeing this incredible ancient building about a km from the parking.

It was a moment to hydrate, pull on the sunhat and stroll at a leisurely pace over to the Pueblo.

By this point in the day it was so hot, an older couple who had pulled in at the same time as us were debating whether they should walk out there at all.

It’s like an enormous ship marooned out in the middle of this desert landscape….no other man-made structure as far as you can see

Next stop is the Wupatki Visitor Centre…..with access to the largest Pueblo structures in the park through the visitor centre building

As you walk out the back of the building its another big WOW moment. This place is truly extraordinary

There are stairs down to the structures and a trail around them …and did I mention that it was sweltering hot…!!!

This site has blowholes and fissures where the air moves (as I understand it ) relative to the changes in the magma at the earths core. In traditional lore its Where Mother Earth’s breath is felt

Time to leap back into the truck…crank the air conditioning and suck back yet another bottle of water….onward to the next pueblo.…Citadel.

Perhaps not as imposing as Wuptaki or Wukoki, but still quite impressive in its own right with 360 deg stunning views from the top

Our last stop for the day was Box Canyon... Another little development but this one showing more signs of the agriculture ….all very interesting.

By now we were late enough in the day that it was time to find shade. Phewff…

The last bit of Flagstaff was my slow roll drive down the main drag after dusk as my faithful blogtographer leapt in and out of the truck at intervals.

Flagstaff Neon.

Once we made it all the way into town, we discovered that we had landed in the middle of an art crawl evening. It made for a lovely stroll in the old downtown of Flagstaff.

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The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. The Mother Road Episode 24

After the fun little trips around here, the day was ripe for the National Park extravaganza. The Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert..two National Parks separated by Route 66. The weather was cooperating…having had a day of rain and coolness the day before, we figured an early start for the drive up through the parks was in order.

We headed for the south gate of the Petrified Forest. (There is only one road up through the parks.)It was the second National Monument designated by Roosevelt …and was switched to National Park status in 1961, a truly extraordinary place.

As you enter the park gate, almost immediately there are large chunks of tree trunk…..except they are agate and jasper.

The visitor centre is a lovely little vintage construction that really has not changed a whole lot since it was built in 1931.

I suspect that this is yet another of these places that the pictures just can’t convey just how incredible this landscape is.

They reckon these trees are 216 million years old……..now does that not just give you pause for thought…For context…..T-Rex is about 66 million years old.

When you stand next to these massive tree trunks, the bark, the knots, the rings in the cross-section don’t require any imagination to see them.

That and they are just …..beautiful…!!!

As we drove from the south gate north, there are designated lookout spots and walkways to allow you to grasp some concept of the landscape while minimising the erosion damage from the tourism that helps to support the parks.

…but looking beyond these incredible relics…..the vistas are breathtaking…

With the amount of iron rich rock laying on the surface I am astonished that the area was not stripped of minerals in the late 1800s when they were building the railroads……

Each lookout is yet another extraordinary vista which…if the signage is to be believed…has not changed much despite us humans…..!!

The shade structures at most of the lookout points were very welcome. This was not the hottest of days……it was only 34 Celsius (93F) but it’s so exposed that the sun is quite relentless.

This one was set up for viewing an agate bridge, a tree bridging the creek….it had been shored up by concrete to try and preserve it in the early 1900’s

The Blue Mesa Trail…this was a steep walk/climb down following a paved trail….it was like a moonscape down there…..and the heat was oppressive. I’m glad it was only 34C….!!! This badlands area is striped purple…. and it really is purple.

Newspaper rock..….an ancient spot for petroglyphs…..these pictures were taken with the long lens as you can’t get close to them for fear of vandalism.

The Peurco pueblo is a 1200 year old village remnant which demonstrates a very sophisticated social and agricultural structure in the area at that time.

With a solstice marker….

…and some very cool petroglyphs….

I just love the little goats……. 😁

…and if the day was not full enough…..we cross the I-44 (the modern route following old 66)

……. and now we have the Painted Desert National Park.

The crows were well used to the tourist audience…….I had to share a little trail mix…they asked so politely…!!!

Painted desert inn….what an interesting place. This 1920’s inn is the only piece of route 66 inside a National Park. The building and the furniture inside it was constructed largely by Franklin Roosevelts Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was a brainchild of Roosevelt to provide employment and skills training to young men in the post depression era. I had never heard of this organisation before….it was quite the project….

What a great place to stop for a most welcome ice cream…..

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Walking on the moon. The Mother Road Episode 25.

It’s difficult to comprehend (for me anyway) that Holbrook AZ is at an elevation of 1548m (5079 ft) above sea level, then continuing west on route 66 the road climbs another 558m (1830ft) to Flagstaff at 2106m (6909ft) above sea level.

The upside of this much up is that it also keeps the temps a little more livable which, as we were heading into the July 4th weekend….seemed important. Prepping for July 4th weekend in the US was a bit stressful……anticipating fully booked campgrounds and much Independence Day revelry, I was relieved to score a site at the somewhat dubiously named…Black Barts . There had been a great deal of emailing and phone calling to many campgrounds in the area, so it was a bit of a concern….thankfully it turned out to be just fine….(and they gave me a nice shady spot…..!!)

As we drove into Flagstaff, we passed a sign for Walnut Canyon …..Hmmmm…Interesting…I looked it up as we drove and it turned out to be yet another National Monument.

Walnut Canyon National Monument

From the visitor center (where they strongly advise everyone to carry water…and to drink said water…!!) there is a staircase down to a loop trail that takes you around the cliff dwellings that are estimated to be around 1200 years old.

It’s a long way down….and all the time you are acutely aware that 1. it’s blistering hot…..and 2. it’s a loooong way back up again…..LOL…

The trail is one way only…..and not very wide, so you really would not want to be passing anyone.

But it is an incredible little window into a time past…..

…as well as being a geological marvel…..

On the walls of the caves you can still see the smoke streaks from the fires used to keep warm in winter.

It was sufficiently fascinating to distract from looking over to the right where the drop off down the canyon was……..daunting…..

The path back up was not as bad as anticipated…..it was pretty brutally hot down there tho…the increase in elevation putting us ever closer to the surface of the sun

Totally worth the visit……those ever so helpful rangers pointed us in the direction of Sunset Crater and the Wupatki Pueblo as well……so…..off we went….

Sunset Crater National Monument

Here we find ourselves in another lava field. Maybe its just me , but I think these places are mesmerizing. 1000 years later the landscape has barely changed.

As the road winds through the park, there are designated parking areas for some short, marked trails. Much of the park is restricted access in an attempt to reduce erosion of the landscape.

Just about the time that it’s occurring to you that this is like a moonscape……the confirmation appears in front of you. Yes !!… this is the area that was used for training astronauts for their first steps on the moon’s surface.

….then we found lots of these little guys running around. You can only spot them when they move….they blend so well with their background.

The bigger trail up to the crater was closed following wildfire damage….so the closest we could get was this boardwalk trail. Probably a good thing…it was warm for hiking…!!!

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Standing on the Corner. The Mother Road episode 23.

We had a great time in Milan. A tiny, unassuming little town (with two local craft brewers..!!) and great access to some phenomenal natural experiences.

We were a little sad to leave…mostly because of the big shade tree over the trailer…!!…..but the road was calling, and the temperature in Arizona and California was rising. I kept looking ahead at the weather maps and was dreading what was coming. If 39 deg C is unbearably hot…..what could 49 be…!!!

The last New Mexico Route 66 stop was Gallup. Our plan was a stop at the visitor centre and use their parking lot for a lunch stop, which was partly foiled as it was closed for the holiday weekend (July 4 Independence Day).

We were still able to park and have a wander back up the main drag for some of the old motels and signs.

Gallup was a little different to many of these small towns, many of the classic motels were still in operation if a little run down……

….and the more famous, El Rancho, looked to be in fine shape…though we did not go in….

There were many small galleries, native craft makers and suppliers…. apparently, something else Gallup is famed for

Back on the road….It is very obvious when you cross into Arizona. There is a dramatic change in the landscape, a terrific grand-ness to the scenery bordering the highway……incredible red rock cliffs. (pictures with my phone do it no justice)

Our target destination today was Holbrook, Arizona…the closest town to the twin National Parks of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Route 66 passes right through the middle of these two…….and very handily close to Winslow, so we unhooked the trailer at the Holbrook KOA and booted it over there……you just gotta go there…. 😁

…and now you are all singing it…..LOL……

It has to be one of the best set up and maintained ‘attractions’ we have seen so far…..that and you are singing that song in your head for days…before and after….but it was very cool.

Winslow is not a big town as there was nothing remarkable about it other than the tourist traffic stopping for the selfie on the corner……us included.

From Winslow we followed ol’ 66 back as far as we could…through Joseph City and found some marvelously photogenic dereliction and these very curious tipis everywhere.

Another oddity of this area is that a lot of the land is native reserve. They don’t observe daylight savings on reserves in AZ…so consequently the time keeps flipping back and forward as you drive down the road…..very confusing when you are not from there….

Holbrook itself has a little collection of old motels and this absolute classic still in operation…….the very amazing Wig Wam hotel.……. Every room/wigwam was decked out with classic cars……