Back on the Road: Las Vegas back to Kingman and on to Needles, CA

After a 3-day respite from the road in Las Vegas, we headed back to Kingman, AZ to pick up the old route 66 going west. The most startling thing today was all of a sudden finding ourselves traversing a winding mountain pass between Kingman and Oatman, AZ. The "Black Mountain" was not described on any of the guides we have. I was not driving but I am no fan of winding roads, hairpin turns, and no barriers as we headed over the mountain. After that white knuckle ride, we arrived in the strangest town I have ever been in, Oatman, AZ. Here wild burros descended from gold mining days roam Main Street seeking handouts from tourists. What a sight. The town seems lost in time, although it obviously has capitalized on route 66 interest for tourists like us. Worth the hairy ride to get there. We then dropped out of the mountain, crossed the Colorado River (again) and got our cabin in Needles, CA. Ok - it was 110 degrees. Now, that's hot in my neighborhood, but Carla, the KOA lady says this was a 'fair' day - it gets hotter. Nonetheless, even though we are mostly air-conditioned and comfortable, you start to get a small idea of what it must have been like for the migrants from the Dust Bowl Days of the 1930s heading west to California, what they believed was the 'land of milk and honey.' Let me tell you, the desert is foreboding --The Grapes of Wrath, both film and book, gets close, but unless you actually feel it, its hard to imagine what these people must have thought as they packed up all of their families and their belongings and heeaded into the desert. Makes you think about how good we have it compared to what others do -- Then things are not so bad. -- Today we are on the last leg of 66 -- hope to be on the Santa Monica Pier this evening and take some pictures at the Pacifc Ocean - - have to get going so will post pictures next stop-- c-u-latah/kc