Oatman, Arizona
Many years ago, I watched a TV show, California's Gold with Huel Howser, about this old mining town on Route 66, which has donkeys roaming through the abandoned town. They were left by miners when the mine went bust. From that point on, I knew I wanted to visit this town. I had told my father about it, and he had the chance to see and explore it for himself. Many years later, Oatman was in my sights. Now I just needed to convince Karen, her aunt, and uncle, who we were traveling with, to come along.
I put in the coordinates in Google maps, and we were off. Driving through town, Google maps had us turn left on a road that turned into a dirt road. Oh Shit!
We continued driving while Karen and Sarge (Aunt Jan) moaned and groaned after my last off-road excursion, only a few days earlier, was also down a dirt road. That excursion took us on a 34-mile jaunt up the Shafer Trail in Canyonlands National Park to what would become our favorite excursion of the trip. Back to our trek to Oatman. To quiet the grumblings, I told them there were wild donkeys in town. It was touristy like Virginia City outside Reno, Nevada. A few more miles, we turn south onto Route 66, heading into Oatman. Right away, the negative chatter turned to glee as everyone could see the tourist trap of Oatman and a few of the donkeys roaming freely.
After we parked and took some photos of the donkeys, we trekked through some of the stores. One store at the end of town was selling food for the donkeys. Now we could get their attention, and boy did we! These little guys knew exactly who had the bag of food and surrounded whoever had the bag! We were able to get some great pictures and had a blast walking through town looking through shops. There were lots of opportunities for people/donkey watching. There were a few young donkeys, some still nursing, where someone taped signs onto their forehead, saying, " Don't feed me." You had to watch any bags that you had as the donkeys thought all bags had food in them. They would grab the bags and pull you along with them. Karen and I were trying to take a selfie with a couple donkeys, and one of them bit my rear pocket narrowly, missing my behind. My reaction to the selfie is evidence of the crime. We discovered they only allow about 24 donkeys into town so they can control the herd's size. They frequently re-home some to different areas outside of the city to limit the population and the nuisance the donkeys can cause. During mating season, one must be very vigilant as the male donkeys can get very aggressive. This is a must-see. If you're within an hour or so, drive it's worth it.
We had a great time and look forward to going back to Oatman, Arizona one day.
I put in the coordinates in Google maps, and we were off. Driving through town, Google maps had us turn left on a road that turned into a dirt road. Oh Shit!
We continued driving while Karen and Sarge (Aunt Jan) moaned and groaned after my last off-road excursion, only a few days earlier, was also down a dirt road. That excursion took us on a 34-mile jaunt up the Shafer Trail in Canyonlands National Park to what would become our favorite excursion of the trip. Back to our trek to Oatman. To quiet the grumblings, I told them there were wild donkeys in town. It was touristy like Virginia City outside Reno, Nevada. A few more miles, we turn south onto Route 66, heading into Oatman. Right away, the negative chatter turned to glee as everyone could see the tourist trap of Oatman and a few of the donkeys roaming freely.
After we parked and took some photos of the donkeys, we trekked through some of the stores. One store at the end of town was selling food for the donkeys. Now we could get their attention, and boy did we! These little guys knew exactly who had the bag of food and surrounded whoever had the bag! We were able to get some great pictures and had a blast walking through town looking through shops. There were lots of opportunities for people/donkey watching. There were a few young donkeys, some still nursing, where someone taped signs onto their forehead, saying, " Don't feed me." You had to watch any bags that you had as the donkeys thought all bags had food in them. They would grab the bags and pull you along with them. Karen and I were trying to take a selfie with a couple donkeys, and one of them bit my rear pocket narrowly, missing my behind. My reaction to the selfie is evidence of the crime. We discovered they only allow about 24 donkeys into town so they can control the herd's size. They frequently re-home some to different areas outside of the city to limit the population and the nuisance the donkeys can cause. During mating season, one must be very vigilant as the male donkeys can get very aggressive. This is a must-see. If you're within an hour or so, drive it's worth it.
We had a great time and look forward to going back to Oatman, Arizona one day.
Pima Air & Space Museum
a While camping in Tucson, Arizona, Karen was working, so I was on my own for a couple of days. One day when driving to Saguaro National Park East, I passed by the Pima Air & Space Museum and seen many jets and planes outside. So the following day, I set out to visit the Museum. When you enter the Museum, you wind your way from the welcome center through Hangar 1, which has many military and civilian aircraft on display. Hangar 2 is attached to Hangar One and is mostly military planes. While winding my way through, I came upon a jet that intrigues me the most, an SR-71 Blackbird. Many years ago, while at the old Riverside Raceway, I was in the pit area when an SR-71 flew directly over me while landing at March AFB. It was loud and looked like something out of the Batman comic book. I've been fascinated with them ever since. The SR-71 didn't disappoint. I walked around and under it for a long time, and when leaving, you pass through the same hangar. So, of course, I had to do it all again. For me, this was the highlight of the Museum.
The Museum is enormous, and I walked 4 miles into every hangar except for one which wasn't open due to remodeling. The outdoor area was just as jaw-dropping with many military and civilian jets, planes, and helicopters. Even Presidents Kennedy and Johnson's Air Force One aircraft is on loan from the USAF is here. They also have many planes from every war. They had a couple of B-52 Stratofortress and B-17, B-29, B-36 one of the prettiest planes, yes planes can be beautiful. Fighter Jets like F-14, F-15, F-16, P-38, A-10 Warthog, and everything else you could imagine was there. There are planes from other countries around the world, including a few Russian Mig's, German and Japanese aircraft from WW2, even a Japanese Zero along with a Nakajima Ki-115 Kamikaze. There were many helicopters and a few bombs, including at least one that carries a nuclear warhead. With so many planes, there are always some that stand out for different reasons like the Aero Spacelines 377G "Super Guppy" (just strange looking), the Star Bubble Bee, which is the world's smallest Jet and a Space Shuttle rocket booster. As you can see, I was a big fan of the Pima Air & Space Museum, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in air & space or even someone who is just a history buff to visit. It is worth a trip to Tucson all by itself, but be prepared to walk a lot and have fun.
The Museum is enormous, and I walked 4 miles into every hangar except for one which wasn't open due to remodeling. The outdoor area was just as jaw-dropping with many military and civilian jets, planes, and helicopters. Even Presidents Kennedy and Johnson's Air Force One aircraft is on loan from the USAF is here. They also have many planes from every war. They had a couple of B-52 Stratofortress and B-17, B-29, B-36 one of the prettiest planes, yes planes can be beautiful. Fighter Jets like F-14, F-15, F-16, P-38, A-10 Warthog, and everything else you could imagine was there. There are planes from other countries around the world, including a few Russian Mig's, German and Japanese aircraft from WW2, even a Japanese Zero along with a Nakajima Ki-115 Kamikaze. There were many helicopters and a few bombs, including at least one that carries a nuclear warhead. With so many planes, there are always some that stand out for different reasons like the Aero Spacelines 377G "Super Guppy" (just strange looking), the Star Bubble Bee, which is the world's smallest Jet and a Space Shuttle rocket booster. As you can see, I was a big fan of the Pima Air & Space Museum, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in air & space or even someone who is just a history buff to visit. It is worth a trip to Tucson all by itself, but be prepared to walk a lot and have fun.
Big Hole/Arizona's Meteor Impact Crater
The Arizona Meteor Crater is a nice stop along I-40. There is plenty of parking for RV's if you just want to stop by while driving down I-40. The Meteor Crater museum/learning center does a good job explaining how it became and the history of the crater. There is an observation area that allows you to take a look at the actual crater in addition to the learning center and some live informational talks. In 2018, a simulation ride was added as an attraction along with their big-screen showing of Impact! The Mystery of Meteor Crater, rim tours and the information center. The cost to visit is $22 for adults and is well worth it. It takes about two hours to see everything there (including checking out the gift shop!
Standin' on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona
The Standin' on a Corner Park in Winslow, Arizona is a tribute to the song "Take it Easy". The song was recorded by the Eagles and the lyrics written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey. The song references standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. This small town has definitely capitalized on their claim to fame and created a small park for tourists to visit. The park was well put together and is worth the slight detour off of I-40 onto old Route 66. They had created several great photo ops with some props (guitar, old truck, painted wall) with several small touristy stores. If it's around lunchtime or happy hour, check out the brewery just down the street. Great food and brew!
They do exist! Roswell, New Mexico
If you’re traveling near the area down US Hwy 285 in New Mexico, you may as well stop and pay the $5 to go into the museum. They have some interesting stuff in there but the presentation of the items could be improved as it was not a truly engaging experience. For the $5 admission fee, it’s a bargain. The town of Roswell is very nice but again, they are missing on a great opportunity to market the UFO/Alien aspect that is right in front of them. In the blocks surrounding the museum, there are a handful of touristy shops but they are few and far between. If you’re in the area of Roswell, it’s a couple of hours to stop and check it out.
PRADA - Marfa, Texas
This is a quick stop that is not worth going out of your way to see. It was still a fun stop for us to add to our travels since it brought great joy to Brian to tease Karen about shoe addiction and her need to stop at every shoe store. Karen had no clue about this stop. You’ll need to read the story as to why it is in the middle of nowhere.
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