Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Day 12: Williams, AZ - Needles, CA
After checking out of the Route 66 Inn, we headed out for the western part of northern Arizona. We had to drive a short while on the freeway (about 10 miles), but the rest of the day was all old 66 two lane.
The road headed northwest and the landscape became more and more desert-like. Our first stop was Seligman. There are two places famous amongst Route 66 "roadies". Angel's Barber Shop is owned by Angel Delgadillo, a 75 year old lifelong resident of Seligman. Angel is retired from barbering except for tourists that make a special request of him. He is also the founder and past president of the Historical Route 66 Association of Arizona, and in addition to his barbershop, he has a gift/souvenir shop attached. When we arrived, a minibus full of Japanese tourists had just arrived and had filled the gift shop, asking Angel to autograph T- shirts, Route 66 signs, etc. We waited patiently in his barbershop. When the Japanese left, he came in and I asked him if he could give Chris a haircut. He said "no, I can't give him a haircut." I looked disappointed and he said, " I don't GIVE haircuts away, you have to PAY for it! " smiling. He continued to crack jokes as he got Chris up in the old while and chrome barber chair. Chris isn't the easiest person to please when it comes to haircuts, and Mr Delgadillo was MORE than patient with Chris' requests. As Chris was getting his hair cut, a croup of German tourists came into the shop and watched as the hair cut proceeded. When all was said and done, the haircut turned out quite nicely.....Chris was happy. The charge was only 8 bucks, cheap by haircut standards these days in Michigan. I gave him a 10 and Chris & I both shook his hand and said "thanks." He put his arm around Chris and told him the value of fathers.....I liked that part.
We next went next door to the SnoCap Drive-In, run by Angel's brother Juan, who I believe is about 79 or 80 years old. Juan is the jokester of Route 66, While we were waiting to order, a couple of girls from Germany were trying to get ice cream cones. They didn't speak good English, so Juan;s jokes were all the funnier. When they asked for ice cream, he brought out a cup of ice with a small amount of soft serve ice cream on top....they looked puzzled. He pointed to the ice and said "Ice" and then the ice cream and said "cream". They said no, they wanted all ice cream. He then asked if they wanted a half or whole. He brought out a cone cut down the middle for the half, and a cone with the bottom cut off for the "hole". They said, no just a regular ice cream cone. He then brought out an ice cream cone with a second cone pushed on top of the ice cream part. Again they looked puzzled. He said, I though you said "together". Well, after a number of more jokes, they finally got their ice cream. We ordered a cheeseburger ("do you want cheese on your cheeseburger?") and Chris got a chili dog. When he asked if we wanted napkins, he pulled out a pile of used napkins. Then he asked if we wanted ketchup and he squirted one of those joke ketchup bottles that string comes out of instead of ketchup. Made me jump. He's quite the jokester, and it was a fun stop.
On our way out of Seligman we knew we had met another two special people on the route.
The old road runs uninterrupted by freeway from Seligman through Kingman and on to Oatman, Arizona. Along the way we passed the Grand Canyon Caverns, which if my memory serves me correctly, I visited 30 years ago this summer with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was at those caverns that my aunt slipped and broke her arm, I think. We passed on the caverns today, but I did take a picture of the Tyrannosaurus out front.
We next stopped at Hackberry which consists only of a general store. For many years it was run by a hippie-type refugee of the 60's names Bob Waldmire. He left a couple of years ago and a couple named John and Kerry Pritchard bought the place. When we went in the store, John and Kerry were seated in a booth in the middle of the store. They asked if we'd like coffee or some apple crisp they'd made today......on the house. Since it was already over 90 degrees (and I don't like coffee anyway) and we had just eaten at the SnoCap a little while earlier, we said "no thanks." I was wearing a T-Shirt from New Orleans, and John and I talked for a while about New Orleans and how much fun it is there. He seemed to have a southern accent, so I asked him where he was from. Turns out he's from Baton Rouge. They were so friendly and laid back it was easy to talk and visit with them. As Chris began to get impatient, I said we better go, so we bought some bottled water and some postcards of their place. I took some pictures outside, which is a Route 66 museum in and of itself. I found the desert sign with the skull there (Linda), and took a picture of it to prove I found it.
We then continued on through Kingman which is surprisingly thriving. It was the first town across Arizona I could really say that about. We then began the ascent up the Black Mountains to Oatman. The road had many hairpin turns without guardrails, and steep drop-offs right next to the road. At one of the pull off we counted 5 white crosses just below the road, and looking over the edge we saw 4 cars in various stages of deterioration that had obviously not made it around the curves. A sobering thought. The drive, though scary at times, was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Seagreaves Pass at 3200 feet and began the descent around more hairpin turns into Oatman. The valley seemed more and more desert in appearance.
Oatman is a town that looks as though it could still be in the late 1800's, a genuine western town. Wild burros (donkeys) roam the streets looking for handouts. By the time we hit Oatman it must have been over 95 degrees. After making friends with some of the wild burros, we went to Cactus Joe's Cantina. This place was made of old plywood and corrugated tin. A large cactus protruded from the center of the room through the roof, as did a Joshua Tree along one wall. The waitress said the cactus was estimated to be 600 years old. I had a Navajo Taco, which is a piece of Navajo fry bread with ground beef, refried beans, and the other taco-type stuff on it. Ice water was 50 cents because all drinking water has to be trucked into Oatman. Because the restaurant was open to the air it was VERY hot in there, and the flies were terrible. Still, it was a fun experience.......authentic, as we say.
Leaving Oatman we saw one of the desert sagebrushes decorated with tinsel and ornaments....a desert Christmas tree. Cacti of various types were omnipresent for the first few miles, then just as suddenly as they had appeared, no cacti. We drove on through Topock and across the Colorado River into California.
Tonight we're staying in Needles, California at the beginning of the Mojave desert. The owner of the Super 8 Motel where we're staying said it's been a cool summer, only 3 or 4 days over 120 degrees. He said today had been cool.....only 104 degrees. After checking in, we unloaded the car and immediately hit the pool........felt GREAT!
Tomorrow we traverse the Mojave desert.....it's supposed to be over 115 degrees tomorrow out there. Cool.
The trip will be over in 3 more days. It's going too fast. Chris and I are both having experiences that will stay with us forever. The people we've met have been wonderful. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home.
The road headed northwest and the landscape became more and more desert-like. Our first stop was Seligman. There are two places famous amongst Route 66 "roadies". Angel's Barber Shop is owned by Angel Delgadillo, a 75 year old lifelong resident of Seligman. Angel is retired from barbering except for tourists that make a special request of him. He is also the founder and past president of the Historical Route 66 Association of Arizona, and in addition to his barbershop, he has a gift/souvenir shop attached. When we arrived, a minibus full of Japanese tourists had just arrived and had filled the gift shop, asking Angel to autograph T- shirts, Route 66 signs, etc. We waited patiently in his barbershop. When the Japanese left, he came in and I asked him if he could give Chris a haircut. He said "no, I can't give him a haircut." I looked disappointed and he said, " I don't GIVE haircuts away, you have to PAY for it! " smiling. He continued to crack jokes as he got Chris up in the old while and chrome barber chair. Chris isn't the easiest person to please when it comes to haircuts, and Mr Delgadillo was MORE than patient with Chris' requests. As Chris was getting his hair cut, a croup of German tourists came into the shop and watched as the hair cut proceeded. When all was said and done, the haircut turned out quite nicely.....Chris was happy. The charge was only 8 bucks, cheap by haircut standards these days in Michigan. I gave him a 10 and Chris & I both shook his hand and said "thanks." He put his arm around Chris and told him the value of fathers.....I liked that part.
We next went next door to the SnoCap Drive-In, run by Angel's brother Juan, who I believe is about 79 or 80 years old. Juan is the jokester of Route 66, While we were waiting to order, a couple of girls from Germany were trying to get ice cream cones. They didn't speak good English, so Juan;s jokes were all the funnier. When they asked for ice cream, he brought out a cup of ice with a small amount of soft serve ice cream on top....they looked puzzled. He pointed to the ice and said "Ice" and then the ice cream and said "cream". They said no, they wanted all ice cream. He then asked if they wanted a half or whole. He brought out a cone cut down the middle for the half, and a cone with the bottom cut off for the "hole". They said, no just a regular ice cream cone. He then brought out an ice cream cone with a second cone pushed on top of the ice cream part. Again they looked puzzled. He said, I though you said "together". Well, after a number of more jokes, they finally got their ice cream. We ordered a cheeseburger ("do you want cheese on your cheeseburger?") and Chris got a chili dog. When he asked if we wanted napkins, he pulled out a pile of used napkins. Then he asked if we wanted ketchup and he squirted one of those joke ketchup bottles that string comes out of instead of ketchup. Made me jump. He's quite the jokester, and it was a fun stop.
On our way out of Seligman we knew we had met another two special people on the route.
The old road runs uninterrupted by freeway from Seligman through Kingman and on to Oatman, Arizona. Along the way we passed the Grand Canyon Caverns, which if my memory serves me correctly, I visited 30 years ago this summer with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was at those caverns that my aunt slipped and broke her arm, I think. We passed on the caverns today, but I did take a picture of the Tyrannosaurus out front.
We next stopped at Hackberry which consists only of a general store. For many years it was run by a hippie-type refugee of the 60's names Bob Waldmire. He left a couple of years ago and a couple named John and Kerry Pritchard bought the place. When we went in the store, John and Kerry were seated in a booth in the middle of the store. They asked if we'd like coffee or some apple crisp they'd made today......on the house. Since it was already over 90 degrees (and I don't like coffee anyway) and we had just eaten at the SnoCap a little while earlier, we said "no thanks." I was wearing a T-Shirt from New Orleans, and John and I talked for a while about New Orleans and how much fun it is there. He seemed to have a southern accent, so I asked him where he was from. Turns out he's from Baton Rouge. They were so friendly and laid back it was easy to talk and visit with them. As Chris began to get impatient, I said we better go, so we bought some bottled water and some postcards of their place. I took some pictures outside, which is a Route 66 museum in and of itself. I found the desert sign with the skull there (Linda), and took a picture of it to prove I found it.
We then continued on through Kingman which is surprisingly thriving. It was the first town across Arizona I could really say that about. We then began the ascent up the Black Mountains to Oatman. The road had many hairpin turns without guardrails, and steep drop-offs right next to the road. At one of the pull off we counted 5 white crosses just below the road, and looking over the edge we saw 4 cars in various stages of deterioration that had obviously not made it around the curves. A sobering thought. The drive, though scary at times, was absolutely beautiful. We drove through Seagreaves Pass at 3200 feet and began the descent around more hairpin turns into Oatman. The valley seemed more and more desert in appearance.
Oatman is a town that looks as though it could still be in the late 1800's, a genuine western town. Wild burros (donkeys) roam the streets looking for handouts. By the time we hit Oatman it must have been over 95 degrees. After making friends with some of the wild burros, we went to Cactus Joe's Cantina. This place was made of old plywood and corrugated tin. A large cactus protruded from the center of the room through the roof, as did a Joshua Tree along one wall. The waitress said the cactus was estimated to be 600 years old. I had a Navajo Taco, which is a piece of Navajo fry bread with ground beef, refried beans, and the other taco-type stuff on it. Ice water was 50 cents because all drinking water has to be trucked into Oatman. Because the restaurant was open to the air it was VERY hot in there, and the flies were terrible. Still, it was a fun experience.......authentic, as we say.
Leaving Oatman we saw one of the desert sagebrushes decorated with tinsel and ornaments....a desert Christmas tree. Cacti of various types were omnipresent for the first few miles, then just as suddenly as they had appeared, no cacti. We drove on through Topock and across the Colorado River into California.
Tonight we're staying in Needles, California at the beginning of the Mojave desert. The owner of the Super 8 Motel where we're staying said it's been a cool summer, only 3 or 4 days over 120 degrees. He said today had been cool.....only 104 degrees. After checking in, we unloaded the car and immediately hit the pool........felt GREAT!
Tomorrow we traverse the Mojave desert.....it's supposed to be over 115 degrees tomorrow out there. Cool.
The trip will be over in 3 more days. It's going too fast. Chris and I are both having experiences that will stay with us forever. The people we've met have been wonderful. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home.
