We're Off To See The Burros

 Oatman, AZ   High 103   Low in Kingman 78

In case you need a break along this desert highway, one has been provided. 

 

 

Oatman is located on old Route 66 and is a typical tourist spot except for one major difference.The burros.

Oatman was named for Olive Oatman, a young girl traveling west with a group of Latter Day Saints to establish a Mormon colony in California. Along the way, in 1850, she was kidnapped by the Yavapai tribe and held captive for five years. In 1855 she was set free near Oatman, AZ.

In 1863 gold was struck in Oatman and the town took off. The boom lasted until 1941 when the United States entered World War II and ordered all Oatman miners to stop mining for gold and to instead excavate minerals for use in World War II.

When the miners left Oatman they turned their burros loose and their descendants are alive and well in the hills around Oatman.

 Leaving Kingman and driving south on Old Rte 66 you cross the Sacramento Valley before reaching Cool Springs at the foot of the Black Mountains. 

 

Cool Springs was an important stop for travelers on Rte 66 for gas, oil, water and other necessities. Before it was an oasis for automobiles Ned Beale and his camel brigade stopped in 1850 for water. For a fascinating read on the history of Cool Springs, check out https://www.route66coolspringsaz.com/history.htm 

When we stopped at Cool Springs this pick up pulled in beside us. How fun would it be to drive Rte 66 in your 1957 Chevy Truck or on your 1957 Cushman Eagle motor scooter.

 

Check out the old and the new Chevy trucks in the above picture.

Leaving Cool Springs you begin your trip up to Sitgreaves Pass. This road is not for the faint of heart. It is a very narrow winding steep climb up to Sitegreaves Pass. Your driver is not going to be able to enjoy the scenery.

Coming down the road from the pass we were stopped by the town's greeter. He (maybe she) just had to check us out and see if we had food to pay the toll.

 He wasn't happy with us since we had no food for him but he let us pass eventually. You used to be able to feed the burros carrots (we did that when we were here in 2011) but because the burros were becoming so aggressive, Wildlife Management has requested that you only feed them burro biscuits (alfalfa) that you can buy in Oatman. Like other wild animals, burros should never be fed human food.

Then we arrived in a madhouse. Oatman was packed with people. Absolutely no parking spaces anywhere, people walking in the streets, only three burros to be seen. As fun as it might have been to wander in a store or two, we just don't do hoards of people. So I took a picture of a burro and main street as we inched our way through.

 We reached the other side of Oatman and found a spot to stop to eat the lunch we had brought with us. Sitting there we saw a road runner. Didn't see Wiley Coyote though.

Leaving Oatman we decided to go back a different route and headed to Bullhead City. We didn't get far before we saw several more burros. There were many more burros out of town then in town which was nice for us.

These guys got a little pushy. But that's okay cause they were sooo cute. 

Saw this rock formation on our drive home. Remind you of anyone?

We accomplished our goal of seeing the burros. Time to head home and relax for a couple of hours.