But I had fun being away...
 |
| Jalapeños, Not only hot outside, but, tempting some taste buds!!! |
We went up North to Kingman, AZ... We are scouting property... But, we wanted to ride, what is said to be, "the Mother Road"
Route 66...
It was fascinating to learn about the trail that so many traveled along... It started in Illinois and tracked across the United States. There isn't much left of the road, they even sell pieces of it... It is a sad time to see such legacy go away...
We passed through Cool Springs, the story of this stop, is quite interesting, Did you know that they used this particular spot in a movie called "The Universal Soldier"... and blew this place up!!! Then a rebuild happened in 2003, I think in that year...
 |
| Cool Springs, on the old road, Route 66 |
The route was and still is very long perilous, and the vehicles that drove the roads were, lets say not to dependable for the people to trust, especially in the in hot temperatures or the night desert which was very dangerous.
As you can see, unfortunate past travelers...
 |
| These are long ago accidents that were at the bottom of the ravine along the Route 66... |
As we were slowly traveling along, we spotted a make shift, "cemetery(?)." One would say a "remembrance hill," of some sort... It was just before Sitegreaves Pass, locals were paid to drive the travelers' model A or T's through this most scary part of Route 66... those that were worried were smart to get experienced guides...
 |
| I am not sure what to call it but, maybe Remembrance hill would be fitting... |
It was very Haunting, there were so many crosses, and it made one wonder, was this because they died along this perilous road or was it that they loved the Route 66 so much that they wanted to be remembered along that road... Whatever the reasoning, it was thought about and noted... Not to forget to mention, but There were a lot of clothing too, all shirts, and it really did seem odd to see, maybe it was a thought, they would give the shirt off their back just to help if they could, whatever the reason it did make one question it, and think about ... So maybe it worked, maybe just to stop and remember was what it was meant to be..
I have been noticing many of these strange stone stackings, not only here, but in peoples yards and along certain trails etc... What does this mean? I am very perplexed about this...
I felt a great honor being able to see what was left of some of Route 66... So continuing our drive...
We entered the town of Oatman...
Oatman also had a very sad and haunting story... Oatman was named for the Oatman family that was massacred by Native Americans. A family of ten children, all died except three children, two girls that were taken as captives and the brother left for dead... A story that should be told... There is a book about this story... but here is a link of who Olive Oatman was.. (is)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Oatman
Along the way, we took pictures of the most bleak, but beautiful scenery of "the old west." I really took the old west for granted,"Cowboy Era," seems to be more and more mesmerizing.
 | ||
| An old wagon just sitting there... |
Times were very trying and treacherous for the families thinking that they were on the "trail of milk and honey!" Fighting off claim jumpers, Indians (Native Americans) and whatever that challenged them...
When the gold rush started for these parts, mining became the past time... Peppered all along this historical road were mines that either gave or the miners died in hopes of getting...
The word is after years of mining, which went away, the miner's burros were left to run, so their descendants are now free to roam the town, unfortunately I didn't get to see them, but I did see one a great distance from the road... (but there was remnants all along the road to let you know that they live there too... if you get my meaning...lol...)
So there we were, in a climate that was well below the extreme heat advisories, like the valley, and in an environment of "cowboy's and indians, miners and gamblers, hauntings and intrigue."....
and all I thought or could think of was, How beautiful of an image, starting fresh and new, for the families that migrated from far away lands, that had to fight for everything they ever hoped for, in distinct opposite of todays time, everything is just to easy to have, in a generation of instant gratification ...
The history is very much alive along this Route 66, even if modern times caught up and took over!...
Something to leave you with...
Here is something to ponder....
Now from what I understand, these were real ordinances that were in fact "law"...
