Okay, I have a lot to share and very little time. So, with that said lets dive right in and start with some notes from Kingman as well as great news for those cruising as a group along the old double six.
We have been pouring through our photo files as well as adding to them and considered this photo of ruins in Stockton Hill as the next release in our ghost town series of prints. My thinking is it is to plain, almost sterile. So, we will most likely use one of the shots from last falls adventures into the Cerbat Mountains and the ruins of Cerbat or Mineral Park.
This quest for information about the lost and forgotten places on Route 66 led to the discovery an amazing website. I have difficulty imagining the amount of work that went into this Route 66 atlas that chronicles every alignment as well as many detours and business routes for that legendary highway. http://www.stjo66.de/
This past winter we had two snow storms that really hinted this long drought in western Arizona was drawing to a close. As it turned out my hopes were quite premature.
Winter was dry, spring wasn’t much better, and for the most part the monsoon season is a bust. I am starting to think we will be hunting jerky instead of deer this year.
It looks as though a controversial bio diesel facility near Kingman is about to become a reality. The Kingman Daily Miner recently carried this story – http://kingmandailyminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=33098&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1
*photos copyright Jim Hinckley 2009
We have been pouring through our photo files as well as adding to them and considered this photo of ruins in Stockton Hill as the next release in our ghost town series of prints. My thinking is it is to plain, almost sterile. So, we will most likely use one of the shots from last falls adventures into the Cerbat Mountains and the ruins of Cerbat or Mineral Park.This photo taken in the mountains above Cerbat seems to capture the ghost town element a little better. Any thoughts or suggestions?
I have been pouring through old maps and photos in the research stage of the next book, Ghost Towns of Route 66 and have found some really fascinating as well as overlooked sections of the old highway. This is one of them.
Even fans of the old double six often miss this one. It is Chadwick Drive in Kingman, Arizona. The eastern end of this short leg is directly across from the Quality Inn at the top of El Trovatore Hill.
This quest for information about the lost and forgotten places on Route 66 led to the discovery an amazing website. I have difficulty imagining the amount of work that went into this Route 66 atlas that chronicles every alignment as well as many detours and business routes for that legendary highway. http://www.stjo66.de/This past winter we had two snow storms that really hinted this long drought in western Arizona was drawing to a close. As it turned out my hopes were quite premature.
Winter was dry, spring wasn’t much better, and for the most part the monsoon season is a bust. I am starting to think we will be hunting jerky instead of deer this year.
The past few days have been like old times. By noon towering thunderheads dominate the eastern horizon and crown the Hualapai Mountains. A few hours later the winds blow, the temperatures plunge ten or even twenty degrees, the dust flies, and then it pours.
The clouds and the dust in the air at sunset make for some interesting photo opportunities. My dearest friend took this photo in the foothills of the Cerbat Mountains above the springs at historic Fort Beale.
If you happen to be cruising Route 66 with a group, or wish to use Kingman for you car clubs gathering, the Route 66 Association of Kingman has made special arrangement with the historic Hotel Brunswick and other motels to provide you with a discount. For more information contact Tim McDonnell, the association president, at kingmanroute66association@gmail.com.
As a final note Arthur Frommer, the travel writer behind the excellent Frommer’s guide book series, has decided he may not be able to promote Arizona as a tourist destination. Apparently he is rather disturbed by the fact that the folks in that state embrace the constitutional right to bear arms.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/frommer-may-boycott-arizona-over-guns/
Granted, the recent display of fire power at a speech by President Obama was over the top and wholly unnecessary. Still, my research indicates that the most dangerous places to live are those with the most restrictive policies towards ownership of firearms, places like New York City and Washington, D.C.
Granted, the recent display of fire power at a speech by President Obama was over the top and wholly unnecessary. Still, my research indicates that the most dangerous places to live are those with the most restrictive policies towards ownership of firearms, places like New York City and Washington, D.C.
So, if you are disappointed by Mr. Frommer’s stance and need a good tour guide for Arizona I suggest Backroads of Arizona. I will even sweeten the deal. If you buy a copy direct from me there will be a discount of 10% and I will sign it.
If you buy it through Amazon.com (information for ordering is in the right column of this blog) I would be pleased to sign it if you motor through Kingman. I could probably throw in a free pass to the Route 66 Museum and the Mohave Museum of History & Arts.
