Traditionally the weekend is split between mundane chores and good times shared with friends. On Route 66 this, as well most everything else, is magnified into something dramatic and spectacular.
The weekend kicked 0ff with a little overtime at the office, polishing a new feature article for 66 The Mother Road, finishing the rough draft of chapter three for the new book, and a movie (Square) shared with my dearest friend. As it turns out the excellent Australian film was ideal for setting the stage for the rest of the weekend.
Saturday morning was spent at the office in a four hour marathon of conflict resolution, inventory issues, and prep work for Monday morning. This was followed by an on site visit with mural artist Sandy Rusinko who will be submitting proposals for the west wall of the historic Old Trails Garage (1915).
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| Author Jim Hinckley at his office that doubles as a small museum. |
This was followed by a quick lunch with my dearest friend and a return trip to the office. As I am on a six day work schedule, and as we close at noon on Saturday, the office that is a museum of sorts seemed the perfect venue for the surprise Dale Butel of Route 66 Tours had planned for his summer group.
At about 2:00 a small herd of rented muscle cars and motorcycles arrived, and the group of excited Aussies and Kiwi’s filled my office with a sense of eager anticipation. I spoke on the history of Route 66 for about twenty minutes, answered questions, and then distributed copies of Ghost Towns of Route 66 signed as souvenirs of their summer tour.
I bid the group farewell, apologized for not being able to follow them through Oatman, and promised to make myself available to answer questions that evening at the Avi Casino and Resort in Laughlin, Nevada. The next few hours were spent answering correspondence and adjusting the Monday schedule.
We had three options for our trip to Laughlin but we selected our favorite, the drive along the pre 1952 alignment of Route 66 through the Black Mountains. I have been traveling over this old road since 1966 and never tire of it. As a bonus it was remarkeably cool for late July on the west side of the mountains and in the Colorado River Valley (109 versus the usual 120 plus degrees).
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| A traffic jam in Oatman on Route 66. |
After check in we met with John and Judy Springs (66 The Mother Road), Dale Butel, and a few delightful folks from Australia to discuss business, the wonders of Route 66, and what makes our respective countries special. The hours flew by and as this was a casino with no clocks or closing time, before we knew it the midnight hour came and went.
After only a few hours of sleep we joined our new found friends from the land down under for breakfast and a send off as they continued their westward journey along Route 66. It was only 9:00 in the morning but the temperature was already closing in on one hundred degrees as we began our climb into the Black Mountains from the Colorado River Valley.
We had planned on beating a path through Oatman before the afternoon flood of visitors constricted main street (Route 66) into an almost impassable corridor. We accomplished our goal but were still caught up in the early morning traffic jam Oatman style.
On the way home we made but one stop. A some point in our travels I came up with the idea of providing a mystery photo. Can anyone tell me where this site is located, and what business was located here?
