From Seligman, over the Black Mountains, to Oatman
Arizona

After leaving Seligman we continued our Route 66 journey past Grand Canyon Caverns which meanders through the land of the "People of the Tall Pine," Hualapai Indians who have occupied this area for more than 1,400 years.

Grand Canyon Caverns is a 65 million year old natural limestone cavern located 210' underground and accessible by an elevator. This is the largest dry cavern in the United States--so dark that it is completely absent of any light, so quiet because it contains no life forms. The air is dry and clean, as it comes in via 65 miles of limestone crevices from the Grand Canyon to the caverns. The limestone takes out all moisture and impurities. Guided walking tours are available, but to have a real adventure you can stay overnight in the Cavern Suite, 22 stories below ground.

This picturesque stretch of the old road goes through the high desert. The old pavement runs closely parallel to the Santa Fe Railroad tracks, passing through the near-ghost towns of Peach Springs (the tribal headquarters of the Hualapai and the only access to the west rim of the Grand Canyon), the communities of Truxton, Valentine and finally Hackberry, a former silver mining town.

Hackberry once had several gas stations which served Route 66 travelers coming through town. When Interstate 40 bypassed Hackberry, nearly all of them were shut down. The Northside Grocery (established in 1934) and its Concoco gas station were among the last establishments to close in 1878. Hackberry became a ghost town. In 1992, itinerant artist Bob Waldmire, and at one point the town's only resident, re-opened the old store as a Route 66 information center and souvenir shop, naming it Hackberry General Store.

John and Kerry Pritchard bought the store in 1998. Although no gas can be purchased here, vintage gas pumps adorn the front of the building and the Mobilgas Pegasus stands on the roof. Inside and out the store is a virtual museum with classic cars, signs and other Route 66 memorabilia. All kinds of Route 66 souvenirs are available. Max, the Pritchard's rescue dog, greets visitors and is a celebrity, as he has starred in TV commercials for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, American Airlines, and international companies.

www.hackberrygeneralstore.com

Twenty-three miles later we pulled into Kingman, the largest city in northwest Arizona. Kingman has always depended on passing motorists for its livelihood. It is the only town in any direction for miles since its founding as a railroad center in 1880. The downtown district has over 40 buildings and landmark sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Route 66 (Andy Devine Avenue), named for the character actor who was born in Flagstaff in 1905 and raised in Kingman, still forms the main street. After visiting some of the town's antique shops, we drove toward one of the most remarkable stretches on all of Route 66.

The 52 miles between Kingman and the Colorado River near Topock is the original Mother Road. Before the formal declaration of Route 66 in 1926, it was cut to bring in a stream of prospectors looking to stake a claim in the Oatman Gold Rush of 1902. It is representative of the Mother Road mentioned in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and best symbolizes the Route 66 during the American Great Depression of the 1930s.

As we traveled along on an empty stretch of Route 66 at the beginning of the Black Mountains, we came to a restored replica of a 1920s gas station. Cool Springs Service Station originally included a bar, cabins and a café. When Route 66 was bypassed in 1953, business dropped off and was abandoned a year later. The final blow was when the ruins were blown up during the filming of the movie, Universal Soldier. Ned Leuchtner, a real estate agent from Chicago, bought the property and restored the gas station, guided by vintage photographs. Completed in 2004, there is a mini-museum and gift shop in the gas station, plus Cool Springs Water is sold there...but the pumps do not pump gas.

Between Cool Springs and Oatman we encountered a most exciting drive as we climbed into the Black Mountains with its switchbacks and amazing landscapes. The hairpin turns and skinny lanes are some of the best relics from America's story moving westward, giving a true glimpse of what roadies endured going through the untamed America West. We saw many remnants of iron wagons down the hillsides and in the gullies. Just over Sitgreaves Pass we stopped to see a small graveyard that had emerged organically with memorials to those who passed on the Route or whose life dream was for them to go there.

The Route continued through Goldroad, which has many foundations that were once part of the town. After Route 66 was completely paved in 1938, the section through the 75-mile-long Black Mountain range to Oatman was intimidating to some early drivers because of its sharp curves and steep grades. They oftentimes hired locals to drive their cars on the narrow road.

After crossing the 3,600' Sitgreaves Pass, the road descended rapidly for the last three miles to Oatman.

Unexpectedly, a burro appeared in the middle of the road as we drove down the mountain toward Oatman, and he came closer to the car to investigate when we stopped. The wild burros in this area are descendants of the animals once used for mining, and were turned loose when their services were no longer needed. They come down from the mountains every day into Oatman at sunrise to hustle hay cubes and carrots from tourists, who can buy the treats in town.