La Dolce Vita

Friday, May 1, 2015

On To Oatman

When Al said…Oatman is on this road ….there was no hesitation on my part…Let’s Do it! I kinda feel bad about say that because DH had been driving forever and has plenty more days to do the same!

Took this picture just for Jason….because he has been seeing several abandoned ships lately!

Al named this mountain…told K it looks like a binky!

Cold Springs….

This is what it looks like today as we travel the Route 66 to Oatman, We didn’t stop to go inside because last time we were here Al said the clerk inside was a bugger….told him not to open his hostess cupcakes inside the store….told him to Get Get Get!

Ed's Camp is another roadside attraction that goes back to the early days of Route 66. Ed originally came to the area as a miner in 1917 and it didn't take him long to realize that the real gold could be found servicing the Route 66 traveler.

Ed established his camp around 1919 and business was so good he never got around to building a proper building, he just threw up a roof to provide some measure of protection from the hot desert sun, wind, rain…etc(so those dark clouds) and Ed's Camp was born. Today the camp is deserted, but the odd buildings survive to temp the photographers ~ from the road that is ~ I wouldn’t venture any closer ~ bugs, dirt, snakes…who knows what….anyway it isn’t a good idea because Ed's Camp is private property and not open to the public

Wild burros, or Spanish donkeys, still roam the streets in Oatman, Arizona, and the residents wouldn't have it any other way. Located across the Colorado River and up the winding 10 mph curvy hill…. Oatman is an authentic western ghost town and mining camp founded in the early 1900s after prospectors struck gold.
Though Oatman's current population of 150 is a far cry from the nearly 4,000 who once called it home, it has remained prosperous, and its residents take pride in keeping the town as authentic as possible.

There are several performances daily of an old fashion gun fight…..K hated every minute of it…..to loud for his ear!

Lunch was a little more successful….especially that old fashion root beer!

We had a blast! Donkeys walk right up to you, especially if you are carrying a bag because they think you have hay pellets for them. You can buy a bag of pellets for 1 dollar to feed them (they also have mighty fine peanut brittle for human consumption)… K had finally warmed up to them enough to feed them.

Wonder what living in this luxury cabin is like!……..Probably not for me!

This is the stash King Kendry ended up with from the day!

and his I’m Stubborn but Loveable (shirt)…and that is the truth!

A Trip to Hoover Dam

Just like 7 million other people last year, we visited ~~Boulder~~, ~~Black Canyon~~, Hoover Dam.

No doubt about it …..it appears that the lake is getting lower and lower.

If I went into all the facts about building the dam…you would all leave me….So here is what I’m going to give you about my knowledge….I grew up thinking the name of the dam was Boulder Dam. For several years as a child, I thought there were two dams, Boulder and Hoover. The planned location of the dam was about 10 miles upstream from where it is today in a place called Boulder Canyon, thus the first name, Boulder Dam. In the early design phase, somebody figured out if they moved the location to Black Canyon, where the dam is today, it would have a larger reservoir and the rock walls of Black Canyon was stronger than Boulder Canyon. So they moved it, on paper. This was in the late 1920's. Since names don't mean much to engineers, they continued to call it Boulder Dam. By rights, they should have changed it to Black Canyon Dam which would have followed the precedent of names like Glen Canyon Dam which is the dam upstream. And so, with a little confusion about the name, it must be time for some politicians to get involved to straighten it out, right? In 1930, Hoover was president and had hopes of winning a second term so his administration took advantage of the change in location and began calling the project, The Hoover Dam… That made some sense because Hoover was instrumental in pushing the work on the Colorado River even before he was president. Hoover didn't win re-election and FDR becomes president.