Day 7 - Caution... Rough Road Ahead
We got up early this morning (7:30 am) because we wanted to check out Oatman, AZ before heading out to L.A. Oatman is an old mining-town-turned-ghost-town that is now a tourist attraction.
We pulled out of the River Palms Casino & Hotel's parking lot and Marcia plugged our destination into her GPS navigator, which has been affectionately named 'Beverly'. "Head straight onto Silver Creek Road for 11 miles," Beverly told us. Silver Creek Road ended up being a remote unpaved gravel road through the Mojave Desert and surrounding mountains. 11 miles of unpaved sometimes rocky road until we met up with the main paved road into Oatman. Needless to say, we were a little freaked out at the situation because of the possibility of losing a tire or encountering a group of rogue bandits. Emily kept her eyes on the road while Kristina kept watch on the front and sides of the car and Marcia kept lookout in the back when her head wasn't hidden under her pillow because of panic attacks (probably a side effect of Marcia's newfound obsession with "Lost"). The sword was at arms distance at all times for protection. Thanks, Jim!
Along the road we saw several shot-up road signs, lots of rusted out appliances and cars, and a 6-ft-long suspiciously wrapped bundle secured with a rock. We were too freaked out to stop and see if this confirmed our worst suspicions. But at this point, we were too far to turn back. We made it to Oatman just fine, and the drive was surprisingly beautiful given the situation.
11 miles and 45 minutes later, we arrived in Oatman. Oatman is a one-horse town, or more appropriately, a 20-donkey / 20-person town. Burros wandered the main street and men dressed up like miners and cowboys (complete with hats, chaps, and spurs) sat in front of the old buildings. It looked like a place out of an old western movie. Seriously, the whole town was a sixteenth of amile long on one road. It was kind of cool, though we're not sure it was worth risking our lives to get to it.
We left Oatman and stopped for a quick lunch in Needles, CA, and then headed in to L.A. We arrived mid-afternoon and headed straight to the Santa Monica Pier, the official end of the Mother Road.
We dipped our toes in the Pacific and walked around a bit, and then Em & Marcia gave Kristina the grand tour of L.A. We picked up a hot pizza and chilled our 12-pack of Corona and proceeded to eat a celebratory dinner in the new pad in Hollywood Hills. A great end to a fantastic trip!!
We pulled out of the River Palms Casino & Hotel's parking lot and Marcia plugged our destination into her GPS navigator, which has been affectionately named 'Beverly'. "Head straight onto Silver Creek Road for 11 miles," Beverly told us. Silver Creek Road ended up being a remote unpaved gravel road through the Mojave Desert and surrounding mountains. 11 miles of unpaved sometimes rocky road until we met up with the main paved road into Oatman. Needless to say, we were a little freaked out at the situation because of the possibility of losing a tire or encountering a group of rogue bandits. Emily kept her eyes on the road while Kristina kept watch on the front and sides of the car and Marcia kept lookout in the back when her head wasn't hidden under her pillow because of panic attacks (probably a side effect of Marcia's newfound obsession with "Lost"). The sword was at arms distance at all times for protection. Thanks, Jim!
Along the road we saw several shot-up road signs, lots of rusted out appliances and cars, and a 6-ft-long suspiciously wrapped bundle secured with a rock. We were too freaked out to stop and see if this confirmed our worst suspicions. But at this point, we were too far to turn back. We made it to Oatman just fine, and the drive was surprisingly beautiful given the situation.
11 miles and 45 minutes later, we arrived in Oatman. Oatman is a one-horse town, or more appropriately, a 20-donkey / 20-person town. Burros wandered the main street and men dressed up like miners and cowboys (complete with hats, chaps, and spurs) sat in front of the old buildings. It looked like a place out of an old western movie. Seriously, the whole town was a sixteenth of amile long on one road. It was kind of cool, though we're not sure it was worth risking our lives to get to it.
We left Oatman and stopped for a quick lunch in Needles, CA, and then headed in to L.A. We arrived mid-afternoon and headed straight to the Santa Monica Pier, the official end of the Mother Road.
We dipped our toes in the Pacific and walked around a bit, and then Em & Marcia gave Kristina the grand tour of L.A. We picked up a hot pizza and chilled our 12-pack of Corona and proceeded to eat a celebratory dinner in the new pad in Hollywood Hills. A great end to a fantastic trip!!
posted by Kristina @ 11:01 PM
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