Route 66

23 January, 2013
                                                                                                                                                      Kingman, Arizona

Now you go through saint looey 
Joplin, missouri, 
And oklahoma city is mighty pretty. 
You see amarillo, 
Gallup, new mexico, 
Flagstaff, arizona. 
Don't forget winona, 
Kingman, barstow, san bernandino. 

Won't you get hip to this timely tip: 
When you make that california trip 
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.

Freeman, Russ

Route 66 weaves it way back and forth over the newer route 40 frequently. It is a legend about Americana. The heart of it is here in Kingman, Arizona. As a winter storm is forecast for the mid-atlantic for Friday, and rain is following us closely from the Northwest, we are discussing a more southerly trip home.

We left Mojave for points East, passing through California city and past Edwards Air Force Base. The San Gabriel, Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Mountains were more visible in a clearer sky. As the landscape began to feature scrub palmetto trees and cactus, with the ever-present desert sage, the mountains rose higher and became jagged and geometric. Past Boron, the home of borax, Barstow and south of the National Mojave Preserve, we stopped in Newberry Flats to compare gas prices.

As we crossed over the 7500 mile mark since Virginia, and saw a sign reading, Wilmington, North Carolina, 2500 miles, I reflected how the entire trip has been a game of gas futures.  Having passed a station west of Barstow advertising $3.47 per gallon, I ultimately paid $4.39 in Needles for a small ration. Crossing out of California and into Arizona, the price dropped to $2.99, in Lake Havasu City, and I filled to the brim.

We saw a tribute to the Space sector in the form of a geodesic dome with a spiraling stair, all clad in titanium.

Stopping by the Needles BLM headquarters, I picked up some maps, and literature on lava formations and rattlesnakes. The ranger wasn’t familiar with Taliesen West.

After Needles, the highway takes a big dip around Goose Lake, on the Colorado River, and one begins to see strange formations in the landscape. These are lava tubes, formed 7.5 million years ago. Coming through Golden Valley the ridges form a crust and buttes jut above the scree, not unlike much of Utah.

Yesterday’s clouds gave way to clarity today, as I lament not making many photos. Today we embark for Scottsdale, taking 93 South and East out of Kingman, Arizona.