September 4th, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Bye Bye Kingman, Hello Cottonwood!

Just east of Kingman, is the Hualapai Mountain Park. It is a 2,300-acre park that offers picnicking and 10 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and equestrians, plus cabins. With a trail system dating back to the Great Depression, Hualapai Mountain Park has been a haven for outdoor enthusiasts for decades. A unique view of the desert below and mountain ranges in the distance mean that this is a special, unforgettable place you must experience. The name Hualapai means “People of the Tall Pines”, and comes from the name of the American Indian Tribe that lived in these mountains until they were relocated in the 1870s. Although the tribe was moved, their name forever evokes a sense of peace and appreciation of the nature found here. The park trails were started in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and improvement work has continued ever since. You’ll find roads, trails, picnic areas, and camping areas, plus stone cabins and pavilions. All are welcome to visit for a day, or set up camp to relish the beauty and comfort of Arizona’s mountain glory.

We were passed by an Indian River Transport truck, we love to see a little piece of home while we are on the road! Indian River Transport Co. is the premier liquid bulk food grade tank carrier. Their fleet of 600 tractors & 1,200 trailers provides transportation services throughout the United States while also offering import/export services between the US, Canada, and Mexico. They are based in Winter Haven, Florida.

Juniper Mesa is located in the southern Juniper Mountains on the northwest half of the Prescott National Forest. The views from the mesa top to the south are hard to beat. One can see all of Apache Creek Wilderness, and portions of Granite Mountain, Woodchute, and Sycamore Canyon Wilderness areas. The mesa is broken by steep canyons that open onto rolling hills with elevations ranging from 7,050 feet down to 5,650 feet. Southern slopes are vegetated primarily with pinion pines and Utah junipers, northern slopes with ponderosa pines and alligator junipers. Although there are no perennial streams and springs are unreliable, wildlife is relatively abundant, including black bears, elk, mule deer, bobcats, and squirrels.

We made a detour back onto Route 66, to see if we could take the Route 66 caravan through Seligman. We wanted to get our kicks on Route 66, one more time. Seligman is a great place to enjoy a pit stop filled with nostalgic treasures such as classic cars and retro neon signs. Originally born as a railroad town encampment named Prescott Junction, Seligman was officially named in 1886 after Jesse Seligman, a railroad financier. Seligman is now internationally known as an iconic Route 66 town. Seligman successfully made the transition from railroad town to Route 66 town.

However when Seligman was bypassed by Interstate-40 in 1978, it suffered a devastating economic blow. Eventually Seligman would use this setback as a catalyst to make a name for itself. In 1987, Seligman gained its name “Birthplace of Historic Route 66” due to the efforts of Seligman residents, most notably Angel Delgadillo, the Seligman barber who convinced the State of Arizona to dedicate Route 66 a historic highway. This grassroots effort to bring Route 66 back not only revitalized Seligman but it also caused world-wide interest in Route 66 and the old-fashioned Americana that it represents.

If this story reminds you of the adorable town called Radiator Springs depicted in Pixar’s animated feature Cars, there is a reason for that! Seligman served as the inspiration for the storyline and topography of the little Route 66 town that had to fight for its survival after being by-passed by the interstate. Now travelers from all over the world come to visit Seligman to see the Route 66 town that fought for the rebirth of the nostalgic road.

The Roadkill Café is known for its funky inventive names of meals. As you can probably tell from the name, The Roadkill Café is a dining adventure for those who dare to venture inside. The Roadkill Cafe/O.K. Saloon, a diner along the Historic Route 66— serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner— is definitely worth the stop. Featuring delectable and meaty platters, our menu has a great selection to choose from. Eating is more fun when you know it was hit on the run.

Jim and Jean Pope married in 1947 and had four children. In 1964, the family moved from the east coast to California. On the way, they spent a night here in Seligman at the Navajo Motel (now known as the Historic Route 66 Motel). In 1983, the family sold their business and bought several other businesses in Seligman, AZ. One of those businesses being the Navajo Motel that the family had stayed in 20-years earlier. They also bought the Historic Route 66 General Store, Historic Route 66 Automotive and Towing, and a small bar called the O.K. Saloon.

The Historic Seligman Sundries is located in one of Seligman’s oldest commercial structures – built in 1904 - the centerpiece of the Historic Seligman Sundries is a vintage soda fountain. Today, the Historic Seligman Sundries is Seligman’s only gourmet coffee bar and gift shop.

The Rusty Bolt boasts a funky exterior with its showroom dummies. It’s a Route 66 souvenir shop that's also a biker store, the Rusty Bolt is mostly memorable for its photo-friendly exterior. Roughly a 20 oddly-dressed showroom dummies stand along the sidewalk and on the porch roof. There are also several wacky photo-ops, the usual Route 66 excessive use of old road signs as decor, and a pink 1959 Edsel parked out front. Even by Mother Road standards, the Rusty Bolt is distinctly garish and bizarre.

In 1953, working on a shoestring budget, Juan Delgadillo built the Snow Cap Drive-In from scrap lumber. Fifty years later his small Route 66 business is known worldwide. Travelers praise the Snow Cap's burgers, malts, and fish tacos, but the place is best-known as Ground Zero for Route 66 road food pranks. The comedy developed over time thanks to the owner, a practical jokester who turned the eatery and its menu items into a running series of gags. Signs advertise "Cheeseburger with Cheese," "Dead Chicken," and "Sorry, We're Open." There's a fake door to get inside, and another door with fake doorknobs. The Snow Cap's slightly used napkins and sucky straws are comedy staples, and customers are routinely sprayed with colored yarn from ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles. It's all from the "harmless joshing" school of comedy, and anyone who just wants a burrito should probably go somewhere else.

Leaving Seligman, heading east on Historic Route 66, there were more Burma Shave signs … you know how much I love them!

In Ash Fork AZ we took AZ-89. At the end of July 2021, a 56-mile stretch of AZ-89 between Chino Valley and Wickenburg was recently renamed the “Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Highway” in honor of the brave firefighters who were lost battling the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30, 2013. The naming of the highway was approved by the Arizona State Board of Geographic and Historic Names. ADOT produced the signs which were officially unveiled at public events hosted by the city of Prescott marking the eighth anniversary of the tragedy.

Roundabouts are becoming increasingly used in Arizona instead of intersections. Research has shown that they improve traffic and reduce accidents greatly. Along the AZ-89 that connects Prescott to Chino Valley, there was a project to build many roundabouts. At least they made them interesting by including art in them. The Phippen Museum had a giant bronze replica of western sculptor and painter George Phippen’s last sculpture before his death in 1966, “Cowboy in a Storm” and it was installed recently in the middle of the circle. Traffic circles have been part of the transportation system in the United States since 1905, when the Columbus Circle designed by William Phelps Eno opened in New York City. Subsequently, many large circles or rotaries were built in the United States.

The Big Chino Valley is a broad valley that runs from the Seligman area in the northwest to the Paulden area in the southeast. Big Chino Wash drains the Big Chino Valley and feeds the headwaters of the Verde River. The majority of the Big Chino Valley is made up of grassland habitat that is ideal for antelope. We saw a small heard of Pronghorn Antelope in a prairie near Chino Valley, AZ. Pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) have been in Arizona since the 1950s. The Chino Valley, one of the largest intact expanses of pronghorn habitat in Arizona.

We arrived in Cottonwood. We will be here for several days, with ample time to explore!

Dead Horse Ranch State Park is our home for the next several days! We are anxious to see our son, his girlfriend and our granddaughter!