Oatman, Arizona

Ever since we've been visiting Laughlin, we've been aware of nearby Oatman, Arizona. The Laughlin Entertainer provides a brief review of Oatman in its "Points of Interest" section, usually found on page 3 of its weekly publication. We decided to visited this old mining town since we now have plenty of time on our hands.

Oatman is located in the Black Mountains of western Arizona. Located at an elevation of 2700 feet, the town is surrounded by rugged crags. Homes are perched on hillsides. Old Route 66 runs through town from Kingman to Needles, California. In my mind, I can see the Joad family rumbling along this narrow roadway as they make their way to the "promised land" in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

Essentially, the town today is just a tourist destination. The dozen or so shops that line the roadway sell T-shirts, leather goods, and similar items that tourists always seem eager to snatch up. There are a couple of restaurants.

The town is named for Olive Oatman, whose family was attacked by hostile Indians in 1851 on the Gila River about 80 miles or so east of Yuma, Arizona. All of the members of the family were killed except for Olive, 14, her sister Mary Ann, 7, and a brother, Lorenzo, age 15. Lorenzo was clubbed and left for dead while the two girls were taken by the Indians, who Oatman later identified as Tonto Apaches, but may have been Yavapais. The girls were used as slaves by the tribe for about a year, when a band of friendly Mohave Indians traded some goods for the girls and took them to their village near present-day Needles, California. They were more or less adopted into the tribe and treated well. Mary Ann died of hunger, probably during a severe drought and food shortage in 1855.When she was 19, Olive was turned over to authorities at Fort Yuma. She later met with her brother Lorenzo, who had survived the attack and had been looking for her over the years.

One place of local interest is the Oatman Hotel. Following their wedding in nearby Kingman, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their wedding night in this hotel on March 29, 1939. It's said that Gable often returned to the hotel to play poker with local miners and enjoy the solitude of the desert.

Another unique point of interest in the town is the band of wild burros that wander about freely. Tourists enjoy feeding them and having their pictures taken with them. 

It didn't take long for Donna and I to tour the town. We have no need of buying trinkets and such, so we merely made a pass north along one sidewalk and then back south along the opposite sidewalk. I understand that they have gunfight reenactments quite frequently, though we did not witness one. We actually enjoyed the drive from Fort Mohave and back the most. As we headed east away from the river, we climbed gradually towards the Black Mountains, eventually joining the original Route 66 about 3 miles southwest of Oatman. On the return trip, the views of the Colorado River valley were outstanding.

Below are some pictures of Oatman.

Oatman is up in them thar hills. These are the Black Mountains of western Arizona, and Oatman is tucked away in them.

Donna and her new best friend. They have very similar personality traits.

Downtown Oatman

Suburban Oatman

Surrounding mountains

Mine entrance

Here come the burros!

The Oatman Hotel, where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their wedding night.

Oatman sidewalk

Oatman mountain chalet

Old Route 66 looking west from Oatman.

Leaving Oatman and looking west towards the Colorado River valley.

Laughlin KOA

December 24 - January 7

We don't usually stay at KOA RV parks. We find most to be overpriced, and many have cramped sites. But they are pretty reliable as regards amenities. Laughlin KOA, located at the Avi Casino just south of Laughlin, is one of the better KOAs where we've stayed.

Office, with restrooms/showers on the left and laundry on the right. Facilities are very adequate.

This is a large park. I'm not sure how many sites are available. The property is basically a very large parking lot with a protected wetland in the center. The sites on the west side of the wetland have paved interior roads with gravel sites. The sites to the north and east have no pavement -- it's just basically one large gravel parking lot. But this is the desert, after all.

Paved interior road with a view of the mountains.

Most sites are pull-thru, though sites lining the west perimeter next to the neighboring golf course are back-in. A common utility area is located between sites. This is nice, as neither rig faces the utility area. Cable TV from a Fort Mohave provider is part of the package, but be forewarned of the 1 hour time difference since Fort Mohave is in Arizona.

Play area at the north end of the property contains a playground for children, a dog run, and a horseshoe pit.

Dog run

We were able to pick up WiFi most of the time; however, we were told the WiFi came from the casino/hotel and that we may or may not receive it, so I guess I was fortunate. Had we been parked farther away, we probably would not have received a signal. This is just another example of an RV park that lists WiFi on its web page as an amenity, but does not really support it.

View of the mountains to the west beyond the neighboring golf course

The restrooms/showers and laundry were all in good condition and well maintained. Yes, I've seen better, but these were perfectly fine. Propane is not available within the RV park, though it normally is sold at the Smoke Shop, the little convenience store that sits in the neighboring Avi parking lot. However, on the day I tried to get propane from them, their pump was broken. There is a business in Fort Mohave nearby where propane is sold.

This is a busy park, with people going and coming almost constantly throughout the day. Numerous businesses are just over the river to the east in Fort Mohave, including Smith's Grocery, Safeway, Walmart, and various restaurants.

We spent 2 weeks at the park. We enjoyed our stay there and will likely return at a future date.

On the Road: Marana, AZ, to Laughlin, NV

Thursday, December 24

We were on the final leg of our journey, and we were eager to arrive in Laughlin and settle in to one place for a while.

The most direct route from Marana, AZ, to Laughlin is through Phoenix, but I'm not about to drive through that monster of a town. It's big and busy, and I don't like driving in big and busy places, especially when pulling a trailer. So, we headed 40 miles up I-10 past Picacho Peak -- a noted area landmark -- to Casa Grande and took I-8 west towards Yuma on what is locally known as the Phoenix bypass. We followed I-8 west for about 70 miles through some of the best stands of saguaro cactus to Gila Bend. For RVers, there are a couple of RV parks here, along with a good place to get gas.

At Gila Bend, we took Arizona 85 north along a 4 lane highway for 45 miles where we once again intersected with I-10. This time, however, we headed east, back towards Phoenix, for about 10 miles where we then took Highway 303 due north. This freeway-style highway was easy driving. We intersected with US 60 in 15 miles, then headed northwest towards Wickenburg.

Wickenburg is another place that isn't particularly RV friendly as regards gas stations. There is a station northwest of town, though, that is large enough to handle RVs. At Wickenburg, US 60 heads west, so we picked up US 93 and continued northwest. At this point, our 4-lane highway gave away to a 2-lane road for the next 30 miles or so. The impatient lunatic drivers emerged, and this stretch proved to be perhaps the most stressful of the trip. There are occasional passing lanes, and eventually the road returns to 4 lanes for most of the way. Just north of Wickenburg is one of the best Joshua Tree forests I have ever seen. Then the saguaros return. The scenery along this road can be quite spectacular, especially around Burro Creek.

We finally hit I-40, where we turned west to Kingman, then picked up Highway 68 for the final leg to Laughlin. It was good to finally arrive at the Avi KOA south of Laughlin, our home for the next week or two. I'll review the park in another entry.

Valley of the Sun RV Park

Wednesday, December 23 . . .

We spent the second night of our trip at Valley of the Sun RV Park, which is located less than a mile off Interstate 10 in the small community of Marana, Arizona, just north of Tucson. This is far enough off the interstate to eliminate highway noise, but close enough to be convenient. The park is a 55+ park, which I enjoy. Interior roads are paved, but sites are gravel. As with Boot Hill, there is no cable TV. Although we were just on the outskirts of Tucson, we were only able to pick up 3 or 4 TV stations on our antenna, and 2 of those were Spanish language. And as seems to be the case with many RV parks that advertise WiFi, we were unable to connect at this park. But, we were tired after our long drive, so all we wanted was to eat some supper, shower, and crawl into bed.

There are quite a few permanent residents in this park, and about a third of the spots are dedicated to mobile homes. Sites are placed close together and are rather small, so it can be difficult to back in. I would not recommend this as an overnight stop. But it could be a nice long-term destination for seeing Tucson and the surrounding area. We paid $34.50 for the night. The monthly rate is $430, plus stadium tax and electricity.

Boot Hill RV Resort

Tuesday, December 22 . . .

We spent the first night of our journey to Laughlin at Boot Hill RV Resort, located about halfway between Tularosa and Alamogordo, New Mexico, on the east side of US Highway 54. Boot Hill RV Resort is a good overnight stop. The employees are friendly and attentive, and sites are large and spacious. All your basic amenities -- except for cable TV -- are available, and all worked fine except for the WiFi. Restrooms and laundry were well maintained and in good working order. We paid a rate of $27 for a single night stay, but the posted weekly rate is $125 (plus electricity) while the monthly rate is $225 (plus electricity). Although the park is located right next to a US highway, traffic noise was not a problem. Few trees are located in the gravel park, but this is the desert, after all. For the realistic traveler, this is a very decent RV park with views of the mountains to the east.

Below are some pictures of this very nice RV park.

Office for Boot Hill RV Resort

Two private bathrooms are provided for the guests. They are well maintained.

Entrance to the laundry. The entrance to the showers is on the left side of this building.

Our site, #501, was long enough that we were able to stay connected. In the morning, all we had to do was disconnect the water and electric, bring in the slide, and we were on the road.

Some of the other pull thru sites waiting for travelers to pull in.

Back-in sites are located along the perimeter of the property. Those are the Sacramento Mountains in the background.

Rental cabins are also available on the property.

On the Road: Alamogordo, NM, to Marana, AZ

December 23, 2015 . .

Today’s journey would prove to be not only the longest of our 3 days, but also the most difficult.

The day started easily enough. Because we had not unhitched the night before, it took just a few minutes to disconnect the water and electricity before hitting the road at 7:15. We took the bypass around Alamogordo and picked up US 70 on the southwest side of the city for the 70 mile drive to Las Cruces. The sun came out and the road was flat and straight with little breeze. It was good driving.

But as we climbed to the pass through the Organ Mountains just east of Las Cruces, the sun gave away, the wind picked up, and the rain came. I was glad to get through the pass. We hopped on I-25 for a few miles south to connect to I-10, then began our long trek west following this highway. We crossed the nearly dry Rio Grande, then climbed 2 long hills up from the river valley. Once out of the climb, we had a flat road ahead of us. I was able to set the cruise across this flat land, and our mpg held at just over 10. Life was good. There was a crosswind, but it really didn’t bother me much.

Donna snapped this photo of a rainbow ending next to the highway as we approached the pass through the Organ Mountains.

This photo shows the pass on the left a little better.

We stopped for gas and coffee in Deming, then continued westward through Lordsburg with another gas stop at Wilcox, Arizona. Donna had made 2 sandwiches before leaving Alamogordo, so she pulled these from the fridge and we had a bit of lunch.

I was feeling pretty good about our day. I was holding the truck to a steady 60 mph and enjoying the drive. We had just over an hour to go to reach our destination. Then, just west of Benson, our good day faded away. Without any warning, I noticed traffic was stopped ahead. There had been no signs along the road. So, we fell in line and began inching our way westward. We would stay in this traffic gridlock for 2 hours while we went only 8 miles. At first, we had no idea what the problem was, but gradually we began seeing signs that announced construction ahead. So, after nearly 2 hours, we finally reached the construction area.

So, once through the gridlock, we passed through Tucson and pulled into Valley of the Sun RV Park in the small community of Marana about 20 miles north of Tucson. I’ll review that RV park in another entry.

We were able to maintain 9.8 mpg for the trip today despite the long periods of idling in the construction zone.

On the Road: Lubbock, TX, to Alamogordo, NM

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

For our trip to Laughlin, we decided to take what we call the “Southern Route.” It would have been shorter to angle up to Interstate 40 (our “Northern Route”), then shoot across, but a winter storm was approaching the area and we did not want to take any chances, especially with areas in higher elevations like Flagstaff, Arizona. We decided to make the trip in 3 days.

Leg 1 of our journey would be the shortest leg of the journey at 291 miles. We left Lubbock about 9:30 and headed down US 62 for about 40 miles to Brownfield. This is familiar territory to us, as we lived in Wellman, a small town just outside of Brownfield, for 3 years in the mid-1980s. The short drive was down a nice 4 lane highway. The wind was blowing, but not much at the time.

At Brownfield, we turned due west on US 380, and the trip immediately became more challenging. First, we lost our nice 4-lane divided highway. Next, the wind grew stronger out of the southwest. This had 2 negative effects. It really buffeted our trailer around, causing driving to be a bit more stressful. It also reduced our gas mileage. We started the day getting nearly 12 mpg, but that figure dropped rapidly once we began heading into the strong wind.

US 380 from Brownfield to the Texas/New Mexico border has numerous passing lanes, so this helped as there is considerable traffic on this highway. Just before leaving Texas, we stopped in the small community of Plains for gas and coffee. While the drive so far had been through farm land, the country west of Plains gradually transitioned into traditional range land. With flat terrain and no trees, vistas seem endless. Yes, there are occasional dips and swells, but the land is pretty flat. The sun was out, and had it not been for the wind, the drive would have been pleasant.

For RVers who might be reading this, the small New Mexico community of Tatum has a couple of gas stations at the town’s major intersection where access is easy for big rigs.

From Brownfield to Roswell is 134 long miles of 2 lane traffic, so we were happy to reach this city on the Pecos River. But for westbound RVers, getting gas is difficult. There are few stations with room for trucks pulling trailers. We were finally able to negotiate a small 2 pump station, though. At Roswell, US 380 merges with US 70 and becomes 4 lanes.

About halfway between Roswell and Ruidoso, the highway begins following the Rio Hondo. This is really a lovely stretch, as the tree-lined river is dotted with small farms and ranches. At the town of Hondo, US 380 heads northwest following the Rio Bonito, while US 70 continues west following the Rio Ruidoso. Hills begin to close in as the road weaves through the valleys of these rivers.

As we approached Ruidoso, we began seeing snow on the mountains, especially on the northern slopes. We lost our sun and seemed to climb into the clouds, and we even passed through a few light flakes of snow as our temperature dropped from the mid 50s to the lower 30s. We crossed the summit near the Inn of the Mountain Gods and began seeing clear skies ahead. From Roswell to Ruidoso, we had gradually climbed higher and higher while our mpg had gradually decreased. And although the highway is excellent, our average speed was also greatly reduced because of the climbs, the curves, and the weather. At our lowest, we were only averaging just under 8 mpg. But once we passed the summit, conditions improved and our mpg increased.

On the east side of Ruidoso, only a little snow is visible on the upper and northern slopes.

On the west side of Ruidoso near the summit, snow was a bit more prevalent.

Soon, we were in the small village of Tularosa, where we turned south for our few remaining miles to Boot Hill RV Park. I’ll enter a review of this park in another entry. Out mpg for the day averaged at 8.8.