For many years, travelers have been enthralled with Route 66, the fabled route that formerly crisscrossed the American heartland.
It has become a symbol of travel and adventure because of its famous landmarks, meandering roads, and stunning scenery. Parts of the old route still exist and provide a nostalgic trip through time, even if most of it has been displaced by contemporary interstates.
A particularly picturesque and difficult section of Route 66 in Arizona continues to draw both road trip lovers and thrill-seekers.
Route 66: Scenic Views with a Deadly Twist
From just outside of Kingman, Arizona, the 48-mile Oatman Highway makes its way west to the Colorado River and the California border, navigating switchback after switchback through the Black Mountains.
Seeing the rusty hulks of cars laying at the base of the tremendous drop-offs will make you realize how wise it is to obey the 15 mph speed limit.
According to legend, tourists from that era would occasionally hire a local to drive their automobile over the perilous Sitgreaves Pass (seen above) or even have it pulled up and down to avoid the hazardous road.
However, unless you’re driving a Model T, your contemporary car ought to be alright.
The Joad family traveled this path to get from Oklahoma to California in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” In the narrative, Route 66 was referred to as the “Mother Road,” since it transported Dust Bowl migrants westward.
This section of the Oatman Highway was replaced in the 1950s with a flatter, saner road at a lower height, leaving it as an exciting beautiful route to be enjoyed carefully, maybe with a little Dramamine.
However, the expansive vistas of the Mohave Desert and the historical tidbits along the route make it worthwhile.
“My husband and I drove Route 66 from St. Louis to California and this was our favorite stretch of the mother road! The turns feel just like radiator springs at Disneyland,” one Tripadvisor traveler states.
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Oatman Highway Driving
For cool Coke in a vintage-style glass bottle, stop by Cool Springs, a historic stone petrol station twenty miles outside of Kingman that is now a roadside museum and gift shop.
Posing by the old petrol pumps that aren’t working, you might spot a couple of vintage cars on a Sunday drive. You can purchase a copy of an audio tour to go with you if your car has a CD player.
A few hairpin twists up the road will take you to Shaffer Fish Bowl, a hidden spring. Monkey paw orchids grow in this little oasis, which has a pool with granite walls that was constructed in the 1930s. Keeping it filled with goldfish is a charming custom among the locals.
Then, as you wind your way up to Sitgreaves Pass, take in the ever-increasing views. Utilize the numerous turn-outs to let the motorist to enjoy the scenery; when driving, their eyes must be fixed on the road.
If you look about, you could spot a roadrunner. The bird’s bizarre movement and blurry legs would instantly identify it as the Looney Tunes cartoon figure it was modeled after.
You will see the Colorado River Valley and the Mojave Desert for the first time when you arrive to Sitgreaves Pass. Arizona, Nevada, and California are all in view at once. This vista is all about volume and expanse, and pictures hardly capture it. The town of Oatman is the next destination.
