Oatman and Moving On

You know what? There really isn’t a whole lot to do here in Needles, CA. We came rolling in under sunny skies and warm temps. My youngest was scrambling as fast as she could to get into her summer dresses. And of course, the cold followed us right on down the highway. While I wouldn’t call it truly ‘cold’ for winter, things have definitely cooled off.

It’s breezy here too. It seems the wind blows a day or two and then stops. Then it resumes again. Another blogger that I follow mentioned the same thing when she was in the area. If I’d had my druther, I’d have been out of here in a week. But alas, the crew wanted to stay on a few days longer.

You see, it really is warm enough to swim during the day. The pool is heated and once the sun warms things up, it feels pretty nice. But between the wind and some of the chillier nights, I’m ready for the Caribbean or something. I never knew how extreme the desert could be!

But it was a good stop for receiving packages, doing laundry, and gathering provisions. The laundry really is the best part because it’s cheaper than most. It was also nice to have it a few doors down. Especially when you wash the bedding and the same night you snuggle in, the puppy vomits whatever junk he shouldn’t have eaten all over the clean comforter, ugh!

I know, a little bit too much information. The only other noteworthy thing we’ve done since we’ve been here is drive through the town of Oatman. It’s an old western town that makes you wonder if you should or shouldn’t get out of your car. Even the wild donkey’s have an evil glare in their eyes. Not kidding, click on that picture.

One thing that was really cute was the decorated scrub brush along the road leading into town. I guess various people took ownership in decorating them. Some of them were really cute. My favorite would have to be ‘A Chili Christmas’. A few of the pictures are funky as my daughter took some pictures and accidentally put the setting on  ‘effects’ .

The girls favorite was, of course, the pink sparkly one. Then there was ‘Spongebob the Snowman’ made out of painted rocks. This little touch of Christmas in the desert really is a cute idea. The town of Oatman started the tradition.

The town of Oatman, population of probably about 100, is quite an interesting site. You don’t know if you’ve come upon an old mining town, squatters in the desert or people REALLY trying hard to keep history alive and bring in a buck. Turns out, it’s a combination of all these factors and some history can be found here.

It’s an old mining town where, in 1915, two miners struck it rich with a $10 million gold find. Of course, this piqued people’s interest and within a year, the town’s population grew to more than 3,500.

In 1924, the mining operation was shut down. But alas, Route 66 meandered through and helped the town stay alive into the 1960’s. Oatman also has some Hollywood roots. It was used as the location for several movies to include How The West Was Won, Foxfire and Edge of Eternity.

The Oatman Hotel was built in 1902 and sheltered many miners, movie stars and politicians. It’s listed on the National Historical Building Registry. ‘Legend’ has it that Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned at the Oatman Hotel in 1939.

Their honeymoon suite is still revered as a major attraction at the Oatman Hotel. However, it seems the only occupants staying at the hotel these days are of the spiritual kind. There is rumor that it’s haunted.

And the donkeys? It seems they’re descendants of the burro’s used by the miners in the 1800’s. When the mining operation shut down and they were no longer needed, they were let loose to fend for themselves. And fend they’ve done. Just look at those eyes, haha!

In reference to the mining, I think some long timers still hold fast to striking it rich again. There was some land posted with ‘private property-no trespassing’ signs and it looked like a big dig site. And indeed, it seems that mining is going on again.

While it’s come and gone over the years, in 1995, it reopened and was producing 40,000 ounces of gold a year. Then it shut down as prices plunged. However, they’re currently mining again as gold prices have surged the last few years.

Quite a little history in such a small stretch of place, huh?! I thought it was pretty cool. But I think we’ve seen all there is to see or care to see anyway. So where are we headed next? Did you happen to notice I’m not exactly following my original plan I blogged about way back when?

We’ve been improvising and adjusting all along the way. We’ve added a LOT more stops in between and a few got axed all together. And you know what, that’s the way it should be, to a certain extent. I want to have some type of plan in place but I want to flex and bend it as needed. We’ve definitely been doing that.

Tomorrow Perl will set her wheels in motion toward Pond Mead. Okay, okay, technically it’s Lake Mead but boy has the drought hit it hard. I remember visiting it in 2003, it was full of life and WATER. Now it’s shrunk down so much there are tires, a plane wreckage and, heck, an old ghost town starting to show their former selves according to USA Today.

And the funny part is, it’s actually helped boost tourism. So, we’ll go see what we can see. Although my main objective for this stop is so the kids can see Hoover Dam. It’s also a mere hour and a half from our current location and a half hour from Vegas baby!

I’m also yearning for some trails to hike with the pooch. Our current ‘home’ is a small RV park with gravel everywhere. We can’t even ride our bikes. And I love state and national parks, they rock. Oh, and did I mention the price is right too, at $10/night. That’s what I’m talking about.

So follow us on down the road to Lake Mead! We can’t wait to see you there.

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Goodnight Oatman

{HUGS} from the Crew!