AND THE FUN CONTINUES

Well it would seem that line about the well laid plans of mice and men is holding true. The long and short of it is after months of wrangling, negotiation, frustration, and hope we (the Kingman Route 66 Association) are just one step short of being back to square one.
Last year at just about this time we kicked of an ambitious and visionary project to relight the historic district and the Route 66 corridor with vintage neon that would add continuity and encourage visitors to do more than pass through. We targeted the historic Old Trails Garage just west of the Brunswick Hotel as our first project after discovering the original Packard sales and service sign was in storage for more than sixty years.
We obtained estimates for the restoration and placement of the sign, a matching funds grant, and launched numerous fund raisers. All was set to roll when the owner apparently decided the sign might be to valuable for placement.
Our second project, adding color to the historic district and Route 66 corridor with murals depicting this communities fascinating history was equally frustrating. We secured a location with owners approval, selected an artist and a mural depicting the history of the Hualapai people form their creation story to the future which is the sky walk at Grand Canyon West, sought funding from the Grand Canyon West Resort and received a tentative approval.
Then, literally, the day before final approval resignation of a board member at the resort as a result of personal issues tossed everything on the back burner. Now, we are on hold indefinitely. So, here to we are almost back to square one.
Now, for the first mural, we need to raise $8,500. On the plus side we have numerous locations approved for the next murals as well as the cities blessing.
The sign project is still alive. At tonight's meeting it will be proposed we approach the Mohave Museum of History and Arts to form a partnership utilizing our approved grant as well as the vintage City Cafe sign with a goal being to light the back parking lot along Route 66 with this sign.
Another project of interest also pertains to signage. The initial steps have been taken to create and place signage marking the various alignments of Route 66 in the area with indication as to the dates these were utilized. In addition there is a hope we can incorporate these into a bicycle trail system. Hopefully, we can move that along this evening.

HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

First on the list today is another Kingman note. Beale Street, one block north of Route 66, is fast becoming the heart of the historic district. It is also often overlooked by fans of the old double six.
Chillin' on Beale Street and the Street Drags have put this street with its historic buildings and wide array of new businesses in the spotlight. Then there are the "First Friday" activities that center around the gallery at Beale Street Brews on the first Friday evening of each month.
In addition to introducing a new artist there is live music, vintage cars, good food at Redneck's Ba-B-Que, and sidewalk tables for sharing pleasant conversation over a glass of wine from the Wine Cellar or a warm beverage from Beale Street Brews.
The next time you motor west take a slight detour and discover one of Kingman's best kept secrets. And if that visit happens to take place on the first Friday evening of the month prepare yourself for an enjoyable evening that will most likely delay your travel plans and lead to a delightful weekend.
Now for the story of the day - iconic Harley Davidson is moving into the Indian market in a move reminiscent of an era when Packard was the worlds preeminent luxury car and Ford was truly king of the hill. At the same time GM's largest market is now China.
For me the Harley Davidson story was tinged with somber tones. This "they get Harley's we get mango's" trade deal appears as the ghost of Christmas past further enhancing an unshakable feeling that the United States is rapidly following in the footsteps of the British empire during the post war period.
During the years between the world wars the American auto industry dominated the international markets. In Australia during the heady days of the 1920s when wool prices were soaring to incredible heights Packard out sold Rolls Royce. Throughout much of the British empire the story was the same.
It was engineers and body dies from American Bantam that were the cornerstone for Datsun. Shortly before 1920 an industry study found that three of every five automobile on the road in the world were Ford built.
My how times change. Here is to Harley Davidson and keeping the tradition alive.

ANOTHER KINGMAN SURPRISE

One reason I write books is my love for sharing special places. In Kingman the list of those type of places is a lengthy one. One of these are the stunning landscapes at White Cliffs Historic Wagon Trail Site less than one mile from the historic district, a half mile from the golf course, and two hundred years removed from the modern era.

After two days of near gale force winds we awoke this morning to a picture perfect fall morning with temperatures hovering at about forty degrees, a radical departure from the hundred degree days of a week ago! The skies were the sharpest, crispest blue and it was a true test of will power to go to the office rather that the back country.
Monday is technically my day off but as we have a new trainee I have to open the office and stay close as well as remain tethered via the cell phone. Still, I was able to open the office, take care of errands, and pick up my dearest friend for a hike into the Cerbat Mountains all before eleven o'clock.

We had just arrived at one or favorite places in the hills above Beale Springs when an issue at the office required my assistance. Needless to say I was not a happy camper, you might even say I was disgruntled, frustrated, and ... Well, you get the idea.

As is often the case simply taking a deep breath and resolving the problem works better than anger and a fit. I do forget that on occasion but as a result of the delay and other pending tasks my allotted time for enjoying a stroll among the solitude of the desert with my dearest friend was now halved. So, my dear wife suggested White Cliffs, less than a half mile from our home.
The center piece of this wilderness surround by the trappings of the modern urban landscape is a section of road where countless wagons hauling ore from the mines at Stockton Hill to the rail head in Kingman wore deep grooves in the tufa stone below towering bluffs and mesas.

In the 1960s the Job Corps transformed this area into a delightful city park with picnic area, hiking trail to an observation point near the summit of the bluff above, and drinking fountains. Vandalism thwarted all efforts to preserve this park as a Kingman jewel and as a result little remains today with the exception of the timeless scenery, the observation point, a few miles of roads that twists throughout the canyons, and the old wagon road.

Its proximity to our home as well as the illusion of desert solitude created by this wilderness island make it one of our favorite places for a de-stressing walk when time is short. This is just another reason Kingman is such a unique and wonderful place.

With a vehicle such as our Jeep most of the canyons are accessible but that defeats the whole idea. So, the next time you motor west, or east, on iconic Route 66 and need to stretch the legs may I suggest the delightful "wilderness" at White Cliffs?

From Locomotive park, and the Power House visitor center, continue west on Route 66 about one block. At the junction, with the murals of the Mohave Museum of History and Arts facing you, a left turn places you on Route 66. Instead turn right following the edge of the park.

At the stop light continue straight, north, on Grandview Avenue. At Lead Street, about five blocks past the high school, turn right.

At roads end turn left on White Cliffs Road. The parking lot is on the right about two hundred years after the pavement ends at a graded gravel road.

Lock your vehicle, be sure valuables are out of sight in the truck, and walk across the bridge. The wagon road is about two hundred yards up the main trail. This road continues and ties in with a series of twisted trails and roads through the canyons.

GHOSTS TOWNS AND DAWN OF A NEW ERA

The Internet is amazing resource and one of the biggest time sinks known to man. It is an endless warren and maze of rabbit trails as well as a mind numbing adventure.

I started looking for information about ghost towns along Route 66 and found myself mesmerized by the photos of ghost towns in Africa, Japan, Russia and other places on this website. http://www.oddee.com/item_96462.aspx This led to searching for more information about these empty places and before I knew it several hours had passed.

Along the way I also found Fordlandia, an amazing adventure in the jungle of Brazil launched by Henry Ford. This utopic rubber processing center was a recreation of Dearborn deep in the forest. Today it is merely another mind boggling ghost town. http://www.damninteresting.com/the-ruins-of-fordlandia#atuid-47eb97cd6515afc5

Hitting a little closer to home was a pictorial study of the ruins of Detroit. I have some pretty fond memories of Detroit as my dad took me to a number of places there and our school had an annual field trip to the zoo. It was nothing short of stunning to now view the city as the ruins of a lost civilization and to realize that civilizations was mine. http://detroityes.com/home.htm

This brings us to Route 66 related issues. During the annual Route 66 Fun Run the old highway becomes an unbroken thread linking the past, the present, and the future. Forgotten, dusty wide spots in the road such as Hackberry become teeming mini metropolises.

Surprisingly, there are a few who lament such gatherings as well as the resurgent interest in the old highway in general. Oddly enough they are often the same ones who greave over the empty stores and the razed landmarks.
Stranger still is the ability these folks have for overlooking the fact that it is the Fun Run and the Europeans on rented Harley's that keep what remains alive. They also seem to forget that Route 66 was always in a state of flux and that continues to this day as evidenced by the Route 66 Alliance plans to utilize the highways popularity to promote alternative energy vehicles.

I was privileged to experience Oatman when it was a ghost town and to be honest it was more enjoyable, for me, then. If, however, there had not been a resurgence of interest in Route 66 that led to there being profitability in restoring and recreating what would be left today?

Yes, there needs to be balance, especially in regards to the remnants, the historic artifacts that remain. Still, I have learned more than a few lessons from writing Ghost Towns of the Southwest.

Towns will die without purpose. When they do it is but a short period of time before they become little more than GPS coordinates or dots on old maps with little to mark their passing or role in history. Okay, enough of the soap box.

GHOST TOWN THOUGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

Ghost towns. Thanks to almost a century of Hollywood epics the mere mention of the term "ghost town" conjure images of dusty streets with blowing tumble weeds and hitching posts, empty buildings, and a dusty saloon with bottles on the shelf. As with so much of what comes from the movie capital the reality is far different from the fantasy.

Still, from Pompeii to Vulture City these empty places capture our imagination. They fill us with dreams of adventure, of exploration, and of lost treasure.

One of the most amazing things found in my initial research on the ghost towns of Arizona was the popularity of these lost and forgotten places. Just this week the Arizona Republic published an article on ghost towns, http://www.azcentral.com/travel/features/articles/2009/09/29/20090929ghost1028.html#atuid-47eb97cd6515afc5 A simple website that chronicles ghost towns has tens of thousands of hits every month. http://www.ghosttowns.com/

Ghost towns have been an important part of my life for the last thirty years. During the past two years they have played a dominating role as we compiled material for our newest book, Ghost Towns of the Southwest, http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Towns-Southwest-Historic-Arizona/dp/0760332215/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254487259&sr=1-4 and the one currently under construction, Ghost Towns of Route 66. One of the first lessons learned in our endeavor to record the history of these places was how fragile they are. Towns with extensive ruins ten years ago are difficult to locate today, the result of time and vandalism.
Others such as Jerome, Tombstone, and Oatman have survived and even prospered as idealized recreations or as colonies of eclectic artists. Then there are those die hards, places such as Bisbee where time seems suspended even though the town is but a shadow of what it was during the glory days of the early 20Th century.

In our endeavors to chronicle the ghost towns of the southwest we widened the lens a bit to include communities that predate the arrival of the Spanish as well as the first colonial outposts of the Europeans. The lesson learned here was not to take ourselves or the monuments we build to seriously as time has a way of whittling both down to size.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in writing Ghost Towns of the Southwest was in locating reliable or accurate sources for chronicling the history of these old towns. Obviously for the history of the communities that predate the arrival of the Spanish, reliance is heavy on the latest archaeological findings.
However, the towns that we most associate with the term ghost town, those of the pre state hood period, are difficult if not impossible to accurately document. Some of these towns were driven by speculation and as a result it was in the best interest of those who stood to profit to stretch the truth. Others were little more than transient camps with a business district that consisted of rough hewn wood frames with canvas sides and roofs.

As an example the estimates, including comparative census records, place the peak population of Vulture City somewhere between several hundred and several thousand. Many communities ebbed and flowed with each new strike.
One of the most fascinating discovery's in our research for this book was the level of modernity and sophistication in some of the most remote mining camps imaginable. Swansea, west of Parker, Arizona supported an automobile dealer during the teens. White Hills in Mohave County had electricity before 1900.
Still, the most curious aspect of my research was the collision of past and future that took place, especially after 1900. Wyatt Earp died in Los Angeles during the 1920s. Also during the 1920s Jim Roberts, another frontier era lawman, had his shoot out with bank robbers.
At the Palace Station on the Senator Highway between Prescott and Crown King, Arizona paasengers on stage coaches utilized the facilities as did drivers of T model Fords. In 1903, Buffalo Bill purchased a new Michigan automobile. Geronimo, the legendary Apache warrior, was photographed in an automobile.
This laid the groundwork for the next challenge, deciphering the various alignments of Route 66, seeking out the ghost towns of the modern era, and chronicling their unique histories. Now, lets see what I can find out about Hockerville, Oklahoma.

VIEWS FROM ON HIGH

Route 66 history has sparked an interesting thread pertaining to early history of the highway in western Arizona on the Yahoo Route 66 egroup. I have been following and contributing as time allows.

I am pretty familiar with the various alignments from Seligman west. However, I can not say the say for the rest of the state so the knowledge input has filled some holes in my education.
It has also sparked some questions. A quick example of these would be the relationship between Route 66 and the various old highways that lie just south of Seligman, Ashfork, and Williams.

The quality and size of bridges on some of these older highways indicate they were more than mere dirt tracks linking communities. Specific examples would be the Hells Canyon bridge south of Ashfork and the steel arch bridge on Williamson Valley Road south of Seligman.

This morning there was a real hint of fall in the air. I actually felt the pulse quicken as this means the time for more desert exploration is at hand.

One of the great things about life in Kingman is the proximity to special places where long walks and hikes are rewarded with wonderful solitude as well as breathtaking views. This first photo was taken on a hike into Hualapai Mountain Park above the historic Silver Bell Mine.

That is Kingman far below. The Hualapai Mountains and the park as well as the lodge come together as a pine forested oasis in a sea of desert a mere dozen miles south of Route 66 making it one of many excellent detours for the traveler in search of adventure on the old double six.

A bit more of a detour and a lot more challenging are adventures high into the Cerbat Mountains north of Kingman and Route 66. Here there are ghost towns, quiet camp grounds, and awe inspiring views of vast desert landscapes.

Fall, the time for exploration. Fall the kick off for desert exploration.

Stay tuned for updates and views from on high.