Friday, June 26, 2026
Oatman and Laughlin are not mentioned in the old song “Get your kicks on Route 66”, but it is where we finished the day.
We started the morning in Flagstaff at about 7500 feet of elevation. The morning air was crisp as you think it should be when you are in the mountains. The smell of pines and the cool air were invigorating. You know you are in a great place when you see trees all around you and the air smells so good.
We drove toward Kingman for our lunch stop, and started the morning with one more problem. Every morning we calibrate our speedometer. This morning when we started that section of the route, the speedo became possessed it was spinning in different directions. We quickly pulled over checked the connections and reset it back to zero. We continued with our calibration run with our fingers crossed.
As we were driving down in elevation our tire pressure changed. Like a balloon they lose air as you lose elevation. Keeping good scores is based not only staying on the course and doing the maneuvers at the exact right time, but also how your tires perform. As they expand they make you faster and as they lose air they shrink making you slower.
Our front left wheel has two magnets on it and that is where our speed is measured from. Given that we have some alignment and tire issues, it changes the game for us.
We were catching up on the car in front of us after an hour of driving. Brad and I discussed that they were not a seasoned team, and we would run our race.
We continued our decent into the Arizona desert, the landscape completely changed. We went from big beautiful pine trees to dessert scrub. We saw Ocotillo plants in bloom with their tall sticks and lighter orange flowers at their tips. The ground is covered in rocks and an array of plants. You wonder how they survive in the heat and dry soil.
We made it to Kingman, where we had a nice crowd at lunch. We stopped at the old train depot. There was an old locomotive in the park.
We did not stay long, but we drove through the town of Kingman. Unlike many of the towns we saw Kingman has had a resurgence. Their downtown area was full of people and there was activity on the Main Street.
We headed out of Kingman into the local mountains. We climbed the hills in the afternoon heat testing our cars cooling system. Jane did great. We then descended and her brakes were hot. Holding speed with hot brakes becomes challenging. We made it safely down the hill pumping the brakes and saying a lot of prayers.
We drove back through Kingman to The Oatman Highway. The Oatman Highway is also part of Historic Route 66.
The desert had heated up and it was in the low hundreds. We were so pleased because when we did this route in 2015, it was closer to 120 degrees.
We made our way to Oatman across the desert floor.
Oatman is an old mining town in the hills near Laughlin, Nevada. Oatman has wild burros wandering the Main Street of town and along the highway’s edges as you are just outside of the town.
Oatman is what you would think an old ghost town looks like, only people still live there, and tourists come for the donkeys and old west atmosphere. The views from Oatman are picturesque.
We finished our day in Oatman, and made our way toward the Colorado River and Laughlin, Nevada.
We did not have our typical end of day event, but Brad and I met up with family. Brad and I enjoyed dinner and catching up.
Thank you Aunt Sue, LeRoy, Randy and Dorene for making the time and trip to see us. It was great spending time with all of you!!!
MissHathawaysGreatRace 