Road Trip Studios: Family-Friendly Adventures on Route 66 and Beyond in the Great Southwest

The Oatman Highway, Route 66, makes its lonesome trek from Kingman through the Mojave Desert. A gray ribbon shooting up through dusty sky toward the Black Mountains and low sun. Eroded hills and ramshackle structures whiz by as you roll along this narrow and rugged layer of asphalt. Rough edges meeting packed dirt with little margin between road and wilderness. This is a stark land where mineral laden hills gave way to rugged settlement amid sculpted erosion. Absent are the saguaros, prickly pear and greenery of the Sonora. The stretch is lonely, desolate and real. And you kind of love it.  As wind battered Black Mountains roll into sight, Cool Springs Station and Cabins comes into view. You pull up, stretch your legs and survey the surroundings.  Under a wind beaten tarp sit weathered gentleman taking in the incessant wind drafting down from the Black Mountains. The wildly flapping flags point to that ever winding and notorious route up Gold Hill Gr

The once ornate Gold King Mansion lies all but forgotten in the Hualapai Mountains south of Kingman. The concrete structure, with its unusual poured concrete ceiling, fireplace and elegant molding, dates back to 1929, having outlasted less permanent mining structures. Now remote, the Mansion was once connected to a county highway by a "splendid road," frequented by Cadillac. The mining corp owner's secretary rode shotgun (literally) as they carried the miners' payroll from LA. Today, the Mansion is accessible by the rugged Moss Wash OHV Trail or by hiking 1.5 mi. in from Blake Ranch Road (an "easy dirt road", partially unpaved, a high-clearance vehicle is recommended; four-wheel drive not necessary in good weather, per Arizona Highways "Arizona Ghost Towns"). In its day, the Mansion boasted copper screens on the windows and a fishing pond. When the mining corp struck a 3-foot-wide by 11-foot-long lead and gold vein in 1929,

Stopped in the interesting semi-ghost, artsy mining town of Chloride, just outside of Kingman on Highway 93. Established in 1860, it is the oldest continuously inhabitated mining town in the state. The town is the home to the Chloride Cliff murals, painted by artist Roy Purcell in 1966 and touched up by Purcell in 1970 and again in 2006 when he was 70 years old (when you see the height of these boulders one wonders how he accomplished this task!).  From the highway it seemed there was nothing out there, but the town (population 352) has a couple restaurants, a hotel and several art/antique/curio shops. Every resident who happens to be outside will wave to you as you pass through 😊.  Las Vegas Journal - Chloride Plan Your Trip Explore Kingman Arizona Highways: Ghost Towns Road Trip Studios: Unique Mementos and Gifts

Looking West from Cool Springs Station as Gold Hill Grade makes it's narrow climb towards Sitgreaves Pass on the Historic Route 66 National Backcountry Byway. Beginning at Kingman, "this 42-mile stretch of two-lane blacktop is one of the last and best-preserved segments of the original Route 66, one of America's first transcontinental highways. This portion of the highway once included one of the most fearsome obstacles for "flatland" travelers in the 1930's: the hairpin curves and steep grades of Sitgreaves Pass, which characterize Old Route 66 as it makes its way over the Black Mountains of western Arizona."  BLM Back Country Byway As you enter Sitgreaves Pass, on the way to Oatman, you will pass by Memorial Hill where dozens of crosses and unique tributes are carefully placed overlooking the mountain range to the south.  Oatman offers a unique rustic charm, rooted in the authenticity of its history as a mining town and the legend of Olive