Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Because the drive to Seligman wouldn't take much more than an hour or two, I spent some time in Kingman doing errands. Groceries, for instance, and laundry. The wind kept blowing like crazy, making everything more difficult.
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| today's route |
This is one time the scenic route made much more sense. I didn't have any particular reason to rush right over to Seligman, the interstate up to Kingman was rough driving and I didn't expect the side road to be any worse, and besides - it was Historic Route 66. One fringe benefit: Burma-Shave signs along the way.
In Kingman I was picking up an NPR station from Las Vegas, which isn't much more than an hour's fast drive away. And I heard a live broadcast of Biden announcing that we're imposing sanctions against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. I hope those work - hitting actual rich Russians in their own pocketbooks - because this situation is very scary. I was born after WWII, but not long after, and it was still a very clear memory for my parents. I'd hoped we'd never have to go through something like that again. But on the other hand, that speech Putin gave a night or two ago didn't sound rational to me, so I worry.
I passed a sign for the town of Valentine but didn't really see much. And apparently the reason is that it's now a ghost town, according to something I found online. And a short way farther on I came to Truxton, which isn't much better off with a population of 134 in the 2010 census.
Another sign told me I was entering the Hualapai Indian Reservation. This is a federally recognized tribe of people who've lived in this area since 600 AD and now have about 2,300 enrolled tribal members. The nation's capital is Peach Springs, which I drove through - it seems to be a prosperous town. It had posted an electronic sign that said: "Code Orange/Masks Mandatory/Keep Distance/Stay Safe. Of course, the native populations have been especially hard hit with COVID and every place in their territories I've visited has been really vigilant about taking precautions.
I saw a warning sign for elk in the area (and am still waiting to see one). Lots of hills with yellow grass and juniper/cedar.
I passed a turn leading to Lhoist North America, which sounded like a religious sect. Instead, the internet tells me it's "a major supplier of lime, limestone and clay products to the North American marketplace." Just goes to show.
I started seeing signs advertising Grand Canyon Caverns, which I hadn't heard of, but they turn out to be a thing. They're considered dry caverns, which means there's no water to produce stalactites or stalagmites. Only 3% of the world's caverns are dry, and these are among the largest of them in the US. Inside were skeletal remains of an extinct giant ground sloth that lived about 11,000 years ago.
Two interesting historical facts about the caverns: (1) in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, these caverns were designated as a fallout shelter and stocked with supplies for 2,000 people (the supplies are still there); (2) in 1979 a cosmic ray telescope was installed in the caverns, 138' below the surface (they detect radiation).
If You Don't Know
Whose Signs These Are
You Haven't Driven
Very Far
Burma-Shave
Thirty Days
Hath September
April, June
And Speed Offenders
Burma-Shave
Slow Down Pa
Sakes Alive
Ma Missed Signs
Four And Five
Burma-Shave
And a sign told me we'd reached 5,400'. Finally back up in the mountains, I guess. After months of being in the mountains in several states, being down as close to sea level as we were in southwestern AZ seemed odd.
Don't Lose Your Head
To Save A Minute
You Need Your Head
Your Brains Are In It
[but no Burma-Shave sign following]
And then we reached Seligman, elev. 5,250', established 1886. Its population in the recent census was 776, which was a substantial increase from the 445 they had in 2010 (and the 456 they had in 2000).
Seligman bills itself as "The Birthplace of Historic Route 66," and maybe they can reasonably make that claim. In 1978, I-40 went in and bypassed Seligman, cutting off almost all the business they'd been receiving from the public who'd been driving Route 66, which had been the main route and does go right through town. Then in 1985, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (did you know there was such a thing?) voted to decertify Route 66 and remove all highway signs. (1985 wasn't all that long ago.) In 1987, residents of Seligman successfully lobbied state government to declare Route 66 a state historic highway. This designation helped spark similar movements in other states and helped revive interest in the old road. So yeah, Seligman's claim is reasonable.
About 20 miles east of Seligman is the town of Ash Fork; from there back to the California state line lies 158 miles of Route 66, the longest uninterrupted driveable stretch of the original road in the US. Today I drove 85 miles of it and was happy to do it. Nothing special as roads go, but a decent road and plenty of rural American scenery.
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