Not surprisingly, we were not required to awaken in the morning as we spent virtually all of last night listening to diesel electric locomotives passing by, trucks with Jake brakes on the Interstate just beyond the hotel’s property line, a wonky air conditioner making a variety of whistles, chugging sounds, submarine noises and huffing; junkies next door killing themselves followed by the shrieks of their stunned associates and the unanswered pounding of management fists on the adjacent room’s door.

However, we did get to stop for a very tasty breakfast at the nearby Wagon Wheel restaurant where they serve a big selection of great breakfast fare including a good chicken fried steak, eggs and hash browns along with pretty fair coffee.

Our intent on this trip was to minimize travel on the Interstate Highway Ststem although, here in the West, there is almost no other routes across the big desert stretches. We noted that we could avoid a section of I-40 on our crossing to Williams, AZ, by exiting I-40 just after crossing the Colorado River into Arizona and taking the longer and more circuitous Oatman Highway (AZ-10) from the river to Kingman. Along the way, we passed up the east side of the river and a huge swampy area where the Colorado gets real shallow and wide while passing over a flat rock riverbed. After passing through some fascinating and varied desert environments and skirting some massive geologic formations, we arrived in the tiny town of Oatman.

There is an old story, unverifiable, of course, that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard came to the tiny hotel in Oatman to escape the press during their honeymoon. If it is true, it seems strange because Oatman has few stunning views, people or businesses but it does have a big herd of burros that are a remnant of mining operations nearby which continue to this day albeit with improved mining technology. As we drove into town, we encountered colorful signage and interesting curios lining the streets with burros browsing among the buildings. The entire main drag is about 2 blocks long but is quite interesting, with tiny stores hawking a variety of doodads for sale to those brave enough to drive here. Just beyond the town, we drove through a very narrow section of road through the Gold Road Mine’s facilities and numerous tight switchbacks before cresting the ridge for the long downgrade into Kingman, AZ. Right after we started down, we encountered a very calm burro standing in the middle of the highway and blocking traffic. Peggy was able to bribe him with the ice-cold carrot slices that have been lingering in our cooler.

At Kingman, we rejoined I-40 for the long haul through Seligman and Ash Fork to Williams where we turned North on AZ-64 to Valle / Grand Canyon Junction. We pulled off at the Grand Canyon Lodge where we were given a nicely appointed room but with the lowest chairs and beds in the world and absolutely no disabled access. Again, the toilets were beyond my comfort range and grab bars did not exist. The shower and bath floor was a slippery venture into possible broken skull land. When I sat on the bed, bending my knees was almost not required as it was nearly like sitting directly on the floor. Fortunately, the hotel had a restaurant because there is no other place to eat in Valle other than the Handi-Mart at the Chevron station.