Las Vegas To San Bernardino
After two days of no driving it was time to leave Vegas and get back to Route 66.
We checked out of the hotel and left at 10am for the long drive ahead. We would be driving through three states, first south from Nevada into Arizona, to Kingman to pick up the road where we left it on Friday and then west into California.
The road from Kingman to Needles was probably the best part of the trip so far. It was along steep roads that climbed up windy curves and along sheer cliff faces. The views along the road were beautiful and we stopped to take them in a couple of times. At one point we could see across three states at once. The only problem was that we couldn’t go very fast.
Coming into Oatman, AZ, we were met with a roadblock. Of donkeys. Or to give them their proper name, burros. These wild animals just roam the town and are the main, in fact the only tourist attraction this place has. There’s no other reason to come here.
They’re not shy, coming up to the car as we pootled our way through, sticking their noses into the window. Although being in the car was the best place to be as those tourists that were wandering around on foot were constantly harassed having their clothes and bags eaten.
The roads continued to be exciting with both long stretches and more curves cutting across Arizona. We crossed the mighty Colarado river and in doing so entered California, the eighth and final state that Route 66 goes through.
The landscape changed as we drove the Mojave Desert but the roads continued to throw up some surprises, like being on an old style big dipper ride, going up and down repeatedly for miles.
As we finally got to San Bernardino night had fallen. We had been on the road for nine and a half hours and had enjoyed every single minute of it.
We checked into our final motel on this journey, the Wigwam Motel, one of two tee-pee motels on the Route (the other one being in Holbrook) to rest before the final leg of our journey tomorrow to Santa Monica pier.
Miles travelled today: 413
Total miles travelled: 2860
Number of times going “weeeeeeee” up and down the big dipper roads: 26
