Mapping the Whole Trip

Wednesday's Map

After Boulder City, we headed to Las Vegas and found a Premium Outlet Mall to shop at before we could check in.  We had to get up in the middle of the night because our fight was at 6:00AM.  The trip home was fairly uneventful.

The Hotel's Golden Barrel Cactus

We spent the afternoon shopping at a very large Premium Outlet Mall before checking in early at our hotel.

Peter Pan

There were many statues ans sculptures on each corner.

Boulder City

We stopped in Boulder City to look for a museum that we did not find and decided to do a little shopping instead.  This statue recognizes the women who came with the men who worked on building the Hoover Dam.

Another View of Lake Mead

We drove a little farther on to get another look at the lake.

The Bridge over the Colorado River

This is the bridge we crossed just south of the dam.

Lake Meade

The lake behind the dam is Lake Mead.  Notice the white rocks on the side.  That mark the high water level.  The lake is very low these days.

Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam was begun in 1930 and worked on day and night for five years until completed in 1935.

Water Intake

Welcome to Nevada

Wednesday was our last day on the road.  We left Kingman, with our first stop at the Hoover Dam, on our way back to Las Vegas.

Tuesday's Map

Ringtail Cat

Check out this cute little critter.

A Badger

This was a particularly realistic taxidermy specimen.

Kingman's Favorite Son

Andy Devine is Kingman's favorite son.

Using a Dead Cactus

The Mohave Museum of History and Art

And artist named Lawrence Williams painted every president and first lady until the Obamas and they are all in this museum.

The Clintons

The Cupola

Kathy had organized a family reunion of the Bonelli family for the house's centennial in 2015, where she learning some interesting stories about living in the house, including one where the boys in the family would go up into the cupola and shoot guns, sometimes hitting the church across the street.

The Bonelli House

When we went to the Mohave (County) Museum of History and Art, the woman there suggested we go to tour the Bonelli House first because it closed soon and was well worth it.  This we did and were not disappointed.  The docent, Kathy, was very enthusiastic about showing the house, built in 1915, old in this area, and we had a delightful conversation with her.

Steam Engine #3759 in Locomotive Park

Waylon Jennings' Mercedes-style Golf Cart

The Detroit Electric Car

1950 Studebaker

Burma Shave Signs along Route 66

The Dust Bowl Migration

"The Grapes of Wrath"

Andy Payne

Andy Hartley Payne (November 16, 1907 – December 1977) was the winner of the Trans-American Footrace staged in 1928. He ran the 3,423.5 mile (5,509.6 km) route from Los Angeles to New York City, much of it along U.S. Route 66, in 573 hours, 4 minutes, 34 seconds, (23 days) averaging 6 miles per hour over an 84-day staged run.

Payne, a member of the Cherokee tribe, grew up in Foyil, Oklahoma which was one of the check point towns along the route of the race. His father was a friend of Will Rogers and had worked on the ranch of the latter's family during his youth.

The footrace was organized to promote U.S. Route 66 which had recently been built as a simple, well-paved route across the country, and dubbed "the main street of America". First prize was $25,000 which Payne used to pay off the mortgage on his father's farm.

Out Our Hotel Window

Map of Route 66

Look closely and you will see te black line from Chicago to Los Angeles.  That's Route 66.

Route 66

Arriving in Kingman

The powerhouse has been converted into a visitor center, a museum about Route 66 in Arizona and a gift shop.

Ocotillo

These buds, not quite open yet, were on the tips of several the branches.

A Huge Prickly Pear

A Joshua Tree

This Joshua tree was also outside the trading post.

A Stop in Wikieup

On Tuesday we left Phoenix to head to Kingman, Arizona.  On the way we stopped in Wikieup, a tiny community of 305 people.  We stopped at a trading post with this cactus growing outside.

Monday's Map