A small segment (29 miles, to be exact) of I-15 passes through the northwest corner of Arizona in what is called the Arizona Strip. It is the road one would use to get from Las Vegas to Utah (and the one we used to get to Zion National Park) and is heavily traveled by truckers as well as passenger vehicles. It is also a scenic drive through the Virgin River Gorge (#17)... if you pause long enough to enjoy the uplifted rock towering high above you and the river snaking its way through the gorge.
Anticline? Syncline? Or both?
We crossed the Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River, several times as it snaked its way through the bottom of the gorge. We finally found a place to pull over so we could catch more than a fleeting glimpse of it as well as take in the beauty of the mountains.
These mountains reminded me of Isaiah 54:10 "For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain..."
Next up was the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (#69) which crosses the Colorado River bypassing Hoover Dam at the Arizona-Nevada state line. We saw the bridge in varying stages of construction over the past several years but this was the first time we saw it completed. What an engineering feat!
Standing in Nevada looking across to Arizona
The bridge honoring Pat Tillman, a war hero and all-star pro football player from Arizona, and Mike O'Callaghan, a war hero and beloved governor from Nevada, was built to alleviate traffic congestion over the dam as well as for safety and homeland security reasons. It is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the U.S. and at 840 feet above the Colorado River, it is the second highest bridge in the U.S. The Royal Gorge Bridge (Colorado) is 955 feet above the Arkansas River. Costing $114 million, it took twelve years from planning to completion.
The 1,900 foot long bridge has a pedestrian walkway on the dam side to allow tourists to view both the bridge and the dam in a leisurely fashion. While most of the people we saw only walked half way across to see the dam, we walked the entire length of the bridge to get a feel for how long, how big it is. Besides, the view IS different from each side!
The thrumming from the generators over half a mile away is quite noticeable- as are the numerous power lines! And yes, we stood with one foot in Nevada and the other in Arizona!
You can still drive over Hoover Dam or park on either side and tour the dam. The best views of the bridge are from the dam.
After spending a couple of hours at the bridge and the dam, we were back on the road headed for our next destination- the curious mining town of Chloride located north of Kingman just four miles east of US 93. There were two things I wanted to see in Chloride: the Purcell Murals (#4) and the "Junk Art" (#34). We stopped at the general store/welcome center to get more water bottles and directions to the murals. The very friendly but scruffy-looking proprietor told us we had to hike about a mile and a half to see the murals... unless we had a high-profile, 4-wheel drive vehicle... which we did not.
So we started hiking...
Previous hikers made interesting-looking rock statues along the way. Richard informed me they are called cairns.
We hiked down the road... and it certainly didn't look like you needed 4-wheel drive. We began to wonder if the guy was having some fun with the tourists...
... but we continued hiking...
Okay, this looks a little "rougher" but my car would have made it...
"Are you sure we're going the right way???"
Confirmation we were going in the right direction was encouraging...
... and then the road got rougher... and steeper...
... and then I turned around and looked behind us... see how far away the town is... we started hiking at the lower right edge of town!
What had we gotten ourselves into? Surely they must be just around the next bend...
Several bends later we found another marker and once again were encouraged we were on the right trail. And at this point, we'd gone too far to just turn back...
And you'd really think I would have learned not to look behind me... although it was a beautiful day for a hike.
Finally, we went around a small bluff and...
... there they were!! WE FOUND THEM!!!!
In 1966, Roy Purcell took a break from college where he was studying art and became a miner in the mines near Chloride. While he was there, and with the support of local residents, he painted "The Journey," a 2000 square-foot set of murals on these boulders. In 2006, he returned to Chloride to restore the faded murals; today they are bright, vibrant and beautiful. Incidentally, it was the murals that eventually launched his successful career as an artist!
Amazingly, alongside the murals are petroglyphs from long, long ago. Artists from different centuries using the same rock canvas!
So were the murals worth the hike? Definitely!! They are unlike anything I've ever seen. After spending a half hour admiring both God's Creation and man's creation, we were ready to head back. And,not surprisingly, the hike back was faster!
As we drove out of town, we stopped to see the "Junk Art" in each of the twenty or so homes in town. Most of the town residents are artists and recycling everyday objects into art is sort of a hobby for them. As they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure!
Do you think our HOA would go for this?? I kind of like it!
Our last stop before leaving Chloride was the town cemetery. The first thing we noticed was how well cared for it was... and that every grave had an American flag... even though it wasn't a "patriotic holiday."
And then you couldn't help but notice the "Junk Art" decorating the graves. I don't think it is a show of disrespect but rather celebrating the life of the person buried there. One grave had a coffee cup... I imagine its occupant was a lover of the coffee bean. Others were decorated for various holidays... probably the loved one's favorite.
I must admit, I rather like this grave decor!
It was past lunchtime by the time we were on the road to our next stop- a small mining town on Rt. 66 between Kingman and Bullhead City. Oatman (#9*) is a bit of a touristy spot known for its wild burros that roam the streets. The road to get there is not for the faint-hearted... we were wishing we had brought the Miata- it's THAT kind of road! More than once I found myself leaning to the center of the car!
The views are spectacular!
The burros were brought to Oatman to haul ore carts in the mines. When the mines closed, the burros were let go and now 3,500 burros roam the mountains around Oatman with 15-25 coming into town during the day. Local merchants tell stories about the burros as they sell bags of carrots to tourists so they can feed the burros.
They look so sweet and docile... but they are wild and do bite and kick if you're not careful.
Oatman was also the locale for several movies such as How the West Was Won and Foxfire. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned there in 1939 and their honeymoon suite at the Oatman Hotel is still a tourist attraction (it was closed for refurbishing when we were there).
The Oatman Hotel is the oldest two-story adobe structure in Mohave County. The lobby is filled with antiques from its heyday.
We enjoyed lunch in the Oatman Hotel Restaurant- a charming place with good food and friendly servers. Although Clark Gable often played poker in the adjoining bar, we had no celebrity-sightings!
It reminded us of the Tortilla Flat Restaurant... for obvious rea$on$. They estimate $80,000-100,000 cover the walls here!
After our late lunch, it was time to head home. We had a delightful time exploring some little-known gems off the beaten path.
Thumb Up Or Down: UP X 5!!!!
Miles Round-Trip: 1,059.2 miles
Miles To Date: 2268.4 miles
Percent of List Completed: 22%
Date of This Trip: January 6-8, 2012
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