Skid and Sandy On The Road: Flagstaff Arizona to Kingman Arizona

We woke to a nice morning in the Flagstaff WalMart. Parked ahead of us was a nice little Cayman by Monaco diesel pusher. This was the smallest pusher I can remember seeing and, as we were looking at it trying to determine the length, the door opened and the owners stuck their heads out. They were from Australia and had just picked the unit up a couple of days ago in San Diego. They bought it for a ten month tour of North America and were on their way to Oregon to register it. Txes are more favourable there. The unit was 30' long and the gentleman said it was very easy to maneuver.

We set out following Old Route 66 to where it merged with I-40. Although I was assured it was all downhill to Kingman, we climbed a grade to the Arizona Divide at 7,335 feet. Then is was down and more down until we hit the flat and level. About an hour out, we took an exit and drove into the little town of Seligman. This was a stop on the Mother Road and they don't let anyone forget it. We cruised the length of the main street admiring the unique structures and displays before returning to Westside Lilo's Cafe. This is right across from the famous Roadkill Cafe but Sherm said Lilo's had better food. I've never eaten in the Roadkill but can argue with him because the breakfast special of chicken fried steak, eggs, hashbrowns and caraway rye bread was excellent.

Outside Lilo's we saw an older Mini with a Rover badge towing what appeared to be a Bunkhouse trailer. The trailer was almost bigger than the car but they were colour matched and looked good together. We also saw Harley's being ridden by to a group from England who were being guided by a local rider. They were dressed to the nines in leather pants and jackets, HD shirts and bandannas and accessories such as chain wallets. I guess they really need the costume for the full North American biker tour experience.

Exiting Seligman, we ignored the Interstate and stayed on Old Route 66 west. The terrain was flat and the side of the road was embellished with occasional Burma Shave signs. These five sign sets provided entertainment to travelers in the good old days. The first one said:

If daisies are

Your favorite flower

Keep pushing up

Those miles per hour

Burma Shave

Our next sstop was the Hackberry General Store. This is another place keeping Route 66 alive with its eclectic collection of memorable artifacts, both inside and out. We enjoyed the visit and spent time examining all the memorabilia. Sherm said that when he wintered in Kingman, he would wander over here and sit on the couch by the big stove sharing company with a big yellow dog.

Leaving Hackberry, we made one more brief detour through the residential development of Valle Vista. I didn't think there would be a crying need for a neighborhood located in the desert 18 miles from Kingman but the homes are nice, the streets are paved and the golf course looks pretty good. Sherm and Pat are looking to relocate from Oregon to Kingman but, despite the nice setting here, Sherm figures it is too far to go for his WalMart fix.

Nearing Kingman, Sherm took the lead and we followed him to Pat's daughter-in-law Judy's place, which was vacant and was where we would be spending our Kingman time. It was 96 in the shade as I unloaded the bike, unhooked the trailer and backed the RV through a narrow gate with some guidance from the old pro. I hooked up the water and 15 Amps worth of electric. Unfortunately, the motorhome roof air conditioner either draws more than 15 Amps or the circuit breaker was weak. Reverting to Plan B, we moved into the house as Sherm attempted to get a rooftype cooling device referred to as a "swamp cooler" up and running. There was a minor plumbing glitch that necessitated a trip to the hardware store and a stop at the home of local VROC friends, brothers Ed and Carl for tools. They have a very nice home with a shed out back for the Vulcans, another for the Harleys and a garage for the KLR650's and Carl's immaculate 1952 Chev pickup truck.

Copper tubing cut, we went back to Judy's and Sherm had the cooler up and running in no time. It does a an efficient job of keeping the temperature down just using the principle of evaporative cooling.

Carl and Ed, two of the nicest fellows you would ever want to meet, had acquired a gift certificate for the Golden Corral and wanted to treat us to supper. We met them there and found the GC in Kingman is vastly better than the one in Rapid City. The food was good and plentiful and, as I usually do at buffets, I skipped some very nice salad items to focus on the big ticket stuff, especially the steak, brisket and shrimp. I don't think I am losing any weight here, though.

Back at the house, the temperature had cooled nicely. Sherm decided to jump in the shower and found the one thing he had forgotten to fire up. The water heater. (Out of deference to the late George Carlin, I will not call it a HOT water heater.) This was unfortunate since he had already lathered his hair with shampoo.

Ready for a ride to Oatman tomorrow with Ed, we all turned in for the night.

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