We hit the road about 8:30. Gary had said we would have breakfast on the road but Pat had snuck in with the Eaglerider mob to fuel himself up before the off. We were headed for Seligman. This town is quite famous for the ice cream parlour and barbers/gift shop run by the Delgadillo family, specifically Angel and Vilma. Angel has spent most of his 83 years on the Mother Road, his father before him, if I'm not mistaken, running the barbers shop and opening the Snow Cap, ice cream parlour. Angelo is one of the few left who can remember the road in its heyday and is in constant demand from radio and TV stations to do interviews about R66. Gary as always, knows him and was hoping to arrange for us to meet the man and also get a haircut, as Angelo still cuts hair in the chair in the front of what is primarily now a gift shop. This is reputed to be the best for R66 memorabilia along the whole road. Gary got word that Angelo had been taken ill, so we weren't expecting to meet him. But I digress.
We rode through Seligman to the far side of town, to Lilo's Westside Cafe, our breakfast stop. I was still carrying my pizza from the night before so made do with coffee. Others, including Pat (two breakfasts) had something cooked. Lilo, as for most of these places we stop at, is good friends with Gary. He didn't even have to order his food, it was just his usual that came to the table. We left the cafe and after taking a few snaps nearby, including one of the jail, not much bigger than a garden shed, we headed back East and to the Snow Cap and barbers. We parked up and went inside the shop. It turned out that Angelo, despite his recent illness was in the shop after all. He was being interviewed by a crew from BBC Radio 2. They were recording and also shooting footage to go on the radio 2 website. Following his interview I managed to get a few words with him. This old guy has done over 500 interviews and includes amongst his possessions, a Blue Peter badge. I believe his is the patron of the Route 66 preservation society or such body, so gets quite a lot of exposure. Before you know it Gary has somehow managed to get an interview as well. I speak to the young woman, production assistant or something and explain Gary is our tour guide and we are travelling along the road with him. Before you know it Gary is doing his interview and then we find ourselves taking part in a Harley symphony. The guy doing the interviews is also a musical conductor (Charles Hazlewood) and thinks it will be great to conduct us revving engines and tooting horns. This is recorded in sound and vision. Bizarre! For those of you interested listen in on Radio 2 on 5/6/7 July or check the website for a link to R66 and hopefully view us in action.
Slightly later than anticipated we then head off for our next stop, Hackberry. I'm not actually sure if there is anything else in Hackberry apart from the famous general store at which we stop. This place is readily identifiable by the Corvette sitting by the petrol pumps out front of the store. A beautiful car, fully restored. Again this store sells all manner of R66 memorabilia. It's probably not quite so famous though, for its men’s room, though Gary says it's the best along the road. Of course we have to check it out, even if we don't need a pee. It is covered from floor to ceiling on all walls and including the ceiling with glossy magazine cuttings of scantily clad females. You could certainly spend quite a while in there if you had the inclination and didn't have someone trying the handle! We notice the owner wears a gun and a knife on his belt. Round the back in a garage sits a 1919 Ford flatbed truck. I don't know if it's a Model T but it's of the same ilk. Remarkable.
We depart hackberry and head to our next stop, Kingman and lunch. We stop at Mr D'z, quite appropriate I think. This place is as garish as they come. Inside is turquoise and pick upholstery to the booths and stools. The walls have various pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, the piste de resistance being the massive portraits of them to indicate which rest room is which. I have a Harley Dog, which is basically a beef hotdog in a roll with chopped tomato and onion, covered in some sort of sauce.. It's tasty but the roll can't really handle the sausage as well as the salad, so it falls apart a bit. That's washed down with a very tasty root beer.
We head outside to take some photos. Just over the way is a steam loco. Now most of you will have seen a steam engine in the UK but I guarantee you will not have seen one this big. It's a bit of a joke with us that everything in the US is bigger, well this just goes to prove that its true. This is the biggest mofo of an engine I have ever seen. It stands about 20ft tall. The main wheels are as tall as me, so about 6ft in diameter. It's unbelievable. Pics taken, we hit the road again.
Next stop is another small store/disused garage at Cool Springs. This place is the start of a mountain pass. Gary lets us go ahead of him on this stretch, as he says it's easier to keep tabs on us. If he leads, the roads are so twisty, he wouldn't be able see if anyone got into difficulties. The road leads over the mountain to Oatman, a small former mining town.
I've been looking forward to this bit of the road. It brings out the racer in me. With a warning to avoid donkey shit, we set off. Pat goes first, then me. It's not long before I have caught and passed Pat. The turns are very twisty with short straights in between. Brilliant. I am soon stopped at the half way rendezvous point, purring and waiting for the others to arrive. A minute or so later, Pat joins me. Another minute or so and three more arrive. Finally Bill appears round the bend with Gary on his tail. We dismount and walk a short way to Dead Man's Curve. A rough old track with a hairpin bend, is, a 1926-32 alignment of the road. Off to the side are crosses, memorials to those who never made the turn and went crashing off down the hillside. We then head down the hill into Oatman. 4th on the road this time, I have soon passed everyone again and am waiting in Oatman, Burros (donkeys) blocking my path, when the others catch me up.
Oatman is something to behold. I said to Gary it's like the wild west. It IS the wild west he says. This place is like something out of a film set. All old wooden buildings, wooden boardwalk, rails to tie horses to, the ice cream 'saloon', just like you have seen in many a western. Difference being the road is tarmac and not dirt. Truly amazing. As it's quite late, the place is deserted, almost like a ghost town or one where the inhabitants have locked themselves away awaiting the arrival of some outlaws.
We leave this remarkable throw back town and continue the final leg of our journey into Needles. Needles is just over the Colorado river from Arizona and means that we have now entered our eighth and final state, California.
Tomorrow we head for Victorville, the last night we will spend with the bikes :-(
This adventure is nearly over but our spirits are still high. We have experienced some amazing things, almost, if not entirely on a daily basis. The trip of a lifetime, you betcha.
Neill
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