Route 66 Oatman Arizona - Off Route 66

The surrounding terrain is rugged but the four wheeling is relatively mild as the washes penetrate the hills. Even early mining reports related the relative ease of access to the mines.

Our route took us across the base of Thumb Butte, a prominent landmark as we toured our way north toward the Kingman-Bullhead City Highway.

Oatman has a glamorous history as a gold-mining boom town but fate first took the mining industry and then Route 66. The town struggled on with fortitude and now the interest in Route 66 and the proximity to the Colorado River casinos give the town life as a funky tourist spot.

The main street of Oatman is lined with shops, bars, and other assorted tourist harvesting operations. It first served a booming mining industry and then many travelers of the `Mother Road'. The Oatman Hotel (center left) was built in 1902 and is on the Register of Historic Places as the oldest two story adobe structure in Mohave County.

The sun slips behind the Boundary Cone by mid-afternoon in December. The Cone is a huge volcanic neck that rises 1,500 feet out of the Sonoran desert southwest of Oatman. There are numerous mines to explore in the valleys and ridges southeast of the landmark.

The narrow, steep valleys behind the Boundary Cone gave the almost surreal impression of southwest Colorado terrain in a Sonoran desert setting.

We couldn't find the name of this small mine marked by a head frame anywhere on our maps but it was one of our favorite discoveries in the Oatman area. The flat shelf around the mine makes it a candidate for a campsite on a return trip.

We explored several roads that dead end near the Warm Springs Wilderness boundary southwest of Oatman. There are many more we want to investigate next time.

The shortness of the December day ended our exploration early but compensated with another magnificent color show on the high crests of the Black Mountains.