We stopped by a house in Bishop, about 35 miles from Mammoth Lakes, and I got out and let a young high school kid take my seat. He loved the GT and Ralphie was kind enough to offer to drive him to school in it. He was all smiles. (Who wouldn't be?) I followed behind in his mom's car and when he arrived to school in the red GT, he instantly became the coolest kid in school! :)
Then we took off for Scottsdale, AZ - a 9 hour drive. Every time we started up the GT (after stopping for gas or food), it was a mystery as to which gauges would work. Usually it was the boost not working, but sometimes it was all out or all working (or just the fuel gauge being out).
Ralphie had ordered a new battery for the car that would arrive the following week, but until then...he would turn off the car and restart it until all gauges were working (which was sometimes 10+ times). It worked best when you could let it roll down a hill and then put it directly into second gear without having to hit the start button, but we didn't always have that luxury. We obviously didn't need all the gauges working to drive, but he wanted them working so they wouldn't get stuck in one place.
On the way to Scottsdale, we went over 3 mountain passes (one of which had some pretty cool dips), passed through the outskirts of Vegas, went over the new Hoover Dam, and around 5:30 PM arrived at the hotel in Scottsdale. Scenery along the way:
In 1866, prospectors mined a small piece of land they named Palmetto. Why Palmetto? They thought that the Joshua trees were related to Palm trees. Anyway, this little town produced some talc and silver, dying out due to lack of profitability. It resurfaced in 1903, but didn't last long. This is what is left of Palmetto:
Here we are in Scottsdale, where there are REAL palm trees:
I thought it was going to be hot in Scottsdale, but it was surprisingly mellow. LOL
Ralphie and I checked into our motel and met our buddy Chip for dinner at Don and Charley's. In the morning, we met up with a few other GT friends at Chip's place and had donuts and coffee before heading out on our AZ GT cruise.
We left Scottsdale in a parade of cars - white Shelby GT (Chip's yellow GT is being worked on), 2 red GTs (Ralphie and John's), and John and Michele's white Lexus (yes, we still let them come along even though they didn't drive either of their 2 beautiful GTs). The first stop was the Deer Valley Airport, where we picked up a midnight blue GT (Barry) and a black GT (Steve and Elana).
From there, we headed to Ash Fork and took historic Route 66 to Seligman. It was like Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. The towns preserved many of the old places like diners, stores, and motels on Route 66. There are also a lot of souvenir shops. As they said in Cars, the roads moved with the land and were a part of it - very different from the expressways later built. There were very few cars on these roads. Such a shame! It was fun to drive through this area.
In Seligman, we ate at the Road Kill Cafe. We met a few more people as well!
Barry had to leave, but we picked up another midnight blue GT (Frank and Carla), as well as a Shelby Cobra (Jim).
Since Carroll Shelby passed away just a few days ago, having a Cobra, Shelby GT, and the GTs made this like a tribute ride for him. During dinner, we said a few words and toasted him for all he's done in the car world.
Rich and Evelyn also met up with us there. Rich is the guy who organized the event. I have to say, it ended up being one of the best GT get togethers I've been to! He gave us these booklets as well that had pictures, descriptions of what we'd be doing and where we were going, and neat tidbits of information about each place.
After lunch, we stopped for gas and headed out to our next stop.
Staying on Route 66, we went through the Hualapai Indian reservation, and then took Indian 18 up to Mountain Top. This is one "hidden" end of the Grand Canyon with a gorgeous view. Tourists don't usually know about it, but hikers love it! You can hike the 8 miles down into the village of Supi and then hike back up after camping out down there for a day or two. There is a beautiful waterfall in the village, a trading post, and cabins. The only way in or out of that village is to hike it, ride a horse, or take the weekly helicopter rides.
We got back on the road again and on the way to Kingman, stopped at another gas station to top up.
We then stopped by the Desert Diamond Distillery, which is where they make rum and vodka. I don't drink the stuff, but it was fun to take a tour, and then everyone else sampled the goods. :) In the room with the barrels, it is 140 proof. It's a little bit less by the time it makes it into the bottles to take home.
We then went to dinner in downtown Kingman at an Italian restaurant before crashing for the night.
In the morning I was hungry and not in the mood to wait for our breakfast buffet at 9:30, so I had coffee and some of the breakfast food that came with the hotel. :) Then we all drove to the Hualapai Lodge Resort for the "real" breakfast. Sooooo much food! The only downer was the poor attitude from the woman making the omelets. And did I mention the elk that was outside?
It was Mother's Day, so we all received carnations (all us girls anyway).
After the 2nd breakfast, we took off to go to Frank's place. The other option was arts and crafts, but that got turned down. LOL Ralphie is in love with Santa Fe trains and has them all over his house. We happened to see one of their old (and very large) steam engines in Kingman. We also saw several on the road. :)
Frank had some pretty cool cars in his garage and some REALLY old cars placed decoratively around his yard. I loved the '67 Mustang Fastback and (of course) the old tractor.
He loves the Broncos (as you can see below) and also collecting old Coca Cola paraphernalia.
We left Frank's place in a very good mood. It was getting pretty hot out, but we were all looking forward to the next stop - me especially! Continuing on down Route 66, we all headed to Sitgreaves, which has some amazing overlooks. You can see AZ, CA, and NV from one spot! My favorite part was when Chip tried to make it up to me for not telling me when the antelope crossed the street (I missed that as I was looking down). He has killer eyes and was able to spot 5 very rare bighorn sheep (or maybe they were just mountain goats) way up high in the mountains. They looked like tiny specks, but with zoom on the camera lens, you could make them out. They are a little blurry because they were so far away.
These are 3 cars that had fallen off of the cliff. A reminder to be careful when driving!
We then went back down the mountain and continued on Route 66 to Oatman. At first, no one wanted to stop because there were lots of burros roaming around that like to rub up against the cars and scratch them, but I was so excited that the group finally gave in. Good thing too! This was a big hit and one of everyone's favorite spots!!!
Similar to the Road Kill Cafe, there were dollar bills everywhere. However, at this place, there were so many, they were hanging down from the lights, climbing up walls, and dangling down from other dollar bills from walls, doorways, and ceilings. We were told there was over $100,000 in dollar bills here!! Naturally, especially after seeing Ronald Reagan's dollar, we needed another Ford GT Forum dollar posted here. :)
I made friends with a pregnant burro.
I bought a Route 66 burro shirt and had a double scoop ice cream cone while everyone else was having a drink at the bar
Time to head to the next destination. Hey! Move your a$$! LOL
Our next (and final destination) was Laughlin, NV.
In Laughlin, NV we went to the Riverside Hotel and Casino. Ralphie was escorted in by TWO ladies. :)
On the top is the Classic Auto Museum.
Out the windows is the Colorado River. It seems so out of place in the middle of the desert to see people jet skiing, boats going by, and palm trees in the water.
After walking around the car museum it was time to eat. We had Mother's Day reservations in the Prime Rib Room, which is a buffet and then when you are ready and take your potatoes and veggies, they serve you the prime rib - no waiting! I don't like prime rib, so I had chicken cordon blue instead. It was good and not expensive at all!! :)
During dinner, Rich (who is one of the guys that worked on the GT and knows everything about them) asked 2 questions - one to the girls and one to the guys. I won by blurting out the answer before he even finished the question, and John won for the guys. Guess what I won? A SHELBY COBRA!!! Okay, not a real one, but still! It's a 1 of 1000 and very cool!! :)
Then we crashed at Harrah's, and planned to go swimming and then have a drink or two, but instead, we were wiped out and went to bed early.
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