A history lesson on Route 66

We decided to go exploring yesterday and drove back to Oatman where we could get back on Route 66.. Going through the little town was a little slow going as you can see.

Once past the slow moving traffic, we rounded the corner and went back in time. The history of this small stretch of route 66 abounds (about 30 miles), and the desert view from the twisty road is awe inspiring. Luckily there were many tiny pull outs along the way where we could take a few photos to share with you.

As we drove along we came across 3 interesting bits of Route 66 history. Firstly "Ed's Camp", Ed came to the area in 1917 to try and strike it rich in gold mining. He quickly realized that the real money was in the many tourists driving along the road. Business was so good he didn't have time to build a proper building. He just threw up a roof to protect him from the desert sun. The property is inaccessible now, but you can see the rustic structure still standing from the road.

At one point we couldn't resist the view and pulled over to snap a photo. Getting out of the car we noticed steps carved into the side of the mountain! We began to climb and to our surprise found a natural spring built into a small pond… With you guessed it, gold fish! Yup! Out in the middle of the desert… Gold fish! Later we discovered it was called "Shaffer Fish Bowl Springs". Legend has it, some creative traveller introduced the fish to the spring!

Back in the car… A short drive later we come across "Cool Springs". This small camp and service station was built in the mid 1920's, it was an important stop for the weary traveller. Providing small cabins, gas, and meals. In the early 50's the interstate was introduced bypassing many of these little stops, slowly bringing on the closure of these small businesses. The final blow came in the mid 60's when a fire burned Cool Springs to the ground, the small station became a faded memory. Enter Hollywood! In 1991 "Universal Soldier" was filmed there. The station was rebuilt only to be blown up at the end of the movie. Classy, how did the Academy miss that one!! Fast forward to 2001 when Ned Leuchtner fell in love with the area and purchased the property. Rebuilding the station to it's former glory!

Below are two photos showing Cool Springs in 1926 and 1942…. Oh! Funny side note, while we were in the station looking at the memorabilia and chatting with the fellow working there, we couldn't help but reply to his many stories with an enthusiastic "Cool!"…. to which he would calmly reply..."Springs", and continue talking. We chuckled looking at each other with raised eyebrows the first few time, thinking this guy has lost his lid…. Then realized we were the idiots, and had been missing the joke… "Cool Springs". LOL!