Wow! Just drove the section of old Route 66 from Kingman AZ to
Golden Shores (the California border) What a drive. It's hard
to believe that this once was the major East-West route through
this part of the country. If you are ever in this part of the
country, DRIVE IT! I don't care what you are driving, drive it.
It doesn't have to be an LBC (although that would be the best)
any car will do. I drove it in a 6 ton truck and had a ball.
The section is mostly like any desert highway with long sections
that are straight as an arrow and flat. And with sections that
rise and fall with the terrain but there is a section that climbs
up over a 3500 ft pass defies description. Let's just say that
it was built with a minimal impact technique. It was most
probably built during the thirties by hand labor. There was
no "cut and fill" here. This road follows the contours of the
canyon walls with minimal excavation and fill to provide a flat
roadway. This means switchbacks. This means up close to the
canyon walls seeing all the flora and fauna and the geology and
the terrain and, and, and all the stuff you don't see driving
the interstate because when they build an interstate they use
large earth moving equipment to move huge amounts of fill to
create a roadbed that is predominately flat and straight destroying
much of the adjacent landscape.
Uh, I feel a soapbox comming on so I'll quit here.
Dave Massey
Writing from San Bernardino Hilton for now.
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