I wanted to go to Oatman, AZ, an authentic Western Ghost Town and Mining Camp. We had been there before a few years ago, but it is a fun place to go, so I wanted to see it again. Denny wasn't very enthused because the road to it is all dirt and rocky. It was only 16 miles, but took an hour. They have donkeys wandering all over town. They walk the middle of the streets and on the wooden sidewalks. It is a very touristy town, but still fun. If you are old enough, you will recognize the names Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. They were famous movie stars. They honeymooned in Oatman, an amazing thought, but they must have wanted complete privacy. It would have been hard to believe, but there are pictures of them in the hotel lobby where they stayed. The pictures show them playing chess and having dinner with the locals. During the Great Migration, Oatman was the last town people were able to stop at before the Mohave Desert. Also covered wagons were able to stock up before the desert.
We certainly picked the WRONG DAY to go. There were probably a thousand motorcycles there lining both sides of the street and going down the middle. There was a big motorcycle rally in Laughlin this week. On Friday, they had a sanctioned event in Oatman. I felt so sorry for the donkeys, it was noisy and crowded. I'm sure they were scared to death. You couldn't even walk on the sidewalk without being sideways it was so crowded. Think of all those motorcycles in a one street town. We had planned on having lunch there, but no way after we saw all the people. It was a mess. Every store was packed. The road is so dusty and rough, can't imagine doing it on a motorcycle.
Finally saw a couple of donkeys, usually the town is full of them.
There were a couple of geocaches in Oatman, but they were even hard to find because of so many people. We were determined to find them after going all that way!!!!
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