Driving day!

Today was a driving day.  We went from Bakersfield, CA to Bullhead City,  Az.  It was a lot of driving with only a couple of get out and walk for 10 minute stops.

As we were driving we noticed a wind farm in the distance.  I thought the three wind turbines in Kodiak were cool.. Check out how many are here!It's kinda hard to see as we took it from the road but all the "stick like" things sticking out of the mountains are wind turbines.  I wondered how much energy they really produce?  It seems there are several wind farms in California.  This one was known as the Tehachapi Wind Farm.  At any rate, according to Wikipedia, wind energy accounts for 5% of what California needs.  These farms were Huge!  I cannot fathom that they only produce 5 % but i guess there are a lot of people in California.  I wonder if we can install one in our yard.  How much could we save in electric bills..hmmmmmm.....

This wasn't even a quarter of the wind turbines

The next stop we made was one of the coolest places!  It is called Bottle Tree Ranch and it is on Route 66.  We attempted to drive most of Route 66 but the road in the first several miles we drove from Bakersfield was so rough, we about rattled our teeth out.  We hopped back on the highway which was right next to 66 and made some time.

Joshua Tree

On our way to our first stop and leg stretch, we began to notice some weird trees.  We thought they might be cactus but then they looked like palms as well.  Finally after a quick stop at a gas station and a book on National Parks bought by yours truly we realized they were Joshua Trees.  Of course, I had to look up why they were called Joshua Trees and then I noticed in the book that there is a Joshua Tree National Park.  ANOTHER place to visit heh heh!    At any rate here's the poop on the Joshua Tree.

Joshua Tree

 It's a form of Yucca and thrives in the Mohave desert (where we were).  It has a latin name but I won't bore you with it.  You can always google if you really want to know:0  Anyhow, it was give the name Joshua Tree by Mormon settlers crossing the desert.  It's unique formation reminded them of the story of Joshua raising his hands to Heaven in prayer.  I think they are a really unique looking tree.  I love the formations their branches make and as you can see in one photo, it really breaks up the flat desert we were driving through.

 

Mom and Tommy at Bottle Tree Ranch

This one was pretty cool!

Elmer Long is the name of the artist that began Bottle Tree Ranch. He lives in the house beyond the bottles.   He used to drive in the desert with his father and find objects.  After his father died he was left with a bunch of stuff and no idea what to do with it so he began creating "trees".  When we arrived there was no one there but the gate was open, a open sign was displayed and Route 66 music (50's and 60's) created an ambiance just right for exploring.   There is no charge to get in but there is a tip mailbox which we happily contributed to.  Finding this neat stuff is just up my alley.  Not so touristy but very cool in it's uniqueness!








As I was wondering I noticed that there was a tree with Thomas lamps.  Of course I had to have Tommy stand next to it!

Tommy next to the Thomas tree:) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course,  there was also a coca cola tree that I had to stand next to it!  He also had a tree that had Route 66 bottles on it:0

Route 66 bottle trees on Route 66!

A train tree with train lights!

Corner view of some of the trees!

I took too many pictures to name.  There was so much to look at and so many different trees with themes it was hard not to take a picture of each of the 200 trees!  I highly recommend this as a place to visit if you are ever on Route 66 !

Roy's Hotel and Cafe - Route 66

Our next stop was Amboy, Ca.  It was once a major stopping point on Route 66  and a mining interest.  All that is past and now it is a lonely ghost town with only an operating Post Office.  Roy's Cafe is located there and has been in several movies. (The Hitcher and Kalifornia to name two).  The current owner of Amboy is attempting to preserve it in it's 1950's glory.  Imagine our surprise when not only could we go inside Roy's and get snacks but the gas station is actually selling gas again! 

Selling gas and packaged snacks!

As we were driving there I noticed a strange mountain and then a sign that explained the mountain.  It was actually a defunct cinder cone volcano.  We drove down to the parking spot and I looked it up on the phone.  They recommend you don't hike to the top until September.  It IS the Mohave after all and was a balmy 95 degrees.  We opted to snap some shots and move on but I added another thing to my bucket list.

Cinder Cone Volcano

On the way out of Amboy we passed the shoe tree which unfortunately had fallen over.  Next to it someone had attempted to start a lingerie tree but I didn't take pictures of it.  The shoe tree was much classier don't you think?

Shoe Tree -  That's a lot of shoes!

Finger Rock!

Finger Rock - different Angle

After we stopped at Amboy we headed to Kingman, Az to eat at Mr. D's Diner.  I read about it when researching for our trip.  It's an old school diner but on the way we saw Finger Rock.  Finger Rock is hard to miss as you drive by it and it appears to give you the finger.  Both mom and I thought it looked like a hand giving a thumbs up but at certain angles it does appear to be flying the bird.  I stopped on the side of the highway and snapped a few picks, you'll have to make up your own mind.
 

We finally got to Mr. D's Diner on Route 66 in Kingman.  It's a cool little resturant with excellent food.  It's all done in the 50's era.  Even the waitresses were somewhat dressed 50's style and it was so clean!  When we walked in it was 5 and no one was in the place.  Everyone was cleaning.  The bus boy was doing the fans, the waitresses were doing the glass and the juke box.  I was amazed at how clean it was and was concerned for them that there was no business.  Not to worry, we beat the evening rush.  By the time we left the dining room was filled.  We left full and happy:)    One of my favorite parts of the restaurant was the dividers for the restrooms.  No words or word play for this establishment!  If you were a Marilyn you went to the Marilyn and if you were an Elvis you went to an Elvis!  Too clever!

Just like in the 50's !

Juke Box and all!

Restrooms--which one to use?

Mom jammin out to those old school tunes!

Looking back on all that I have written, it really doesn't seem that all we did was drive but we only spent minutes at all the places we stopped at with the exception of dinner! We must have had a busy day anyways!  Tomorrow we are off to a ghost town and then some random stops.  I'm glad we did this. We are all having fun but I think we have all agreed that three weeks is too much to travel from town to town!