Day 5: Needles to Kingman -- 76 miles
The arched bridge behind Brian used to carry cars and trucks acorss Route 66 and appeared in the film of "The Grapes of Wrath." Now it carries a gas pipeline.
The Colorado River with the mountains that supposedly gave Needles its name.
We spent a couple of hours climbing toward the mountain behind Brian and then around it on our way to Oatman, AZ. We were "escorted" by countless butterflies. You could see five or six around you whenever you looked.
Oatman is a charming and unspoiled western town that's famous for its wild burros.
Not really.
Past Oatman, the climbing continues more steeply with a famous set of switchbacks that were once the terror of every transcontinental motorist. Now, they mostly serve to keep motorhomes off the road -- a noble enough function.
Kirsten flags down Gary to tell him that he dropped something two miles back. She's such a kidder.
This car passed me too closely.
At the end of the day, Brian, Anurang and I did a "hike and bike" option that (with just a small portage over some railroad tracks) enabled us to see part of the old road that no longer goes anywhere. We all agreed that today was one of the best in terms of scenery that we'd ever experienced on a bike.