September 17, 2003

     We left Kingman, Arizona, this morning and followed Route 66 out into the desert.  The landscape became more and more desolate as we climbed toward Stigreaves Pass.  We followed the old road through a series of narrow switchbacks that led us away from the desert floor.  We were awestruck by the towering red cliffs that followed our ascent up the twisting road.

     At Cool Springs Camp we stopped and talked to a man named Dennis who is reconstructing the service station that used to be there.  He has done such a wonderful job so far that we couldn't tell where the old ruins ended and the new construction began.
    
     After reaching the summit, we dropped back down the other side of the mountain and into the town of Oatman.  There we were treated to a sight we had read about but one that is rarely seen elsewhere.  Oatman is renowned for its panhandling wild burros.  These burros are the descendants of burros released into the wild by miners who no longer needed them.  Each morning the burros arrive in town about 10:00 A. M. coinciding with the arrival of the tourists.  They meander down the main street of town in search of tourists with carrots, which can be purchased in town.  In exchange for food, they will allow people to pet and photograph them.  They are not opposed to even walking on the wooden sidewalks or sticking their heads in the local shops looking for a handout.  We enjoyed watching their antics.

     We were interested in learning how Oatman got its name, so we looked into the town's history.  It seems that in 1851, thirteen year old Olive Oatman's Mormon family was traveling to southern California to live in a "New Kingdom of the Righteous".  Olive, her parents, and six brothers and sisters left Independence, Missouri, on August 5, 1850.  It was a ghastly journey, and the Oatmans eventually were alone and in dire straits.  At the Gila River in Arizona about a dozen Apaches attacked, killing all but Olive and her seven year old sister, Mary.  The Indians left Olive's brother, Lorenzo, for dead.  Mary and Olive were taken as captives and traveled with the Mojave Indians who kept them as slaves for five years.  Mary died in the second year of captivity, and Olive was tattooed on her chin, forever marking her as a Navajo slave.  She was eventually ransomed in 1856 by her brother, Lorenzo, who had survived the Indian attack.  Olive eventually married J. B. Fairchild in 1865.  She died in 1903.

     It was beginning to be quite warm when we left Oatman, but it must have seemed almost balmy to the locals.  One merchant informed us that it is not uncommon for the mercury to reach 125 degrees during the day and a chilly 110 degrees at night during the summer!  We were glad that we weren't in Oatman in July.

     The rest of the day was spent traveling through the desert and viewing the remnants of towns that time has passed by.  Tonight we are in Barstow, California.  Tomorrow we will visit schools in Barstow and Arvin, and we will begin traveling up the San Joaquin Valley towards home.

Teachers in the PAST lane

Ed Gwartney
                                                                                                       Susan Miller
                                                                                                       Sandra Carter