Leaving SD, Pee Wee's Dinosaurs, Wild Burros and A Long Ass Ride! (Day 23)

We woke up early in the morning on this day as we had a lot of miles to cover. We were driving from San Diego, all the way to Williams Arizona. The route we were taking was about 500 miles, so it was going to be a long day in the car. I broke it up with some cool stops along the way that my family really enjoyed.

The first stop was at the Cabazon Dinosaurs in Cabazon California. I really have wanted to go here since I was a child and saw the movie Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure. Those dinosaurs look so cool and I was so excited that I was finally getting to see them.

The Brontosaurus dinosaur is painted pink is free to go into. There is a shop in there where you can buy gifts from the Cabazon dinosaurs. I bought a t-shirt that said " Tell 'Em Large Marge Sent You" on it with the dinosaurs.

After going in the big pink dinosaur, we went into an area you need to pay for. In there there were a bunch of smaller dinosaurs.  For those who love dinosaurs, it was totally worth it to walk around the nicely decorated and original looking dinosaurs.  

There was an area for the kids to look for buried rocks, which you could trade in for a prize.

There was also an area to pan for fancy rocks in a water trough.  

The most exciting part was where you could also climb up into the head of the T-Rex. This was made famous in Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure, as Pee Wee saw the sunrise there with a girl named Simone, only to have her boyfriend Andy find them and chase after Pee Wee.  

As you can see, this place was definitely smaller than the area that Pee Wee and Simone watched the sunrise.  

Visiting the Cabazon Dinosaurs was a bucket list item for me and it did not disappoint.  It was beautiful there and being able to go visit the dinosaurs made famous by Pee Wee Herman was worth every penny. 

After leaving the Cabazon Dinosaurs, we drove to Oatman, Arizona. The ride was pretty uneventful, except when we did drive through Needles, California.  I wish I had a chance to take a picture of it, but the thermometer at the casino there said it was 130°F.  That was a little crazy.

Once in Needles, we got back on Route 66.  I gotta say that Route 66 in and out of Oatman is beautiful.  

As we were driving into Oatman, we started to see some of the famous wild burros all the travelers of Route 66 talk about in Oatman.  

As we arrived in Oatman it was really hot.  Avery was tired and miserable.  Norah was excited to see the burros.  So we immediately looked to get some burro food.  We found a store selling it for $1.00 a bag and the girls immediately started to make friends with the locals.  

The town of Oatman is cool.  It is everything I would expect a Wild, Wild West Town to look like.  It had shops, a saloon, a mine and a bunch of other things.  It definitely was a highlight of my trip, especially along Route 66.  

Driving out of Oatman on Route 66 was fun.  Heading to the east you drive on a road called the sidewinder that has 191 turns over 8 miles.  Although it was steep and windy, this was child's play compared to the drive in Kings Canyon National Park earlier in the trip.  It was a lot of fun to drive and the views were amazing.  

And then coming down out of the mountains, you drive by the iconic gas station on Route 66 in Cool Springs,  Arizona.  Unfortunately, we had a long way to go and a short time to get there (Bandit reference), so we couldn't stop by and check it out.  

We continued on Route 66 until we got to Kingman,  Arizona. I had already cut through Kingman on my way west and we are very short on time, so we didn't stop.  However we did drive the Route 66 portion of Kingman and it looked really nice. I definitely want to go back someday.  

Our next stop was at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, Arizona.  This is a famous café along Route 66 that many people stop at and rave about.  The food there was great and the whole family had fun. 

 

I wish I would have got a picture of it, Avery ate a steak at the Roadkill Cafe and loved it. There wasn't even one morsel left on her plate. 

After dinner we checked out downtown Seligman for a little bit, got the girls ice cream at the general store and got our picture taken with the Route 66 sign.  

After getting some pictures taken in downtown Seligman, we continued to Williams, Arizona where we were spending the night.  I had heard the night life and neon lights in downtown Williams were pretty spectacular, so I got to the hotel, checked the family in and got them settled, and went to walk around the downtown.  

Williams is an amazing place and a lot of fun. It was the last place on Route 66 bypassed by I-40, officially ending Route 66's reign as the main way between Chicago and California.  

The downtown area has some great bars, historic buildings and fun shops to go in.  Since it was around 10pm, I ended up going to the World Famous Sultana Bar and had a beer there. 

It was pretty quiet and low-key for Friday night. So I went looking for some action elsewhere and ended up at another bar called the Canyon Club. 

It was karaoke night and they definitely had a wild, but older crowd on hand. 

It was so much fun watching everybody do karaoke that I didn't mind drinking a Budweiser. 

I didn't make it long in Williams.  I had driven about 500 miles that day and spent a long time in the car.  Plus the next day we needed to get up and head into the Grand Canyon.  So after a couple Buds, I went back to the hotel where my family was already asleep and I went to bed.