000 More from Day Two

With Oatman in the books, Day Two became a little more fluid. Yes, there were a few planned stops between Oatman and Flagstaff, our destination, but it became a more leisurely day for the most part. If someone saw something that piqued his interest, we’d stop and explore. It would only take one person to say, “stop here” or “turn around.” What interested one person didn’t have to interest all, but ultimately everyone would get out. Nobody wanted to miss out on a shot. A competitive bunch, we are.

We hit a number of places including Hackberry General Store, Grand Canyons Cavern Inn, and Seligman, AZ.

Grand Canyon Caverns features an inn that was operational, a gas station that I think was still in operation, and a dinosaur-themed mini-golf course that most assuredly was not. There were also the caverns, which we did not visit.

We also stopped for a mountain vista where we encountered an Oatman Burro apparently hoping to catch a ride into town. Too bad we were headed in the opposite direction.

Among the un-planned stops was Cool Springs, a museum and gift shop which, according to their sign, also offered Cabins and Tasty Foods. Cool Springs is located a few miles outside of Oatman on Oatman Highway, which isn’t Route 66, but is somehow close enough to it to qualify — at least for our purposes.

The gift shop was very cool. There were the standard Route 66 branded patches, stickers and attire—things you can find along the entire voyage. I think I bought a sticker. But what put the cool in Cool Springs were the hand-made and natural items. Polished rocks, geodes and the like plus funky metal animal sculpture, and other curiosities made for fun shopping and browsing.

It was the curiosities that caught my attention, and that of Mike Tully.

Mike has two grandsons, I have three. It would be suicide to go on a trip like this and not bring gifts home for the kids. Cool Springs’ collection of curiosities was the perfect place to procure a present.

I found Mike at a counter, flipping through boxes of key-rings and pendants, each showcasing an insect preserved in a teardrop shaped hunk of amber. There were fairly common insects like beetles, wasps and spiders. But there were also scorpions. Yes. Scorpions. The perfect gift.

Problem was, there were only two scorpion key-rings. Now, Mike is a master macro photographer, and he spends hours in his back yard hunting insects with his two grandsons. As perfect as I thought the scorpions for my grandkids, it made more sense for Mike to have them. Besides, a fistfight at Cool Springs was probably not a good idea.

With no interest in the common bugs, I was back in the hunt. I looped through the store a couple of times, but nothing else jumped out at me. Crest-fallen, I exited the store to the outdoor section of the gift shop.

That’s where I saw the hand grenades. THREE of them! One hand grenade for each of my three grandsons!

“They’re only $20 each,” I thought. “That’s cheaper than three lame tee shirts, and way cooler!”

In my head, I saw joy on the faces of my grandsons as I handed them each their very own deactivated (I think) war relic. I also saw the scorn on the faces of my wife and daughters-in-law and distinctly heard them scream at me, “What the hell were you thinking?”

Looks like the boys are getting tee shirts. Hope they like them.

I do hope you are enjoying these posts. If you are, please leave a comment.

Finally, here are a few more images from Day Two.

*Dinosaur Mini Golf • Grand Canyon Caverns*

000 About This Series

From April 12 through April 20, 2025, I was on a Route 66 Photography Adventure (The Trip) with three good friends and like minded photographers. This series is recap of The Trip in stories and images.

All of the images were shot on that historic road or within a couple of miles of it. Neither the images nor stories are necessarily presented in chronological order.

Enjoying the series? Drop a comment.

A Gift of Grenades

000 More from Day Two

000 About This Series

The Leaning Tower of Britten

Two Guns