Sitegreaves Pass and Cool Springs Station, Arizona

 

Sitgreaves Memorial Viewpoint
This section of Route 66 is the curviest and steepest portion of the road.  It is an 8 mile section of the road that goes from Oatman, Arizona up Sitgreaves Pass. It is also called the "Arizona Sidewinder" because it has 191 or so curves and switchbacks with no guardrails.  It sounds scary, but as long as you go slow (everyone else is too, don't worry) it isn't as bad as it sounds. I'll note, however, that I was driving west to east which means I was on the inside of the road the whole time.  Maybe if I was driving east to west and was right up against the drop I'd have a different opinion.

Summit Station and Ice Cream Parlor was at this turnout just below the summit. There's nothing left but a few bits of concrete in the ground.  However, this site has been repurposed as a memorial hill.  There are dozens of small memorials that dot the crest of the hill that you can walk around or through.

Onetto Spring?
On this part of my drive I was looking for something specific.  I didn't find it (more later0 but this is one of the places I looked.  I believe this is Onetto Spring, or at least close to it.  from the top it looks like it used to be a catch basin for water, but I can't be sure. There was no water there when I looked. 

Sitegreaves Pass, eastern view

Just below the summit on the eastern side of the pass is a pullout where you can get a good view.  Before I went on this trip I read online that part of the road in this area had been abandoned but still existed and it was just below the main road.  I really wanted to find it and probably focused a bit too much on it and missed the forest for the trees.

 I didn't find it, so I took some photos of areas that it could be so I could look it up when I got back. There are some other dirt trails that have had rock-work done on the inside of curves.  I think this is actually pipeline road but it's hard to be sure.  On the other side there seems to be a road that follows the power lines.

 When I got home and went looking for more information I found nothing.  I couldn't even find the site that I'd gotten the idea from in the first place.  I'm not sure what happened, I could have just misread something and confused this part of Route 66 with a later route that is far to the south. Or, it could be that while I was on the trip someone went back in time and re-wrote history and it was true but no longer is.  Occam's Razor suggests the latter.

The closest thing I've been able to find is this youtube video, which, at 10:47 shows a curve on the road near Goldroad then an old postcard showing the exact same spot.  In it, there is an extra curve at the bottom left no longer exists, the mine has expanded through it.  Maybe this is where the abandoned section was?

I've spent hours looking online with no luck and it bothers me more than it should. If you have any useful information drop it in a comment.

 

Cool Springs Station
The trip over the pass complete, I now came to Cool Springs Station.  This is an old Mobil Oil gas station that also had tourist cabins. After it was abandoned, it literally fell apart. The only original pieces are the two light-colored pillars in the front and a low part of wall on the right side.  In the early 2000's it was rebuilt and is now a museum and gift shop.  I stopped there for a drink.

The Real Radiator Springs


 There are several stops along Route 66 that claim to be the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the Movie "Cars."  Which one is right?  Maybe it is this one, or a different one, or maybe "Cars" took inspiration from multiple places to create Radiator Springs.  At least this one has Springs in the name.
 

At the far right, to the right of the red SUV you can see a small wooden shack. This is actually a fence around the port-a-potty that serves as the bathroom.

There are a bunch of places along the route that are clearly a labor of love. Amboy is one of them, this is another.  I'm sure no one looked at the ruins of the old gas station and thought "If I rebuild it, everyone will come and I'll be rich."  But they did it, and they see a steady trickle of visitors and hopefully earn enough to make it worth their time.

They weren't the first people to rebuild Cool Springs Station.  Before them, the 1992 film "Universal Soldier" rebuilt it as a set.  They blow it up in the movie.

 

Rusted Relics of Route 66, Cool Springs, AZ
A couple of rusted out hulks of cars sit on gravel at Cool Springs Station along Route 66 in Arizona. The mural on the semi trailer behind them is signed by Sarah Leuchtner.

 

Shaffer Springs "Shaffer Fishbowl"
This is one of the spots I missed. I don't think it is hard to find, I just wasn't looking for it.  There is a small seep partway up the hill and water collects in this man-made basin.  There are usually goldfish swimming around in it.

Prior stop:  Oatman, Arizona.  You can see all my Route 66 posts here. 

 

 

 

 

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