School Me On Oatman

[OldSchoolBoats]

Heading out again this weekend with the kids. Plan is to hit Bunker Bar on Friday for lunch and then was thinking of heading to Oatman on Saturday (never been before).

Is it an all day kind of gig, or lunch and a couple hours of walking around deal??

What's there as far as restaurants are concerned? Stuff for kids to do?

Temps look like low 60's and chance of rain. Is it going to be crazy crowded on a Saturday? Was thinking that we leave house around 10am.



Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[PlanB]

You basically have one restaurant that's located in the old hotel. Oatman is a short street that that looks like an old cowboy town from a movie. Shops on both side selling various trinkets and of course the wild donkeys that are all over town. They also put on a robbery / gunfight deal in the middle of the street at various times during the day. Cool place to check out, especially if you have kids. It's a 2-3 hour deal IMO.

 

[Your ad here]

It's a 2 hours deal and a basic lunch, if you choose. The bar at the Northwest corner of the street is good for drinks.

 

[redone76]

Beware....the donkeys are assholes

 

[mjc]

if you are into the drive and site seeing head towards Kingman and take the road from there into Oatman.
https://www.route66news.com/2017/05/08/history-shaffer-spring-goldfish-bowl/ This is on the road from kingman.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Don't feed the baby burros carrots as they can choke on them. You can buy carrots to feed em in a few of the stores. You will see stickers on their heads telling you that as well. These people consider the burros to be part of their family but in reality it is because they bring in tourists and that equals money....lol

Buffalo burger and burro ears for lunch at the Oatman Hotel. Spend an hour walking around and checking out the shops. On a Saturday you should see some cool off road veh, bikes and classic cars.

The kids will love it.....

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

Leave oatman the back way up over the mountain past all the old mines, cool little gift shop once you come down the other side. Take the road all the way to 66 and then head up to kingman and up to the Hualapais for lunch at the lodge and the kids can play in the snow

 

[Rondog4405]

It's a cool lil couple hour deal. My kids dug it. A couple places to eat.. cool lil shops . Haunted motel. They do a cowboy show in the street ...or at least they did pre-covid. The donkeys will straight jack you for any food yore holding so watch out for them. We would always shoot on over there when we were on a Laughlin trip. Will do it again and again

 

[DLC]

Oatman has way to many Jack asses running around. It’s just like Ca but the jack asses shit in the street not on the side walk!

there are donkeys also!
lol

its a fun time, we ran our can am up there and had lunch. A ton of tourist crap to check out kids will dig it

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I have nothing to add beyond what has already been said.

 

[Bobby V]

Heading out again this weekend with the kids. Plan is to hit Bunker Bar on Friday for lunch and then was thinking of heading to Oatman on Saturday (never been before).

Is it an all day kind of gig, or lunch and a couple hours of walking around deal??

What's there as far as restaurants are concerned? Stuff for kids to do?

Temps look like low 60's and chance of rain. Is it going to be crazy crowded on a Saturday? Was thinking that we leave house around 10am.



Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Some pics from 2008.

 

[BHC Vic]

Every time I’ve been I’ve run into an rdp member. Always a good time

 

[OldSchoolBoats]

Sweet, thanks for the info gents. Looks like we will give it a go!

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Some pics from 2008.

View attachment 963050 View attachment 963051 View attachment 963052

T shirt hyperinflation!!!!

 

[ATKpilot]

Beware....the donkeys are assholes

This is true. My wife and I went to Oatman and had a good time there, but this little asshole tried to chew my shirt sleeve and when I shooed him away he went and chewed the seat on a brand new Street Glide!

 

[185EZ]

For sure go the back way.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2cykikm]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eMHKQB]

 

[stephenkatsea]

In a jeep we turned right (east) off of the Hwy at Spirit Montain Casino, at the end of that paved road a trail begins to Oatman. We traveled a number of miles on that trail which does intersect with the paved road a few mikes outside of Oatman. Nothing spectacular,, but it does add some off roading to the trip to Oatman. The back way was nice when we left Oatman.

 

[jeepdog]

Very friendly place

 

[checkrd past]

Go home the back way towards Kingman . Nice scenic ride with cool switch backs

 

[Cobalt232]

We had to drop of my son at Las Vegas airport after Christmas, so we went through Oatman. We had the dog, so couldn't really do much, but it was fun. We were warned by more than one person to not let the dog get close to the burros. The drive to Kingman was fun.

Saw this guy in the road, looking for handouts. He was smart by not hanging out around all the other ones in town.

 

[The Prisoner]

 

[redone76]

This is true. My wife and I went to Oatman and had a good time there, but this little asshole tried to chew my shirt sleeve and when I shooed him away he went and chewed the seat on a brand new Street Glide!
View attachment 963054
View attachment 963055

I had a full grown donkey shove in between me and my son in his stroller trying to grab a bag of candy out of my hand. Fucking thing stepped right on my foot and i had to shove it off me to grab the stroller before it rolled away. Other then that it was a great time

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

The donkeys are thugs. They typically block the road just before you get to "town" and shake down the tourists for snacks. They seem pretty docile but I saw one kick the shit out of a guy once, back leg hoof into his shin, guy dropped like a rock. Likely a female who was not in the mood for tourist photos.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

Oatman :

 

[monkeyswrench]

Talking to local Oatman shop people yesterday, they are down to officially 9 donkeys. Every once in a while they gather and "rehome" some of the grumpy/ pushy bastards. It was crowded yesterday. Shop owner told us they've been fairly busy, but sales seem down. As of yesterday, avoid the coffee trailer at the north end, it sucked. If you see a trinket or shirt you like, walk all the places and come back to it. You may find it a lot cheaper at another shop.
We usually go once or twice a year. See what's new, and check things out.

 

[boatdoc55]

25 posts and not a one mentions the old time candy store at the top of the street on the right!!! Prolly some stuff in there you young folks have never seen!!

 

[monkeyswrench]

25 posts and not a one mentions the old time candy store at the top of the street on the right!!! Prolly some stuff in there you young folks have never seen!!

I was going to, but was afraid being blamed for his kids going into sugar overdrive!

It's 8$ a pound for the smaller stuff...some old school, ice cream truck or little league snackbar junk food

 

[Water Romper]

Oatman is a living ghost town, aside from the tourist attractions, mentioned, there are old mines and active ones as well, because I'm into prospecting, I like the historical aspect of this little town. I've gone four-wheeling and prospecting beyond the actual town, found a little "color" but nothing to get rich on, nice "rock hounding" as well if your into that sort of stuff, interesting place. Reminds me a bit like Randsburg (US395, Calif) without the burros.

 

[RiverDave]

Beware....the donkeys are assholes

they certainly can be! There was a couple from Germany last time I was there.. she was giving them carrots or something, then they started getting aggressive.. when she ran out the show was on. Lol. They were chasing her around the car and nipping at her ass.

comedy.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

As you leave town heading towards kingman there is a old daytona just baking away in the sun for years on the right, complete with radar arch

 

[Bpracing1127]

Don’t bring a dog, donkeys will kick the living shit out of it. Also candy store is a must. And the street show can be loud for babies with the gun fire. Other than that. Slow down, no need to rush through it

 

[boatdoc55]

I was going to, but was afraid being blamed for his kids going into sugar overdrive!

It's 8$ a pound for the smaller stuff...some old school, ice cream truck or little league snackbar junk food

Damn, those "Necco Wafers" are my downfall. Wife came home from tractor Supply a couple weeks ago and said she had a surprise for me. What the hell do I need from TS??????? She said they were on the cashiers stand, 2 rolls of Necco wafers!!!!!!!!
HOT DAMN!!!! One doesn't find them to often.

 

[The Prisoner]

Oatman : View attachment 963162 View attachment 963192

Holy shit! That thing must be 6"! ....Off the ground.

 

[Hallett Dave]

Holy shit! That thing must be 6"! ....Off the ground.

Do not feed the burrows carrots, buy some hay cubes and feed them.
I have been to Oatman a few times and it reminds me of Calico back in the late sixties.
Still a fun get away.
Virginia City is fun as well.
The best ghost town experience is Bodie, south of Bridge Port off Hwy 395. All Natural, no concessions.
Cerro Gordo is a cool experience as well. 4 wheel drive is recommended.
YMMV

 

[boatnam2]

So let me get this straight a donkey can eat a friggin cactus in the middle of the desert, but will choke on a carrot?

 

[Water Romper]

A little more "Tidd Bits" of Oatman info. that might be interesting to the family:

The name Oatman was chosen in honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was captured and enslaved by Indians.
Burros were first introduced to Oatman to pull the ore carts and haul misc. supplies etc. Its said that the burros/donkeys' you see today are the "next generation" of the original animals used back in the day before steam and gasoline equipment was brought to the area. There were several other areas near and around Oatman that were producing gold and other metals before 1900 but Oatman is the name that stuck.
Mining was in the area starting in/around 1863 however Oatmans "heyday" ran from 1915-1917 producing HUGE amounts of gold.
In 1921, fire destroyed many of the buildings but spared the Oatman Hotel which was built in 1902 (the oldest adobe building in Mohave County)
There were over 14 movies filmed in or near Oatman, below are a few of the more popular ones.

How the West Was Won (1962
Foxfire (1955)
Route 66 (I) (2019)

As a side note, if you have visited Arizona in the middle of summer, the temperatures can exceed 115 degrees, imagine working the mines and traveling in the heat back in the day? ugh, I'll take my air conditioned GMC.

Oatman, Arizona - Wikipedia

 

[monkeyswrench]

A little more "Tidd Bits" of Oatman info. that might be interesting to the family:

The name Oatman was chosen in honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was captured and enslaved by Indians.
Burros were first introduced to Oatman to pull the ore carts and haul misc. supplies etc. Its said that the burros/donkeys' you see today are the "next generation" of the original animals used back in the day before steam and gasoline equipment was brought to the area. There were several other areas near and around Oatman that were producing gold and other metals before 1900 but Oatman is the name that stuck.
Mining was in the area starting in/around 1863 however Oatmans "heyday" ran from 1915-1917 producing HUGE amounts of gold.
In 1921, fire destroyed many of the buildings but spared the Oatman Hotel which was built in 1902 (the oldest adobe building in Mohave County)
There were over 14 movies filmed in or near Oatman, below are a few of the more popular ones.

How the West Was Won (1962
Foxfire (1955)
Route 66 (I) (2019)

As a side note, if you have visited Arizona in the middle of summer, the temperatures can exceed 115 degrees, imagine working the mines and traveling in the heat back in the day? ugh, I'll take my air conditioned GMC.

Oatman, Arizona - Wikipedia

That last part, about working in summer. Impressive as hell when you think about it. Reading about the railroad, that was a major undertaking. There were limited sources of water from Peach Springs to the River. I read that there were 2 men on Kingman's crew that hauled water. Every other day, leave camp to get to the river, fill barrels and head back the next morning. Every day as they got closer. No liftgates, just two guys that had to be pretty stout. About a mile of track a day, survey crew a mile out, grading crew and then track layers a mile back...meeting at the grading crew for supper and camp. Badasses, true American badasses. Some Chinese, some Mexican and some white guys from Kansas, Texas and such...but all really "American".

(The old line was across the swamp, which is now the refuge area. Kingman wanted to run it where it is now...more solid ground. Owners of the line wanted a straight line to Needles. Kingman was right...)

 

[2Driver]

The donkeys are thugs. They typically block the road just before you get to "town" and shake down the tourists for snacks. They seem pretty docile but I saw one kick the shit out of a guy once, back leg hoof into his shin, guy dropped like a rock. Likely a female who was not in the mood for tourist photos.

Lol when I was there one donkey had the side door molding peeled 2/3 the way off a car.

 

[Taboma]

A little more "Tidd Bits" of Oatman info. that might be interesting to the family:

The name Oatman was chosen in honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was captured and enslaved by Indians.
Burros were first introduced to Oatman to pull the ore carts and haul misc. supplies etc. Its said that the burros/donkeys' you see today are the "next generation" of the original animals used back in the day before steam and gasoline equipment was brought to the area. There were several other areas near and around Oatman that were producing gold and other metals before 1900 but Oatman is the name that stuck.
Mining was in the area starting in/around 1863 however Oatmans "heyday" ran from 1915-1917 producing HUGE amounts of gold.
In 1921, fire destroyed many of the buildings but spared the Oatman Hotel which was built in 1902 (the oldest adobe building in Mohave County)
There were over 14 movies filmed in or near Oatman, below are a few of the more popular ones.

How the West Was Won (1962
Foxfire (1955)
Route 66 (I) (2019)

As a side note, if you have visited Arizona in the middle of summer, the temperatures can exceed 115 degrees, imagine working the mines and traveling in the heat back in the day? ugh, I'll take my air conditioned GMC.

Oatman, Arizona - Wikipedia

Very interesting, I enjoy learning about the area's history. Just found something really fun. Followed the Olive Oatman link and her abduction and slaughter of her family.
Looking at her picture with the facial Mohave indian tattoos reminded me of somebody in a TV series. Did a bit of digging and found it --- Eva in Hell on Wheels.

Olive Oatman ----

Eva from Hell on Wheels

 

[bilz]

We were there on Sunday. Started getting crowded around 12. My kids loved it when they were young. My wife got a little misty thinking back on those days as they are 22 & 24 and we're at home. Great memories, Do It!
Also do the route to Kingman.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

Very interesting, I enjoy learning about the area's history. Just found something really fun. Followed the Olive Oatman link and her abduction and slaughter of her family.
Looking at her picture with the facial Mohave indian tattoos reminded me of somebody in a TV series. Did a bit of digging and found it --- Eva in Hell on Wheels.

Olive Oatman ----

View attachment 963456

Eva from Hell on Wheels

View attachment 963457

Shut up, really? So the tat thing on Eva was legit? That was a good series, dragged on a bit too long, and the tappin the 15 year old part kind of jumped the shark, good series though.

 

[DirtyWhiteDog]

The goldfish bowl is pretty cool. Watch out for the bees. It's at the first big left turn heading east after the summit

 

[Water Romper]

Very interesting, I enjoy learning about the area's history. Just found something really fun. Followed the Olive Oatman link and her abduction and slaughter of her family.
Looking at her picture with the facial Mohave indian tattoos reminded me of somebody in a TV series. Did a bit of digging and found it --- Eva in Hell on Wheels.

Olive Oatman ----

View attachment 963456


I think I read somewhere that the tattoo on Olive’s chin was NOT in her favor. Apparently, this was the sign of “many braves” insinuating that she had many “partners” not by choice. The article was trying to be politically correct but it was clear she did not have a great life. I never watched Hell on Wheels so I dont know if the tattoo was brought up in discussion.

 

[Water Romper]

Oh, forgot to mention in my earlier post....Oatman, AZ is a "hot bed" for UFO sightings. <insert music from X Files>
Just one of many "claimed" sightings: Oatman, Arizona, Cigar Shaped Object UFO Sighting (ufosentinel.com)

 

[Joker]

25 posts and not a one mentions the old time candy store at the top of the street on the right!!! Prolly some stuff in there you young folks have never seen!!

That’s always our first stop

 

[Joker]

As you leave town heading towards kingman there is a old daytona just baking away in the sun for years on the right, complete with radar arch

You ever see the truck that went over the hill up by the mining facility? Its still there lodged in some rocks before it hit the highway

 

[Taboma]

I read where the character Eva was based on Olive Oatman's persona and ordeal. The actress, Robin McLeavy who played Eva felt proud and that it represented Survival, struggle and triumph. But like you, I've read it wasn't well accepted by the public in the 1860's, for the reason you stated.