Mini-Geezer Getaway:
Sedona & Oatman, AZ
Friday, Sept. 30 through Monday, October 3, 2011
About 700 miles / 5 days / 2 states
(Nevada and Arizona)
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
About 700 miles / 5 days / 2 states
(Nevada and Arizona)
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Sedona
Tourism, pure and simple, is the core industry and economic generator in this small, affluent 'resort' city in the northern Verde Valley region of Arizona. The region's main attraction is an array of red sandstone formations that glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. Sedona's natural endowments include the 1.8 million acre Coconino National Forest that surrounds the community and seven wilderness areas. Beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, where the Getaway Geezers camped stream- side during their visit, contains Arizona's first officially designated scenic highway.
Sedona is about 300 miles, or five hours, from Las Vegas via Kingman, AZ.
Sedona is about 300 miles, or five hours, from Las Vegas via Kingman, AZ.
Oatman
A former gold mining tent camp in the Black Mountains of Arizona, Oatman now is a "thriving" ghost town. In between those eras, in 1915, two miners struck a $10 million gold find and within a year the town's population exploded to more than 3,500; today it's about 135. The Getaway Geezers visited Oatman via historic Route 66 from Kingman.
The community is currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts due to global interest in Route 66 and the growth of the gaming town of Laughlin, NV, which promotes visits to the tiny, but colorful, Arizona town.
One of the popular attractions in Oatman are the wild burros that freely roam thecommunity and can be hand-fed carrots and "burro chow" sold by nearly every store in town. Though normally gentle, the burrows are wild and signs posted throughout Oatman advise visitors to exercise caution. Bites can hurt!
The donkeys are descended from pack animals turned loose by the early prospectors, and are protected by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The community is currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts due to global interest in Route 66 and the growth of the gaming town of Laughlin, NV, which promotes visits to the tiny, but colorful, Arizona town.
One of the popular attractions in Oatman are the wild burros that freely roam thecommunity and can be hand-fed carrots and "burro chow" sold by nearly every store in town. Though normally gentle, the burrows are wild and signs posted throughout Oatman advise visitors to exercise caution. Bites can hurt!
The donkeys are descended from pack animals turned loose by the early prospectors, and are protected by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
