Giganticus Headicus

To Lil Dude Troll, this is indeed
Giganticus Headicus!

About 66 miles west of Seligman, Arizona in Walapai, at the corner where Antares Road  meets Route 66 (N 35° 25.137 W 113° 48.481) is Giganticus Headicus, a 14-foot tall wood and stucco Polynesian Tiki head thingy. It sits next to a convenience store at the Kozy Corner Trailer Court. It is one of those off-beat things you sometimes run across during a road trip; so off-beat that it has almost become legendary. It was built in 2004 by Gregg Arnold so it is not a nostalgia remnant of the Mother Road, but in less than 10 years, it has become firmly associated with taking a Route 66 road trip. People from all over the world stop here to get their picture taken in front of Giganticus Headicus. It’s just kinda cool.


Check out our "Daddy Daughter Mother-Road Trip" on our sister site 1dustytrack.com.

Oatman, Arizona

"Downtown" Oatman

 Oatman, AZ is an interesting place, but today it is a tourist draw complete with fake gunfights in the street and very docile "wild" donkeys looking for a hand-out. It began as a gold mining town named Vivian because most of the residents worked for the Vivian Mining Company. A post office opened under that name in 1903, but the name was changed to Oatman in 1909 to honor a young girl, Olive Oatman, who had been rescued a few years after being taken captive by Mohave Indians in the area and sold into slavery. 

Eventually, Oatman became Arizona's largest gold-producing district and for a while had over 2,000 residents. The town's business district had a theater, a lumber company, restaurants, saloons, general stores, service stations and hotels. Upon completion, the Oatman Hotel became the first adobe structure in the county. In 1938, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard got married in Kingman and spent the first night of their honeymoon in the Oatman Hotel.

The mines began to play out in the 1930's and the town began sliding to ghost-hood.  The last mine closed in 1942 and Route 66 was realigned and bypassed the town in 1952. By the mid-1950's, nearly all the stores were boarded up and abandoned. With its rustic scenery and buildings, several movies were filmed in and around Oatman in the 1950's and '60's includingHow the West Was Won and Edge of Eternity.

Lil Dude Troll riding a "wild" Oatman donkey.

More recently though, Oatman has found new life as a tourist town. There is a little mining activity that has resumed and the old buildings have been refurbished to sell paintings, do-dads, gewgaws, souvenirs, and antiques. The numerous "wild donkeys," descendants of the burros brought in by miners back in the day, are accomplished moochers and will even try to push their mouth into your pockets if they think you have something tasty to give, but are holding out on them. 

See the full write-up at 1dustytrack.blogspot.com.

Seligman, Arizona

Perhaps no other town on Route 66 harks back to the glory days of America's Main Street more than Seligman, Arizona. When the road came through in the late 1920's, tourist traffic, along with the railroad station in town, became the main source of income. On September 22, 1978 though, I-40 opened, bypassing Seligman and the town's roads became almost deserted over-night. In 1985, the railroad closed the station and the little community was on the verge of becoming a memory, just another ghost killed by the interstate. Today though, Seligman is still alive and doing well on tourist business. 

Read about Seligman and how the town survived on our sister site www.1dustytrack.blogspot.com.

At the world famous Snow Cap Drive-In. No start-to-finish Route 66
trip is complete without a stop here!

The outside tables at the Snow Cap Drive-In

The 1936 Chevy Juan Delgadillo drove around to advertise
the Snow Cap Drive-In

One of the eclectic shops that make shopping in Seligman
a real experience

Old police car in front of a Seligman store

The Route 66 Seligman Sundries store

You can easily spend all day just walking around Seligman looking
at the many interesting items in and around the stores

Lil Dude Troll and Elvis!

Lil Dude Troll and a new buddy rocking to Elvis on the juke box

Lil Dude and his big Indian friend.

Twisters 50's Soda Fountain - Route 66

Lil Dude loved Twisters!

Located in downtown Williams, Arizona, this is one of the closest things to a true 1950′s diner that you’ll find anywhere. From the Cherry or Vanilla or Chocolate flavored Cokes to the old-fashioned ice cream soda’s to the charbroiled burgers, hot dogs and chili dogs, to the 50′s music that continuously plays, the food and the atmosphere are definitely rooted in the past. This place has consistently been voted one of the top 25 restaurants in Arizona for good reasons! 

Check out the human blog entry at 1dustytrack.com.

Gillaspie Park, Huntsville, Texas

Located at 890 Ave I in Huntsville, Texas.
N 30° 43.597 W 095° 32.859

Lil Dude visited Gillaspie Park in Huntsville, Texas. This nice little park was dedicated in 1937 to honor James Gillaspie, commander of the 2nd Regiment of Texas volunteers at the Battle of San Jacinto, commander of two different companies of U.S. Army soldiers during the US-Mexican war, and commander of a Confederate Army unit during the Civil War. Technically, Gillaspie served three countries in three wars - Republic of Texas, United States, and Confederate States of America.