There was no breakfast at the motel, allegedly due to covid. However, other places we have stayed at during the pandemic have served breakfast, usually in a bag for a grab and go. However thanks to the charging stations at the adjoining hotel, we had a full battery, albeit for a reasonable fee.
Before heading east on I-40, also known as the Needles Freeway, into the Mojave Desert and National Preserve, I filled up the gas tank. A few miles out of Barstow and you enter a wasteland with no services until you reach Needles and virtually no signs of water, development or even civilization. It is 144 miles to Needles and outside of Barstow there is a sign warning of no services for 100 miles. Route 66 ran parallel to the present highway and along the way there are remnants of that road and the facilities that used to service travelers along that route.
We crossed the Colorado River, which had very little water, (it is between the Davis dam to the north and Parker dam to the south) into Arizona, which since it does not observe daylight savings time there was no time change, and continued north on I-40 to Kingman AZ. where we exited for rest, gasoline, some sightseeing and as I age the more frequent need for bathroom breaks. We visited the Kingman Powerhouse Museum and Visitor Center. The Museum had an eclectic collection of Route 66 and western memorabilia for sale and in its collection.
Kingman with about 26,000 residents is the county seat of Mohave County. The first European to visit Kingman was Lt. Beale in 1857 who was charged with finding a route for a wagon road to California, and secondarily to determine the feasibility of using camels in the southwest. The wagon road was created and later became route 66 and later I-40. Camels, not so much. Lewis Kingman supervised the building of a railroad to Kingman and the town was named after him. Andy Devine was born here and Timothy McVeigh spent many years here. It appears to be a center of right wing activism. While we were there a group of antique car owners were in the parking lot. There were a lot of MAGA hats among them. It was interesting talking with them as there were very willing to argue for Trump's merits and their belief that he would return to the Presidency.
Our next stop was Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon. A nice looking downtown. We ate lunch at the Pine Country Restaurant. Nice place, good sandwiches, but my pie was stale. I was able to charge the car at the Grand Canyon Railroad Hotel. This is adjacent to the railroad depot from which trains take passengers into Grand Canyon National Park.
We arrived at our destination, the Pine-Top/Lake View Lodge about 7:30. The Lodge at about 7500 ft. was set in the woods. Our room was very spacious and we were upgraded to a two bedroom. The kitchen was well equipped. It is outside a resort town, but I did not see a lake. I went into town and purchased food for dinner that we cooked on the barbeque. There was no charging station at the Lodge, but the maintenance man gave me an extension cord and directed me to an external outlet at the back of the facility so the car charged overnight.
