Oatman is an old gold mining town a few miles east of Bullhead City up in the Black Mountains at 2700' on old Route 66. Gold was discovered in 1915 and the population swelled to 3500. Today, that number is 128. Oatman got its name from Olive Oatman, a pioneer girl supposedly captured by the Yavapai Indians. She was later traded to the Mohave Indians who adopted her and had her face tatooed in the custom of the tribe. The town is also known for its wandering burrow population which began when the prospectors gave up mining and left the burrows to fend for themselves.We had driven through here before on another trip but hadn't stopped so we visited for a couple of hours.
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| "Volunteer Posse" passed us on the way. |
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| As we got higher, there were more chollo. |
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| Local fire department |
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| Housing in Oatman is eclectic. There is no shortage of stone which is what this home is built of. |
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| Rock formations in the distance above Oatman. |
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| Famous Oatman Hotel. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard stayed here on their honeymoon. |
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| Hotel lobby staircase. |
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| View from inside a hotel room. |
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| The burrows are so cute, until....... |
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| you show up with carrots and they start a fight. |
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| I'm trying to get the plastic bag away without much success. I got pinned between two of them as they tried to bite me. |
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| I made my escape. |
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| One or two is good. The mob that formed became unruly quickly. |
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| Looking at the home on the hill with 8 or so skylights. |
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| Main Street Oatman before the gunfight. |
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| We visited the motorcycle museum. |
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| Others visiting the burrows. |
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| Erosion effects. |
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| Housing and yard art along the road to Oatman. |
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| It has become a tradition to decorate the mesquite with Christmas ornaments. |
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