This Cinder cone crater is estimated to be 79,000 years old. The interior has a lava lake and lava flows blanket the surrounding area. The crater is 944 feet above sea level and about 250 feet above the surrounding basalt lava plains. The scenic and solitary Amboy Crater, located about halfway between Barstow and Needles, was a popular sight and stop for travelers on U.S. Route 66.

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At the Museum of History and Arts we learned what this area looked like before the settlers came and how it was developed over the years. We were surprised to find out that Andy Devine, one of the "good guy" actors was a native son. It was certainly interesting to learn about his life and the part his family played here. We saw displays of wagons, mining equipment, farm machinery and even an old wooden Santa Fe caboose from the 19th century.

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Our next stop was the Route 66 Museum that is housed in the historical Powerhouse building. It depicted the historical evolution of Route 66 travel through murals, photos and life-sized dioramas.

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A fearless entrepreneur, George Bonelli, managed a huge cattle ranch as well as the four retail stores he started in Chloride and Kingman. He built this Colonial revival style home in 1916 using locally quarried tufa stone. It was here he and his wife Effie raised their 9 children. The house remained in the family until 1973 when it was sold to the city by one of the sons.

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The court house was built in 1915 using native stone from Metcalfe Quarry. They are presently using a new courthouse so we weren't able to see the inside of this beautiful building.

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The Hualapai Mountain Park was first developed during the early 1900's. The name Hualapai means "Pine Tree Folk" and is derived from the name of the Indian tribe that called this home until the 1870's when they were removed by the military. The incredible rock formations and the smell of the pine trees was wonderful.

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They have evidently been thinning the forests here in the park and seemed to have left the wood by the side of the road. Al can never pass up good fire wood so we stopped to take a few logs.

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There is nothing like a nice picnic lunch under the pines with good friends!

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