Coprolites, Caverns, and Cats

August 26^th, 2026

Kingman, Arizona

Woke at 8:00am and got ready.

Packed up as much as I could, then left and walked over to the Circle K to buy something for breakfast and a drink.

I then walked over to the park across the way and checked out the bridge over the canal made from a train box car.

Back across the street I proceeded to the first stop of the day.

A visit to the Poozeum. A museum dedicated to fossilized dinosaur poop!

Inside they have a large number of displays of collected Coprolites (the term for fossil poop) including the largest ever found that was certified by Guinness.  Lots of other fossils as well that were found in conjunction with the fossil excrement.

The store also has a large number of cool things you can buy that mostly have a dinosaur theme to them.

Spent about 20 minutes checking out the displays and another 10 looking over the stuff.  I decided to buy a cool magnet and a small sample of mammoth tush ivory for my fossil collection.

Once done, I walked back to the motel, packed up the new items and then uncovered and loaded the bike.

When ready, we hit the road and headed down the old alignment to a fuel station at the edge of town.  I should have waited.  This place was charging $5.19 for regular 87 octane fuel.  Nearly $1 more than many other places I have been in last few days.  Since they were gouging on the gas, I chose not to go inside and buy anything to drink, would stop later down the road.

We hit the freeway next as there are no drivable alignments for the next half hour other than the roads through small towns.

The first one of those was at Ash Fork.  You can drive through town on the old alignment, and a few old buildings to see and some shops catering to the Route 66 traffic.  There is also a Route 66 museum on the edge of town, but I was running behind, so decided to skip this stop.

Back on the freeway for a bit and then you can turn off onto the longest unbroken stretch of old Route 66 still in use.

The first several miles you curve up and around where the Interstate curved in the opposite direction.

Both roads converge again in Seligman.

Here there are several Route 66 attractions, and here is where a single man started the entire Route 66 preservation movement, mainly to save the roads in AZ, but it inspired others in each state to form groups to preserve the history there as well.

It was close to lunch time now, so I stopped at the Road Kill Café for lunch.   Technically not part of the Route 66 history as the place was founded long after the road stopped being Route 66 (1979 in this area), but the building was a bar/saloon on the old route, so the spirit is still there.

Went inside and got a table where I could keep an eye on the bike and ordered some small chimis to start and an Elk burger for my meal.  All the food was good, but massively overpriced for what it was.  Still a fun place to stop, they have seating in the old saloon as well as the restaurant (and even outside when its not so damn hot out).

Also, a large gift shop, the old Jail for the town sits behind the building and some old west building facades that have been used in commercials and films over the years.

We then got back on the road and headed onto the old route that curves up north instead of going straight west like the interstate does.

About 30 minutes farther north, I reached the next stop.

Along the way there was some great vistas of the large cliffs to the east and the railroad following the road to the west.

The next stop is the Grand Canyon Caverns.

Pulled off the road into the lot where you can see the general store and motel offices.

You then turn down a small road, past some large green dinosaur figures and head into the hills behind.

Another large metal dinosaur sits along the route before you reach the area where the restaurant and cave entrance are.

Parked the bike and covered it after getting what I needed to take with me.

Went inside and got in line to get a ticket for the cave tour, which was ready to start right at that time, actually we started a bit late as several others were showing up to get their tickets moved to the 1:00 tour or buy them like me.

Once we all were paid and checked in and signed the waivers, we had some light discussion on rules and then in groups we took the elevator down 210 feet to the bottom of the shaft where the cave tour starts.

This is a natural water formed cave that was first discovered in the 1930s by a railroad worker.  He and a partner tried mining for gold, but quickly round there was nothing in the cave other than some pyrite that looked like gold.

They instead setup the cave as a tourist thing and would lower people into the cave via a rope.

In the late 1950s, they started the process of making the caves easier for people to walk through, blasting tunnels larger, making new tunnels to carry people up to different levels and paving the path way so it was easily walked.

A bridge and steps were installed at the entrance in the early 60s, and then later the elevator was installed.

At one point in the early 60s, one of the chambers was filled with sanitation and cooking oil and other supplies to support a fair number of people for several weeks.  An early bomb shelter basically, built during the early cold war tensions.

These supplies are still there, and still perfectly preserved and usable.

During the Y2K uncertainties, several pallets of bottled water were also added, all still there, perfectly preserved.

The guide took us through the several chambers of the cave, pointing out unique features, or things from the history of the cave.

They also have a large platform in the middle of the cave where you can hold weddings or other types of events, though it seems they do not do it very often.  There used to be a room you could rent and spend the night in the cave, but that was discontinued several years back, and only the platform the room was built on remains.

You can also see the restaurant platform near the entrance.  This small section of tables is tied into the restaurant on the surface, and you can pay to have your meal in the cave.  Many do that as a combo with the tour, and when the tour ends you go up and have your meal.

There are also some old artifacts from the building of the cave interior, sections of the cave you cannot go into, unless you are on the explorer tours that go off into the wild sections of the cave. 

One section where you can see the dried-out bobcat that was found near the entrance where it has died back in the mid 1800s.

Another place where a large statue of a ancient ground sloth stands where they found the bones of one that had fallen into the cave from the entrance above 1000s of years ago.

The statue was provided by a local university in exchange for the original bones that went for study and are likely in storage somewhere now.

The full tour lasts about 45 minutes, and they also offer a shorter tour that does not climb up and high, for those that do not want to walk as far or deal with the ramps and steps.

Once done, you ride the elevator back up.

I went into the gift shop and bought a drink, then went out to get the bike ready to go.

Back on the road I could not use the Maps anymore as there is no cell service out here.

Thankfully there really are no turns to worry about, so just needed to watch closer for the next sites as I would not get reminded by the route on the app.

I took about 30 minutes to ride to the next stop.  You pass through Peach Springs, the largest town along the route and the main town on the Hualapai Reservation which you cross for about 20-25 minutes.

Once you start heading south for a bit you reach the next point.

In a series of amazing looking canyons with lots of trees and green, you find the Keepers of the Wild animal sanctuary.

This facility was founded approximately 30 years ago, and has been in this location for 21 years (having moved here from the Las Vegas area).

The owner and founder had been a magician with animals in a show in Vegas, but decided it was no way for the big cats to live, so created the sanctuary for them to live out their lives in better conditions.

Since they have taken in all kinds of animals from other animal parks, private owners, or animals hurt and no longer able to survive in the wild.

They have Tigers, Lions, Bears, Coyotes, Wolves, Foxes, Emus, Alpacas, Elk, various birds, and a few monkeys.

The animals are unable to be returned to the wild, so will spend the rest of their lives living here.  In most cases the animals are hands off, only a few do they handle with any frequency.

I arrived and there were not many cars there, so went inside to see if there were any more tours that day.  While I think you can pay and just walk the paths on your own, the tours give you more back ground and you get to ride in a cart or other type of conveyance instead of walking.

There was a tour at 3:30, and it was only 2:45, so had some time.

I went ahead and covered the bike, grabbed the stuff I needed and bought my ticket.

I then hung out in the gift shop (mainly for the AC) and talked with the guy working there till it was time to go out for the tour.

I went out bit before the time and sat at a table there, and when the time arrived, the small cart arrived, guess I will be the only person on the tour today.

The driver, who also works with the animals and knows quite a lot about the place is Kendra.

The bonus for me is that this 3:30 tour is also the feeding time for the big cats.

So, we would arrive at an enclosure, and the guy with the food in a different cart would feed the animal and you got to watch them eat for a bit.  Also brings most of the cats out to the fences.

Many of the other animals also come out, even though they will get feed a bit later, not as part of the tour.

We drove all over the compound, watching the cats get fed, some of which were quite fun to watch how they acted.

We then continued visiting all the other animals, some which were fed, others were not.

It took about an hour I think for the entire ride to finish, and then I was free to wander the park until they close, but I was hot and tired, and still have to ride to my destination, so just went to the gift shop, bought a few drinks and got the bike uncovered and ready to ride.

Headed back down the road, a bit slowly as someone was driving along at 40-45 mph in a 65mph area.

Several cars have to pass this idiot, one guy doing so quite dangerously with oncoming traffic.

Finally got around him myself and continued onward.

It was now close to 5pm, and I did not want to spend too much more time on the bike, mainly as it was now 108 degrees out.

I skipped visiting the Hackberry General store, one of the well known Route 66 stops.

I did stop a bit later to get some photos of Giganticus Headicus.  A large, head stature, similar to the Easter Island Moai statues, but painted bright green.

I did go inside the shop to buy another cold drink, then back on the road for the long straight highway run into Kingman.

This stretch of road was very windy, and traffic was also heavier, several cars passing me as I was still only going about 60 due to the winds and rough road.

Still riding without maps as signal was too weak when I left, and when I reached Kingman, signal was good, but now the map route was too far along and Maps cannot figure out how to just start at the point I am, it freaks out and will not work because you are not close the start points.  It’s too stupid to see that I am now at point 5 of 10, instead of 1 of 10, and refuses to work. (And this is from the same people who want to put AI into everything, we are doomed)

I could have fixed it if I had a few seconds at a red light.  Of course, if you WANT a red light, then you cannot get one.

Finally got stopped at one near the end of my route, so was able to just setup a new route to the hotel, just to make sure I did not miss a one way road or anything.  It was actually quite simple, could have found it without the maps, but still nice to know where you stand.

Got checked into the room, unloaded the bike and sat around to cool off.

Then changed and decided to ride over for dinner as it was too hot to walk the 1/3 mile to the restaurant.

I ate at Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner. 

Food was good, bit more reasonable on price as well.

Once done, I rode over to the convenience store to buy some drinks and then back to the motel.

Got the bike secured, took a warmish shower (Arizona, even the cold water is hot), and then sat in the AC for a while to cool down.

I then got this blog typed up and will plot my route next.

Will maybe stop at museum nearby in the morning, but might just get going.  Also, might need to try and find some better tools, my bike is making noise around the chain, think it needs adjusted again, so will either need to find a shop that can get me in, or buy better tools so I can do it myself.

Will figure it out in the morning.

Tomorrow we will do the last part of the Arizona section of Route 66 and get into California.

I am hoping to make it about half way in, as I will be skipping the main alignment that is technically closed anyway due to several bridges being out.

You can drive it, there are dirt bypasses the locals use at every bridge, but its risky, you are not supposed to go there if you are not local, and will just slow me down for little benefit as the region is mostly empty space with a few old places along there that would be cool, but not critical to see. 

They are fixing the bridges finally (after about 10 years), so in a year or two I can always come ride it then.

Catch ya down the road.

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