Next time you are on a road trip in Arizona, or taking a trip along the historic Route 66, make certain you stop in Oatman, AZ.

Oatman is a former mining town in Mohave County that began as a tent camp when prospectors struck a $10 million gold find in 1915.  In 1924, United Eastern Mines, the town’s main employer, shut down operations.  By 1941, all mining operations were shut down by the US Government as part of the country’s war effort in mining metals other than gold.  Oatman was all but abandoned in 1953 when a new route between Kingman, AZ and Needles, CA was built, replacing Route 66 and bypassing the town altogether.  But today, Oatman has gained popularity, thanks to the interest in traveling the old Route 66 and its tame wild burros.

When the propectors left Oatman, they left behind their burros about a century ago.  The descendants of these burros come down to Oatman from the surrounding hills everyday to visit the tourists.  Tourists can feed them, have pictures taken with them and purchase “everything burro” in the many souvenir shops.   These animals have the run of the city throughout the day and are protected by the US Department of the Interior.  Although the burros do seem tame, keep in mind that they are still wild animals and to proceed with caution.

Aside from the burros, Oatman is a typical old west ghost town as well; western architecture straight from a John Wayne flick, “wild west” shoot outs and their very own ghost named Oatie.  Show up around the Fourth of July weekend and attend the Oatman Sidewalk Egg Fry.  The eggs are edible after 15 minutes, the burros are not.