Amy and David: Rio Del Sol... still.

Clouds are finally bringing humidity to Needles for our Sunday evening hike. Shortly before this, we agreed that we would never eat Taco Bell again. Our stomachs were burdened with over-processed, heavily seasoned, wishful-thinking Mexican food.

Looking down on Needles

Come morning the next day, there is only one choice to make in Needles:

Juicy's or Wagon Wheel?

Today, it was breakfast at Juicy's during a monsoonal downpour.

We've become connoisseurs of the Needles' only two diners this side of the interstate. While Wagon Wheel has all the class of bygone Route 66 and the cancer-fighting wonder food broccoli, Juicy's has superior coffee, crispy potatoes, and a full bar. A promotional truck parked in front had the line, "Live a Little, Save a Lot." The cost of living here is low, with river activities and the Laughlin casino a short drive away. Historic Needles is outside of walking distance for us, so we appreciate what we see from this side of town.

The mural is nice. Thankfully, this is not our hotel.


Chevron sign original to this station since the 40s. Taken shortly after cops cited a motorbiker without a helmet.

Googie-style lonely Panda Garden

Rather than going to the Grand Canyon, we may stay on the Route 66 as far as Albuquerque to save time.

We check in on our auto - Not much going on here.

The transmission (right) is out while our leak is addressed.

Bob the mechanic jokingly recommends we enroll in the community college at Needles. His car broke down here 20 years ago and he's been a mechanic here ever since. Looks like we'll be here for another day at least.

We grab some Dairy Queen, then find that we have the Rio del Sol all to ourselves. The rest of the day is for Olympic synchronized diving and women's beach volleyball, video games, graduate study, and a rainy day desert swim.