Decker Trip - Panamerican Highway 1966

Sept 8. We got to Zion for supper and camped at the picnic area where we had been before. It was nice and warm, though too dark to go swimming in the river.
Sept 9. This morning it was mild, though the wind was blowing strong. Now we're driving out through the park. We drove all day, partly through the desert. We ate lunch at a truck rest off the highway. Beastly hot. In the afternoon we tried to find the agate fields near [Kingman.] That was quite an experience. The road out to Oatman was of the PanAm type through rugged mountain terrain. Beautiful scenery but very dusty and scary. We passed a field saying "fire agates," but drove on to find the gas station in Oatman to ask directions. At the end of our long drive, it was dark and too late to look for agates at the place we had passed. Bought a few rocks from a man in Oatman--an almost deserted goldmining town. Then left for Bullhead on another gravel road, if not as scary, much worse for the car. But we survived, and so did the car. After getting to Bullhead, we had to find the Mojave Lake Recreation Area. It took some looking, but we finally found it and picked out a spot to camp for the night. We were starved and fried up some hamburgers as quickly as the fire cooperated. Several of the kids had to be wakened before eating. Then we spread all the mattresses on the ground and slept for a few hours.