Savin Your Ass?

 Crossroads RV Resort,                            Mohave Valley, AZ      Sept. 2, 2020

Dad talked to an English couple who live in FL now. They started the Route 66 Adventure with their motor home in Chicago. They said they have enjoyed it, but parts of the journey weren’t doable with these type of rigs. 

For us the adventure really begins, as we drive on and off Route 66/National Trails Highway. 

We started our morning in Daggert, CA . This tiny town is suppose to have more iconic old stores, signs and such... All we saw was this cute house...

 It's called the Russian House.

We loved this old fire engine too!!!

We didn't see this cute place...so mom took this one off the Daggert website

As I look at our potential first stop, the Amboy Crater which happens to be close to the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base. After more research, as cool as it sounds. M & D aren’t up for a 3 mile hike to see this extinct cinder volcano.  Not in 100+ temperatures!!! 

Our first actual stop became Ludlow, CA. When they say it’s vanishing, that is a BIG understatement. Many of the places they talk about just aren’t there anymore, but it is on 66.

The Murphy Brothers General Store (in ruins), the Sleepers of the T&T railroad, the remains of the Old Ludlow Cafe and the 1970s style Ludlow Cafe next to the Richfield Service Station (burned out) and the Ludlow Motel. 

We had to do a detour on to I-40 because once again parts of 66 are closed. Again, we are paralleling train tracks. It’s not uncommon to see five diesel engines pulling innumerable freight cars. M & D figured out a detour to get to the famous Amboy’s Roy’s Cafe and Motel. It was well known to travelers on the old Route 66.

…”Thе tоwn of Amboy hаѕ been іn еxіѕtеnсе ѕіnсе thе lаtе 1800ѕ аnd ѕеrvеd аѕ a rаіlrоаd dероt; аѕ wеll аѕ, a rest ѕtор fоr trаvеlеrѕ. In thе late 1940ѕ аnd еаrlу 1950ѕ thе tоwn hаd аѕ mаnу as thrее ѕеrvісе ѕtаtіоnѕ, at lеаѕt twо саfеѕ аnd a mоtоr court аnd supported a реrmаnеnt рорulаtіоn of аbоut 150 people. Ambоу Vоlсаnіс Crаtеr, 3 mіlеѕ ѕоuthwеѕt оf tоwn іѕ a соnѕрісuоuѕ lаndmаrk. Ambоу іѕ рurроrtеd tо bе thе оnlу tоwn іn thе Unіtеd Stаtеѕ thаt ѕtіll hаѕ drіnkіng wаtеr dеlіvеrеd bу rаіl саrѕ.”    

The young Native American woman who worked here. Actually had to come out and pump our gas the old way and we paid dearly for that privilege...Part of the experience... LOL!

It's so funny when we look back at our photos because they make the places look like picture postcards and they are anything but...

It turns out the same person who owns this place, owns the original Mc Donald's in San Bernadino, CA.

Mom wanted me to add these interesting facts from this site. She had never heard of Mid Century “Goggie” Architecture. Mid Century, yes; but not Googie…Too funny!

“...THE HISTORIC SITE

Thе hіѕtоrіс ѕіtе іѕ аn еxаmрlе оf rоаdѕіdе Mіd-Cеnturу Mоdеrn Gооgіе аrсhіtесturе аnd іѕ undеr thе ѕtеwаrdѕhір оf a рrіvаtе conservationist — Albеrt Okurа, thе ѕаmе guу whо оwnѕ аnd runѕ thе Orіgіnаl MсDоnаld’ѕ іn Sаn Bеrnаrdіnо, Cаlіfоrnіа.

A CLASSIC GOOGIE ARCHITECTURE

Rоу’ѕ ѕіgn аnd саfе аrе bоth сlаѕѕіс еxаmрlеѕ оf Gооgіе аrсhіtесturе. Thіѕ funnу-ѕоundіng ѕtуlе оf dеѕіgn rоѕе tо рорulаrіtу in thе 1940ѕ аnd lаѕtеd thrоugh tо thе 60ѕ. Googie wаѕ іnѕріrеd bу thе аtоmіс аnd ѕрасе аgеѕ аnd іnсludеѕ gеоmеtrіс ѕhареѕ, vаѕt glаѕѕ ѕurfасеѕ аnd symbolic mоtіоn (ѕuсh аѕ аrrоwѕ, bооmеrаngѕ аnd wіngѕ).

THE FAMOUS ARROW-HEAD DESIGN

Thе ѕіgn, whісh fеаturеѕ bоld соlоrѕ and a dуnаmіс rеd аrrоw-hеаd design, hаѕ bесоmе аn ісоn оf Route 66’ѕ mоtеl сulturе. Thаnkѕ tо Rоу’ѕ, Ambоу hаѕ fеаturеd аѕ thе fіlmіng ѕіtе for a numbеr оf fіlmѕ аnd muѕіс vіdеоѕ, іnсludіng 1986’ѕ The Hіtсhеr аnd Enrique Iglesias’ Hеrо.”...

We made a side trip (right off 66) to see the 1914 Goff Schoolhouse Museum before Needles, CA. It turns out not only were 413 kids educated here between 1914-1937. Their exhibits tell stories about mining, ranching, homesteading, the Santa Fe Railroad and The National Old Trails Rd/Route 66 development. 

   

It includes US Army info about a 1857 camel experiment to General Patton training 15,000 troops here during WWII. We weren’t able to tour the place due to closure, but it was cool from outside.

As we were coming into Needles, we spotted green fields for the first time in ages. We are guessing it’s because there’s a lake closeby and the Colorado River here. 

“Needles is the "Gateway to California". It has plenty of vintage Motels: Route 66 Motel, Palms Motel (Old Trails Inn), Imperial Motor Inn, Desert Inn Motel, Overland Motel, El Garces Hotel, Sage Motel, Kiva Motel and the Needles Inn. We almost missed the Carty's Camp Shell station, because it’s closed and falling down and we skipped the Needles Regional Museum. 

Mom had to photograph this shot because it reminded her of Edward Hopper's lovely artwork

Here is the shot that I asked mom to get for us that sums up this trip...

Outside of town is the strange Mojave Native American Geogylph, now called Mystic Maze. It was believed to be built over 600 years ago for Mojave Warriors ceremonial purposes. Unfortunately, due to environmental erosion and to civilization’s encroachment and disdain; only about 15 acres out of app 50 remain, so we skipped this site too due to the heat...UGH!

It was getting later, so we went onto the Crossroads RV Resort. After dad talked to the receptionist, we quickly hooked everything up, unhitched and took off to see Oatman, AZ. A tiny, hippy, ghost town overrun by wild burros. I can’t say I was as amused by them as my folks…

When they started sticking their heads and noses in our window, I was ready to protect M & D!!!. How dare they!!! 

Dad picked up a hand painted Oatman, 66 sign for our lanai. Mom had already picked up a tin one for Sleeping Around at Roy's in Amboy. Once again, the scenery here is simply spectacular!!!

A "Living Ghost Town"” Oatman is a former mining town in the Black Mountains of Mohave County, Arizona, United States. Located at an elevation of 2,710 feet (830 m), it began as a tent camp soon after two prospectors struck a $10 million gold find in 1915, though the area had been already settled for a number of years. 

We now have a whole new image of "Here's Looking at You Kid!

Not naming names, but we know a number of people this sign could be aimed towards...

A town that time has left behind

“Oatman's population grew to more than 3,500 in the course of a year. After a few other names, Oatman was named in the posthumous honor of Olive Oatman, a young Illinois girl who was taken captive by (presumably) Yavapai Indians and forced to work as a slave. She was later traded to Mohave Indians who adopted her as a daughter and had her face tattooed in the custom of the tribe. She was released in 1855 near the current site of the town. 

Gives a whole new meaning to dumpster diving...

1924 would see United Eastern Mines, the town's main employer, permanently shut down operations after producing $13,600,000 worth of gold (at the then government controlled market value of $20 per ounce; in today's gold market price of $1300 per oz. the equivalent gold value today is over $850,000,000). The district had produced $40 million (or $2,600,000,000 or so in today's market price) in gold by 1941, when the remainder of the town's gold mining operations were ordered shut down by the US Government as part of the country's war effort since metals other than gold were needed. 

From one ass to another ass, I got this covered...

Oatman was fortunate insofar as it was located on busy U.S. Route 66 and was able to cater to travelers driving between Kingman and Needles, California. Even that advantage was short-lived as the town was completely bypassed in 1953 when a new route between Kingman and Needles was built. By the 1960s, Oatman was all but abandoned.”

At dinner time the heat inside Sleeping Around was still in the mid 80's’ inside/outside temps 100 degrees; mom made us a lovely ham, pea, garlic, parmesan pasta with orange zest simmered in a very fragrant cream sauce and paired it with a spinach, tomato salad and a crisp white wine…Delicious and surprisingly light…After a couple exciting West Wing episodes, we went to bed early. 

Unhooking this morning...