A few weeks ago I decided to take a day trip to visit a short stretch of Historic Route 66. Just north of Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park lies a part of the National Trails Highway (formerly known as Route 66) that leads to the towns of Ludlow, Klondike, Bagdad, Amboy, Essex, Fenner and Goffs.
Route 66 and Amboy, CA in the distance.
My itinerary included a visit to the town of Amboy, the Amboy Crater and Bristol Dry Lake in the Mojave National Preserve. My journey began from the town of Amboy, CA at the intersection of Amboy Rd. and the National Trails Hwy.
It was my first time driving on Route 66 and I was excited to experience a part of American history. As I turned onto the highway I wondered why Route 66 was so famous? What has made Route 66 so different from other highways? After my trip, I did a little research to learn more about the history of Route 66 and the story behind the near-ghost town called Amboy.
Route 66
Route 66 was an American icon, and also a way of life for many local residents along the highway, who provided food, gas and lodging services to the motorists who passed through their towns. This 2,300-mile route brought travelers from Chicago to Los Angeles and back again from 1938 until 1985. Route 66 was not just another highway, it was part of American culture, and a well-remembered colorful part of our history. There have been songs written about Route 66, a television series called Route 66 and many stops along the way have been the backdrops of movies and music videos. Even today, fascination with Route 66 continues to thrive. In fact, during my visit to Roy’s Café, there was a rock group from Holland filming a music video in front of the bungalows there.
The cracked window in Roy's Cafe is still there.
What happened to Route 66? In 1956, the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed, and plans for a national interstate highway program were initiated. This program created new interstate highways and Route 66 slowly became part of the past. While Route 66 was still intact, it was no longer the only route to travel across its stretch of the country. In 1985, the department of transportation built Route 40, creating a shortcut between Needles and Ludlow. The shortcut rerouted traffic from Route 66 to Route 40 and the towns along this section of Route 66 became ghost towns. Businesses had to close and residents moved away.
Today, empty gas stations, abandoned churches and other reminders of what “used to be” mark the Route as you tour down memory lane. You can still drive on sections of Route 66 and see many of the historic points of interest that helped make it so famous. If you decide to visit one or more sections of Route 66, make sure you get some good maps and information before you go. The Historic Route is not well marked and it takes some planning.
The Town of Amboy and Roy’s Café
Amboy, a small town that developed and supported Route 66 tourists, was a busy gas, food, and lodging stop. In its heyday, Amboy was home to 800 residents, a post office, a school, an airport and the famous Roy’s Café and Hotel, which employed 70 people at its height. The story goes that people would fly into town just to get one of Roy’s Route 66 Double Cheeseburgers. Roy’s Café and Hotel was one of the best-known stops along Route 66, partly due to its colossal sign, and was a favorite backdrop for many Hollywood directors.
Today, the nearly deserted town of Amboy still has a few residents . . . less than 10
since 2000. Amboy was recently purchased byAlbert Okura for the amount of $425,000. Okura’s plans are to restore parts of the town, including Roy’s Café and the gas station. A 20-room motel and six bungalows are also to be rehabilitated in the future. The aim of the restoration is historical as well as commercial – a cracked window in the Café featured in many films is still intact and is intended to stay that way. The store is open, and though they are not serving food yet, they are selling souvenirs. There is an old cemetery, a church and a post office nearby – all closed now – but the grave markers remind us of the history and the residents who used to live there.
The Shoe Tree
After my stop at Roy’s I continued east on Route 66 and didn’t get far before I found myself pulling off to the side of the road. There was a tree on the south side of the highway that was filled with shoes. People had tied pairs of shoes together and thrown them up into the tree. This was one of two “shoe trees” that I saw along the road after leaving Roy’s. This particular “shoe tree” is just a few hundred yards down the road from Roy’s. There are hundreds of pairs of shoes hanging from the branches of this lone tree. It stands along Route 66, intertwined into the history of the highway. I wondered how old some of those shoes were and who started the shoe tree?
Bristol Dry Lake – Mojave National Preserve
If you have time for a brief excursion, take a few minutes and stop at Bristol Dry Lake. Located just three miles east of Amboy, Bristol Dry Lake is an active salt mine. There are approximately 60 million tons of salt in reserve there. You have to stop and walk out on the dry lake to really see the halite crystals and how they form on the surface of the ground. I picked up a chunk of the white, crusty halite layer and tasted it. Yes, it tasted like salt.
For more information about Bristol Dry Lake and the salt that is mined from it, please visit our information page on DesertUSA.com
http://www.desertusa.com/mnp/mnp_blake.html
Amboy Crater
On the return trip I passed by Roy’s once again and took a few more photos, then promptly headed out towards Amboy Crater. It was late in the day and I didn’t have time to hike into the basin. Late afternoon was a nice time of day to take a few photos and enjoy the quiet surrounds. There was only one other car in the parking lot and I didn’t see anyone nearby. They were probably hiking inside of the crater.
Amboy Crater and Lava Field, an extinct cinder cone crater, is located in the Mojave Desert near the town of Amboy. The black lava rock that forms Amboy Crater rises up from the landscape and can be seen from miles away. It is a National Natural Landmark that is managed by the BLM.
Amboy Crater and Lava Field was the only volcano along Route 66 and therefore a popular tourist stop over the years. Take Route 66 and climb a volcano! Just another reason Route 66 was so unique. The points of interest along the highway were all part of the recipe for a uniquely American experience.
For more information on Amboy Crater, directions on how to get there and information about hiking the related trail, please visit our information page on DesertUSA.com.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/sep/stories/lava.html
Love this article. In 1959, I had the oportunity to travel on Rt. 66 through Missouri into Oklahoma. So glad I had the chance to go that far on 66. I hope to get the chance to come out to AZ and CA to see the places featured in the above article. Rt 66 is indeed a unique experience. Thank you for this story. ER
There is so much information on Amboy, CA. I certainly appreciate anyone who attempts the journey. It is way, way out of anywhere. I traveled on a road trip in 2005, it looked like migrants working and lounging around. I wondered what was going on so I got out to brouse around the old cafe and gas station and one young man they asked me to leave! It did not make sense it was like it was private property. Be careful heading out there it appears as a lawless ghost town and visitors are not welcome.
A new owner of the town; Albert Okura hopes to rebuild the town as a memorabilia point. The ex-owners tried the same thing, but were unsuccessful.
Amboy is not a public interest point, most people do not find it interesting.
In the late June my vehicle thermometer measured 106 degrees. You better have a good reason to go it’s hot and the road needs repair. I am a fan, keep researching “Desert Road Trippin’” good article
A friend and I have been working on a comic book loosely based on Amboy. I’ve been out three times to kick around take photos and talk to people there. I was there a few days ago. In reference to Amboy being a lawless town. I don’t see it. It is in fact very friendly. The first two times we hung out with Larry, who is the caretaker of Roy’s. He drove around on a golf cart and kept the cafe open for no reason other than to sell water and t-shirts. He also had gas stored somewhere and could sell you a gallon or two. He was open and conversed freely. The last time I saw Larry was in 2006.
The last time I went was last week, Aug. 2009. Larry no longer works there. We talked to Danny who lives there and volunteers in the post office across from Roy’s. He was very kind and talked to us for quite awhile. Another individual worked in the cafe. He wasn’t a talking kind of guy, but polite to our presence. The cafe was cleaned up. Everything was painted. Two of the four gas pumps now sell gas. There were four huge photo albums on the cafe counter and we flipped through everyone. We spent about a half hour in the cafe itself and another hour wandering around it. Danny told us they are in the process of getting the well water approved, (said he’d been drinking it for awhile, so he felt it was ok). Albert Ocura, not Okura, is doing a fine job. I guess he has a matching grant from the government to restore the place. It is a historical location, so he has to keep it as it was, that means no MacDonalds thank god. Danny said A & W might be ok, since it was around back then. they will get the cafe open agian once the h2o is settled. If you like googie buildings and spending some time with people who enjoy polite converstion about their unique town, go spend an hour or so in Amboy. By the way, the comic is at 75 pages and growing.
Thanks for the comments about Amboy. We also enjoyed the time we spent there and found everyone to be friendly. It was fun seeing shadows of what used to be. Route 66 became such a big part of American Culture. During our visit to Roy’s, a band from Europe was driving through on their way to Vegas and decided to do film part of their music video there in front of the bungalows. It really was fun to watch!
[...] plan to take the back route to Vegas through an old section of Route 66 that passes through Amboy and the infamous “Roy’s Cafe.” The route then crosses [...]
[...] will cross the train tracks and the road becomes the National Trails Hwy. Which is a segment of the old Route 66. You will see Amboy Crater, a black mass rising out of the earth to the west. To the east you [...]
Hey Dean I am very interested in your comic. I am acuually working here in ROY’S Cafe in Amboy which is Roy’s Gasoline We get a lot of tourist coming through the cafe just to stop in at the present time we are not selling food but we do have cold drinks like the classic coke bottles and the route66 rootbeers and lots of gifts. we are working on getting the kitchen opened soon maybe by next summer we need to raise enough money to add a large septic tank and new drains and a handicap bathroom once thats is complete we can begin restoring the kitchen. We are keeping everything as it was while it was operated by buster burris. Drop by if you are in the area we keep it nice and cool in here and play 50′music. email me charlie@amboyroute66.com