We knew that today was going to be a long one, scheduled for 175 miles - one of the longest of our KIT. So we set the alarm, and because there was not a fitness facility, I went for a swim. I can attest that swimming is more work than an elliptical or a treadmill! I did fifty pool lengths, showered, and then we headed for a bit of breakfast. Once we were on the road, the immediate agenda was to finish up in Needles, so we found El Garces, built in 1908, and being renovated by the city. It will be gorgeous when it is complete.
While we were attempting to leave town, we interpreted the directions and headed North to soon. The only redeeming feature of this misdirection was that I did get a picture of the Colorado river, which is an amazing picture of lushness in this desert environment.
As we were driving through the Mojave desert, we knew that there were supposed to be public art displays on the banks to the North of our road. There were maybe 20 miles of this, and it was very unique.
Danby, while we were looking at an abandoned station/cabins, presented a distant view of the trains that we have been seeing for days. It was really cool to see one train heading east, and one heading west, and combined, they consumed the entire horizon.
Next stop was the mountain pass between Needles and Barstow, named Cadiz Summit. There was not much left there, but it was another public art opportunity, where graffiti was welcomed. I love taking pictures from the inside looking out, and here you can see one looking back, one looking out, and one from the road looking forward as well. This definitely looked very post-apocalyptic.
As we headed west, we were just shy of Amboy, and there was another Shoe Tree. We did our part by putting some of the fallen shoes back into the tree.
The site of Roy's has become an icon for a lonely desert gas stop due to multiple appearances of Roy's in movies. Amboy has it all: airport, garage, cafe, school, church, graveyard. Currently the town of Amboy is owned by Albert Okura, purchased in 2008 for approximately $400-500K. Fortunately he is dedicated to preserving Amboy in a 1950's look and feel and will try to restore the site to it's former glory. I say that he has a tremendous start. The office has been restored and they have started on the rooms, you can see how they look, and also how someone has already decided that it looks inviting. Out front, the cacti landscaping is amazing.
After Roy's, it was the Amboy Crater, where in previous times, there have been volcanic eruptions, and the Mother Road goes through the edge. It was spectacular and unlike anything we had seen. I climbed to the top of a small flow to get you these other two shots, because that is just the way I roll :o)
Once we got into Amboy proper, we rolled up upon Roy's. Take a close look at the first picture, the character sitting outside is William (Bill), from Plymouth/Argos area more than 50 years ago. We bought him a beer and head about the buses that come through, about the original BagDad Cafe, about the movie with the same name, about his family and an unfortunate accident, about his daughter, and about his blue eyes. It was a fun part of the day, but luckily we departed just prior to a tour bus arriving...
Next up was Helendale, and the Polly Gas mascot that showed how "cheep" the gas prices were back in the day.
Also in the Helendale area was the location of the Sagebrush Inn, now gone, but a residence has been built with the stones of the original Inn, and a facade has been built that shows the rumors of ill repute :o)
On the west side of Helendale was the Bottle Tree Ranch, probably my favorite of the day (I was ready to be done with desert). This was very unique and creative.
As we approached Victorville, we came across a huge Riverside Cement facility, it was spectacular. Other aspects of Victorville were not what we hoped, so we headed onto Hesperia, and checked into a Springhill Suites by Marriott. When we got settled in, I went to the Marriott site and booked a room in Santa Monica in the Marina area using Reward Points. It will be fun to say for almost nothing... Sad, but tomorrow is the last day of our KIT :o(
Wow, today was only a 63 mile day, but it was one of the best and most unique days of our trip.
On our way out of Kingman today, we made sure we took the time to snap a shot of this Historical Monument (established 1957), which as special meaning for Cousin Shane. Love you buddy! Originaly a coal burner put in service in 1927, was converted to oil in 1941, and served the Kansas City to Los Angeles corridor for may years.
Second picture is me doing a lame imitation of pulling the steam whistle.
As we headed out of Kingman, we had a hint of what the day would have in store for us. Cacti, Buttes, Mesas, Mountains, and of course I could not resist another Windmill shot.
After we left Kingman, we entered a stretch of flatness, but we knew we were headed for the road to Oatman, so the anticipation was fun. Here is a picture of about 15 miles, and then a picture of what was ahead.
Here is where we were heading up the Black Mountains, which were bypassed in 1953 and lucky for us, they have they re-established this as a viable route.
Early on into the climb to the summit, we came upon Cool Springs, they have done a great job on renovation, and this was where Jean Claude Van Damme filmed Universal Soldier.
As we made our ascent, we spied some stairs carved into the mountainside, and we could not resist stopping to investigate. We climbed the stairs, and there was evidence of water seeping out of the rocks. Here are pictures of both of us in "Shaffer's Fish Bowl Springs", a man-made basin that collects water from a seep. And also a picture looking over our ascent and also one showing us up above the pull-out with our car.
Then was Oatman, a vibrant spot on this old west section of the Mother Road.
Not sure what happened with this picture, but it turned out pretty cool.
Could not resist this picture, I know some people that this applies to, how about you?
Burros are protected, and in this town, pregnant and well fed as well. Here was our first couple of sightings, and also some pictures of us feeding them some alfalfa (carrots are not good for them even though many people feed them that...). I love the picture of the mother and three week old baby (tag is for people to not FEED da Beh-Beh!
Next up was lunch at the Oatman Hotel.
After we left Oatman, we headed down into the Mojave. We kept the windows open and enjoyed the drive until the outside temperature hit 100 degrees, then it was time for some air conditioning. In the second picture, you can see a strip of green where the Colorado river runs through, it was very blue and had speedboats on it, but we could not find a decent turnout to get a picture.
We checked in early to our Best Western, did a load of laundry, and are watching the Heat vs. Celtics. We even had time for a quick dip into the pool.
Question, how do you know that you are geeks, just look at our little table in our room...
We knew that today was going to be a long one, scheduled for 175 miles - one of the longest of our KIT. So we set the alarm, and because there was not a fitness facility, I went for a swim. I can attest that swimming is more work than an elliptical or a treadmill! I did fifty pool lengths, showered, and then we headed for a bit of breakfast. Once we were on the road, the immediate agenda was to finish up in Needles, so we found El Garces, built in 1908, and being renovated by the city. It will be gorgeous when it is complete.
As we were driving through the Mojave desert, we knew that there were supposed to be public art displays on the banks to the North of our road. There were maybe 20 miles of this, and it was very unique.
Danby, while we were looking at an abandoned station/cabins, presented a distant view of the trains that we have been seeing for days. It was really cool to see one train heading east, and one heading west, and combined, they consumed the entire horizon.
Next stop was the mountain pass between Needles and Barstow, named Cadiz Summit. There was not much left there, but it was another public art opportunity, where graffiti was welcomed. I love taking pictures from the inside looking out, and here you can see one looking back, one looking out, and one from the road looking forward as well. This definitely looked very post-apocalyptic.
The site of Roy's has become an icon for a lonely desert gas stop due to multiple appearances of Roy's in movies. Amboy has it all: airport, garage, cafe, school, church, graveyard. Currently the town of Amboy is owned by Albert Okura, purchased in 2008 for approximately $400-500K. Fortunately he is dedicated to preserving Amboy in a 1950's look and feel and will try to restore the site to it's former glory. I say that he has a tremendous start. The office has been restored and they have started on the rooms, you can see how they look, and also how someone has already decided that it looks inviting. Out front, the cacti landscaping is amazing.
After Roy's, it was the Amboy Crater, where in previous times, there have been volcanic eruptions, and the Mother Road goes through the edge. It was spectacular and unlike anything we had seen. I climbed to the top of a small flow to get you these other two shots, because that is just the way I roll :o)
Also in the Helendale area was the location of the Sagebrush Inn, now gone, but a residence has been built with the stones of the original Inn, and a facade has been built that shows the rumors of ill repute :o)
On the west side of Helendale was the Bottle Tree Ranch, probably my favorite of the day (I was ready to be done with desert). This was very unique and creative.
