Sandy and I drove over Lake Havasu City's London Bridge one more time. Looked at the lake. And, then off to the Mother Road.
Today was a day of mostly looking at desert and seeing the sights associated with "Route 66".
The first town of interest was Needles, CA. Needles often makes the news as the hottest town in the United States as it is just a little South of Death Valley.
This is the wagon that was used in the introduction of the television series, "Death Valley Days"
Along the way we found this guy's vendor shack. Just set up in the middle of the desert. He was selling honey and pistachios. Sandy bought some pistachios.
Goffs, CA bypassed by the interstate still has a few residents and a nice museum. Unfortunately the museum, a restored school house was not open. Still, it was a pleasant stop.
Still in the desert we came to Amboy, aside from a few off-the-grid squatter homes all that is left of Amboy is Roy's Motel and Diner. It is not open but there is a great sign and a new owner that is planning on bringing it back to life. While I was walking around the place I started talking to someone working on a professional picture of the "Roy's" sign. He turned out to be from Germany and was photographing sights around the Southwest. Roy's place was one of them.
Roy even had his own airport. Sort of.
The German Photographer, a really good guy.
Across the street was a piece of folk art. I think it started off as a bottle tree but over time more and more travelers added their own touches. A bit weird, but then we are in California.
And, sometimes you just find things like this.
On the edge of the desert we found another cinder crater surrounded by a lava field. I had to stop and take a picture of this perfectly shaped volcano cone. It is called the Amboy Volcano.
Once again I'm a little late to the party, but we have spent more time in Needles, Kingman, and Lake Havasu City than a lot of non residents, I'm sure. I remember Needles as having some of the most expensive gasoline around. We had an RV tire issue as we approached Kingman, and people there were great about diagnosing and fixing it. Then Jim left a brand new hoodie at the Kingman Starbucks but didn't realize it until we got many miles away. I called; they had it, mailed it to us, and wouldn't accept any money. We camped several times at Lake Havasu -- I bet that place is crazy when they have their boat get togethers. We also lost a hubcap somewhere nearby. I see you drove through Victorville -- I have a cousin I had never met who lived there and we made a visit, which was really very cool. OK, I'm rambling, so I'll sign off. But it is cool to see al those places. And I'm so sorry our Lake Havasu meet up did not come to pass.
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DeleteStarbucks!?! And, you say we're the highbrow travelers. We did not see your hubcap or cousin, so I'm presuposing one is irretrievably lost and the other just fine. It would have been nice to visit with you. We have a lot of shared stories now, it would have been fun to compare. As you found with the people that helped you, we believe some of the best attractions on the road are the people we meet. The owners of the Blue Swallow Motel and the "hermit" lady trying to reopen the Bagdad Cafe come to mind but there have been many little meetings and conversations along the way that have enriched this journey. Go Buckeyes!