Route 66

by Cheri Rae and John McKinney

No other road in all of America has inspired more dreams than Route 66. The 2,200-mile asphalt ribbon once stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles and set free the imagination of dreamers all over the nation. It opened up the modern-way west to California.

The Route 66 trip takes longer than the I-40 route. But, because it offers a unique view of days gone by, take the time. Pull over, get out of the car, sit by the side of the road, and listen to the quiet. It's an eardrum-pounding quiet that cannot usually be perceived. Take in the sight of the barren land, the many mountain ranges, the alien volcanic territory near Amboy Crater. Allow yourself to feel the eternal, unchanged quality of this land. This desolate stretch of highway gives no hint of the metropolis just 200 miles to the west, but it's easy to imagine both the fears and the hopes of the countless travelers who once journeyed across this road, dreaming of a better life.

Most of those who journeyed west on Route 66, Dust Bowl migrants, first-generation children of immigrant parents, wanderers, drifters and vacationers, were a bit frightened by the prospect of crossing the Mojave Desert. In the 1946 volume, A Guide Book to Highway 66 by Jack D. Rittenhouse, the author observed, "You won't find any desert stretches which are blistered with unendurable heat. Worst stretch is the Mojave Desert, 200 miles of territory running west from the California-Arizona line.

To many easterners, the desert is a terrifying thing, but to many who frequent the region the desert is a thing of majestic beauty." In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote, "And 66 goes on over the terrible desert, where the distance shimmers and the black cinder mountains hang unbearably in the distance."

The stretch of Route 66 from just outside Barstow to just west of Needles is the longest stretch of the historic route in California. "How far between towns?" wrote Steinbeck, "It is a terror between towns." It's hardly a terror today, and it's well worth getting off the high-speed interstate to drive through what used to be known as "America's Main Street." Telephone lines, poles topped with glass insulators, parallel the highway, a reminder of why the route was once termed "the Wire Road." Mountain ranges appear far in the distance; abandoned gas stations, diners and motels dot the route. The tiny settlements that sprang up along this route did so primarily to serve the needs of the travelers that came through. Rittenhouse wrote, "Except for Ludlow, no 'towns' worthy of the name existed between Needles and Daggett, California, a stretch of 150 miles."

Route 66 is still within sight of the interstate from Newberry Springs to Ludlow, but as you travel east through Ludlow, Amboy, Cadiz, Danby, Essex and Fenner-all just off the highway-the trip down Route 66 becomes a journey into America's past.

Ludlow is a good supply point, as described earlier in this guide. About 28 miles east of Ludlow, you'll notice extensive Hawaiian-like lava fields. Amboy Crater, the cause of this flow, lies just south of the road.

Amboy Crater
We're fascinated by volcanoes and, as long as they're not too hot and not active, we like to visit them. Amboy Crater, located out with the old-time diners and abandoned gas stations along historic old Route 66, has long been a curiosity for generations of desert travelers. The little volcano can be reached with a short hike (3 miles round trip with 200-foot elevation gain), an ideal leg-stretcher for motorists desiring a break from interminable Interstate 40.

Many of the black cinder mountains (and red ones, too) are now part of the Mojave National Preserve, though Amboy Crater is outside the preserve and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Needles office.On the drive to Kelso and into the heart of the preserve, the volcanically inclined visitor can count a dozen or two cones and a number of lava flows.

Amboy Crater and environs are covered with two kinds of lava: aa(pronounced ah-ah), sharp, hiking boot assaulting hunks of basalt and pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy), smoother, rope-like lava.

While it's difficult to get lost because Route 66 and Amboy Crater are almost always in view, it is possible to get quite frustrated if you get sidetracked in the lava field labyrinth and end up involuntarily extending your short hike to the volcano. It's only a little more than a mile from the parking area to the crater, but it can seem much longer if you do a lot of zigzagging over the lava. Forget trying to follow any one path and instead make a bee-lined for the base of the crater. Look back occasionally to establish landmarks to assist you on your return trip.

To reach Amboy Crater from Barstow, head east on Interstate 40 some 52 miles and take the Ludlow exit. Join National Trails Highway (the modern moniker for old Route 66) and drive 28 miles southeast to just short of Amboy and the intersection with Amboy Road. Turn south on an unsigned dirt road leading 0.4 mile down a short graded road. Proceed slowly this road (littered with sharp, potentially tire-shredding lava chunks)to a dirt parking area.

From the parking area, follow the vehicle road, which soon ends in a spaghetti-tangle of trails. Eyeball the crater and simply start walking straight toward it. The hiker will soon figure out that the easiest traveling is over the smooth sandy stretches between the rough lava flows. Approaching the cinder cone, angle right toward Amboy's west ridge. A footpath climbs to a wide opening in the crater rim. Climb into this breach in the cone, then continue on this west side to the rim. Walk along the rim for panoramic vistas of the surrounding lavascape and the East Mojave Desert. Continue walking clockwise around the rim, then retrace your steps back to the parking area.

Amboy and Onward
The town of Amboy, about 5 miles east of the crater, has never consisted of much more than a cafe or two and a motel. A huge sign announces "Roy's Motel and Cafe." Built in the mid-40s, the stop has always been a popular one with tourists. Gas is still available here. About 2.5 miles east of town, Kelbaker Road extends south to Route 66; take it for access to Kelso and the East Mojave.

Between Amboy and Essex, you'll notice abandoned autos, closed-down diners and service stations. The buildings may still stand, but the spirit and life behind them appears to have just dried up and blown away-exactly what happened when 66 was bypassed by the interstate. Essex, about 25 miles east of Amboy, has a cafe, a small store and a post office. Essex Road leads to the Providence Mountains and Mitchell Caverns. Route 66 continues another 13 miles past Essex to Mountain Springs Summit where it re-joins I-40. Back to Mojave National Preserve

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