Skip to main content

2016 Cross-Country Trip Part 6; Return to US Route 66 and California

Picking back up from Part 5; I had just left Needles on US 95/I-40.  I followed I-40 west of the US 95 junction, I continued west until I split away from the Interstate at Exit 107.  I hadn't been to the Mojave section of US 66 since 2012 and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to revisit on a cross-country trip.


I don't intend this to be anything more than me gushing over returning an old abandoned highway that I've always enjoyed.  For a full historical analysis of the Mojave section of US 66 in California I would suggest reading this previous blog.

US 66 (Cajon Pass to the Arizona State Line)

Pulling off on exit 107 afforded a unique view of the oversized "GAS" sign to the north of I-40 in Fenner.  Fenner really isn't much anything more than an RV and truck parking lot.


I really thought the CR 66 shields would have been stolen after so much time had passed since 2012.






Back in 2012 there was a glut of pit bulls running around the abandoned buildings in Essex.  In early 2016 they all had pretty much disappeared much like all the people did in the previous couple decades.








Danby in particular had a large number of guard dogs when I visited previously.  It would seem that back around 2012 there was some concern the part of the property owners that people would attempt to vandalize their buildings.  Much like Essex there was no signs of life by 2016.






Cadiz Summit seemed to have weathered the previous four years largely untouched.  Roamin Rich's US 66 stencil on the Cadiz Summit garage was still present, the only new addition was an abandoned lounge chair.












Chambless and Road Runners Retreat appeared just as I remembered them.




There was a new addition in Amboy; all normal grades of unleaded octane at Roy's were for sale whereas all I remember being sold was 87 octane.  One sad omission was that Roy's was no longer selling Route 66 Root Beer.  I believe that I bought a sugar cane Coke at Roy's before continuing west.






The Amboy Crater had a new paved road going to it south from US 66.






The Bagdad Tree at the Bagdad town site was still alive and present.


The last standing wall in Siberia still hadn't fallen by 2016 and I'm to understand is still around as of this year.


Previously I never had taken all that many photos of Ludlow.  I feel like I had a missed opportunity on the 2016 trip by not checking out Main Street up close.









I rejoined I-40 from Ludlow and took it west to I-15.  I stayed on I-15 briefly and joined CA 58 westbound where I encountered the early stages of the Hinkley Bypass project.





Really from here on out it was pretty standard fair reaching San Joaquin Valley where I took an eventual northward turn on CA 99 north to reach the Fresno area.  In retrospect I'm really disappointed that I didn't get to revisit US 60 in Arizona to see the old Queen Creek Tunnel.  This was a trip of necessity more than anything else that ended up having some really solid fun drives like a small section of US 66 in the desert and US 180/62 in Texas.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hawaii Route 8930

Hawaii Route 8930 is a 2.5-mile State Highway on the Island of O'hau.  Hawaii Route 8930 is aligned over Kualakai Parkway over the course of its entire alignment south from Interstate H-1 to Kapolei Parkway.  Hawaii Route 8930 is one of the newest Hawaii Routes only having been completed during 2010.   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 8930 The history of Hawaii Route 8930 is brief given it is a modern facility.  Hawaii Route 8930 and what was known as "North-South Road" were built to facilitate the developing areas of Kapolei on western O'ahu.  According to hawaiihighways.com the first stage of Hawaii Route 8930 was completed from Kapolei Parkway north to Farrington Highway as a four-lane highway during November...

Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road

Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29.   Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town. Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Sto...

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...