Saturday 26th May
Laughlin to Barstow
Waking up on and off throughout the night, it was rather
gorgeous looking out from the 18th floor across the flickering
lights of Laughlin. Yet another slow
start to the day. We took a leisurely
stroll along the Riverwalk to indulge in coffee and Krispy Cream donuts (oh no
more calories). The weather is perfect
with temps to top at 82F today. The wind
picked up again today but was not as brutal as yesterday. The view over the Colorado is just stunning
with the mountains in the background.
We head back on track to Route 66 at Needles and to
California but we are not prepared for the magnificence of the South Pass through the Sacremento
Mountains. We had assumed desert was
going to be flat, sandy nothingness, but the miles and miles of mountain ranges
were a positive surprise. The painted 66
shields on the road were numerous.
Dust devils were popping up everywhere - we could actually see about 6 at this time.
A careful stop (watching the ground ever so carefully for
any movement) at the there is a monument describing the history and geology of
the area. We pass through the Marble
Mountains, pas garage remains covered in graffiti, but a tradition for many
years. It is a bit eerie up here. Lots of junk scattered around. More evidence
of days gone by at Chambless Market and the ruins of the Roadrunner’s Retreat Café
and Station – if only I could see a roadrunner – my very all time favourite
cartoon.
Along this route is miles and miles of ‘art’ where people
have created their names from stones and/or bottles on the side of a berm.
Coming into Amboy we are looking out for the crater and Roy’s
Café and Motel which began in 1927 by Roy Crowl. Recently Roy’s was purchased and there are
plans for restoration. The young man in
the Café (without a kitchen) advised they have finally had their water
application approved so they expect some advancement in the restoration to
start happening soon. Check out the price of petrol/gas!!
The Amboy crater is just one of many craters in the area
with acres and acres of lava flow easily seen from the road.
We have lost a whole lot of photos - very disappointing. From here to Barstow.
Pisgah Crater past Ludlow has even larger lava flows and
alongside is the Troy Dry Lake and immense expanse of long dried up lake – or perhaps
and inland sea?
Bagdad Café used in the film of the same name.
A defunct solar 2 Power Plant once used multiple mirrors in
experiments to convert solar heat into energy!!
Into Barstow and our accommodation which turned out to be in Lenswood the next town on...
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