Day 10: October 11, 2024
NOTR, PPOO, and Route 66
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There are less than twenty miles of PPOO in Arizona but before I exited the state, I hit the trifecta of western back road signs: look out for water, look out for cattle, and look out for wiggly road. Yeah, those last two are kind of tough to see.
I slipped into Nevada for breakfast at Peggy Sue's in Mesquite.
Nevada cattle look pretty dangerous on the signs but the few I met were rather polite.
Oh, look, there's the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I managed to miss most of the city but not all.
I made it to California as evidenced by the cutout US highway shield. The Pike's Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway and the National Old Trails Road came together just across those railroad tracks. They headed west together but both have become overshadowed by their successor.
The road is now called Goffs Road and, just a few miles west of the intersection, Goffs Schoolhouse has become a popular stop for Historic Route 66 travelers. I have stopped here in the past but today just paused for a couple of photos.
I knew that Route 66/NOTR/PPOO was closed through the Mojave Desert because of damage to several bridges suffered in 2017. I simply plotted the PPOO through here with the idea that I would bail at the first closure. Looks like this, Goffs Road at I-40, is it. I'll work out a more detailed approach for the return on the NOTR.

I drove to the closure to get a close up of the signs and after turning around watched a half-dozen utility trucks pull onto the expressway headed east. My guess is that they are on their way to help with the recovery from Hurricane Milton which hit Florida on Wednesday.

I had already decided that I was not going to be over zealous to sticking with westbound PPOO once I reached the point where it joined the NOTR. I will be following that route eastbound as I return home and I'll have less time concerns then than now. My decision is also justified somewhat by the fact that I have driven the route westbound multiple times while calling it Historic Route 66.

So I stayed on I-40 to Barstow, drove Main Street though town, and jumped on I-15 on the other side. In Barstow, I grabbed drive-by shots of the reproduction Roy's sign (original out in bypassed Amboy) and the 66 Motel (where I have stayed).

I left the expressway at Rialto and drove Historic Route 66 to another motel where I have stayed before. Wigwam Village #7, the last one built, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. I stayed in the tepee on the left in that last picture. The inside looks like this.
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