Day 15: August 8, 2012 The Other End

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Ludlow, California, is another desert oasis. Although most of the town is gone, it does have two gas stations, a diner, and a motel. The motel is of the no frills variety -- no phone, no wifi -- but is clean and comfortable. My room is here. The motel lobby isn't really used with the role filled by the gas station across the road. A nice plus is that you have access to free fountain drinks, coffee, and ice during your stay.

West of Ludlow, the road gets pretty rough for awhile. Near Newberry Springs, the Bagdad Cafe was open and I went inside. I saw no one and got no response to a hello shout. I asked the fellows standing just outside the door if it was really open and they assured me it was. I apparently caught whoever was there when they were otherwise occupied but I didn't go back in. I ate here in 2003 but things were also a little strange on a 2005 visit. My 2005 post says "The door was locked and the lone man I saw inside did not seem interested in opening it or even acknowledging my presence. " Sort of the opposite of today. The motel is right next door and, just up the street, someone has arranged it so the entire town of Newberry Springs -- saloon, jail, feed mercantile, bank, & livery stable -- can be photographed in one shot.

The little house with its roof tucked under is a very recognizable feature of Daggett as is the adjacent Mugwumps garage. The cars that were packed around Mugwumps in 2005 are gone and there is evidence of a general cleanup at both the house and garage. If that occurred recently, it could be a sign of good things to come. There's a lot more of Daggett across the tracks including the 1908 Desert Market and the 1880s Daggett Garage. Read about the garage's travels on the marker next to it.

I stopped off at the Route 66 "Mother Road" Museum in Barstow and got a picture with manager/curator Debra Hodkin. Victorville pilgrims were just starting to pass through. Ron & Roz were just leaving as I arrived and Jim & Shellee had been there a little earlier.

I'd visited Elmer Long's bottle tree farm just over a year ago so didn't spend a lot of time roaming around it although that would have been very easy to do.

I made very few stops as I headed to Sixty-Six's western terminus but did take drive by shots of several landmarks including a "when you want a picture really bad" one of the Madonna of the Trail monument in Upland.

The westernmost official terminus of US-66 is where Lincoln meets Olympic. I drove through the intersection then walked back to get this picture. With the two street names now of separate poles, it's not easy to get both of them in a picture. I drove by the traditional/sentimental end near the Santa Monica pier but the area was pretty crowded and I decided I didn't want to hassle with parking and getting to the pier or the Will Rogers marker. I'll be seeing a lot more of Sixty-Six tomorrow on a tour with Scott Piotrowski and I'll make an excursion or two during the festival but I have in fact now completed my third end-to-end drive of Historic Route 66. Wahoo!

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