Directions for Trip on Old Highway

For a more extensive Route 66 trip, take Interstate 215 north past Victorville to Barstow, then head east on Interstate 40 to the desert towns bypassed by the interstate. This is the stretch that truly offers a feel for the old highway.

The railroad and tourist town of Barstow still is a major supply and accommodation point for travelers. Take Interstate 40 out of town to Daggett. Here, Route 66 is called “National Trails Highway” for its historical significance.

Continue east to Newberry Springs where the Sidewinder Cafe served as the location for the recent movie “Bagdad Cafe.” The cafe, store, gas station and post office here are unchanged from the boom days. Route 66 still is within sight of the Interstate from Newberry Springs to Ludlow, but travel east through Ludlow, Amboy, Cadiz, Danby, Essex and Fenner--all just off the highway--and the essence of the trip becomes clear.

This is the land where westbound travelers once attached water bags and bug screens to their cars, then headed out for the desert in the middle of the night to avoid the heat of the day.

The Worst Stretch

In “A Guide Book to Highway 66,” Jack D. Rittenhouse writes: “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.”

Telephone lines and poles topped with glass insulators parallel the highway, a reminder of why the route once was termed “The Wire Road.” Mountain ranges appear far in the distance; abandoned gas stations, diners and motels dot the route. To this day, this long stretch of lonely desert highway gives not a hint of the metropolis 200 miles to the west, but the hazards of the journey can easily be imagined.

‘Mirror Under the Sun’

Recall the words of John Steinbeck: “Cars pulled up beside the road, engine heads off, tires mended. Cars limping along 66 like wounded things, panting and struggling. Too hot, loose connections, loose bearings, ratting bodies. . . . People in flight along 66. And the concrete road shone like a mirror under the sun, and in the distance the heat made it seem that there were pools of water in the road.”

Route 66 rejoins Interstate 40 at Mountain Springs Road, west of Needles. To complete the trip on a nostalgic note, head into Needles, then just over the state line to Doc’s Route 66 Roadhouse (Powell Lake Road and Historic Route 66). The steak house is open only for lunch and dinner--although, in the old days, no self-respecting diner along Route 66 still was closed at 5:30 a.m.--and the locale evokes days gone by.

The mother road in California is anchored in the west by Santa Monica’s trendy ‘50s diner that plays on the food and decor, but not the location. In the east, you have to travel across the state line for a place that plays on the location, but not the food. Both offer some sense of the past they honor; neither captures the whole story. But nothing about Route 66 does. It’s been called “the ribbon that ties America together.”

Head out and discover it for yourself.