Rt 66 - Cool Springs Camp, AZ

/ Cool Springs Camp/
Rt 66 - Cool Springs Camp, AZ

After surviving some great hairpin turns and the descent from Sitgreaves pass and through the Black Mountains, the valley opened up and the driving was easy. It was still early morning on Day Two of my “Goodbye God, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip. I had left Oatman and the burros behind and driven through Goldroad, which is once again an active mining area. There were some spectacular views from Sitgreaves Pass but the view before me was pretty cool as well, with one of those Arizona-type of pokey mountains up ahead. My next stop would be Cool Springs, AZ.

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Rt 66 - Sitgreaves Pass, AZ

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Rt 66 - Sitgreaves Pass, AZ

After making friends with several burros in Oatman, it was time to get back on the road. My next destination was Sitgreaves Pass, which tops out at 3,550 feet. The pass was named for Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves, who traveled through the area in 1851. I would be traveling along a very narrow, two-lane blacktop with no shoulders, crazy switchbacks and steep drop-offs plunging thousands of feet down. This is my kind of road.

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Rt 66 - Oatman, AZ

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Rt 66 - Oatman, AZ

Day Two of my “Goodbye God, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip. I left the comforts of my free room at the Tropicana in Laughlin, Nev and headed east for the Black Mountains. I was going to Oatman to see the burros. Once I left I-95 and started heading up into the mountains, the scenery became spectacular. Sheer, steep cliffs along the narrow winding road, jagged peaks, it was pretty amazing. And in about an hour, I was in Oatman.

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Rt 66 - California Inspection Station

/ California Inspection Station/
Rt 66 - California Inspection Station

This is the third California Inspection Station built in Daggett. Its predecessor operated from 1930 until 1953 and was the one featured in the 1940 film version of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. This station shut down for good in 1967. But they forgot to tell the pigeons.

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Rt 66 - Goffs, Cal

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Rt 66 - Goffs, Cal

My first stop in Goffs was the 100-year-old Goffs Schoolhouse. It’s a one-room mission style desert school built in 1914 by the County of San Bernardino. It has been completely restored and returned to its 1914 feel and appearance. It’s been placed on the National Register of Historic place and is currently a museum and cultural center. The surrounding grounds are filled with interesting artifacts of years gone by. Unfortunately, it was closed when I arrived. Click HERE for more history on the old school and town.

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Rt 66 - Ludlow, Cal

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Rt 66 - Ludlow, Cal

It was early afternoon on day 1 of my “Goodbye God, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip when I turned off I-40 to check out the town of Ludlow, California. It’s definitely worth a stop for anyone interested in old abandoned buildings and/or needing gas or something cold to drink. It was 2 out of 3 for me.

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Rt 66 - Newberry Springs, Cal

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Rt 66 - Newberry Springs, Cal

I drove into Newberry Springs looking for Tony's Garage, the Bagdad Café and an old abandoned motel I remembered seeing back in 2013 when I was in the area for a Munzee Clan War activity. My luck was much better than Huell Howser's when he visited the town, as I found everything I was looking for and more. Watch the video at the end of this post for a great episode of Huell's California Road Trip

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Rt 66 - Daggett, Cal

/ Daggett, Ca/
Rt 66 - Daggett, Cal

Daggett is a neat little desert town with a rich history. Founded in the 1860s as Calico Junction, the town was later renamed Daggett in honor of California Lt. Governor John Daggett. The town's main purpose was originally being a supply center for the nearby silver mines of Calico.

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Rt 66 - Lenwood, Cal

/ The Dunes Motel/
Rt 66 - Lenwood, Cal

I was driving along a short (36-mile-long) section of the National Old Trails Road, between Victorville and Barstow, Cal. Also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway when it was established in 1912, the National Old Trails Road stretched some 3,096 miles from Maryland to California. When Route 66 was established years later, it incorporated much of the National Old Trails Road into its route.

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Rt 66 - Oro Grande, Cal

/ Mohawk Gas/
Rt 66 - Oro Grande, Cal

I'm guessing that Oro Grande was once a busy little place, with Route 66 travelers stopping here for a rest, a bite of food or some gas so they could continue along their way. There are a number of old buildings here that obviously date back to the 1940s and 1950s, built when Route 66 was in its prime. A few are still in use, some are abandoned, some closed down, some in ruins. The next time I'm in the area, I hope to have more time to stop and explore.

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