Electric Route 66

Coming up on November 16, the iconic Roy's Motel & Cafe sign in Amboy, California will be returned to service! Roy's is one of the most famous historic stops on Route 66, in large part because of its very large Googie-style neon sign, erected in 1959. This sign has been turned off since the 1980s and its restoration has been a long term project that is finally coming to fruition. See the official flyer below, from the town's web site visitamboy.com . Food, music, raffle, fly-in and relighting! Amboy is the place to be on November 16! Since we live in Las Vegas, Amboy is pretty close to us and we've been there numerous times, including last month when we visited during the Road Runner's Retreat cleanup weekend. There is no EV charging available at Amboy, but the manager was very interested in pursuing the possibility as they restore more of the town. As an aged, remote, near-ghost town, Amboy has challenges with infrastructure such as power supply and f...

As many Route 66 travelers will know, there has been a long-term closure of a section of Route 66 in the eastern Mojave Desert in California. Due to the abundance of questions about this area on Route 66 Facebook groups, I decided to write up a summary of what is signed for travelers on the affected roads. Our October trip to the Road Runner's Retreat provided the opportunity to photograph all of the road signs that have been placed to deter travelers from the closed area. Two segments of Route 66 between Needles and Amboy have been closed for a couple of years, and there is no timetable for reopening. Many bridges were washed out in flood conditions and San Bernardino County has not finished repairing them all, as they are an enormous county without a lot of funds. After having a chance to photograph all of the signs, the source of travelers' confusion becomes clear: the signs are a jumble of contradictory and often wrong information. I will try to lay it all out here, ...