Electric Route 66 Dashcam: Road Runner's Retreat

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Hello! It has been two months since my last blog post; I hope everyone has been holding up well under the continued pandemic conditions. I thought it was high time I put up another Dashcam video. Even though we haven't been traveling, I still have a few videos taken last fall that I haven't put up yet.

Today's dashcam video comes from the Mojave Desert in California, on Route 66 east of Amboy. The Road Runner's Retreat is a long-closed desert business with a huge neon sign. It sits on a section of Route 66 that is closed to through traffic, but it can be visited if you are ok with doing just a little bit back-tracking east of Kelbaker Road. It is located past a set of road barriers which say, "Road Closed to Thru Traffic". But the important part is "Thru Traffic". A visit to the Road Runner and back would not be considered thru traffic. The barriers are easy to drive around, and the road is in good condition and safe to drive for the few miles to the Road Runner.

 

The Blue Spirit under the Road Runner's Retreat neon sign


As a closed business, the Road Runner's Retreat is off limits to visitors except by permission, but the sign and main buildings are easily viewed from beside the road. If you visit, please take only pictures and do not trespass onto the fenced property! It is well worth a visit if you have the time and are traveling Route 66 near Amboy. It is located 9.5 miles east of Amboy, and 4 miles east of Kelbaker Road.

The Road Runner suffered a terrible fire to the cafe building last summer, but the gas station and iconic sign were unaffected. Efforts to preserve and improve the property continue, with periodic cleanups and work weekends, one of which we attended last October, when we took this dash cam video.

 

The gas station building with Googie-style roof at the Road Runner's Retreat

 

If you'd like to learn more about the Road Runner you can visit their web site, or see the most recent news and posts on their Facebook page. They also have a contributions page set up here at PayPal.

 

Sunset at the Road Runner's Retreat

 

I hope you like this latest Electric Route 66 Dashcam video embedded below. It can also be viewed with this link directly to YouTube. It's a very straight road we're driving in the desert, so I would say the most interesting parts are the beginning when we drive past the barriers onto Route 66, and the end when we finally arrive at the Road Runner! 


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