Calico is just on the outskirts of Barstow.
As we passed through Barstow we stopped at the Chamber Of Commerce, which was the Harvey House Hotel, called the Casa De Desertia. It has been restored and looks a very grand building. Built beside the railway, it now houses a railway museum.
As we drove on through Barstow we said farewell to Route 66, probably for the last time, taking Highway 58 across the Mojave Desert to Tehachapi and north to the Central Valley
Showing posts with label Route 66. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Route 66. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2013
April 7th - Calico
Calico Ghost Town.
We were indeed camped right next to the Ghost Town, however the weather now interfered with our plans. A storm was blowing in. Only wind, but expected to be up to 60 m.p.h gusts. Looking at the weather charts it seemed that the Jet Stream had taken an unexpectedly Southern route, down the west coast, crossing the Mojave Desert and New Mexico and swinging back North up the Great Plains. This meant havoc for the North and West of USA. The west coast got cold. The Southern states (thats us) got gales, the Rockies Mid West and Northern states as far as the Great Lakes got snow. Warm wet air sucked in from the gulf, meeting the cold dry air sucked down from Canada met and dropping up to 30 inches of snow. It won’t last long, but it is big.
By Monday afternoon we were prepared to brave the wind and go up to visit the ghost town which had originally been a Sliver Mining Community. It was very twee, but poorly described. We then noticed that some of the buildings were not original 1880’s. We eventually found out that a guy called Walter Knott bought the town in 1950 and was determined to restore it to its original condition as ghost town, Walter Knott is well know for his amusement park in Anaheim, Knotts Berry Farm, right next to Disneyland. Which incidentally started as a farm in 1920, where Walter developed the Boysenberry. The wayside farm stall then opened a chicken restaurant, which developed entertainment bits, which then became what is claimed to be the first theme park in 1947m, complete with its own ghost town. Its history has some fascinating parallels with Calico and also many of the activities and places that we have seen on our travels in the West. Read about it here……. Knotts Berry Farm History
The county of San Bernardino was given the park and have kept it going ever since, so really it is only a pseudo ghost town with many buildings form the 1950’s, still a good bit of fun with the train, the mine, the main street, the sheriffs office etc. we then went down to Peggy Sue’s Diner for dinner.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
April 6th - It's That Road Again
Having arrived in Needles we were once again on Route 66. As we drove through the quiet town it definitely had the air of having been bypassed by Interstate 40. We had planned to stay at North Shore RV, as it appeared to be reasonably priced, only to find that it is a privately owned club, which we clearly did not belong to. So we pulled into what looked like a very seedy motel and RV park next door, only to find that once past the rather rundown gate, that it was a very pretty little park which enabled us to camp right beside the Colorado River. Very pleasant. We spent some time in the evening just sitting by the river, which flows very fast at this point, which is about 30 miles south of Lake Mojave and 100 miles south of Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.
Sunday morning we set out to cross the Mojave Desert to reach the more populated areas of California. Before leaving Needles we drove to the site of the Harvey House restaurant, which in 1909, when it was built, was called the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of the Harvey Houses. How times change, Needles has been bypassed, the railway is used almost exclusively for freight and the town has died. ‘The Jewel in The Crown’ is now just an empty shell.
One thing that was becoming more apparent is that Route 66 substantially followed the East West Rail track. What was also apparent was that there is an enormous amount of freight transported by rail. Every few minutes we passed giant trains moving across the desert. We counted one train at 151 wagons long, being hauled by 4 locos. The bulk of the wagons had containers piled two high on them, taking freight from the giant cargo boats coming into Long Beach from China to the Eastern and Northern States. One could imagine the containers full of T-shirts, toys TVs and goods already for distribution to Wal-Mart’s, for us to buy them.
Rather than driving on the probably very bumpy I40 we followed the old Route 66 where possible. It was till desert, but had that historic feel to it. We stopped only in Amboy, which is a town built by a man named Roy, who in the 50’s saw great things for this part of the desert, that is until the I40 bypassed it. His legacy is the place known as Roys Motel and Café, which is now an iconic destination on Route 66. The 50’s Motel is still there complete with furniture, just locked up, the little motel ‘houses’ are still there and you can walk through them, though they are stripped bare. The café does not serve food and had nearly run out of gas ($4.99 p gal). The owners seemed content to let it return to the desert from which it started, in contrast to a lot of the places on Route 66 which are trying to develop the Route 66 industry. Driving on a few miles we stopped at Bagdad for our picnic lunch. We knew it was the town of Bagdad because the map said so, the town had been abandoned and all buildings had gone. All that was left was a couple of people looking for stuff with metal detectors. We couldn’t even find the sign for the town.
We rejoined I40 only to turn North at Daggett. We crossed Route 66, but could not find the border patrol point mentioned in Grapes Of Wrath, where to get into California they had to lie about Granny needing to get to see a doctor (she had died about an hour before). Driving up into the mountains we crossed the I15 at Peggy Sue’s Diner, continuing on to the Calico Ghost Town County Park and RV Park.
April 6th - Lily the illegal alien
Friday
After spending time at Lake Havasu we moved North to I40 and crossed the Colorado River into California with fear and trepidation as Sally’s Easter Lily (given by the First Christian Church in Pheonix), which has been such a wonderful plant, was now in danger! From the Federales! We had to pass through the dreaded Agriculltural Border Checkpoint, which clearly states that you may not bring soil into the state of California (unless it is used for plants that have been grown entirely indoors), so Lily may be confiscated as an illegal alien. We were fully prepare to argue that it was an indoor plant, but had no proof since it had been given to us in its mature state. We pulled up at the checkpoint, wound down the window, the officer asked if we had any firewood! To which we answered not and we were on our way with Lily still intact and seated on the back seat of the van. The first town you come to in California is called Needles. We planned to stay here for a night
After spending time at Lake Havasu we moved North to I40 and crossed the Colorado River into California with fear and trepidation as Sally’s Easter Lily (given by the First Christian Church in Pheonix), which has been such a wonderful plant, was now in danger! From the Federales! We had to pass through the dreaded Agriculltural Border Checkpoint, which clearly states that you may not bring soil into the state of California (unless it is used for plants that have been grown entirely indoors), so Lily may be confiscated as an illegal alien. We were fully prepare to argue that it was an indoor plant, but had no proof since it had been given to us in its mature state. We pulled up at the checkpoint, wound down the window, the officer asked if we had any firewood! To which we answered not and we were on our way with Lily still intact and seated on the back seat of the van. The first town you come to in California is called Needles. We planned to stay here for a night
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