Route 66 California - Daggett, Newberry Springs, and Ludlow

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we drove to the Grand Canyon from our home in San Bernardino, California.  One of my projects this year is to learn more about the historic Route 66 so I was very pleased that we would have the opportunity to travel one of the very most interesting sections.

Right outside of Barstow, California, lies the sleepy town of Daggett.

A bar keeps things lively at night:

It was impossible to tell what this sign used to proudly point to before the elements wore off all the paint:

 Maybe it was directing travelers to this old gas station. 

Route 66 ends abruptly and without any prior warning:

A closer inspection shows us that this is not a barrier to try to get around:

 So we head over to the Interstate 40, until we find a new exit for Historic Route 66.

In many places in the Mojave Desert, the I-40 follows very closely to Route 66.  It's important to remain flexible when exploring the Route 66.  In some parts the road is not well maintained so you may want to "cheat" and use the freeway for those parts.  In other sections the road simply ends, like happened here, and you have no choice but to get on the freeway.

Our next stop is Newberry Springs, California.

One thing that always struck me about Newberry Springs is that it seems much greener than the surrounding Mojave.  Until 1911,  Newberry Springs was called Water, because it is located on top of an ancient lake and has generous water underground basins.  Newberry Springs was the first reliable water stop west of the Colorado River.

Newberry Mountain makes an impressive landscape in this sparsely populated land.

The most famous attraction for Route 66 roadies in Newberry Springs is the Bagdad Cafe.

The Roadside Attraction sign that marks favorite stops along the Route 66, explains that this is not the ORIGINAL Bagdad Cafe, but that this Cafe in Newberry Springs was used in the making of the "Bagdad Cafe" movie.  Before the 1988 German film was an independent film favorite, which was later turned into a popular German television series, this place was called the Sidewinder Cafe.

The original Bagdad, California is nothing but a few concrete slabs: a complete ghost town, along with its neighbor Siberia, California.

I wanted to have breakfast here, but it was just too early to stop for a break.

Like most places along the Route 66, the motels are dilapidated, but still standing, to remind us that once millions of families traveled down this very road.

The motel was also used in the movie "Bagdad Cafe".

The next stop is Ludlow, an old mining town.

This old firetruck really charmed me.

I love seeing antique cars on Route 66. 

This retro Coffee Shop in Ludlow was so inviting, we decided to stop in for some breakfast before hitting the real ghost towns of the Mojave.

Everything about this place was like stepping back in time.

It was way too early for pie, and being the day after Thanksgiving, I had already had my fill, but I would love to return someday for a piece of that peanut-butter cream pie.

Our breakfast was delicious!

The menu told some fun facts about the town of Ludlow, including that until the late 1980s, there was no direct-dialing from this town: only operated-assisted calls could go through from a switchboard in Los Angeles.

Looking out from the inside of the Coffee House. 

Time to hit the road.  This mileage list says that the Grand Canyon is 350 miles away.

We've already traveled 120 miles from our home in San Bernardino, and enjoyed a morning on the Historic Route 66.

Next stop is the ghost town of Amboy and the very impressive Amboy Crater.  Stay tuned.