Like a greeter at a Wal-Mart store so stands the City of NEEDLES
at the California/Arizona border welcoming the travelers coming
from "Back-East." We Californians could not have asked to have a
better representative to tell a first time visitor of what lies
ahead and what to expect of our beautiful desert.
Also called The Gateway to California, Needles is a frienly city
that was first established in 1883 as a railroad town. Even to-
day the railroad is still the largest employer, thus it's the
main source of income for this city that also has to depend on
the tourist trade. Right in the center of town you will find a
magnificent train station that was built between 1906 and 1908.
Named El Garces Harvey House and Train Depot, it was recently
purchased by the City from the Santa Fe Railroad for $130,000
and is now in the middle of a complete restoration using only
private donations and volunteer labor. Across from the depot is
the Chamber of Commerce office staffed with very helpful people.
Right next to the Chamber's office is a huge parking lot where
you are allowed to dry-camp for the night. Because of its location
so close to the railroad tracks it's a very noisy place to sleep.
A much better place is the parking lot of the Elks Lodge on
D Street and Lilly Hill Drive where boondocking is permitted.
Also across from the train depot on Front Street is the RT66
Museum. A must stop for the Roadies.
When you are ready to leave this very friendly place, take I-40
west until you see Highway 95 north. Take that for 7.5 miles
and you will pick up old Route 66 again going in the direction
of Goffs. You are now on the older part of the Mother Road that
was by-passed when Route 66 was straightened in 1931.
PLEASE SLOW DOWN 'cause if you don't you've passed the town!
When you see this closed down store which was once the center of
town, you are in "downtown" Goffs. Cross the railroad tracks
and on your right hand side is Lanfair Road. The only paved side
street off Route 66. Turn North on Lanfair (it only goes north)
and stop by the Old School house Museum. Open during the cooler
months of the year, it is an interesting place to visit.
Dennis and JoAnn Casebier are the driving force behind this
museum that takes you back to the time that Route 66 was in its
heyday. The center piece of this museum is a schoolhouse that
opened in 1914 and closed in 1937. Please call (760) 733-4482
for more information or look it up on the Internet.
Continue north on Lanfair Rd. and you will enter the Mojave Nat-
ional Preserve (MNP). You are now in Boondockers Heaven.
This 1.6 million acre park was approved by the U.S. Congress
in 1994 mainly because of the perseverance and the hard work of
Sen. Dianne Feinstein taking over what Sen. Allan Cranston had
begun a couple of decades ago. All the usual hurdles like mining
and grazing rights had to be dealt with but finally MNP became
one of the latest additions of our National Parks System.
After you pass the MNP marker Lanfair Rd. will take you deep
into this paradise. For the first 6 miles Lanfair Rd. is paved,
after that it becomes a well-maintained gravel road. Follow the
the powerline that runs parallel with the road and when it turns
to the right after 16 miles, do the same. There are 2 houses on
this side road before it dead-ends into a beacon for the airtraf-
fic overhead.
The second house is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Gudmundson who
live there year round. On their 40 acres of property they have,
among other things, 3 dry-camp sites complete with electricity
hook-ups which can be yours for the asking and for as long as you
like. Donations are accepted. You may want to call them first to
tell them that you're planning to pay them a visit (760) 733-4554
or drop them a note. P.O.Box 9, ESSEX, CA. 92232-0006.
On this dirt road you will find a pay-phone where you can only
make outgoing calls. There is no number on this phone for
anyone to call you back. When I saw it for the first time, the
receiver had blown off the hook and was swaying in the wind.
After replacing it I discovered that the line was dead.
When you return on "old" Route 66, continue your journey west.
Ten miles down the road you'll come to FENNER. A towing truck
outfit with a storage yard for wrecked cars and the Hi-Desert
Oasis is the extent of the whole town. The Hi-Desert Oasis is
just that, an oasis in the arid desert. Complete with fountains,
shaded patio areas, and there is also a coffee shop plus a gas
station. The price for the gasoline is somewhat higher but not
as bad as what you will encounter farther down the road. So if
you're a little low, this is the place to top off your tank.
On a huge gravel lot next to the coffee shop you are permitted
to park for the night. Keep in mind that you are surrounded by
big rigs who let their diesel engines idle all night and that
only a 4 foot chain link fence stands between you and I-40.
Cross the Freeway and the "Old 66" will dead-end into the newer
version which is now called The National Trails Highway. At the
"T" turn right and once more you find yourself in a "downtown"
section of a town that is slowly dying. There is not much left
of ESSEX (pop.100) that once was the last place to prepare your-
self for the long haul to Amboy. Now only a tire shop that caters
mainly to the truckers and the U.S. Post Office are the sole
places of commerce left. Oh yes, at the outer edge of town to
the west is a yard loaded with curios and "antiques" for sale.
After a long and lonely drive of some 20 miles you get to a
hill that is known by the name of SUMMIT. There you can find
the remnants of an old garage. An ideal canvas for the graffiti
artists who over the years have literally covered every inch of
the walls that are still standing.
While you descend to the desert floor below, take in the vistas
and try to imagine how the Joad family felt when they saw what
was in store for them in their old jalopy without A/C but with a
leaky radiator and bald tires. It must have been quite a trip!
Don't bother to slow down at CHAMBLESS, it is all boarded shut. DO stop at AMBOY EAST. No markers but you can't miss it.
A Roadrunner Restaurant sign still towers high above the desert
sand. The reason to stop is that years ago when the Route 66
was re-routed for the umpteenth time, some gas station owner had
the foresight to put a fence around a small portion of the old
pavement and by doing so, save it for future generations.
When I first saw it and realized what had happened here it gave
me the chills. This must be the real thing, I said to myself
like someone who had just discovered a treasure in the attic.
From here it's just a hop and a skip to the end of this stretch
of the Mother Road. I hope that you enjoyed the ride and that
you'll do the real thing someday if you haven't already done so.
