Day 3
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sleep well, morning a little cool with clear skies it will warm up. (I am in the desert aren't I?). Fat boy and I have breakfast at Coco's and discuss our journey to Amboy. We talk about our connection to this route thru Barstow and Amboy.
My family use to travel RT66 to Barstow for special occasions and a many Easters and Christmases were spent there. I remember not liking the drive. It was always hot. The only cool spot was on the floor of the car out of the suns rays or the seat by the window rolled down, the air was hot but it cooled our sweaty faces. Our grandmother worked as a waitress until she bought her own restaurant/bar on main street. With her earnings she bought and owned desert land. I think back now and laugh at the sight of all her grandchildren dressed in Easter attire with Easter baskets in hand. That’s right, we had our Easter hunts dressed in our Sunday best on grandma's land in the Mojave desert. Turtles, horned toad lizards, tarantulas were to be caught. It's amazing I don't remember snakes.
The road could use some repair but I manage to dodge the rough spots. There’s not much traffic on RT66 with the freeway running parallel to it. We pass a few occupied homes but everything is silent there’s just me on a bike and a truck following. The wild birds are singing there morning songs and the desert is coming alive with much green vegetation, signs of white, yellow, purple and orange wild flowers begin to appear. We pass through Dagget where a famous weigh station was filmed in the "The Grapes of Wrath," It’s now used as major Maine Corp supply depot. Nineteen miles further out we stop at the Bagdad Cafe the inspiration for a film with the same name in Newberry Springs. We had a cup of coffee and are told by a couple of locals that the cafe is well known outside the U.S. The movie apparently didn't do well here. They say bus loads of tourist stop to take pictures of the place while passing through during the summer. It was interesting that the now locals are transplants fromSan Bernardino, Riverside, and Fontana. All for the same reason "the valley got to congested".
We leave and although the desert is now abundant with blooming color of wild flowers , the road took a turn for the very worst. Riding speed dropped to a crawl in fear of dipping into one of many holes and wide cracks. This went on for twenty miles before getting into Ludlow. We have lunch at the Ludlow Restaurant one of three establishments. The other two are a hotel and Chevron gas station which is where you would acquire a room at the motel. On our way out we meet a couple motorcyclist on their way to the Laughlin. I thought I might get one of them to trade bikes with me at least to Amboy. No one took my offer they only said “I wish I could do what you doing”. So, on we go 29 more miles. The terrain began to change from smooth brown rolling hills to black lava rock that almost touched the road. The black rock is the result of Volcano which was active 10,000 years ago. The volcano is known as the Amboy Crater. It is a federal park and open to the public. You can hike the paths from the road to the top of the crater. It’s said that some college kids as a prank started some old tires on fire inside the creator creating havoc with the locals. They all thought the volcano was becoming active resulting in the national guard to initiate an evacuation plan. After fighting some head wind we arrived in Amboy about 3:45pm. Took some pictures and talked about the hum ding activity that will begin on Thursday. The operators are expecting hundreds of riders from California and surrounding states on their way to Laughlin for the River Run or just the yearly stop for PARTY,PARTY,PARTY. There will be music and food. At least 10,000 tacos are expected to be sold. Maybe we’ll stay.
Well another interesting day of weather, land and most of all people. Where would we be without us or them??
Until our next ride take care
Old man smiling.
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