Amboy

There was a little article on Amboy California in the LA times right before we left. It's right along Route 66 at a spot that was bypassed by the 40 when they built that and it's all but dead. But it has this great example of Googie and some restauranteur has bought it to renovate. So it seemed fun since we were in the vicinity to stop and check it out. So we took an 11 mile detour to 66, which is really pretty right there. You drive down into a valley and it's really isolated. It's hard to imagine what it was like to drive through that stretch during the depression looking for a new life. Anyway as we pulled up to Roy's (the little hotel, and about all that's there) another car stopped and two guys got out with fancy Nikons and started doing the same thing I was. Then as we left another car stopped and a young couple got out and hoisted a big camera bag onto their hood and started hauling out lenses and bodies. I guess it's a bit of a photo mecca.

This is one of the bungalows at the motel. They looked to be fairly stripped but for the window treatments. All of the tiles were gone but the bathroom fixtures were there and a couple had some furniture, though not of the period. They were small so I could see the entire interiors. I should have tried a door though.


Here's the sign. I think it's pretty famous, it looks familiar anyway. This may be my favorite picture from the whole trip. It's so clean.


This is the main building. I can't tell but it looks like a lobby and offices in back. Thee was a cactus inside and it was really pretty clean.


The Amboy Crater. I'd never heard a thing about this but it's right there down the road from Amboy. Apparently it's a volcano and there is a dirt road leading to it though it was a little out of the ole Honda's league. The surrounding area is covered with black volcanic rock (Igneous?) resulting in a pretty wild landscape. We saw one other crater and much more of the lava flows. That's when I began to wonder what it would be like driving past as the Joad family. It's a far cry from Oklahoma.