Route 66 was once known as the Mother Road of America, a 1920’s migration route stretching 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.  320 miles ran through California and today the best preserved section lies in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow.

 

Roy’s Cafe, which opened in 1938 in Amboy, was once an essential stop on Route 66 with its buzzy motel and distinctive Modernist Atomic-Era sign. Today the jaunty sign still remains, familiar from many a road movie, though the old cafe is a faded relic, left behind when the new interstate I-40 bypassed the town in 1972.

In the good old days, fresh water was shipped in by the railroad whose long freight trains still trundle past the town. Now the 28 inhabitants only have saline bore water and the cafe ships in just enough for coffee. The kitchens cannot function so there is no fresh food available, just sweet things in plastic. However it is worth stopping to catch a glimpse of another era whilst sitting at the historic old chrome counter.

Take a peek through the windows of the dusty motel reception at the old telephones, the keys still hanging behind the desk. The motel units at the front are derelict, their rooms empty, the bathroom tiles filthy. Another strip of rooms behind is fenced off, doors hanging forlornly, upended chairs on verandahs where people once caught their breath en route to another life.

The Amboy Crater is just down the road; it last erupted 10,000 years ago, leaving a vast larva field. The man behind the counter told us that kids once set fire to a heap of old tyres within the crater and the locals panicked, thinking it was about to explode. I reckon it is the most excitement the town has had since the new freeway made it redundant.

But Roy’s Cafe is still hanging in there so stop, have a coffee, buy the T-shirt or the sticker, read the press cuttings – and help keep Route 66 alive.