10. Route 66, Mojave Desert Pt 4

Shy of two and a half miles east of the Cadiz Summit, informational plaques stand in one of the original former rest stops on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert:

For easy reading, I quote the two plaques regarding Route 66:

The Story of Route 66

Commissioned in 1926 and soon dubbed “The Mother Road,” Route 66 was a great asphalt river linking Chicago and Los Angeles–a highway of hope that led thousands of people to a new life. We’re standing on the site of one of the original Route 66 rest stops. Four covered picnic tables were located at this stop back in the 1950s. You can still see some of the concrete posts where they were anchored to the ground. Stop a moment. Listen to the quiet. Experience the spirit of Route 66 that lives on in the travelers of today.

This section was one of the toughest–with searing summer temperatures averaging 100° and little water. A trek across the daunting Mojave Desert could take two days in the 1920s. During WW II this area was part of the Desert Training Center/California-Arizona Maneuver Area, established in 1942 by General George S. Patton, Jr. Right here you would have seen the massive armada of Patton’s tanks rumbling their way through the desert–and probably delayed by passing troop movements. Early alignments of Route 66 paralleled the railroad tracks to avoid steep grades. Many towns along this stretch of the road began as railroad water stops, and blossomed with travelers. Communities such as Essex, Cadiz Summit, Chambless, and Amboy have been home to one-room schoolhouses, train depots, cafes, motor courts, gas stations, and campgrounds. Most are closed now, but here and there are remnants of the highway’s past glory.

Finally, we reached our destination for the night. Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, rests near the Arizona border and right on the Colorado River, which separates California and Arizona.

Built in the 1960s, this small resort includes an area for RVs and tents as well as the motel. In the evolutionary scheme of roadside lodging, the RV and tent section is reminiscent of the auto or motor camps in the earliest days of travel by car.

The photo of the “Fender’s River Road Resort Sign” right off the road is actually taken April 15th on our return trip home. I stopped here to return the motel room key, which I had temporarily lost while rummaging through the trunk of our car with key in hand when packing to leave. (I also lost my wedding ring at the same time; unfortunately, that was never recovered….)

My husband and I ate a late dinner at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant:

Tomorrow we cross the Colorado River and enter Arizona.

(to be continued) SUBSCRIBE to my blog at the very bottom of the page!