Route 66 and the Mojave Desert. Randsburg - Living Memories of the Past?

When the sun came up in Ludlow it was still 90 degrees. The little oasis of Ludlow had a nice little restaurant and after breakfast I headed out along the old section of Route 66 toward the entrance to the Mojave Desert. I took a chance and headed south before turning North off highway 40 and searched for Amboy. Why not? It was on the map? Well, I found it and I wasn't disappointed. East Amboy used to exist. But now all that is left is a sign and part of the old building for the Roadrunner Restaurant. I headed East and sampled some more of the "Lonely Highway."

When I finally reached hwy 40 again, I headed north into Mojave. As I drove along the temp headed higher and higher. It was hitting 100 when I was in the valley of Amboy. As I reached the sand dunes in the Mojave, it was reaching 105.

At the dunes in the Mojave, I found a little oasis with a couple small trees, see photo, and watched the roadrunners dart around. The shade was a welcome relief. By the time I stopped in Baker, California, the temp hit 110 degrees. Then, I headed North again and looped through winding mountain roads and found Randsburg, an old mining town that is listed as a Ghost Town. When in reality, it is a living Mining Ghost Town.

In Randsburg I toured the sites and stopped at Bob's Emporium and sat and talked to Bob and had a beer as the sun went down. Up on the mountain the temp dropped to 72 degrees with a nice cool breeze. We talked until it got dark and I headed into the night searching for a motel.