Here are the details on our upcoming tour of Route 66.
Meals
- Breakfasts are provided for those staying at the same motel as Ken and Dave.
- Lunch: You'll need to provide yourself with a lunch for Saturday. You can purchase food at a market in Barstow; the rooms at the motel have refrigerators. Unless you want to eat while we're driving to our various locations, prepare to dine al fresco at one of our stops, probably Roy's Motel, where we can avail ourselves of a few chairs, low walls, etc.
Snacks and Water: Dave will provide some snacks. It's a good idea to bring your own snacks, too, as well as water.
The trip ends before lunch on Sunday. If you are heading west toward Los Angeles, stay with Ken and Dave for a photo photo stops.
- Dinners:The first night' dinner is included as part of the trip at the Route 66 Pizza Palace. The second night you’re on you own at Peggy Sue's Diner; you can head back into Barstow if you'd rather skip Peggy Sue's.
Itinerary
(Like a light meter, a good itinerary is just a starting point):
• Friday: Everyone should be on site at our motel by about 2 p.m.
- We will gather in the parking lot at 3:00 p.m and drive a few minutes to the wonderful Tom's Welding and Machine Shop on the north side of town. Tom has collected an amazing amount of industrial age objects, and he's graciously consented to allow us on the property. We'll spend an hour or so there.
- We'll visit a ruined motel west of Barstow.
- We will have dinner at the Route 66 Pizza Palace, across the road from where we are staying. Ken and I will pick up the tab for pizza. Salads, drinks, etc. on on you.
- Ken will give a talk back at our motel. Then we will conclude the evening with an optional night time photography session (neon and old cars) near our motel.
• Saturday:
- Early morning photography session: Location to be announced. If you want to attend, be in the lobby by 6:30 a.m. A basic breakfast is provided at the motel after we return.
- Depart by 9:00 a.m. for the Daggett Cemetery. Then it's on to the famous Bagdad Cafe, where we'll stop for photos, coffee, and a snack.
- We will travel to the community of Ludlow for a rest break, some photos, and then travel to the little community of Amboy. Here we will photograph Roy's Cafe and Motel and then explore the "bone yard," which is the graveyard for an assemblage of Industrial Age vehicles and equipment.
- We will return to Barstow after sunset. The instructors will have dinner en route at Peggy Sue's diner off of Interstate 10; there's lots of room and good food.
From Ludlow: Exit I-40 at the Daggett-Yermo Road. Follow it north and turn right just before the I-15, with Peggy Sue's just down the road. Then we will head back to our motel after a long day. Up for more action? Meet in the motel lobby to view some of our photographs, either from the trip or those you've brought.
• Sunday: Optional early morning session. Meet at 6:30 a.m. in the lobby. Or meet at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast at our motel where we will share photos and thoughts about photography. Then our group will visit the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, about 10 a.m. Afterwards we will depart Barstow and travel west along Route 66 towards Victorville where we will end our trip at Elmer's Bottle Tree farm. Stick with Ken and Dave, and we'll have a late lunch and a few photo stops on the way to Los Angeles.
Directions
From the west Barstow can be reached from Highway 58 out of Bakersfield. It's about 130 miles to Barstow coming up over Tehachapi Pass and the Tehachapi Mountains; watch for the wind turbines. Take the 58 to the W. Main Street exit. Turn left onto W. Main St. Go about 2.5 miles east, and the motel will be on the left.
From the L.A./Orange County/Inland Empire Barstow can be reached via the I-15. From the junction of the I-210 and the I-15, it is about 60 miles to Barstow. Exit off the I-15 at Highway 247, and then turn left onto Barstow Road and drive about a mile to W. Main Street; turn left again and go west about a 2.5 miles to the Sleep Inn on the right side of the street.
From Arizona and points east, take the I-40 to Barstow. Take the first exit onto E. Main Street and keep going through town until reaching the motel on the right side of the road. Or you can exit at Barstow Road, and drive about a mile north to Main Street. Turn left and go east about a 2.5 miles to the Sleep Inn on the right side of the street.
Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman will be on site about 1:30 p.m. We should all be on site about 2:00 p.m. for introductions, and we'll be ready to visit our first location about 3 p.m.
Locations in the Field
Friday
Directions to our first field location: Tom's Certified Welding and Machine Shop. From the motel turn left onto W. Main Street, and then turn left again onto N. 1st Street.
Just before going over the bridge, you'll notice the Del Taco. It's reputedly the first Del Taco, built in 1964. Continue over the old bridge and down past the Casa Desierto building (on the right).
Just past the Casa Desierto turn left onto Ft. Irwin Road and follow it north about a mile to Old Highway 58. Turn left onto 58, and drive west about half a mile to Tom's on the right side of the road. You can't miss it.
Park in front of the machine shop. We can regroup with Dave and Ken and Dave; we can also wander into and around Tom's on our own. There is a vast assemblage of objects to photograph here, from discarded fire extinguishers to old cars, gas pumps, colorful pvc pipes, and some terrific signs emblematic of Route 66 and the open road.
Back to the Motel: Return the same way we came to Casa Desierto and across the bridge, and make the right turn onto Main Street in Barstow. We'll have a 5 minute restroom break at the Sleep Inn.
Friday Night Hawks
Directions to the Route Pizza Palace: Walk carefully across the highway.
Directions to some neon: After dinner we'll drive east along Main Street and over the hill to the Route 66 Motel, which is on your left. Park on the street or in the little lot just past the motel.
Saturday
Directions to the Daggett, the Dagger Cemetery, and Bagdad Cafe. Once we leave the motel, by 8:30 a.m. or so, we will turn left out of the parking lot and then right on Barstow Road to the I-15 freeway.
Take the I-15 east, and then take the I-40 east. Drive about 10 miles, exiting at the Daggett - Yermo Road. Head north over the tracks, and turn right - east - onto Historic Route 66 (National Trails Highway). Park in the dirt lot on the right, just past the market on the left.
After making some photos, we'll continue a short distance east to the Daggett cemetery.
Return to the I-40, and take it east, exiting at the little community of Newberry Springs. Follow the National Trails Highway (Route 66) east about two miles. The Bagdad Cafe will be on the left.
Directions to Ludlow: From the cafe continue on the National Trails Highway (Route 66); we might make make a stop or two along the way to Ludlow before we make an official rest stop at the Chevron station across the street from the Ludlow Cafe. We will re-group and drive a short distance to photograph some of the old buildings in the Ludlow area.
Directions to Roys: Drive another 25 miles east on Route 66 to the little community of Amboy. Let's regroup at Roy's Motel and Cafe. This is a good place to have the lunch you brought. There's a restroom and gift shop at Roy's. We may drive a few miles east of Roy's to visit some abandoned structures before returning to Roy's.
Directions to National Chloride Company: From Roy's we will retrace our way about a mile, crossing the railroad tracks and turning left onto Amboy Road. Continue south about five miles to National Chloride. We'll continue just past the entrance (on the left) and park on the right, next to the salt flats. We'll explore the salt flats and walk together to the "bone yard." Time permitting we will return along Amboy to the Hill Brothers salt factory, on the right about a mile before Route 66, and make some final photographs while we await sunset.
Directions to Peggy Sue's and Barstow: We will simply turn west on Route 66 (National Trails Highway) and follow the signs back to Barstow. We'll want to eat dinner, and one place to do it before reaching Barstow will Peggy Sue's in Yermo. Exit at the Daggett-Yermo Road. Follow it north to the I-15, turn right just before the freeway underpass, and Peggy Sue's will be on the right. If you go under the freeway underpass, you went a little too far. Otherwise, make the 75 mile drive to Barstow where there are a multitude of restaurants.
Sunday
Early session: TBA
Directions to Casa Desierto/Route 66 Museum: As per Friday afternoon, take Main Street East, go left on 1st Street, go over the bridge, and then pull into the parking lot at Casa Desierto. The museum will open early for our group at 10 a.m.
Directions from the Route 66 Museum to the Bottle Farm: Take W. Main Street west. W. Main is also Route 66. We'll caravan to the Bottle Tree Farm before calling it quits for the weekend. The Bottle Tree Farm is about 23 miles west of the Sleep Inn; the "farm" will be on the right. It won't be hard to spot.
Carpooling: Once we are in Barstow, the fewer cars we have, the better. Trip leaders ask that participants form carpools when we meet at our motel.
Cell phones should work. Dave's cell: 323 377-7565. Use if you're lost or lonely.
Recommended Viewing
The cult classic film, Bagdad Cafe, is worth watching (stick through the first 15 minutes).
Creative Assignments - Click here to view the optional assignments for the weekend.
E-mail/Name List: Dave will send out the list of names - unless you don't want to be on it - after the trip. If you post your photos online, you'll be able to let everyone know where to see the fruits of your photographic labors.
davewyman@imountainman.com
Phone: 323 377-7565
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