Day 4 Recap
I left Barstow and headed east on I-40. At Ludlow I took the exit to my first drive down a rural section of Route 66. Ahh, Route 66 I?ve found you at last!

Santa Monica Boulevard is part of Route 66 and it runs through much of LA, but when you speak of the old highway you bring up images of a two-lane road connecting the main streets of the towns of America?s midwest and west. And there I was, driving along the most famous highway in America. And it was great! This part of the road winds through the Mojave Desert, sometimes parallel to I-40, sometimes as far as 30 miles from it. It also parallels the railway. Both the rails and the road cross each other every so often. It is a beautiful sight, the lonely road and the awe of God?s creation.

Every few miles on the old road a Route 66 shield is painted on the surface. This was too much to resist. I had to pull off and take pictures. It truly is a lonely road, traffic doesn?t even come close to light. Very few cars and trucks travel it today. I had two cars pass me while I was stopped. Once while I was putting the tripod together and once when I had finished. A guy on a motorcycle passed me smiling. We exchanged waves. I saw him coming and got out of the road in the middle of my photo shoot. Good times.

Along my drive I saw this huge cloud of dust off in the distance. I couldn?t figure out what it was. So I took some pictures and kept driving. A little further on I figured out what it was when I saw the flash and heard the concussion. The military was doing bomb tests in the desert. So what do I do? I pull off the road and take pictures.

A couple stopped behind me and asked what was going on. I told them, we talked for a minute and off they went. I loaded back up and took off, too.

Just outside of Amboy is Amboy Crater. It is the crater of a volcano in the middle of the Mojave. Naturally I had to walk to it and take pictures. I had lunch before I started my walk. Two hours later I was back at the car smiling from ear to ear at the sights I had seen. It was beautiful. But it carried the feel of another world. It almost felt like I was walking on the moon. Volcanic rock was strewn over the hard-packed ground, the volcanic crater looming over me. I tell you, I felt like I was standing anywhere but on planet earth.

Amboy, by the way, is a dead town. No one lives there anymore. No businesses are open. Just another forgotten outpost on the highway.

Every so often on the sid eof the highway there are rocks arranged to form words. Most are of the 'Jim and Peggy Forever' type. But one stuck out. It reads 'God Bless Our Troops.'

Naturally, I had to make my mark.

After the crater I returned to the highway and drove to Needles. Just before Needles I returned to I-40 and crossed into Arizona. Goodbye California, hello Arizona. The drive through Arizona to Williams was gorgeous. The rolling hills becoming mountains with plains in between. Very beautiful, this country is.

Every few miles there are areas the interstate passes over called washes. These are where water flows when it rains or floods. There was one wash in particular called ?Holy Moses Wash.? I laughed at the name until I looked beyond the sign. Guess what came out of my mouth? ?Holy Moses!? It was the most startling rock formation I had ever seen. Now I know why they called it that. Sorry, no picture. I couldn't get to the camera fast enough.

I got to my hotel just outside of Williams, checked in and headed to town for gas and food. I ate at Twisters 50?s Soda Fountain and Route 66 Cafe. The cafe is located on a surviving part of Route 66 that was turned into a loop in the middle of town. I had a James Dean, a BBQ pork sandwich, with fried zucchini. The sandwich was good, and the zucchini was surprisingly tasty.

Williams is 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon. Can you guess where I'm going next?

Miles since rental: 770.3