Route 66 Road Trip From Ludlow to Needles, CA

[@wms7795]

I have traveled Route 66 good many times, and no matter how many times I travel it I always find something new to see... It's a shame that these old buildings can't be brought back... I just love traveling on The Mother Road Route 66...

[@theunknownorganist3593]

One of the best travel videos I've ever seen on KZbin thank you so much.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks for the great comment!

[@Ddax-td7qy]

Showing the old maps is special. A great fan of the movie "Bagdad Cafe," it has frustrated me I never have been able to find Bagdad, even detouring around out there. But your maps show Bagdad. Cool.

[@Route66BothLanes]

One of the concerns for many travelers is planning for the distances that are more desolate and without stops. It does take some planning, but we find those areas the most peaceful of all the Route.

[@alanschwartz1157]

Let me just echo the sentiments of everyone else here; another excellent, excellent video. Through your shows, I get to see a part of our country that otherwise we'd never see. I live in Phoenix, Arizona and I've only seen a small piece of 66 up near Flagstaff. My praise and hearty thanks to all those people trying hard to keep 66 alive. I look forward to your next set of films.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad you're enjoying the tours! Thanks for commenting. I'll pass your comments about keeping 66 alive to the people that make it happen.

[@vggalbraith5076]

You are now one of my favorite blogs ❤

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@BugBobsWildWorld]

Excellent video tour! I've visited all of those areas since my early teens. In Amboy, an old timer named Buster Burris ran the Amboy Cafe. Just this week, I found at my home his business card from the early/mid-1980s.

[@edwarddeering4934]

😅I have been driving this for about 50 years. your story is great I started using HWY 40 when I graduated high school. I love your story. I watched all of this occur Amboy, Chambless Fenner, etc. I have spent a night waiting for the gas station to open once. Yes, Jonny Carson DID do exactly what you said.

[@nav662007]

Fantastic tour - thank you! My wife and I have done some exploring in National Trails, but I learned a lot of neat facts from your video! We will be better informed next time we hit Route 66...

[@gorrdd]

Thanks Cliff... very enjoyable to view and listen to. I remember when I was 22 and ran out of gas somewhere along this section. It was in August of 1973. The temperature was 118°F and the humidity was around 5%. We got a ride to a gas station and back. But when we went to fill the tank with 5 gallons of gas, the extended bumpers back then didn't allow the funnel to reach. I went out into the desert and found a piece of angle iron. We stuck that into gas tank filling hole and then trickled the better part of 5 gallons down the angle iron and into the tank... everything that didn't spill trying to hold five gallons in 118°F with just a trickle that didn't flood the channel iron. Wow... can you believe I even made it this far after that experience???🥵🙏😳 Gord

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Great story Gord! I'm sure there are plenty of other fun stories (that weren't too fun back then) that are enjoyable to hear. Glad you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! Thanks for commenting.

[@TheLighteningCandle-us6hb]

Excellent presentation, thank you

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting.

[@dodgerfan1203]

Excellent information.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markdaniel8740]

Check with Caltrans before scheduling the drive. The road has been closed between Kelbaker and I40 for nearly a decade. Still a nice drive.

[@jasonsmock318]

Thanks for that!!👍

[@darylweinbrandt62]

EXCELLENT narration ! INFORMATIVE !

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you kindly!

[@tereseday4060]

Interesting; thank you!

[@dragon-lf9ow]

Rout 66 is on my bucket list I would love to travel it some day

[@dynamicbrakeman]

Another great video !

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@raildawg8338]

You always do great work! Chuck

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@LongdistanceRider22]

Excellent …

[@milesandhikes]

This one's gonna be cool I am sure! I am about to embark on a roadtrip myself so will watch it when I am back but I alredy gave it a like ;) Happy travels!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Great! Don't miss our other 66 videos...

[@TobyCostaRica]

I remember hiking Amboy crater, Piscah crater, Kelso dunes in a Geology class camping trip in 2002.

[@mikewhitt4602]

Love your videos! Keep up the amazing work.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks for the kudos and thanks for commenting!

[@Ddax-td7qy]

Never knew about this; just noticed the long grade up out of Needles on the new road. Next time, I'll take the "low road!" I'll be looking for your views of Sitgreaves Pass....

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks. I'm slowly working on two separate video tours covering Arizona from end to end and Sitgreaves will included.

[@Ducky69247]

A good portion of this section of Route 66 (between Kelbaker and Essex/Goffs) has been closed for several years (is still closed as of this video's upload), and I'm so mad because the scenery is beautiful through Cadiz/Chambless and Fenner

[@BackRoadsWest1]

As of April 2023, just between Essex and Chambless was closed. And even if you drive around the barriers and have a 4WD vehicle, the detours around the downed bridges are easy. Don't get mad, there simply isn't enough money to pay for the repairs. Roads with little traffic get low priority. But the money is coming in...

[@Ducky69247]

@@BackRoadsWest1 yes, but even if less of it is closed today, that still means I can't drive all the way home from Barstow on the 66, I have to take Kelbaker back to the 40 and miss everything past Amboy. I understand it's being worked on, and I felt the same way about Mitchell Caverns before they reopened it, I can still grumble about not being able to go there. I worked for Renzenberger out of Needles about 10 years ago and frequently shuttled railroad employees between Bakersfield and Winslow, so I spent a lot of time on those sections of the 66, and since I'm a lifelong Mohave Desert resident, I just love the scenery. I still make several monthly trips to Barstow and Victorville for doctor's visits, since there's nothing for us in Needles, and I miss being able to take scenic route. The 40 just isn’t scenic. I work for the Census Bureau now and occasionally have to track down addresses in the Lanfair area outside of Goffs.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

@@Ducky69247 there's so many funky gov't things with closures like Mitchell Caverns. Again, it's all about priorities, some of which I don't agree with, but I'm not elected official and I live in Utah. I've been told that story too but promptly forgot it. Wow, shuttling for BNSF between Winslow & Bakersfield. Well, while you're grumbling, think of taking other routes, like the one I pointed out thru Nipton. There was a lot of t-storms here in the Mojave over the past 2 years that affected a lot of roads in general.

[@Ducky69247]

@@BackRoadsWest1 yes, our summer monsoon season is brutal. When I worked for the Census Bureau in 2020 I also visited places like Kelso, Cima, and Nipton between the 15 and the 66/95, so I've been to almost every corner of the preserve. My favorite was the Joshua Tree grove on Cima Rd. Joshua Tree is my favorite tree, but they don't grow here along the Colorado, I think because either it's too low elevation or that there's ironically too much water for them. I have to drive almost a half hour in any direction to see them.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Yea, we really liked the Cima Dome area too (and Ivanpah Mtns). I'm sure you've seen our video on Cima: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2nFpaOYoqhgldk

[@williaml.baptiste3597]

Use to drive that route in the 60s going to the river...and in the late 60s took 66 cross country. Interesting it was.

[@redwhiteblue7831]

Great video, love this area. I have a couple of videos with (HISTORY) of this area.

[@jimsage1043]

I almost did this stretch a couple years ago. I had the itch to go so my van and I left Ohio and headed west with a few side trips. Been out 5 days when I hit the California line and turned around and headed home. I think it's the only stretch of 66 I haven't done over the years.

[@jimsage1043]

PS Great video!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@GrammelVideo]

So awesome, thanks for the video… Can’t wait to try the drive!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting!

[@nlpnt]

To put the TV reception issue in (Eastern) perspective, in the late '30s/early '40s when RCA's WRGB in Schenectady, NY was the only TV station outside a major world city in the entire world, its' signal reached as far as Burlington, Vermont 140 miles away.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Interesting. Thanks for commenting.

[@seymourfairweather]

If you wonder about the bridges just stop by in flash flood season

[@gaylandbarney2231]

accidentally spent a night at Baghdad in '04 ..........long , funny , scary story i'm too lazy to type out.......there was a GIANT palo verde tree i parked near , and only knew i was there in the morning from spotting a r.r. sign.............appears the tree is gone now

[@josephmartinez8803]

Why didn't you cover the section of route 66 that is directly off the 40 and old river road?? There are a series of veteran memorials on that section of route 66.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

This tour covers Route 66 from Ludlow to US-95/I-40 interchange. As mentioned in the video, we hopefully will soon cover 66 from that point to the State line. What veteran memorials are you referring to?

[@josephmartinez8803]

@@BackRoadsWest1 When you get back on the 40 from the 95 , continue north, until the old river road exit. It loops over the 40 and old route 66 can be picked up again at that point, and along that section is a series of rock memorials in honor of veterans of the military.. They are on both side of the road, which is narrow, so there's not much room to park. After that, road will past a RV park and then the Y intersection in which 66 continues to the town of Needles.

[@Oldguy-k3t]

As of 2024 the road is closed over several bridges. CHP will cite you if you go around closed signs.

[@james_the_darklord]

I would fix up Chambles and the cabins then market it to RVers, off-roaders, campers and overlanders

[@BackRoadsWest1]

I'm sure the owner would love to talk to you!

[@williamsteiner8845]

If we can give are taxs money to other country's why can't we rebuild the route 66 road

[@budmetcalf3888]

I like your videos but why does it sound like you are reading to 1st graders?

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad you enjoy our videos and thanks for commenting. Realize that I'm slowly pronouncing many words so that people can understand them. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than someone producing videos where they talk fast or with an accent, leaving viewers with understanding half of what needs to be known. You may understand a person talking fast with slang, where others may not and appreciate this method of narration.

[@gingerriviera3654]

The presentation is clear and detailed; easy to understand not degrading.

[@carmenrivera5904]

wilderness, deserts are down natural to the ground , foolish if not enjoyed

[@markpalmer7832]

That is one miserable piece of road.....heck, I 40 is a horrible drive.......no....ok in Tennessee.

[@deadkemper]

Great 👍 video thank you ..As a UK fan of yours I would like to point out that Essex is one of the oldest counties ( areas) of the UK ..East of London approx 1000 years old Saxon

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you! Yes, I knew Essex is a region in the UK, but didn't know it was the oldest county.

[@Junior-v6e]

I grew up here in Chambless. All this area was my backyard. Am USAF veteran who spent best 2 years of my life in the UK

[@et3737]

Great video! I’m having trouble finding that bus tour (San Bernardino county) online that you mentioned . I’m interested in taking it

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you. That tour was put on by the County back in 2013 (one time) and only historical groups were invited. I was working with the Calif Historical Route 66 Association at the time.

[@robertdavis5714]

Hmmmmmmmm, what about the road block that was about 5 miles east of Amboy ? Forcing you to make a left to Hwy 40. I see you drove around them, would be concerned about the long arm of the Law view of this action.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

It was gone in April 2023 and moved down to Chambless (intersection with Cadiz Rd). Road closure westbound was at Essex Rd.