My Route 66 Amboy, Kelso & Nipton Bye-Bye

Yesterday my hubby Mel and I decided to take a little road trip. We refer to them as "bye-bye's". For us a "little" road trip can be anywhere from 100 to 500+ miles in a day. Yesterday we decided to travel down California's Route 66 through the Mojave Desert. We were aiming to visit the newly restored Kelso Depot in Kelso, California. Along the way we passed through Amboy and ended up in Nipton.

Amboy (160.34 Miles and 2 Hours, 31 Minutes from Claremont) is a true modern ghost town that boasts fewer than 20 inhabitants. The town was recently purchased by Albert Okura, who also owns the Juan Pollo restaurants and he has pledged to preserve and restore the towns most recognizable features Roy's Motel and Cafe. The plan is to restore and reopen the motel and cafe and bring another part California's glorious past back to life.

The Kelso Depot (182.74 Miles and 2 Hours, 49 Minutes from Claremont) is well worth the drive and a great place to bring the entire family. Not only is the building beautiful, but the museum was designed with lots of hands-on experiences for everyone to enjoy. And the diner should be reopened by November 2007.

While we were in the Mojave Desert we came upon a deserted cabin. The debris of a lifetime was cast about and and I could tell a lot about the former inhabitants. They clearly read a lot - the site was littered with books. They liked to paint, I found a number of oil paint tubes on the ground and they used a whole lot of batteries. A fifty-five gallon drum was filled to overbrimming with D-Cells.

Then we traveled on to Nipton (194.12 Miles, and 2 Hours, 56 Minutes from Claremont). Nipton is too small to even be considered a one horse town. One pony would be all that would fit, and it would need to be a small one a that, but it does have a General Store, a Woodworking Shop, A Bed and Breakfast Hotel and A Cafe and Bar.

If you are in the neighborhood, or could be in the neighborhood, the Whistlestop Oasis Cafe is well worth the trip. The Whistlestop Cafe is more like a family home where you have been invited to stop in for a bite than it is a cafe.

They are known for their burger's and pork chops. While I can't attest to how good the burger's are, since I had the New York steak (which was awesome!), I can tell you that the Pork Chops are worth the raves. Two inches thick, marinated and grilled to perfection. The Whistlestop Cafe is worth every minute of the time it takes to drive there. Say hi to Bill the owner when you get there and tell him you heard about the place from Tisza on Route66Living.com

To see my bye-bye, click the photo link above and enjoy my Virtual Tour of the trip.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!