Mojave Desert Ghost Towns on Route 66

Ghost Town Stretch - Page 2

Old Store in Chambless, California, December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

On down the road, you will come to Chambless, that used to have a gas station, a cafe and several cabins. These buildings are still intact behind a tall wired fence. This one time oasis in the desert was a popular spot for the long ago travelers of the Mother Road, as it was one of the few places with trees, and the gas station/market once sported a wide covered porch to shade the weary travelers.

About a mile and a half west of Chambless you will see what's left of the Road Runner's Retreat, which once provided a welcome respite during the long hot drive across the Mojave Desert.

Amboy - No More Burgers at Roy's (for now)

As you move on towards Amboy, you'll begin to notice that the bank on the north side of the highway is filled with rock-strewn graffiti of the many people who pass this way.

Amboy is an intact town of ten buildings and supposedly twenty residents. However, when we were there it was totally deserted and Roy's Cafe was closed. The town was originally owned by Roy and Velma Crowl in the 1930s and the cafe, motel, and service station were built somewhere around 1938. The Crowl's had two children who helped them with the business - Lloyd Irwin and Betty.

Over the years the station, motel and cafe served thousands of customers who would rave about Roy's burgers and the service that they received along that desolate stretch of Route 66. In those days, Amboy was an oasis in the desert where hot and tired travelers could stop for food, a cool drink, mechanical services, and gas, while a big smile and a kind voice awaited them at Roy's Cafe and Motel.

Roy's Motel and Cafe, December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

In the very early days, Roy Crowl had a small plane that he kept in a hangar behind the Cafe and used it once to rescue a woman who had fallen down into Amboy Crater. He also used it to fly his grandchildren around, taking in the view of the desert when they came to visit. Roy was also an entrepreneur, as he owned additional real estate in Sedona, Arizona and Cherry Valley, California.

As the children grew up, Lloyd moved to Twenty-Nine Palms, California about 50 miles southwest of Amboy but continued to travel back daily as he worked in the salt mines east of Amboy. In the meantime, a man named Buster (Herman) Burris rode into town on horseback and got a job working for Roy. He soon fell in love with Roy's daughter Betty and they married. After Roy passed away, Buster and Betty continued to run the services with the same excellent service until the late 1970s when Betty died of cancer.

Later, Buster would remarry a woman named Bessie, and the two continued the tradition of exceptional care of travelers through the years. During this time, Buster was known to open his doors clearly marked "Closed for Thanksgiving" to weary tourists out of gas or stranded. The cafe was renowned for its burgers, chili and other homemade delights as travelers stopped for a welcome respite on the long, hot, desert stretch of road. Buster continued to change tires on trucks and busses right up until the day he retired, at more than 80 years old.

Buster finally sold the town in 1995 and moved to Twenty-Nine Palms where he passed away in the year 2000. The two guys who bought the town primarily used the site to host movie companies and photo shoots. Though the restaurant was still open at times, the hours were sporadic.

Early in 2005, Buster's widow, Bessie foreclosed on Amboy and sold it at a foreclosure sale in late February.

Fortunately for Route 66 enthusiasts, the new buyer was a man named Albert Okura, who is dedicated to preserving the old Mother Road. He purchased the 690 acre town, lock, stock and barrel for $425,000 - a bargain in California! Okura owns the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, as well as the very first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, which today, operates it as a museum.

Though the future of Roy's is unknown it appears

to have been kept up well over the years. December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

Okura has plans to restore Amboy's gas station, convenience store, diner, 20 motel rooms, eight motel cottages and four houses to their 1950s-era grandeur.

He has already made progress. As of 2009, the Amboy Cafe has reopened as a gift store, which sells Route 66 and Amboy merchandise and souvenirs. Plans are still in the works to reopen it as a restaurant, but a number of improvements are still needed before that dream can become a reality.

Two and a half miles west of Amboy, the Amboy Crater rises above the desert floor. This volcano that erupted some 10,000 years ago was once an active Route 66 tourist attraction. Today it sits silently in the desert reminiscing of better days, along with the scattered remnants of the rest of the road.

Six miles west of Amboy once stood the town of Bagdad, which has been totally obliterated today. You will also pass by the old sites of Siberia and Klondike, which, like Bagdad, are nothing more than names on an old map. At last, you reach Ludlow, where you finally see some signs of life.

Continued Next Page

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The Road Runner's Retreat Restaurant and Gas Station once offered a respite during the long hot drive across the Mojave.

December, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

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