Officially numbered in 1926 and known as The Mother Road, Route 66 once served as the principal artery for travelers driving from Chicago to Los Angeles, taking them through hundreds of scenic rural towns along the way. By 1970, four-lane highways bypassed nearly all sections of Route 66, spelling doom for the motels, shops and restaurants that depended upon the traffic. Today, you can see many portions of the original route, where historic sites and natural wonders still stand.
Approximately 35 miles west of the California-Arizona border, a few miles off Interstate 10, you'll find sand dunes, mesas, canyons, cinder cone volcanoes, Joshua tree forests and wildflower beds at this 1.6 million-acre park. Wildlife includes bighorn sheep, Pacific toads, red-tailed hawks, roadrunners, golden eagles and chuckwallas, the second-largest lizard in the U.S. You can camp overnight at two developed campgrounds or at numerous roadside sites.
Mojave National Preserve
Nipton, CA 92364
760-252-6100
nps.gov/moja
Ten minutes east of Barstow, the town of Daggett was founded in the 1860s, 15 years before miners hit a major silver strike six miles north in the Calico Mountains. By 1902, bolstered by the nearby boom, Daggett boasted three borax mines, three stores, two Chinese restaurants, several saloons and the Stone Hotel. Alf's Blacksmith Shop, founded in the 1880s, remains intact on First Street. The Daggett Museum explores the town's Old West history through exhibits and artifacts.
Daggett Museum
33703 Second St.
Daggett, CA 92327
760-254-2629
mojavedesert.net/daggett
The historic Summit Inn Cafe lies on a tiny remnant of the original Route 66 off Interstate 15. This landmark Cajon Pass eatery has served customers since 1952 and is one of the last surviving businesses along this stretch. It's hard to miss its big flashing neon sign from the highway. Try the homemade strawberry shortcake à la mode.
Summit Inn Cafe
5970 Mariposa Road
Hesperia, CA 92344
760-949-8688
Along Interstate 15, approximately 19 miles north of San Bernardino near Junction 138, you'll see the Mormon Rocks, officially named Rock Candy Mountains. These enormous formations, eroded by centuries of wind and rain, look like light-colored fudge in which millions of bubbles have burst. The best time to view them and take pictures is on a bright afternoon, when sunlight showers the rocks.
Pasadena's grand Colorado Street Bridge spans 1,467 feet across the Arroyo Seco, a deep canyon that links the San Gabriel Mountains to the Los Angeles River. The 150-foot-tall structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. When it debuted in 1913, it awed travelers, until people started jumping to their deaths into the canyon below, earning it the badge of "Suicide Bridge." The first suicide occurred in 1919 and more than 100 others followed, many of which took place during the Great Depression. According to legend, numerous specters wander along the bridge. Some say they’ve heard weird cries rise from the canyon. Still others claim to have seen a woman in a flowing robe standing atop the bridge, disappearing as she hurls herself into the Arroyo Seco.
