3/23/2026 - Barstow, California (Route 66)

 

Mojave River Valley Museum

Casa del Desierto Harvey House, The Barstow Harvey House was built at Barstow station in 1911.  It was used for the Santa Fe railroad station in 1975.

El Rancho Motel - 

100 units

100 private baths

$5.00 - 10.00

tv

telephones

showers

most air conditioned (some air cooled)

11 units with limited kitchenette privileges

restaurant & cocktail lounge

heated swimming pool

Route 66 Monument

Imperial 400 Motel, now Best Motel

Had a characteristic butterfly sun flap roof or gull-wing shaped roof. Space Age Googie style design typical of that period.

Vagabond Motor Hotel, now it is Economy Inn Motel

67 luxury units. Free TV. Room phones...customized furniture... Your midway stop between Los Angeles and Las Vegas

Town and Country Motel, now it is Econo Lodge

30 units

full-tile showers

swimming pool

Desert Inn

Opened 1956 with 97 units

singles to suites at reasonable rates.

TV, Refrigerated air

excellent food & cocktail lounge adjoining

Hillcrest Motel, now Budget Inn

In the 1950s, it was 15 units and one-story office

The 1970s motel had 17 units.

Original building is still there

Cactus Motel

A nicely furnished 13-unit motel

Some fully equipped kitchenettes

TV

Individually controlled heat and air-conditioning

Restaurant and shopping center nearby

Stardust Inn - cool sign

Village Hotel and Cafe

Village Hotel Fine Accommodation

Lowest Rates

Air Conditioned

The Route 66 Motel

dates back to 1922 when it was the Barstow Auto Court

14 family units.

16 hotel units

kitchenettes

The Torches Motel

Began as the Hollon Motel and changed its name to Torches Motel

New, modern, hotel-type air-cooled units

One-half block to cafes, theatre and drug stores

When it changed names, it had

15-units

T-V

A/C

Heated Pool

free coffee

pets

at door parking

Nites Inn Motel

3/23/2026 - Mojave National Preserve Headquarters

 When we got to Barstow we stopped at the Mojave National Preserve Headquarters to get some stamps for my collection.  This is what I got for the Mojave National Preserve.  I went to the Mojave National Preserve in 1/2022 but didn't get the stamps.

I also got a stamp for Castle Mountains National Monument.  This monument is on the outskirts of the Mojave.  There is no visitor center to stop at.

3/23/2026 - Lunch at Ludlow Cafe in Ludlow, CA (Route 66)

 

We stopped in the little town Ludlow, CA on Route 66.  We ate at Ludlow Cafe.  It was a small restaurant and friendly atmosphere.  If you have a Route 66 passport they do have a stamp.

I had a sandwich and my mom had something.  It was very good.  There were little artifacts around to look at inside and outside.

3/23/2026 - Amboy, California (Route 66)

 The next little town was Amboy on Route 66.  What we saw was Roy's Cafe & Motel.  You might recognize this place.  It has been in commercials and some movies.

This was a cafe, motel and gas station. This was 6 cottage rooms motel.  Here is the reception office to check in and you can into the rooms.

The cafe building is still there.  Now it has souvenirs and snacks to purchase.

3/23/2026 - Goffs, California (Route 66)

 Goffs is on the 1926 alignment of the Mother Road, but that claim to fame didn't last long because the town was bypassed in 1931.

The place we stopped at was the Goffs Schoolhouse.

The schoolhouse was built out stucco and lumber in 1914.  The building consisted of an 800 square foot classroom that also was used as auditorium for community dances and church services.  The building also had a large library and cover porches.  It was used as a school until 1937.

In 1942-44, the U.S. Army maintained a desert training center in Goffs, and the schoolhouse was used as a mess hall to feed the troops. Then a private residence until 1954. Stood empty until 1982.

3/23/2026 - Needles, California (Route 66)

 I am doing something different.  I know put up a couple of post for Route 66 in Needles, CA but here is the rest of the buildings I saw.

The Old Trails Inn used to be The Palms Auto Court aka The Palms Motel.

It was at one time a cabin court built in the 1930's.  It has several separate "cabins" as units for its guest.  "It promoted itself being "Clean, Air Cooled, Modern - Reasonable - The Home of Friendly Service."

It is a two-story complex with stucco plastering with an L shaped layout. Imperial 400 was a motel chain in 1959, and its buildings had a characteristic "Gull Wing" shaped roof (like this motel has) with Space Age connotations.  It went broke in the mid 1960's and sold out to new owners.

"Imperial 400 Motel on Highway 66, Downtown, 644 Broadway Needles, California, Air Conditioning, TV, Room Phones, Kitchenettes, Heated Pool, Free Coffee, Free Advance Reservations, Major Credit Cards Accepted."

Here is just a random Route 66 sign on one of the buildings along the route in Needles, CA.

This building is located in Needles, CA.  This building was Claypool's Hardware store opened in this elegant Art Deco building in 1930 and closed in 2002 after being in business for 70 years.  This was the largest building in downtown Needles at the time it closed.

Claypool family donated the building to Palo Verde College that opened in 2009.  The Claypool & Co. sign is still on the front of the building.

In 1929, this building was built.  The main level is the Needles Theatre, two shops, a real estate business and a sweet shoppe.  In the theater there was 700 seats when it opened.

This was a random monument that is in the park area of where the train was.

The El Garces Hotel and Depot opened in 1908 and was considered, "The Crown Jewel" of the Fred Harvey chain.  The lunchroom had two horseshoe shaped counters that could serve 140 people.  In 1949, El Graces closed as a Harvey House but was still used as a Santa Fe Railway office until 1988.

The corner building is the Needles Regional Museum. What is important about the building it use to be J.C. Penny store across the street from the railroad.

In this picture you can still see the J.C. Penny sign.

This is Snoopy's older brother Spike.  The creator of the Peanuts comic strip and its characters, Charles Schulz and his family lived briefly in Needle's in the late 1920's.  This is where Spike is from.

Route 66 sign near the old train station.

The Sage Motel was an independently owned.  Six room established 1946-47 that closed in 2009.

Coin Collections

 This year I will be starting a new collection and that is getting coins from the parks.  My mom got me the collectible token album from the Dinosaur NM.  You get a coin from each park you go too or use it for any kind of coins that you collected.

Here is the book:

You can get 30 coins in this book.  Here is the first coin I got.  I wasn't with her when she got but I have been to Dinosaur NM before.