California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

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Bullhead

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Fenner

NEVADA ARIZONA

Needles

Goffs

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1 Needles

At the Arizona border

south of I-40 the Old

Trails Arch Bridge (off I-40

exit 1, east of the California-

Arizona border; (^) hno
public access) welcomes
the Mother Road to
California under endless
blue skies. You might
recognize the bridge:
the Depression-era Joad
family used it to cross
the Colorado River in
the movie version of
John Steinbeck’s novel
Grapes of Wrath. Drive
west past Needles, a
dusty throwback railroad
town with a historic
depot down by the river.
Frozen in a half-restored
state, the El Graces
Depot is one of only a
few frontier-era Harvey
Houses left standing in
the American West. The
Harvey Houses were a
chain of railway hotels
and restaurant popular
in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries that
were famed for traveling
waitresses – portrayed
by Judy Garland in the
1949 MGM musical The
Harvey Girls. Head a
bit south on Broadway
and you’ll pass a freshly
restored 66 Motel Sign
at the corner of Desnok
Street – a great photo.
The Drive » West of Needles,
follow Hwy 95 north of I-40 for
6 miles, then turn left onto Goffs
Rd. You’ll inevitably be running
alongside a long locomotive –
this is a primary rail shipping
route to the West Coast.
2 Goffs
The shade of cottonwood
trees make the 1914
Mission-style Goffs
Schoolhouse (%760-
733-4482; http://www.mdhca.org;
37198 Lanfair Rd; donations
welcome; husually 9am-4pm
Sat & Sun) a soothing stop
along this sun-drenched
stretch of highway. It
stands as part of the
best-preserved pioneer
settlement in the Mojave
Desert (although to be
quite honest it looks a
bit like an empty Taco
Bell). Browsing the black-
and-white photographs
of hardscrabble Dust
Bowl migrants gives an
evocative glimpse into
tough life on the edge of
the Mojave.
The Drive » Keep going
on Goffs Rd through Fenner,
crossing under I-40. Turn
right onto National Old Trails
Hwy (which is also known as
National Trails Hwy on some
maps and signs) and drive for
about an hour. This is some
of the coolest stretch of road,
with abandoned graffiti-covered
service stations, vintage signs
rusting in the sun and huge
skies.
x
Palm Springs &
Joshua Tree Oases
After this scorching drive
through the desert, cut
south on I-10 out of San
Bernardino and head for the
breezy palms and art deco
hotels of Palm Springs.
1
Pacific Coast
Highways
This route along the edge
of the continent is equally
classic and allows a cruise
along the equally iconic
numbered route: Highway 1.
When you finish Route 66,
follow Hwy 1 north.
LINK
YOUR
TRIP
315
SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA..
30
.ROUTE 66