Route 66 Road Trip From Ludlow to Needles, CA 

Thanks for the great comment!

Showing the old maps is special. A great fan of the movie "Bagdad Cafe," it has frustrated me I never have been able to find Bagdad, even detouring around out there. But your maps show Bagdad. Cool.

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting.

Glad you're enjoying the tours! Thanks for commenting. I'll pass your comments about keeping 66 alive to the people that make it happen.

Thank you!

Great story Gord! I'm sure there are plenty of other fun stories (that weren't too fun back then) that are enjoyable to hear. Glad you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! Thanks for commenting.

Thank you kindly!

PS Great video!

Thank you!

As of April 2023, just between Essex and Chambless was closed. And even if you drive around the barriers and have a 4WD vehicle, the detours around the downed bridges are easy. Don't get mad, there simply isn't enough money to pay for the repairs. Roads with little traffic get low priority. But the money is coming in...

@@BackRoadsWest1 yes, but even if less of it is closed today, that still means I can't drive all the way home from Barstow on the 66, I have to take Kelbaker back to the 40 and miss everything past Amboy. I understand it's being worked on, and I felt the same way about Mitchell Caverns before they reopened it, I can still grumble about not being able to go there. I worked for Renzenberger out of Needles about 10 years ago and frequently shuttled railroad employees between Bakersfield and Winslow, so I spent a lot of time on those sections of the 66, and since I'm a lifelong Mohave Desert resident, I just love the scenery. I still make several monthly trips to Barstow and Victorville for doctor's visits, since there's nothing for us in Needles, and I miss being able to take scenic route. The 40 just isn’t scenic. I work for the Census Bureau now and occasionally have to track down addresses in the Lanfair area outside of Goffs.

@@Ducky69247 there's so many funky gov't things with closures like Mitchell Caverns. Again, it's all about priorities, some of which I don't agree with, but I'm not elected official and I live in Utah. I've been told that story too but promptly forgot it. Wow, shuttling for BNSF between Winslow & Bakersfield. Well, while you're grumbling, think of taking other routes, like the one I pointed out thru Nipton. There was a lot of t-storms here in the Mojave over the past 2 years that affected a lot of roads in general.

@@BackRoadsWest1 yes, our summer monsoon season is brutal. When I worked for the Census Bureau in 2020 I also visited places like Kelso, Cima, and Nipton between the 15 and the 66/95, so I've been to almost every corner of the preserve. My favorite was the Joshua Tree grove on Cima Rd. Joshua Tree is my favorite tree, but they don't grow here along the Colorado, I think because either it's too low elevation or that there's ironically too much water for them. I have to drive almost a half hour in any direction to see them.

Yea, we really liked the Cima Dome area too (and Ivanpah Mtns). I'm sure you've seen our video on Cima: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-U8btpbmC-_w.html

Thanks. I'm slowly working on two separate video tours covering Arizona from end to end and Sitgreaves will included.

Thank you!

Thanks for the kudos and thanks for commenting!

Thank you!

Great! Don't miss our other 66 videos...

Interesting. Thanks for commenting.

I'm sure the owner would love to talk to you!

This tour covers Route 66 from Ludlow to US-95/I-40 interchange. As mentioned in the video, we hopefully will soon cover 66 from that point to the State line. What veteran memorials are you referring to?

@@BackRoadsWest1 When you get back on the 40 from the 95 , continue north, until the old river road exit. It loops over the 40 and old route 66 can be picked up again at that point, and along that section is a series of rock memorials in honor of veterans of the military.. They are on both side of the road, which is narrow, so there's not much room to park. After that, road will past a RV park and then the Y intersection in which 66 continues to the town of Needles.

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting!

Glad you enjoy our videos and thanks for commenting. Realize that I'm slowly pronouncing many words so that people can understand them. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than someone producing videos where they talk fast or with an accent, leaving viewers with understanding half of what needs to be known. You may understand a person talking fast with slang, where others may not and appreciate this method of narration.

The presentation is clear and detailed; easy to understand not degrading.

Thank you! Yes, I knew Essex is a region in the UK, but didn't know it was the oldest county.

I grew up here in Chambless. All this area was my backyard. Am USAF veteran who spent best 2 years of my life in the UK

Thank you. That tour was put on by the County back in 2013 (one time) and only historical groups were invited. I was working with the Calif Historical Route 66 Association at the time.

It was gone in April 2023 and moved down to Chambless (intersection with Cadiz Rd). Road closure westbound was at Essex Rd.