So yesterday was pretty much saved for last-minute errands, though we did get a few 66-related things done. We tried going down to the Santa Monica pier to interview people... see who would know things about Route 66, which ended only a couple of blocks away. That ended up being a bust. Most people we talked to admitted they didn't know anything about Route 66 after refusing to answer any of our questions. People in L.A. seemed very camera-shy... maybe because they're naturally wary of other people (as a product of living in L.A.?), or because they're just reluctant or uncomfortable answering questions about things they don't know much about, possibly afraid to give "the wrong answer." In any case, we really didn't get anything interesting out of that, except maybe a sociology lesson on Los Angeles.

Today was the first day "on the road." We went through a little of San Bernardino again to catch a few more landmarks, then turned north towards Barstow. We've seen both of the things Route 66 will continually have to offer (I think): old relics that have somehow survived the slow years since Route 66 was decommissioned, and then desolate, abandoned stretches that didn't survive. The city of Rialto is a dump, with tons of abandoned buildings and empty lots; much of what we saw in San Bernardino was the same. Rancho Cucamonga seemed to be doing a little better, with at least two historic places: the Magic Lamp Inn and the Sycamore Inn still surviving. Stragenly enough, both of those places are restaurants, as is the Summit Inn, atop Cajon Summit - "inn" must have had a different usage in the era of 66. We've seen towns completely abandoned: Oro Grande, just north of Victorville, is a good example. There are pretty much just 5 buildings there: a liquor store, an old gas station, "Club 66"... and maybe a motel or two. I guess that's all you needed for a "town" when Route 66 was in business - that was enough to make people stop. But with nothing other than 5 buildings, it's easy to see how towns like this dried up when the Interstates came through.

It's interesting to see how attempts to revive Route 66 are or aren't working. According to the manager of the New Corral Motel in Victorville ("Gary"), the city started trying to clean up its Old Town area about a year ago, bringing in antique dealers, putting up a "Old Town Route 66" sign, etc... but to no avail. Gary said that he had seen no increase in business or travelers in the past year, and we noticed that the lot next to his place was still empty. That seems typical of many of the landmarks we've seen: though they may be doing well, a business next door or right across the street is shut down, or the lot is totally abandoned. That's IF the landmark is doing well; we've already seen a couple that were open as recently as two years ago (according to the guide books) that are now closed. Bono's Historic Orange: for lease. The El Rancho Motel in Barstow, famous for its 100-foot neon sign: completely dark at night.

Some of the abandoned stores make the best sights, though. I think the most interesting things so far are the huge signs on top of businesses, long ago used to attarct customers, that are now blank and falling apart. Although I guess they're only interesting during the day: at night you can't see them, and the neon of those that do remain is pretty awesome.

Back to Gary for a minute. He was interesting enough just because of how little he seemed to know about Route 66. Here we have the manager of a historic landmark, and he isn't in it for the history... just like in the past, he's there because he knows the big neon sign out front attracts customers.

But even those who do their best to sell Route 66 aren't doing much better than Gary. The Summit Inn, covered with Route 66 memorabilia - complete with an old (non-functional) Phillips 66 station out front - was empty when we walked in. The waitress there told us that the only people who really come by to ask about Route 66 any more are the foreigners/Europeans... we'll be talking to an owner tomorrow for more details.

Little road trip lessons for today: we definitely learned the value of backtracking. As people have told us in phone interviews, you don't really notice things until it's too late to stop, so you have to turn around and backtrack a little if you want to seem them. What we didn't realize until today, though, is that you also see a lot of things you *couldn't* have noticed going the other way - at least if you're driving West to East. Once again, we were reminded that the road really is set up to be driven the other way... the Old Town Route 66 sign in Victorville, for example, sits over the roadway, but only the side of the sign facing east has any lettering on it. So maybe even if we don't see anything interesting that makes us turn, we should try the other way every once in a while.

On the road in the California desert, we find proof that this is Route 66, the highway's sign stencilled into the roadway.

Also, we learned that hotel reservations probably aren't necessary... at least in Barstow, the main street is full of hotels - it would be very unilkely that they'd all be 1/4 full. But I guess the advantage of picking one of AAA's recommended motels is that you can be pretty sure it'll be nice. Even though this place isn't the cheapest ($40 vs. the $32 we saw advertised down the street), it's definitely nice - much nicer than any of the rooms the Ultimate team crams 8 people into for twice as much money.

Not exactly sure when I'm going to use my newfound knowledge of not needing hotel reservations, though... I think we'll be camping for the next 5 days or so, at least - there should be sites throughout all of AZ and NM. I guess tomorrow we find out just how cold desert nights can be.