Route 66! Part VI: The Road from Barstow

Route 66 in Barstow is still the main drag there.  All up and down the road are restaurants and motels.  I don't think Main Street in Barstow has changed very much in the days before it was the meeting point between Interstates 15 and 40.  Interstate 15 replaced Route 91 to Las Vegas and Route 66 back to Victorville.  Interstate 40 replaced Route 66 all the way to Needles.

Barstow is the western terminus of I-40, and once you enter the interstate you see a sign telling you how far away Wilmington NC is.  I-40 is a nice drive if you're into desert landscapes, and beginning in 2006 I would take that back to Arizona from San Jose since this bypassed the traffic of Southern California.  On a stop in Ludlow in December 2009, I realized I was looking at Route 66, and perhaps that's when the seed was planted that led me into an interest in the Mother Road.  I had intended to take this road in 2010 on the way back from San Jose, before I was stuck in Lake Havasu City instead.

As I said in my previous post, I should have taken some pictures of Main Street along Barstow.  I didn't aside from Barstow Station.  After a stop there, we continued eastward, until forced onto I-40 since Route 66 isn't a through street any more at the Marine Corps base.  Like the last time, we exited the interstate at Nebo Road, and then proceeded back to getting our kicks.

In my very first post describing my adventures on this road, I mentioned what I thought then was a truck stop.  I learned from subsequent research that it was a California state agricultural inspection station that has been defunct for many years.  California still stops you at some point when you're entering on the pretense of making sure you're not bringing bad fruit into the state.  The real reason for doing that was to turn back Okies in the Great Depression who were looking for a better life.

Here are some photos of that old station; all taken on 11/30/11.

Since I saw all these bays, I figured it was a truck stop.

Where the old office was.  I'm guessing that this was in commission until about 1972.

A view of the inside of the office.

Something was here but I 'm not sure what it was.  When I first saw this I thought it might have been the foundation of an old cafe, which is another reason why I thought it was a truck stop.

Another view of the inspection station.

Looking east ,along the road.  At this point I'm itching to play the Bachman & Turner CD, with the lead song "Rolling Along" which would fit this moment!

Looking back towards Barstow.  Just think.....millions of people once went down this road.  Why were they on the road?  What stories would they tell me?

At several places along the way, you'll see this in the road.  This photo taken 7/16/13.

The Spirit gas station, as it appeared on 11/30/11.  When we saw this again, it was open, and operating as Valero.

Up ahead, the Main Street of America meets Interstate 40.

It was at this point where I fished out that Bachman & Turner CD, as that I was itching to hear "Rolling Along".

The journey continues............