Electric Route 66

Hello! It has been two months since my last blog post; I hope everyone has been holding up well under the continued pandemic conditions. I thought it was high time I put up another Dashcam video. Even though we haven't been traveling, I still have a few videos taken last fall that I haven't put up yet. Today's dashcam video comes from the Mojave Desert in California, on Route 66 east of Amboy. The Road Runner's Retreat is a long-closed desert business with a huge neon sign. It sits on a section of Route 66 that is closed to through traffic, but it can be visited if you are ok with doing just a little bit back-tracking east of Kelbaker Road. It is located past a set of road barriers which say, "Road Closed to Thru Traffic". But the important part is "Thru Traffic". A visit to the Road Runner and back would not be considered thru traffic. The barriers are easy to drive around, and the road is in good condition and safe to drive for the few miles to the...

National Drive Electric Week is September 26 to October 4, and there is finally a little bit of activity after a tough summer! The ongoing pandemic has kept us and The Blue Spirit close to home for most of the summer. I have another short Utah trip to post about; that will come a little later. Right now I want to let you know about some upcoming events, where you can meet up with us in person (at a safe distance!) or learn more about EVs. National Drive Electric Week in-person events have been severely curtailed this year as could be expected, but there are a couple of events on or near Route 66. There are online events as well, some with local information such as incentives by local and state governments. Please visit the NDEW web site to find out about online presentations in your area. September 26: Kingman, Arizona The Powerhouse in Kingman The Route 66 Electric Vehicle Association was founded recently by "EV Jerry" Asher and Jim Stack, as a brand new chapter of the Ele...

Coming up on November 16, the iconic Roy's Motel & Cafe sign in Amboy, California will be returned to service! Roy's is one of the most famous historic stops on Route 66, in large part because of its very large Googie-style neon sign, erected in 1959. This sign has been turned off since the 1980s and its restoration has been a long term project that is finally coming to fruition. See the official flyer below, from the town's web site visitamboy.com . Food, music, raffle, fly-in and relighting! Amboy is the place to be on November 16! Since we live in Las Vegas, Amboy is pretty close to us and we've been there numerous times, including last month when we visited during the Road Runner's Retreat cleanup weekend. There is no EV charging available at Amboy, but the manager was very interested in pursuing the possibility as they restore more of the town. As an aged, remote, near-ghost town, Amboy has challenges with infrastructure such as power supply and f...

As many Route 66 travelers will know, there has been a long-term closure of a section of Route 66 in the eastern Mojave Desert in California. Due to the abundance of questions about this area on Route 66 Facebook groups, I decided to write up a summary of what is signed for travelers on the affected roads. Our October trip to the Road Runner's Retreat provided the opportunity to photograph all of the road signs that have been placed to deter travelers from the closed area. Two segments of Route 66 between Needles and Amboy have been closed for a couple of years, and there is no timetable for reopening. Many bridges were washed out in flood conditions and San Bernardino County has not finished repairing them all, as they are an enormous county without a lot of funds. After having a chance to photograph all of the signs, the source of travelers' confusion becomes clear: the signs are a jumble of contradictory and often wrong information. I will try to lay it all out here, ...

Sorry about the lack of posts lately; it's been a busy few weeks that hasn't left much time for writing! But The Blue Spirit will be out on Route 66 this weekend, as we participate in a cleanup at the Road Runner's Retreat, a restaurant/truck stop that needs some loving care. The iconic sign of the Road Runner's Retreat Located about 10 miles east of Amboy, California on Route 66, the Road Runner's Retreat has been closed for decades. It was once a popular stop for gas and food along 66, but after I-40 bypassed this section of Route 66, the flow of passing travelers dried up and the business eventually closed. In the years since, the owning family has tried to keep up the property with periodic cleanup visits. Recently, the call has gone out for volunteers to come help. Last year's cleanup was one of the earliest weekend adventures of The Blue Spirit into an area that was devoid of major charging infrastructure. We are happy to help support Route 66 ...

As I noted back in January, the weekend of February 2-3 featured several destinations for us and The Blue Spirit, and we were happy to get out on the road to support Route 66 communities. Car Show, Golden Valley We got going from Las Vegas pretty early in the morning in order to make it to our first stop, a benefit car show at Great American Pizza in Golden Valley, AZ. We were not able to stay for the whole thing due to the event in Needles, but we had a good time while we were there and the turnout was good, even though it was rainy and cold! Just a few of the classics at the car show. There was good turnout, especially from Mustangs! I washed the car the day before, but the weather on the way was not cooperative so we arrived just as dirty as before I had washed it! It was great to hang out at our first car show, and also meet up with friends who live nearby. There were some amazing rat rods and classic cars, and a good representation of modern cars, such as a whole r...

The Blue Spirit will be out on Route 66 once again on February 2nd and 3rd! There are a trio of events taking place in the Mojave Desert area of Arizona and California; we'll be attending and I hope you can as well. El Garces, Needles, CA February 2: Benefit Car Show, Golden Valley, AZ First up on February 2 is a car show to benefit the St. Jude Children's Hospital. It will be taking place at Great American Pizza, 6775 Highway 68, Golden Valley, which is a few miles west of Kingman. Drive-in begins at 9 A.M. Mountain Time and the car show starts at 10 A.M. Raffle prizes will be drawn at 2:00 P.M., with trophies awarded at 2:30. Check out the details at this Event post on Facebook. We will be in attendance in The Blue Spirit until late morning to mid-day, after which we must head west to Needles for the second event of the day. February 2: Route 66 Information Fair, Needles, CA The California Historic Route 66 Association is hosting an information fair at the histor...

Work and the holidays have left me with little time to write for the site, but I did want to squeeze in one more post before the end of 2018. On November 3, my cousin Todd and I headed down to the Road Runner's Retreat, a long-closed Route 66 diner and truck stop near Chambless, California, for a cleanup weekend. Ryan Anderson is the proprietor's grandson, and he goes there periodically to paint over graffiti, cover broken windows, pick up trash, etc. Ryan invited any and all to come out and join him and a friend for the weekend while they spruced up the place. Route 66 booster Beth Murray organized a GoFundMe to help pay for supplies, to help Ryan who usually pays for everything out of his own pocket. The GoFundMe is still active as of now, so feel free to contribute to support future cleanup trips! Into an EV wilderness Although the Road Runner's Retreat does have a limited source of power (more on that later), as a closed business there was of course no official E...