September 15    109 miles  VICTORVILLE, KOA 'SHADY OASIS'     ($25.00)    

We hit the Freeways and climb into the desert, finding ourselves on Route 66

First we returned to Happy Travel Campers with a couple of minor problems, quickly sorted with good humour. (Always a good idea to camp near base the first night and try everything out!)  Then our journey north and east really began.

We drove on busy freeways (Interstate highways: no bicycles, no pedestrians, no tolls and no service stations or parking areas – you have to turn off for these). Our route was east on the 105, north on 605, then east on 10, which we exited briefly in West Covina to make lunch and shop at K-Mart: a vast array of mostly non-food items at low prices. Then towards San Bernadino onto Interstate 15, finally leaving greater Los Angeles. Traffic flowed thick and fast, generally with good grace and no use of the horn.

I-15 skirted Mt Baldy, then turned north through the San Bernardino National Forest. It climbed to 4,190 ft at Cajon Summit, where the historic Summit Inn reminded us that we were following the classic Route 66. Over the next 15 miles, we descended gradually to 2,800 ft at VICTORVILLE, pop 88,378 – sprawling across the next 7 exits from the freeway!

We took the first exit, highway 18, to check out 'Kampers Korner' RV Sales and Accessories. What a treasure trove of American RV spares, what a pity about the weight limit on the flight back to London! Barry got the essential plumbing bits needed to mend Rosie's boiler leak, which had proved impossible to find in Greece or even England.

Along I-15 again, over the Mojave River to the Stoddard Wells Road exit, leading straight to 'Peggy-Sue's 50's Diner' and our first KOA Campground: 'A shady getaway in the high desert, just 3 miles from the Route 66 Museum' (and within sight and sound of I-15.) The price categories were for a 'dry site' (no hookups), power and water, or full-hookup (including sullage). We chose power and water: $26 less 10% discount plus state taxes = $25.03. Prices in the US are always quoted without taxes, which are then added – even in a fast food queue you can't get the right money ready! Taxes vary from state to state, and even within the state.

Details of over 460 campgrounds on www.koa.com. On this KOA campground, pitches (called 'sites') are generous in size and well-lit. There are surprisingly few toilets and showers (suggesting most campers use their own), no kind of kitchen at all, and a laundry with washers and driers (but no hot water or sinks for hand-washing). Reception has a well-stocked shop, a shelf for book-swaps and a modem in the corner for those with their own computer and internet provider. We were advised to try the Library in Victorville or Apple Valley for internet access. 

September 16     78 miles     NEWBERRY, Mountain RV Park     ($22.00)    

Route 66 Museum and bicycles from Wal-mart for a ride to the Bagdad Café

First to the nearest Walmart, about 6 miles away in Apple Valley, for a few essentials like a teapot, microwave dishes – and a pair of bicycles! Seeing the 15-gear 'Mountain Fury Roadmaster' (the cheapest model at under $58 each = about £33), we bought bikes for much less than the cost of hiring – in fact, less than we normally spend on 4 good tyres! The short Spanish attendant in the 'Toys' section was dismayed that we wanted two, as the second one was hanging from the ceiling high above: 'I'll fetch a ladder'. The ladder came with an extremely helpful and tall black guy, by the name of Jerome, who came out to the motorhome with us. He insisted that no grease or oil was needed for the bicycles – wouldn't even let us buy any! The bikes were quickly attached to the cycle rack – our attachment to them may take longer! Wouldn't like to go far on them, but they will be ideal for short trips to get back into shape.

Back into Victorville for an hour's internet/email at the Library (free of charge, including printing a few pages, but no USB port access for the memory stick). The 2 librarians adored Barry's accent. In return, Barry admired theirs.

Then to the nearby Route 66 Museum on D Street, on the very route itself. This was a delightful place, run by volunteers (Bill and his mate will tell you all you want to know),  with no entry fee and excellent displays. Following wagon and railroad tracks to provide an early all-weather route from Chicago to Los Angeles, route 66 saw the dust-bowl refugees heading west in the 1930's. Immortalised by Steinbeck ('The Mother Road' in 'Grapes of Wrath') and Nat King Cole ('Get your kicks on route 66'), it was finally bypassed by the more direct interstate highways. Now it's being rediscovered as a tourist route – we once met a French couple who'd joined a group riding it on Harley Davidsons.

Visit the museum at www.califrt66museum.org or the Preservation Foundation at www.cart66pf.org.  There is even a fan club at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/route66.  The gift shop sold us postcards, a tee-shirt and a sticker for Rosie – and an idea for a future long-distance cycle route. We were also interviewed by a journalist visiting the museum for a story for Lifestyle magazine!

After lunch we hit the road again, continuing north to Barstow. Instead of taking I-15, we followed a 36-mile stretch of Route 66, spotting the relics listed on a museum leaflet. Over the Mojave River on a 1930 steel truss bridge, past the Iron Hogg Saloon, the abandoned stone relics of Potapov's service station and auto court (an early motel), the Sagebrush Inn roadhouse, old filling stations and the Do-Drop Inn (once the site of a drive-in movie theatre). Sadly, all bypassed and out of business. Click here to view the images.

In Barstow there is another Mother Road Museum, but we just stopped for a fill of fuel (petrol, currently costing about $3 per gallon, or 49 pence per litre). We had to deposit our credit card with the office before filling. Another 24 miles on highway 40, into the Mojave Desert, turning off at the tiny settlement of Newberry, at 1,769 ft. Here a simple RV park lies alongside the 40, on the National Trails Highway (Route 66 again), by a small lake for fishing (catfish).

As the sun began to set, we took the bikes off their rack, made a few adjustments to the saddle and handlebar heights and fixed a rear brake problem and set off for a trial ride in the Mojave Desert, just a few hot dusty miles along Route 66 to the isolated and eponymous Bagdad Café (built in the 1950's, starring in a film in 1988 and still open). Not least, we admired the collection of completely ruined Airstream caravanse outside. For more information, visit www.lppublishing.com/bagdadcafe.html. The cold beer was very welcome, though we passed on the buffalo-burgers! A full moon shone over the desert as we returned.