Amboy Branch of Shoes by Diana Sainz
by Diana Raquel Sainz
Title
Amboy Branch of Shoes by Diana Sainz
Artist
Diana Raquel Sainz
Medium
Photograph - Photography - Digital Photography
Description
My drive across the country from Charlotte, NC to San Diego, CA, I decided to get off of Highway 40 and cut through the desert, through the very odd town of Amboy, reaching Twenty Nine Palms where I saw my first Joshua Tree (Yucca) and into Palm Springs taking Highway 10. What a crazy experience. Having never driven alone through the middle of the desert, I watched the most wonderful sunrise and reaching a bridge just as this train passed underneath. Although I was finally in California, I still had a LONG way to go!
My favorite as I cut along Route 66 was the very strange town of Amboy. As I approached it I came upon this tree, passing it, slamming on my breaks, put my car in reverse and thought how absolutely crazy! But there it was, the Amboy Shoe Tree I had been told about.
......................
SHOE TREE
A palo verde tree east of Roy's on Route 66 was formerly used as a Shoe tree collapsed in 2010, this image was taken in March of 2008.
...............................
Amboy is an unincorporated town in San Bernardino County, in California's Mojave Desert, west of Needles and east of Ludlow on historic Route 66. It is roughly 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Twentynine Palms.
.....................
The town is south of the Granite Mountains, Providence Mountains, and the Mojave National Preserve. Adjacent to the south is the landmark Amboy Crater, and beyond to the southeast the Bullion Mountains. To the south is Bristol Dry Lake and Cadiz, California.
............................
Amboy was once a major stop along famous Route 66 but has seen much lower visitation since the opening of Interstate 40 to the north in 1973. Amboy is home to the famous Roy's Motel and Caf�, a Route 66 landmark.
............................
The town has a total of 10 surviving buildings and a population of far fewer than the advertised 20. According to the Los Angeles Times, the town's population is approximately 4 (though according to the August 2010 edition of the U.K. magazine "Car" this had risen to 8, all of whom are male)
..................................
Although Amboy was first settled in 1858, the town was not established until 1883. Lewis Kingman, a locating engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, created the town as the first of a series of alphabetical railroad stations that were to be constructed across the Mojave Desert.
............................
In 1926, Amboy became a boom town after the opening of U.S. Route 66. In 1938, Roy's Motel and Caf� opened, which prospered due to its isolated location on the route. By 1940, Amboy's population had increased to 65. Its growth was tied not only to tourists, but also to the Santa Fe Railroad over which high-speed freight trains still run today between Kingman, Arizona and the BNSF Railway Barstow, California yard.
During the Great Depression and World War II, tourism declined nationally. But the remaining travelers need for lodging, meals, and gasoline kept the town busy. The town remained this way until the opening of Interstate 40 in 1973, which bypassed Amboy.[3]
Attractions
Amboy Crater, as viewed from the east
Nearby craters
Two extinct volcanoes are located to the west of Amboy. Amboy Crater is a 6,000-year-old cinder cone volcano, made largely of pahoehoe lava.[4] Pisgah Crater, also a cinder cone volcano, is located near Interstate 40. Because of quarry operations, the crater is not as well preserved as Amboy Crater.
The Mojave Desert is a desert which occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California; southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona in the United States. The term Mojave, originates from the Spanish language, while the spelling Mohave comes from modern English. Both are used today, although the Native American Tribe officially uses the spelling Mojave; the word is a shortened form of the name for themselves in their native language 'Hamakhaave', which means 'beside the water'.
....................
The Mojave Desert displays typical basin and range topography. Higher elevations above 2,000 feet (610 m) in the Mojave are commonly referred to as the High Desert; however, Death Valley is the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level and is one of the Mojave Desert's more notorious places.
...................
The Mojave Desert's boundaries are generally defined by the presence of Yucca brevifolia (Joshua trees), considered an indicator species for this desert. The topographical boundaries include the Tehachapi together with the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges. The mountain boundaries are quite distinct since they are outlined by the two largest faults in California: the San Andreas and the Garlock. The Great Basin shrub steppe lies to the north, and the warmer Sonoran Desert (the Low Desert) lies to the south and east. The desert is believed to support between 1,750 and 2,000 species of plants.
While most of the Mojave desert is sparsely populated, several large cities can be found there including Lancaster, California and Victorville, California, with the largest being Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada.
Uploaded
November 12th, 2013
Statistics
Viewed 1,499 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/26/2024 at 7:25 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (8)
Sydne Archambault
Now you don't see that everyday!!! It took them some time to do it I would think! Great shot!
Diana Raquel Sainz replied:
Thank you.... the tree has fallen, it is gone now, but glad I found it before it fell.