-We did it!

We made it to California!

Oh, my gosh.

When we started, we had 2,400 miles ahead of us, eight states, and now we are down to just one, and what a one it is.

California is where the Mother Road becomes a living reflection of American history.

Born in railroad towns, tested in the Mojave Desert during the war, and carried forward by the boundless optimism that followed.

It changed not only how we traveled but the very spirit of the journey itself.

And I'm so grateful that you are here with me as we reach the end.

So, are you ready?

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

All right, get back in the car!

My Route 66 adventure concludes in California.

I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world, and I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.

That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my Places To Love.

Major funding of "Places to Love" provided by... Oceania Cruises.

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Or waiting in the shadows of giant canyons.

Or maybe it's revealed in all the moments in between.

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♪♪ ♪♪ -When you're driving through the eastern Mojave Desert, it just stretches out in front of you, and you feel like it will go on forever.

And then, this little town just sort of like, pulls your attention, and it's green, and there are buildings, you're like, "Oh, what's that?"

-Misajet: Yeah.

-Brown: And this is Goffs.

-Misajet: It's a railroad town.

-So all these little towns that you will encounter in the Mojave Desert were to service the steam engines.

-Correct.

-How many towns?

How often would they be spaced, then?

-Usually about every 10 miles.

-Brown: Every 10 miles, it had to stop?

-Misajet: Yeah.

-That's -- That's not that far.

-Misajet: No.

-Brown: Oh.

-I'm Laura Misajet.

I'm the director of the museum here, museum operations, and public outreach.

And we are the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association.

So, the railroad had steam engines in the 1880s.

-Brown: Okay.

-Since they were steam engines, they had to have water to replace for -- to create the steam.

So the railroad dug wells to not only provide water for the steam engines but also for the town, because there were enough employees at that point to justify creating a town here.

-But right now we are in a schoolhouse that was built in 1914.

-Yeah, yeah.

-How unique is this schoolhouse in the desert?

-It's very unique.

And it's a mission style.

-Brown: Okay.

-Misajet: Which is unusual.

But also, it's one of the largest schoolhouses.

-Brown: Okay.

-Misajet: But I think the reason behind that was because it was also serving as the community center.

This is where the dances were.

The religious services were here.

So it was more than just a school for the whole community.

-And so they were kids from the homesteaders, from the train workers.

Were there miners here?

Ranchers.

-Miners, ranchers.

A lot was happening at that time.

-It has a strong World War II history here, as well.

-Misajet: It does.

It does.

We were part of General Patton's desert training center.

-Brown: Whoa!

-Misajet: They were brought here to toughen them up.

-Brown: Yeah.

-Misajet: Because they were going to be sent to North Africa to fight.

So they had to be used to desert environments.

But it was funny because the ones that were here getting trained for desert combat, ended up being sent to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

We maintain the largest private archive, historic archive, of the East Mojave Desert.

So we re-created the depot that was here.

We raised money.

We used our volunteers to build it.

And we now have the largest archive located in the depot on our property that has over 1,000 oral histories.

-We bypassed this life so long ago, and yet why is it important that we save it?

-Because we realized that all these things are deteriorating and no one's keeping them up.

And once they're gone, they're gone.

So to be able to preserve something that's this important to the history of the Mojave was very important to our volunteers.

It's all volunteers that did the work.

♪♪ -Brown: It's so interesting when you're driving through the desert.

You feel like you're just seeing one thing, and you're not.

-Misajet: And you're not.

-Brown: There's so many layers of not only, you know, environmental history but also human history.

-Misajet: Absolutely.

-Brown: One tiny pocket of human history is here in the town of Amboy, population zero.

It was so cool taking a selfie with your sign, because that is just -- I mean, it is an icon of the Mother Road, the entire thing.

It's like this beacon that we all get a little weepy when we see for the first time.

-Okura: It's bigger when you see it in person.

-Brown: Yeah.

And it starts out small on the horizon.

That's how long that is.

You know, all of a sudden, you're like, "Oh, wait.

I think that is it."

And it gets bigger and bigger.

Your father not only bought the iconic sign and Roy's, which was the hotel as well as the cafe, but he bought the entire town.

-Okura: Mm-hmm.

-Why?

-When the Interstate 40 opened, this town went from boom to bust seemingly overnight.

And I think, for him, he really believed when an opportunity shows itself, you have to jump because you will always regret it if it passes.

-So when your dad bought Amboy, California, is this -- is this Amboy?

Is everything I see Amboy?

-This is most of it.

-Okay.

-So you'll see in front of us we have the post office.

It's been here since 1951.

-Is that still a working post office?

-You know, we closed it down in 2021, but they said we could always reinstate it, if necessary.

-Oh, that's interesting.

-Okura: Still, it is a ghost town, right?

-Brown: Because no one lives here, technically.

-Okura: 'Cause no one lives here, yeah.

So I think the first thing that we did was 2008.

We opened up the gas station.

-Brown: Okay.

-Okura: Eventually now, we're really trying to get the cafe open.

People want to see that retro diner here open.

-Brown: Yeah, exactly.

-Okura: And they want to see the motel opened up, as well.

-Brown: And these main six cottages are what you are going to be renovating.

-Okura: Yes.

-Brown: And will people be able to stay the night in them?

-Okura: Yeah, that's the plan.

We're hoping by next year, right, for the 100th anniversary of Route 66.

-Brown: Yeah.

So you will bring this back to what its original purpose was, was gas, food, and lodging.

-Right.

-To help the leisure travelers on their way.

-Okura: Exactly.

Yeah.

So those three all together.

So it's been a great time.

♪♪ -Brown: If we could afford to play a version of the famous Route 66 song, this is where on the entire journey I would put it.

Why?

Because not only does it mention Barstow, which I'm in right now, but because Bobby Troup, the man who wrote the song in 1946, was a marine.

And I've been granted access to the Marine Corps logistics base.

Whoa.

I mean, this, you see, right away.

It is so impressive.

What exactly is it?

-So this is an eagle, globe, and anchor.

It's the official logo of the Marine Corps.

The eagle represents the air, 'cause the Marine Corps has air power.

The globe is for our global response force.

And then the anchor is specifically for our naval traditions and roots.

That ties all of the Marine Corps together.

-But then you've got a big Route 66 emblem on it.

And so if this is the Marine logo, their emblem, your emblem, how unique is it to have, like, another brand on it?

-So this is a once-in-a-Marine Corps kind of thing right here.

So, the land for the base was given to the Department of the Navy in 1942.

They built the base here strategically because it was on that route, and they could easily break off that road and come over to the base, stage the equipment here, the troops here for a couple nights, weeks, whatever it was, and send them off down to the ports in Long Beach, San Diego, whatnot, and get them over to the Pacific.

-So, right now, through this base, this has to be the only base that Route 66 goes through.

-Yes, ma'am.

It is.

So MCLB Barstow is the only base across the DoD that has Route 66 running through it.

1.71 miles of Route 66 running through our installation.

-I mean, that is some prime real estate.

-It really is.

And it is so well maintained.

And I'm sure if we cut a little piece out, you could probably see all the layers of Route 66 over the years.

-Exactly, exactly.

What do you love most about Route 66?

-I just love just how much of a mainstay it is in American culture and history, and how important it was for everything America did for 40 or 50 years.

I think it's amazing.

♪♪ -This route is amazing because I'm on a Marine base right now, and it's the only part of my journey not open to passing traffic.

But my next stop, in Oro Grande, invites you to pull over, wander, and enjoy.

♪♪ This is Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch.

It offers a colorful break from the road, a walk through a glass bottle forest.

All sculptures were created using found items from Elmer's childhood camping trips in the desert.

Elmer has passed away, but you can donate and make sure that this classic Route 66 pit stop is always preserved.

From the Bottle Tree Ranch stop, the next stretch of the Mother Road transforms before our eyes from vast, wide-open desert skies into city streets and traffic lights.

It's a reminder that, as we get closer to the end, the history of Route 66 doesn't disappear.

It becomes more concentrated.

My next stop in San Bernardino is both iconic and controversial.

Everyone knows these aren't wigwams, but California is the birthplace of the motor lodge.

I think I was like 10 when I first saw a picture of a Wigwam motel, and I just thought, "Oh, my gosh!

That is so adorable!"

And they are.

And it was the first time I really knew that this thing called Route 66 even existed.

But much more so than just being kitsch, the Wigwam Motel represents the democratization of travel, right?

Hotels were only for the wealthy along the railroads, but here comes this new form of hospitality, where everyone else could have a nice and pleasant place to stay.

[ Laughing ] Oh!

It's adorable.

Wow!

There's a lot more space than I would have thought from the outside.

Yeah, this is great.

Samir, your family has owned the Wigwam Motel for how many years?

-It's been 22 years since they bought the property.

-Who was the original builder?

-His name was Frank Redford.

He started building them in the '30s, in Kentucky.

-Okay.

-Patel: And this was the last one he built for himself here in California in 1949.

-Brown: He built this one for himself?

-Patel: Yeah.

So there was a total of seven in the '50s.

Now there's three remaining.

-Brown: So, as the general manager, who do you see come by, who checks in and wants to stay here?

-We get a lot of Route 66 enthusiasts throughout America and overseas, especially Europe.

-Yeah, Europeans love Route 66, right?

They're all happy.

-Patel: Exactly.

Everyone's having a good time.

-Brown: Yeah, yeah.

And is the kidney-shaped pool, Is that original?

-Patel: Yes, it is.

-Brown: Oh, my gosh!

This is how I grew up.

I didn't get to stay at the Wigwam Motel, but we were motor-lodge people.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And as a kid, if we had a kidney-shaped pool, that's all you needed.

♪♪ Oh, this is such a beautiful building.

And it was built in 1915?

Was it a gas station right from the beginning?

-Gonzales: From the beginning, it was a gas station.

-Ah, okay.

-Always has been.

This was a focal point of this area because, at the time, it was nothing but open land, vineyards and citrus groves, orange groves, lemon groves north of here.

-Okay.

-So it was wide open here.

-Brown: So this is a 100-year-old gas station, essentially, what we're standing in.

And so it would have seen those refugees coming from Oklahoma and Kansas from the Dust Bowl, escaping, coming right up to this gas station.

-Gonzales: And as a matter of fact, some of those early visitors have come back to revisit this place and see what has taken place since they first came down here.

The opportunity to speak to those individuals is great because they give us a lot of history that nothing that was in this building in all those years would have ever been able to give us what they were able to tell us.

-Brown: Cucamonga is a real place.

It's Rancho Cucamonga, and it's a city that loves its Route 66 history.

When the gas station closed in the 1970s, the people here brought it back to life.

-We got volunteers from the community, volunteers from disciplines, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, individuals like that to help us bring it back to what it is today.

This is an example of the community's love.

-Anthony, can I still get gas at 17 cents a gallon here?

-Gonzales: Unfortunately, no.

Can't do that now.

[ Bell dings ] -Brown: There are 315 miles of Route 66 in California that are packed with history, from preserved motor lodges, filling stations, and even homes like this beauty in my next stop, Pasadena.

-Scott: This is the Gamble House.

David Gamble was the eldest son of the co-founder of the Procter & Gamble Company out of Cincinnati, Ohio.

They commissioned two brothers, architects Charles and Henry Greene, to build this really beautiful work of art for them.

They started building in 1908 and it was finished after 10 months, in 1909.

I'm Sheryl Scott.

I'm the director of communications and operations at the Gamble House.

-Sheryl, there are so many reasons that make the Gamble House unique, but one of them is how it celebrates car culture.

-Right.

-Where do we see that?

-So you see it everywhere on the exterior, the driveway, the approach to the house.

1908, I think a lot of people would look at this structure and think, "Is that a carriage house?"

-Yeah, it's where you put the horses.

-But, no, this is a garage.

This was originally built as a garage.

The Gambles had cars.

One was a Detroit Electric, which was a push-button start, and the other one was a gas car which had a crank.

So that was kind of common at the time.

You know, there's a lot of innovation and technology that the Gambles embrace with this house.

-Brown: So I know the house is beautiful, but why is the house important?

-Well, it's the finest example of American Arts and Crafts.

It's a National Historic Landmark.

Here you see a really beautiful example of these long, low horizontal lines, which is a celebration of Japanese architecture.

You have the open sleeping porches, really well-appointed, large sleeping porches that we know the family used.

They actually slept outside, and that was part of taking in the fresh air.

This was really a place Midwesterners were coming out.

-To Pasadena.

-To Pasadena, escaping the industrialized Midwest, where they felt it was dirtier air that was making them sick.

-Sure.

-And propaganda -- they were sending, you know, orange crates back with this beautiful art.

They were basically selling Eden, and that's what we have here.

It really speaks to their vision for not only this type of architecture but the art of design and a celebration of the material of wood.

14 different types of wood are used on the interior of the house.

This really is a symphony in wood.

-And we can enjoy it.

-The family knew that this was a really important house that needed to be saved and shared with the public.

In 1966, they gifted it to the city of Pasadena, and we're very proud of that, and we're happy to welcome a lot of visitors to the house every week.

-Brown: I've definitely left the wide-open open spaces of the Mother Road as we enter West Hollywood.

Hollywood actually played a huge part in making Route 66 a legend, so why not stop at a legendary Hollywood hangout?

Formosa Cafe totally lives up to its legendary status.

I mean, I feel like I've -- I've walked onto a movie set, which makes sense because this is where celebrities have hung out for how many years?

-Shapovalov: 85 years.

Because of the proximity to the studio, it was United Artists studio across the street, and food was pretty terrible at the studio.

So everyone inevitably came here in the daytime.

-Okay.

-Place was open from 9:00 in the morning till 5:00 in the morning.

My name is Maxim Shapovalov.

I am historian of the Formosa Cafe.

I helped to rebuild the place.

I rediscovered its history, its anecdotes and pictures to make sure that history lives here.

Celebrities would come here because they wouldn't be bothered by reporters or paparazzi.

-Mm-hmm.

-It was a safe place for them to be.

Elvis Presley, who tipped a Cadillac to a waitress once.

John Wayne fallen asleep, and he was a big dude.

Nobody could move him.

So they would just leave him here overnight, and owner would come in in the morning and find him cooking eggs in the kitchen.

-Brown: There's so much Hollywood history here, you forget that people still come here for a great meal.

And the Chinese food menu is no accident.

What's so endearing about this restaurant is this homage to Chinese-American and Asian-American actors of that time, as well, who really didn't have the type of notoriety that white actors had.

-Shapovalov: And Formosa Cafe itself, its interior represents kind of a unique style.

It's Hollywood Chinese.

It's like more glamorous.

I can promise you, you come here in the evening, you have a drink, you sit down for a little, and you just emerge in that old Hollywood era.

That's what it's here for.

-Okay, guys, we made it to Santa Monica, about to have breakfast at Famous Mel's Diner.

But look at this.

[ Laughs ] We made it!

We made it!

Not quite.

There's still a lot more.

I'll buy you some eggs.

Oh-ho-ho-ho!

[ Bell dinging ] -I'm Scott Piotrowski, and I'm the president of the California Historic Route 66 Association.

-So, Scott, I thought the end of Route 66, along with just about everybody else, was the Santa Monica Pier.

But it's this corner right here.

-It's this corner right here.

-Brown: This intersection.

-Piotrowski: This was one of four end points for Route 66.

-But it's funny because, I mean, I think everyone feels that the pier absolutely is the ending because it is the ocean.

You can't go any further, right?

-Piotrowski: Right.

We call that the spiritual end point.

-Oh, okay.

-So, yeah.

-It's the celebrato-- I mean, I'm celebrating with you.

-Exactly.

-One endpoint.

And then, I'm just gonna keep it lingering.

There's many parties because... -Piotrowski: There is.

-...it was an epic, epic trip.

-It still is an epic trip.

-And to think of people coming across it in the late '20s and the '30s, the '40s, '50s, and '60s -- Wow!

I mean, because it was -- I'm not gonna lie -- it was exhausting at times.

-Yeah, it still is.

-And it still is.

But the reason the whole road was created was sort of this road of flight, and they were all coming here.

And now I'm finally in the state that they were all trying to reach, right?

-And it's such a great state to come to, too.

I mean, I love it personally, but... -Well, Scott, I have an appointment with the spiritual end of Route 66 to get to.

This has been fantastic.

One more stop to make.

-Congratulations on finishing your trip.

♪♪ -Okay.

So, I know the Santa Monica Pier isn't the official end of Route 66, but it's certainly a fitting one.

And I plan to celebrate -- oh, there they are -- with the most important people in my life.

This epic journey.

Hi, there!

Oh, you made it!

Oh!

[ Laughs ] Oh, I love you so much.

I miss you guys.

Mwah!

-Me too.

-Oh, my gosh, I have so much to tell you.

So many amazing adventures.

Let me tell you, ending on Santa Monica Pier does not disappoint.

The Pier welcomes Route 66'ers who've made it with official completion certificates... I did it.

[ Laughs ] ...roller-coaster rides... [ All screaming ] And while my kids enjoy pummeling for a stuffy, I had one last stop to make so I could say this one last time.

I just drove the entire Route 66.

-That's amazing.

-And so I had to come to the kiosk because, in that guide, you are the last thing mentioned of that epic book.

That's pretty amazing.

'Cause I go through all the steps I had to go through to the very last one.

-It's a long way getting through the road.

Yeah, there's so much to see.

-Yes.

Do you have a lot of people like me come up and be like, "I did it"?

-Oh, yeah.

Yeah, already today, even just maybe three others.

-What?

-Yeah, I just had a family from Scotland.

-Wow!

-Yeah.

People from all over the world.

And the nicest people you could ever meet.

-The kiosk was also instrumental in putting up the sign.

It's perfect because we do need an end.

We need that exclamation point that says, "You did it," right?

I can't believe that I'm here.

I started out in Illinois thinking this was just gonna be just a fun little trip through Illinois, and we'll do a little Route 66 theme, and then it just kind of gets within your soul.

You're like, "Wait a minute.

What if -- what if I did the whole thing?

What would I find out?"

And to go through these towns and little villages that the road just accommodates and, you know, just becomes, right?

And the dips in the road and just the physicality of the road as opposed to that highway that just dominates it.

That's what I've just loved about Route 66, that it's so full of personality.

It's so many curves and it's just not this straight line, right?

-Piotrowski: You can say what you want about Route 66.

Ultimately, it's a piece of concrete, and the only way to truly experience what the road is or was is to get out, go into those businesses, go into those shops, meet the business owners and the people who have had a story to tell and are still continuing to tell their stories, making new ones.

-Brown: Mm-hmm.

-Piotrowski: A person traveling Route 66 into California is going to start in the Mojave Desert and all of that wide-open spaces.

-Misajet: But it's important for everybody to know the history of this area.

This schoolhouse is very important, not only the building but the people that it served.

And it's an exciting time, I think, to rediscover Route 66.

-Scott: I think this is a destination for everyone.

No matter what their interest is, they will find something here at the Gamble House.

They can take their travel on Route 66 and make this a destination.

-You get to have this wonderful experience in Southern California and in Santa Monica in particular, at the real end of the highway.

-Brown: I hope this inspires you to get on Route 66 anywhere.

It takes you to so many Places To Love.

For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.

Major funding of "Places to Love" provided by... Oceania Cruises.

-Announcer: A journey aboard Oceania Cruises is designed to cultivate curiosity.

♪♪ Evenings offer craft spirits, international wines, and dishes prepared by our master chefs.

That's the Oceania Cruises Small Ship experience.

-Ever wonder where your sense of wonder went?

Maybe it's winding its way along the banks of the Colorado River.

Or waiting in the shadows of giant canyons.

Or maybe it's revealed in all the moments in between.

♪♪ Introducing Canyon Spirit, a rail experience between Denver, Moab, and Salt Lake City.

Canyon Spirit.

Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."

-Railbookers helps you discover the world by train.

From bucket-list dreams to iconic scenic journeys, a Railbookers itinerary includes trains, hotels, sightseeing, transfers, and more.

Railbookers offers guests a seamless way to explore the globe on vacation.

-Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪