Crossing the Mojave Desert on Cadiz Road - Ghost Towns, Sand Dunes, & Closed Route 66

More than a century ago, Cadiz Road, a road that cuts through the heart of the Mojave Desert, was part of the main highway between Los Angeles and Phoenix. Once the highways started getting paved however, the road lost out and was bypassed. Once a popular route, the road is now little traveled.

That doesn't mean there is nothing to see however. Over the years, two towns sprung up along Cadiz Road, only to disappear again. But the mark they left is still visible along the road.

The road also travels through the Mojave Trails National Monument and provides access to the Cadiz Dunes, said to be the most pristine and hard to access sand dunes in the Mojave Desert.

Cadiz Road also links California State Route 62 (also known as the most desolate highway in California) and Route 66. Even though Route 66 is one of the best known highways in the world, the section of Route 66 where it intersects with Cadiz Road has been closed for years and very few people get to see it nowadays.

In this video we travel the entire length of Cadiz Road through the Mojave Desert, talk about its history, and and see what there is to see along the way.

00:00 Intro
02:17 Milligan townsite
06:58 Chubbuck ghost town
15:53 Cadiz Dunes
20:26 Cadiz
21:28 Chambless on Route 66
22:43 Damaged Route 66 bridge

[supermpc]

God I love this channel, a REAL person narrating, not an AI voice bot. Keep the faith, and boycott the AI!

[dwp]

Fallout vibes on that… also got chills picturing the sign light up, with a bunch of classic cars and a living restaurant on a warm summer night

[janblake]

In December 1942, a Santa Fe passenger train hit an Army M3 tank crossing the tracks at about midnight in a dust storm. This occurred between Salt Marsh and Milligan. The tank was knocked updside down and the the trurret came off. Two crewmen died. The train came off the tracks but stayed upright. No passengers were seriously hurt. I used to have wreck photos and an official report, but now in the Goffs history museum.

[janblake]

A friend of mine, Roland Vincent, now deceased, maintained the cemeteries in the small towns along this railroad. The crosses at Milligan are his. An extensive history with old photos of Chubbuck was authored by Joe de Kehoe, also a friend, is in his book "Silence and the Sun". 2nd edition is better. I camped inside the roofed Chubbuck structure in the 1960's. No stove then. "Little pumpkins" are gourds and grow naturally in the desert. I used to buy food, ice and gas at Chambless in the 1960's. A strong wind storm tore the canopy off the gas station. It sat on the other side of 66 for years.

[usaturnuranus]

I once lived out in the California desert region, in the 1960s. I loved and still miss it. Life has moved me far away in the ensuing years. You can take the kid out of the desert but can't take the desert out of the kid. It's really nice to be able to revisit and rediscover so many old familiar places through your expeditions, much appreciated sir. Also wanted to mention your background music is always excellent.

[enriquecruz]

I was stationed st the Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, CA for six years. Most complained about how terrible a location it is being stationed there. I absolutely loved loading my Jeep with camping gear and getting lost exploring that desert. I bought an old map book at an antique store in Yucca Valley and spent weekends searching for old mine shafts plotted in that book. It was always really cool finding old dirt roads, trails, abandoned mining camps, and other monuments. I was never bored.

[DelgueAdventures]

I grew up in the Mojave, i miss exploring the desert. Thanks for the memories!
Oh, the Cucurbita palmata is a species of flowering plant in the squash family known by the common names coyote melon and coyote gourd. Not pumpkins. 😉

[marshalldrummond]

The endless vistas, silence troubled by wind sounds, and far off purple hills that turn into rocky brown/gray Rocky Mountains on closer examination captivated me as a kid, and the awe and feeling has not diminished 80 years later. Thanks for the memories.

[SOLOIIguru]

A twenty four minute side track adventure?! Yes, please!

[josephhaddakin]

I rode my bicycle to Missouri from Hemet, CA & I have to say that there was absolutely nothing from Amboy all the way to the gas station in Fenner. I rode thru in 2021 & 66 was closed but I rode thru anyway. Only 2 bridges were out but you just rode thru the wash. I went thru in May & it was already hot as hell. I was so happy to see that Chevron gas station off the 40 near Fenner.

[StanFarleyMusic]

NEVER, EVER, worry about going too long, the more video the better -- Thanks!!

[conniehunter]

Grew up in Barstow. The Mojave is beautiful and vast. It was a great childhood. Love the desert and the mountains in that area.

[drobertsmithjewelry]

Those “watermelons” are actually Coyote melons, or gourds as many call them.
Great video.

[sandyfields]

I so enjoy your desert videos. Spent 79 years in CA, now in FL. I miss the desert more than I thought possible ❣️

[johnmacek]

I believe that car to be a 65-67 Plymouth Belvedere. Could be wrong, but that taillight assembly is a give-away.

[becker]

Very enjoyable to watch. Thank you for posting. I went to college in AZ and had a girlfriend in LA, so I drove many times across the Mojave. Eventually, I got off the freeways to explore Route 66 and the vast interior of the deserts. This was before GPS and Google Maps, so it was much more of an adventure back then! Really enjoyed this. Thank you.

[chuckbrasch]

Hi Steve, what a great video. Those buildings a 12:11 are lime kilns. The raw rock mined was crushed and then placed inside and fired with wood. This sintered material would be mixed with water and sand/gravel to create concrete later...I have explored the Mojave for more than 40 years, but never been down Cadiz show!

[spacrazie]

This is amazing! I just came across this video. My brothers and I own property about 4 miles north of Hwy 62, on Cadiz Rd. And the property runs up to the railway. I drove out there about 9 yrs ago. Thanks for posting this!

[edward]

This was so much fun to watch. I imagine the silence as you turn off the car engine and walk the open desert must be incredible.

[blakebufford]

Hey I love your videos! About 15 years ago we did some Archaeological and Paleontological surveys around Chambliss because they WERE going to put in a solar farm but I guess they changed their mind. I remember reading that historic placque. There were still WWII tank tracks out there when Patton was training his army for fighting in N. Africa. Thanks for the great video!