Mojave Desert ghost town Amboy fights to survive on Route 66 - Los Angeles Times

Mojave Desert ghost town Amboy fights to survive on Route 66 - Los Angeles Times

"AMBOY, Calif. -- It's a Friday afternoon in mid-May and a Czech biker is eating an ice cream cone at the counter of a gas station along a desolate stretch of the Mojave Desert. Outside, his entourage crowds around a towering Atomic Age sign for a group photo before speeding away along Route 66.

"A British couple sip hot tea, though the mercury is pushing 100 degrees. A young woman in a crop top sits cross-legged in the middle of the street while a man films her, seemingly oblivious to the traffic whizzing by. On some days, small planes land on the dirt airstrip so their occupants can grab a root beer float or chili dog.

"'It's in the middle of nowhere in the desert, but you see a multitude of different types of people in Amboy,' said Kyle Okura, 31, who owns Roy's gas station, along with the rest of the ghost town, after inheriting it from his father last year. 'That's what's so amazing. You hear stories from all different parts of the world.'"