the back roads to vegas

cheap rates on the vegas strip came calling last week. the weekend before thanksgiving is always relatively inexpensive there; i'm guessing there's no conventions going on and folks are gearing up for family travel that week. but the comedy festival, which i've been wanting to hit the past few years (and which is being disowned by hbo this year) was happening, and with wanda sykes performing, my friend mike and i had to go.

since mike lives in palm springs we took the back roads to vegas, watching the towns get smaller and smaller as we headed out of civilization. by the time you get to amboy, you know you're in the middle of nowhere - and there's a lot more of that until you hit the vegas state line. we stopped at the route 66 landmark of roy's in amboy, where we were told that the current owners plan to restore the restaurant, lodges and gasoline service. there's even a nearby mini-volcano that went dormant about six hundred years ago, standing black against the tan desert.

interestingly, amboy is one of california's oldest cities, dating back to 1858. apparently the only person living there now is roy's on-site caretaker. imagine being the only resident of your town!