I’ve always been fascinated with Amboy California. Roy’s may very well be my favorite place on Route 66. I once met its owner Buster Burris, and he was nice enough to sit and talk to my wife and I and talk about route 66.
Just East of Amboy and before Chambless is Roadrunner Retreat. It’s a ruin of a place that begs questions of it’s story. It does to me.
I can’t find alot of information on the Roadrunner Retreat. Today I found some clues.
This section of route 66 was bypassed in 1972, and not much later it began to dry up. I’m sure RR could tell us some stories. Do you have any? I’d love to have pictures and info on this place. there’s just not a lot on the internet.
Today I contacted the Northern Arizona University Library and they gave me a picture of this awesome area:
Amboy survived for years. Even though Buster Burris bulldozed much of the town to avoid having to pay taxes on it after the 1-40 bypass, Roy’s stayed open for almost 25 years. Buster was tougher than boiled owl.
I don’t know how much longer Roadrunner Retreat lasted. I’d love to know it’s story. I’ve been here probably 8-10 times, and I don’t know anything about it. If you know ANYTHING about this cool place, stories or history, please post or email me at MrZip66@gmail.com .
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Come check out Route 66 in Oklahoma some time. If you’re ever in the Edmond, OK area, say “Hi.”
You bet. I’d love that.
Hi Mr. Zipper Man: My sister lives in 29 Palms which is a hell of a place to live…I don't get it….BUT when we go to Vegas (we live in Corona and Irvine) we take the back route there and I make whom ever I am traveling w/ stop at Roy's. I just LOVE that place, I LOVE route 66, I LOVE the history behind it. My husband thinks I'm weird and he it right. So that makes you weird too!!! Welcome to the club! ha-ha. I don't have any info to what you are looking for, but just felt compelled to say what a Roy's Cafe lover I am. You're not alone dude. Good luck to you and I hope you find what you are looking for. : )
Howdy. I am a professional archaeologist in Phoenix, and I am doing a free presentation on the history of Mohave County and the Big Sandy Valley on March 24 2011 for Arizona Archaeology month at one of our museums. I love your photos of the hackberry general store, and was wondering if I could use your ca. 1990 and the 2008 photos in my powerpoint presentation. i would give you full credit and would reference your website. please feel free to contact me at ggage@northlandresearch.com. Thanks in advance, and great website!
Cheers,
Gina
This was just sent to me by a Lady who worked at roadrunners retreat back in the 60s. Its awesome!!
I ran across your pictures on Facebook of the Road Runners Retreat restaurant. I just wanted to say that I worked as a waitress in the restaurant and my husband at the time (no more) worked in the gas station in 1965-66. The postcard picture (vintage 1960's) really brought back some memories, I would swear that the car out front in the picture was ours, but I can't be sure. I was just 21 at the time and we lived in a trailer out in back of the restaurant (as did most of the employees). Although the desert seems desolate and distant, it was amazing how many people you got to know and how quickly information would spread from town to town.
One of my favorite things was that the owner had built a small lagoon with a fence around it that had a small pond and a lot of trees and ducks off to the side of the restaurant, it was nice to be able to sit in the shade and cool off. At night we would sit outside the restaurant at picnic tables and watch the scorpions crawl by on the brick wall.
Other things I remember was driving out into the desert and meeting various characters who lived out there. One person we met had built his house out of junk…bottles, cans, etc. It was a true work of art.
Before we went to the Roadrunner, we worked at Roy's in Amboy. My memory of that restaurant is not as clear as the Roadrunner with the exception of the time there was smoke coming out of the crater in Amboy (I believe some kids had thrown some burning tires in the crater).
It is so sad to see how deteriorated everything has become. Those restaurants were true icons.
Just wanted to pass on a little bit of history….not much, but mine. Thank you for posting those pictures.
I worked in 29 Palms back in the late 60's early 70's as a Dep Sheriff. Made many trips to Amboy to handle various assignments. Everything from plane crashes to burglaries. I recall the reception on our Patrol cars was pretty poor, so we would have to use the phone at Roys..believe it or not they still had a wall phone that you had to crank to get an operator. East of town there were many messages adorning the sides of the roads made out of rocks. Quite a place. I recall as a child heading to Arizone from Lancaster CA. My father would always travel at night across the "hot" desert near Amboy. We always had our canvas water bag hung on the front bumper, just in case….Les
I lived in Chambless during the 60’s and early 70’s. My father would take us to Roadrunner’s after church. I remember all of the idling trucks sitting out front practically day and night. Just imagine a busy Denny’s adjacent to any freeway full of life and that was Roadrunner’s Retreat in its heyday. Great burgers and fries….
I too have long wanted to know about Roadrunner Retreat. I drive a truck along that route often and have some pictures of the sign and area but the last time I went that way the big sign blew down.
The Roadrunner's Retreat was built in 1961-1962. Roy Tull owned the land and the business. My Mother was a waitress. MacTull road (across from Chambliss) was named after Frank McConnell(my uncle) and Roy Tull. After Cadiz Summit burned down, the Roadrunner's Retreat was built. It was a Boomtown for gas and good food. Cadiz Summit was owned by George and Marie Sterling. This restaurant had great food too. To the best of my knowledge, Chambliss never had a restaurant. the next restaurant going west was Roy's. Roy Crowl was the original owner. His daughter Betty married Buster Burris. She died, I believe, of cancer. Buster's second wife was Bessie. Before Roadrunner's Retreat and Cadiz Summit, My Mother was a waitress at a café in Bagdad and my Father was a mechanic and tow truck operator. They both worked at Cadiz Summit. also. I hope this helps you with some history of Route 66.
Thank you, Judy. I live in Lucerne Valley and take the old Route 66 when I go to Laughlin. I love that way and have many photographs of Roys and Road Runner's Retreat and always stop at both places and more old "Eat". Thank you for your input.
Ray
I have seen a couple of places on the internet say the Roadrunner closed in 1995, but I'm fairly certain it closed before that. I buried a small pet very close to the restaurant (I lived in an apartment and didn't have many options), and that was likely in 1993, and 1994 at the very latest. The Roadrunner certainly appeared closed-down when I was there at that time.
Route 66 holds a certain mystique and sentimentality for times gone by. I take the portion through Amboy and Chambless whenever I go to my dad's in AZ. I always stop by my favorite old place along there, Roadrunner's Retreat. Here's a picture I took of it in December, 2009. In the last 8 years, the increased deterioration and litter of the grounds is sad to see.
[img ]http://i.imgur.com/OuXlmxK.jpg[/img]
Route 66 holds a certain mystique and sentimentality for times gone by. I take the portion through Amboy and Chambless whenever I go to my dad's in AZ. I always stop by my favorite old place along there, Roadrunner's Retreat. Here's a picture I took of it in December, 2009. In the last 8 years, the increased deterioration and litter of the grounds is sad to see.
The diner definitely closed in the early to mid 80’s, not 1995 as some places on the web erroneously state.
The gas station was briefly reopened around that time, but ultimately forced to close for good after the new owner could not afford to upgrade the subterranean gas tanks to modern standards.
“Expressway Diner” was a fake movie set name given to the diner during a 1985 face lift by a film crew on location shooting a tv commercial for Dodge. You can find this exact tv spot on YouTube by searching for “1986 Dodge Daytona commercial”. There’s a very interesting before/after in the commercial that’s part of the story and also a great shot of the diner ablaze in retro neon.
I spent the summer of 1964 around amboy, Baghdad, caddiz, and the devils play ground. we played a big war game called desert strike. they wanted to test our military in the desert for an extended time, because they knew a desert war was coming some time. some of the soldiers would go up to the little café/stores and buy apple jack to drink instead of water, which was always hot. there was a laundry mat there where we washed our uniforms. there was a labor camp there for the rail road. they told us the only people that could work there were the Indians native to the area. the army wasted tons of food. a box would have several things in it and the mess hall would only want one. so they dumped the rest. the word got around and the kids would come and get it. they were afraid some one would get run over so they started crushing this food with a dozer and burying it. I slept most nights on top of the houch on my deuce and a half. they warned us not to sleep on the ground because of snakes. this houch was about 12 feet above the ground and about 8×15 feet. I was always afraid I might have a night mare and jump off. the most out of place thing I ever was a line of bridges on tracked vehicles crossing the devils play ground. I always hoped I wouldn`t have to cross the Colorado river on one of these bridges. rumor was five soldiers got drowned during the summer and some where around 30 got killed. there were 30,000 over all out there. the airborne built a runway out there where their planes could land. them big mama`s would flat stir up some dust when they took off. the tanks had big air cooled motors on them and they were a dust storm waiting to happen.
My historical society will be having a field to Road runners and Roy’s this October. Our leaders do an excellent background on all our sites. We even build monuments w plaques on most of our outings.
For those interested, this site has an annual volunteer site clean-up one weekend each October. Basically remove 1970s debris, painting, and site improvements such as electrical and lighting, etc. A productive way to maintain the historic property as well as hang with some friendly, fun and knowledgeable Route 66 enthusiasts who either camp on the property or commute from Needles for the event. See the site’s Facebook page. Road Runner’s is currently restoring their huge sign, both new paint and functioning neon via donations and a Park Service grant, so that’s gonna rocketh once complete.