FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (12mm, f/9, 1/400 sec, ISO200)

This is a place we have visited many times before. It’s Amboy, a small town on the crossroad where the Route 66 meets the road to Twentynine Palms.

It’s almost a ghost town. The school has been closed and most people left a long time ago. There is a petrol station but you better not get stranded with an empty tank there. The gas prices are insane. But there is a small shop and Amboy post cards.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO320)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (14.5mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/5.6, 1/140 sec, ISO200)

But the best thing here is the old motel reception building and the interior of the gas station. It’s mostly original from the 60s.

You can even enter some of the bungalows. It’s clear that there are plans to revive the place but according to the guy in the gas station there are problems with the water. But the other problem is the lack of guest. Who should stay here out of nowhere? The next real town is about one hours drive away.

The same motel in Carpinteria or Santa Barbara would make its owner rich in no time but here it’s very different.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (17.4mm, f/9, 1/750 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (24mm, f/10, 1/640 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (14.5mm, f/10, 1/600 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (11mm, f/10, 1/600 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (10mm, f/10, 1/750 sec, ISO200)

All you can do here is to get a cold coke and some crisps and to take some pictures of the petrol station, the huge Roy’s sign and the lost motel.

And of course a picture of the route 66 emblem written on the tarmac. There is no need to rush because there is not a lot of traffic. I wonder how this place will look like a couple of years from now.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (15.1mm, f/10, 1/680 sec, ISO200)