Day 11: Arizona's Last Hurrah and California at Last

Day 11 felt like a milestone from the moment we woke up. After more than a week on the Mother Road, we would leave Arizona behind, cross into California, and begin the final push toward the Pacific Ocean.

We started the morning with breakfast at Westside Lilo's Café in Seligman, savoring one last taste of small-town Arizona before heading west.

Our first major stop was Kingman, one of Arizona's most important Route 66 communities and a key gateway between the old highway and the rugged desert landscapes ahead.

Along the way, we visited the famous Hackberry General Store, a Route 66 institution packed with vintage signs, classic cars, old gas pumps, and decades of road trip memories. Every corner seemed to contain another treasure from the golden age of American travel.

In Kingman, we admired the incredible Route 66 mural at the El Trovatore Motel, grabbed photos at Mr. D'z Route 66 Diner, and stopped at the Route 66 Shield Drive-Thru.

Before leaving town, we paid a visit to the quirky and colorful Giganticus Headicus, one of the most unusual roadside attractions on the route.

One of the day's most scenic drives followed as we climbed the winding road toward Oatman. Twisting through the dramatic Black Mountains, this stretch is often considered one of the most beautiful and challenging sections of the entire Mother Road.

Perched high among the mountains, Oatman feels like stepping onto the set of an old Western film. Historic wooden storefronts line the dusty streets, but the town's most famous residents are the wild burros that freely roam among visitors and vehicles. Watching them wander through town created one of the most memorable experiences of our entire journey.

Not long afterward, we crossed the Colorado River at Topock and entered our eighth and final Route 66 state:

California.

There was something special about seeing that state line sign. After nearly 2,000 miles of history, diners, motels, roadside attractions, and small-town America, we were finally beginning the last state of our Route 66 adventure.

Crossing the river also served as a reminder of a time when journeys west were far more challenging. Long before modern bridges and highways, travelers faced a much bigger undertaking simply getting across the Colorado River.

Soon, California's Mojave Desert unfolded before us. The landscape felt vast and remote, with distant mountains, endless open space, and long stretches of pavement reaching toward the horizon. It was a different kind of beauty than we had experienced elsewhere on the trip—stark, quiet, and undeniably impressive.

In Goffs, we stopped at the historic schoolhouse before continuing to one of the most iconic landmarks on all of Route 66: Roy's Motel & Café in Amboy.

Roy's famous sign standing against the desert sky is Route 66 perfection. Even travelers who know little about the Mother Road often recognize its iconic neon. Standing beneath it felt like meeting a celebrity of roadside America.

The road carried us onward through Newberry Springs, where we visited the legendary Bagdad Café, made famous by the cult classic film. Like so many Route 66 attractions, it felt wonderfully authentic, quirky, and uniquely American.

One of my favorite stops of the day was Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch near Oro Grande. Hundreds of metal "trees" decorated with colorful glass bottles shimmer and sway in the desert breeze, creating a whimsical work of roadside art unlike anything else we encountered on the trip.

We continued through Victorville before beginning the climb through Cajon Pass. As the road rose into the mountains, we caught our first sweeping views of Southern California stretching out before us. For the first time, the end of the journey felt truly close.

As evening approached, we arrived in San Bernardino, where we enjoyed dinner at the historic Mitla Café before checking into one of Route 66's most famous lodging destinations: the Wigwam Motel.

Spending the night inside a concrete wigwam felt like the perfect Route 66 experience. These iconic structures have welcomed travelers since the highway's heyday, and staying here felt like reconnecting with the road's golden era one final time before reaching the Pacific.

As darkness settled over Southern California, we reflected on everything the day had contained: mountain switchbacks, wandering burros, desert highways, historic crossings, neon signs, roadside art, and countless miles of unforgettable scenery.

Tomorrow, we'll reach the Pacific Ocean.

After nearly two weeks on the Mother Road, the end of the journey is finally within reach.