september 10, 2021
This is the Roy's sign, on the remains of Route 66 in Amboy, CA. It is a very famous spot especially for "Americana" photographers in the wake of Timothy White stumbling upon it, although I didn't know any of that when I drove to it.
I just needed gas before I headed deeper into the Mojave, and the gas station next door was so old it needed the handles unlocked to use the pumps.
The employee was a lady probably only slightly older than me. She took my card, came out to unlock the pump, and chatted while I filled up. I saw the Roy's sign sitting 50 feet away while we talked, and I said - hey, you think anyone would mind if I took photos of that before I leave?
"oh, not at all. actually, do you want to turn it on?"
We went next door to the dust-laden mid-century-modern motel office, and I hit a set of switches on the rear wood-panelled wall; the neon buzzed to life, piece-by-piece, and I bid her farewell as I walked out of the lobby and lined up my shots.
And the only sound that pierced the night from then on was the buzz of the neon and the click of my shutter. The motel is still a shell - that lobby and the sign are all that have been restored. the rooms are unfurnished, the 60's Chrysler parked out front hasn't moved in 15 years. The gas station was barely clinging to existence in business. Not a single car drove by in the 15 minutes I shot photos.
and so just like everything in America, even the shiny neon signs say No Vacancy because everything is so gutted there's nowhere left to stay
