There are at least ten Bagdad’s in America. They survive in federal geological surveys and maps of California, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, New York and Tennessee. Only three have post offices.
But only one Bagdad holds the distinction of having once thrived in the often inhospitable environs of the Mojave Desert…
For us and countless others, Jevetta Steele’s haunting lyrics from the song, “Calling You,” from the 1987 indie cult classic “Bagdad Cafe” will forever evoke the particularities of a small desert town on Route 66 contrasted with the vastness of the Mojave Desert. However, Bagdad Cafe was not actually shot in Bagdad. Not Bagdad, California, and not Baghdad, Iraq. The award-winning German film, directed by Percy Adlon, was filmed in Newberry Springs at the former Sidewinder Cafe, which decided to let the name “Bagdad Cafe” live on, drawing throngs of international tourists.
Welcome to our second installment in our continuing series.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign.
We hope you enjoy your flight with us as we return to the magical, majestic and oftentimes mysterious past.
We’ve added a few surprises along the way. It’s a short flight so don’t expect candied peanuts.
Buckle up, buttercup. It’s going to be a heck of a ride…
Have you ever wondered what it used to look like in the Mojave Desert in yesteryear? When ingenuity and pure desert grit was king? Do you want to learn secrets the desert has to tell?
Please join us for Part One of many trips through time illuminating the Mojave Desert’s amazing past and present. Trip the light fantastic with us–the desert way…
Did you know there’s a fascinating connection between Seligman, Arizona, the Panama Canal and President Lincoln’s widow, Mary Todd Lincoln? Despite Seligman Cemetery’s close proximity to busy Interstate 40 and nearby railroad tracks, the cemetery imbues a sense of peace and majesty of the not-forgotten past…
Oro Grande Days was designed to celebrate this little village, once known as Halleck, in the Silver Mining District, and its rich history and heritage that spans more than a century and a half, from wild west boom town, to today’s sleepy hamlet in the shadow of a giant cement plant along Route 66. While there are many old towns that call themselves the Wild West, Oro Grande deserves the title more than most…
The sleepy desert community of Oro Grande is located on Route 66/National Trails Highway, five miles north-northwest of Victorville, California. Besides being a stop along Route 66, and having one of the finest pizza parlors around, it has the oldest cemetery in San Bernardino County…
Times have changed since my first trip through Amboy at about 90 miles an hour. It was 1970 and I was 16, traveling with friends to camp out at Hole in the Wall rustic site in the Providence Mountains…