ABOUT: I-40 begins in Barstow & follows some of Route 66 through the Mojave Desert. Along the route is Newberry Springs, most don't take much notice of the 117 sq mile community, at least not until 1988 with the release of the film "Bagdad Cafe". Now, people travel from all over the globe to sit & enjoy a meal at the small, homey Cafe. If you haven't seen the film & you like surreal kinds of comedy, check it out. It's a story of lost people finding themselves.Besides the Bagdad Cafe, there are two other things that came to mind as we traveled down old Route 66, John Steinbecks, "The Grapes of Wrath" - to a short lived TV show called "Route 66"...for all too short a time, I pretend I'm in that Corvette cruising down Route 66 back in her day...Route 66 began in 1926 and was decommissioned in 1985. The 2,448 miles of highway, started in Chicago, Illinois & passed through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & ended almost to the ocean in California.Steinbeck referred to RT 66 as "The Mother Road" in 1930 & the name stuck. In 1960, "Route 66" was a hot TV show filmed on location all over the US, along the course of the famous highway. And then there's Nat King Cole singing "Get Your Kicks On Route 66". I can think of no other road that has been immortalized more - in song & clubs, organizations & even museums.******************If you'd really like to experience all that was & is of the Mother Road, check out this site:TOUR ROUTE 66 ON A HARLEY-DAVIDSON -http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Motorcycle_Tours/route66_details.jsp?locale=en_US******************Yes, my 4-day Mother's Day weekend was wonderful! Four generations invaded Laughlin, Nevada to celebrate. 13 family members from Arizona & CA made the trek to the tri-state area, where the Mojave Desert meets the Colorado River. Ranging in age from 1 to 81!The Riverside Resort has just about everything, Although it is a gambling casino/hotel, it has many family friendly amenities - 34 lane bowling alley, six-plex movie theater, 2 arcades, 3 swimming pools and a special place for young ones called Kid Kastle. And I'm not even gonna try to count how many restaurants it has. :)On our return trip we found a little park next to the gas station, I couldn't resist climbing aboard the caboose & pretending I was on a train trip...haven't rode a train in years. :P