BACKSTORY: Located in San Bernardino County, I discovered the sleepy town of Barstow on the way back from Las Vegas when I saw signs for The Casa Del Desierto, built in 1911 as a Harvey House hotel and train station, now houses the Route 66 Mother Road Museum, the Western America Railroad Museum and still functions as an (unstaffed) Amtrak station. The Barstow Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual sandcastle contest in the dry riverbed across from the Harvey House. Originally built by Cliff Chase in the mid-1940's, the El Rancho Motel used wooden railroad ties from the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad in its construction. The Main Street Murals project started in 1997 as a nonprofit organization to help beautify the downtown area. It was established by the city to create a walking gallery of history along Route 66's last existing Main Street.
