A couple that runs the Oddity Odysseys channel on YouTube recently explored Amboy Crater, the dormant volcano just off Route 66 near Amboy, California.
They lucked out in one way: They climbed into the cinder cone during a semi-cloudy day, which blunted the Mojave Desert’s brutal sun considerably. It helps they also carried with plenty of water.
It’s a well-produced and informative video you can watch here:
As a bonus, here’s the couple’s exploration of the long-closed Roy’s Motel in Amboy:
As another bonus, here’s a 28-minute classic video of the ever-affable “California’s Gold” host Huell Howser exploring the Mojave Desert, which includes a stop in Amboy Crater and Amboy. The Amboy stuff begins about the 10-minute mark.
The real discovery of the Howser video is him interviewing longtime Amboy and Roy’s owner Buster Burris and when the cafe still was operating.
I’m not sure when the Howser video was produced, but “California’s Gold” began in 1991, and Burris died in 2000. So it’s probably safe to say it’s at least 25 years old. It wasn’t uploaded to the internet until late 2017.
https://youtu.be/SZCdeuUVpO8
Howser said it was 115 degrees when he shot his trek into the volcano. Fortunately, the BLM official let him and his crew drive to near the base instead of hiking 1.5 miles from the trailhead.
Amboy Crater is a 250-foot-tall extinct volcano a few miles from Amboy. It’s been listed for decades as a National Natural Landmark and is within the recently established Mojave Trails National Monument.
(Image of Amboy Crater near Amboy, California, by the Bureau of Land Management via Flickr)
I’ve been watching videos from Oddity Odysseys for about a year now. They have some great stuff.