Flying the Mohawk

Night photo of the Mohawk Mini-Mart in Oro Grande, CA. Native settlements existed here for hundreds of years, and it was an important trading post, as the Mojave Trail, Mormon Trail, and Spanish Trail converged in this general area. When gold was discovered, this became a larger settlement. Eventually, Route 66 was established here, the nation’s first year round highway linking Chicago to Los Angeles, prompting the migration out West, escaping the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Much of the homes and businesses along Route 66 dried up in the 1950s when the highway system, including Interstate 40, were built, bypassing "The Mother Road".

Oro GrandeMohawksignRoute 66Mother Roadtrading postnightlong exposurestarsskyabandonedurbex