Bagdad Cafe

WARNING! French tourists love this place, and there’s a photo of Celine Dion on the wall!

If you visit the Rock-A-Hoola waterpark, or if you find yourself in the Newberry Springs area for some other reason, might as well stop in here for a bite. It’s a somewhat typical dusty desert diner just off I-40, about 15 minutes south of I-15 (Harvard Rd. exit). The food is pretty much what you’d expect: burgers, cheeseburgers, and bacon cheeseburgers. I think they also serve breakfast stuff.

What makes this place noteworthy is that it was the subject of a shitty ’90s French/German movie. Because of this, the place is a bona fide tourist attraction among the Euro crowd. The walls are covered in stickers, postcards and signed headshots (including the aforementioned Celine Dion pic). But it’s also a popular pit stop for bikers cruising the Mother Road (it’s on Route 66).

As far as photography goes, it’s not really an ideal spot for nudes or anything like that, since there are always people and kids around. There’s a cool old abandoned motel next door, but it’s in really shitty condition and is right off the road, so you don’t have much privacy. But on the way down Harvard Rd. from I-15, you do pass some amazing sand fields that are great for shooting in at sunset.

Bonus: After stopping here, if you continue following Rt. 66 east you will reach Roy’s Motel, which is one of the most

photogenically kitschy relics of ’50s Americana you could ever hope to post on Instagram. (More info here.)

 

More Kooky Desert Locations

Tom Curnett

Really dig your website. I’m an old biker and into the Mojave. I’ve been to many of your places. I can add a few more like the grave site to Seldom Seen Slim and a few others. I have a few suggestions for you if ever get lost and hit the west coast by acciddent. Wierd shit holes that I’m sure you will love.

Adios for now

Tom

PS Amature photo guy, have camera will film you for gratis

Claude

I like the film Bagdad Cafe, I have seen it many times, maybe it’s because I’m French ! LoL !
From links to links, I came here on your blog I do not know how… But I put it in my favorites 😉

richard

…….your bagdad café video is excellente ! ……drove thru Mojave Desert back in 1970 on way to Las Vegas…..something magical about the desert ! …….Circus Circus billboards everywhere ……spent two nights at Westward Ho Motel …..$ 40 per night …..right across the Strip from Riviera …..Totie Fields and Jack E Leonard were performing there……Richard Nixon was President and Ronald Reagan governor of California…..gasoline = 35 cents per gallon……took a 10 pm stroll up the street to the old Desert Inn ….temperature = 95 degrees……gazed up at penthouse…..curtains were closed but lights were on …….you know who was up …..don’t you ? …..America’s first billionaire >>>> Howard Hughes ! …..best wishes and happy travels …..

wonderhussy

Those were the days! I would have loved to go to Vegas back then… I wish I could get in a time machine and just spend one night in 1972 Vegas. Now that would be amazing!

richard

…..a couple years ago I watched the movie ” Casino ” with Sharon Stone and Robert DeNiro ……and I thought I WAS in a time machine ! ! ! …… great movie about 1970’s era Las Vegas …… just like when we were out there ……. back then everybody seemed to have more money …..the skyrocketing price of oil knocked everybody for a loop and wrecked the American economy …… then Reaganomics rescued us (LOL !)……

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