AMBOY, Calif. — Water is the key to the future of Roy’s Motel & Cafe, the lone survivor in a Route 66 town that, at its peak, boasted 200 residents, three gas stations, three motels, two cafes, a post office, a school and a church.

Then Interstate 40 came a half-century ago and offered travelers a faster way through this remote stretch of the Mojave Desert in eastern California. ×

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