The Mysterious Amboy Lions of Route 66

Jan 16, 2019
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Driving along the National Trails Highway section of Route 66 (four miles east of Amboy, California) you might catch a glimpse of two large, white statues a couple hundred feet away from the roadside. Closer examination reveals a pair of solid marble Chinese guardian lions, about a quarter-mile apart.

WHAT ARE THEY?

Often called “Foo Dogs”, Chinese guardian lions are distinguished by the tokens they hold. The male (symbolizing yang) holds an embroidered ball, the female (symbolizing yin) holds a cub. When facing the lions, they are positioned in accordance with fengshui practice and theory. The male is on the right, the female on the left, both looking outward observing the world that they guard.

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

It is unknown how the lions got there. Approximately five feet high and placed on top of cinder block pedestals, the lions were first sighted in 2013. No one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for them. It is a mystery as to how and why these two hand-carved, solid marble statues weighing thousands of pounds were transported here. Or why the lions were placed four miles from the nearest town of Amboy, California – a small ghost town with a unique history of its own.

Side view of the male lion with Route 66 and the Amboy Crater (an extinct volcanic cinder cone…left of the lion) in the background.
Side view of the female lion.

LION LOVE

Whatever the lions’ origin, passersby have attached their own meaning. People leave coins, offerings, memorials, and words. Logbooks collect travelers’ musings; when the logs disappear, fans replace them with new notebooks, reproducing if they can what has been documented from the missing logs. The lions stand watch over an ever-changing landscape of meaningful gestures and tokens. Good luck and memorial offerings flooded the female lion after a May 2016 online report that she was damaged by a high-powered rifle (nearby the shooter had scribbled an apology on a piece of driftwood, claiming he didn’t know the target was precious). Among their ever-growing fanbase, it appears the lions have attracted guardians of their own.

– Atlas Obscura
Close up picture of some of the damage to the female lion.
A journal left for visitors to read. Bottom half of page is the apology regarding the damage to the female lion.

You can find the Guardian Lions of Route 66 between Amboy Road and Kelbaker Road, 500 feet back from the eastbound highway roadside. Driving from Amboy, clock your distance four miles east from Roy’s Motel and Café. You’ll see a real estate sign at the roadside, from which you’ll spot the male lion. You may catch sight of the female lion from there. If not, clock your distance a further quarter mile east and look for her from the roadside. If traveling west, scout for the female just past Cadiz Summit pass.

– Atlas Obscura