31
Dec

Is it still worth getting of the interstate and driving Route 66?

   Posted by: admin   in Route 66

I am talking about in a senic and historical context.

I love Route 66, I have driven it several times from start to end and each time is an adventure. I now live on Route 66 and enjoy taking weekend drives and trips on the good old Mother Road. There are still plenty of unique places to see from the glory years of the old route. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is still about 2,000 miles of Route 66 that are drivable. Most people think you just follow highway 40 and get off at the towns, but this is just untrue. With some research you can drive some amazing parts of the old alignments. There are several good books that can give you turn by turn directions or you can always use this website for free:

http://www.historic66.com/

This website is just the greatest when it comes to driving 66 it has the best turn by turn directions with the new street names listed. Makes finding and driving the “Mother Road” a lot easier.

There are many towns on Route 66 that are coming back to life and embracing their Route 66 heritage. You can find all kinds of small towns that have restored the old gas stations and diners. They have opened new Route 66 attractions and restored the good old motor courts. There are so many picture opportunities along the way and so many sites that just jump out and grab you. Who doesn’t like seeing things like the World’s Largest Totem Pole, The Blue Whale, The Blue Swallow Motor Court, The Adrian Café, The Rock Café, and so much more. Where else but on Route 66 can you sleep in a Wigwam, or a Hotel with rooms names after all the stars or even a silver bullet camping trailer. There are plenty of museums along the way that tell the Route 66 story and how it affected life in these towns. Route 66 has always had some quirkiness to it and that is one of the things that make the Route 66 great I mean Cadillac Ranch the Great Texan, The Barb Wire Museum, Henry’s Rabbit Ranch. The Rivera Restaurant, the Wagon Wheel Motel, Chief Yellowhorse, The Snowcap, and Tee Pee Curious are things that can only be found on Route 66 and make Route 66 so special. I think everyone should travel the old Route at least once. Travel the little back highways, go through the small towns and experience what it was like when the trip to your destination was just as fun as the destination. People need to see how it was like to travel, that you didn’t take an “interstate” and you went through the towns not around them.

One of the most amazing parts has to be the drive to Oatman AZ. Amazing it is hard to believe that years ago people actually had to drive this way backwards in their cars. This is one of the most photographed parts of the route and it is not for the faint of heart. The road twist and turns as it hugs the side of the mountain as you slowly wind up the mountain towards the ghost town that is trying to come back to life. There is no guardrail and the road is narrow, but it is the most amazing and scenic part of the drive. Oatman used to be a town then it was a ghost town and now it is making a comeback. It feels like you just stepped back in time to a small western mining town. I love this part of the trip; it is one of my favorite things to do on 66.

The people of Route 66 are also amazing, any family owned motor court, motel, diner, or gas station is going to be clean and wonderful and full of the Route 66 spirit. Talk to the people that live on 66 trust me they will share their stories and help you find places to stop. I love just asking people about the road and what they like to see and what is out there you will be amazed at the stories and the suggestions you get. Almost everyone that lives on 66 has embraced the history and the wonder of the road and there are so many people and organizations that are out their trying to save the pieces that we have left.

I still enjoy driving Route 66 to this day and every time I do drive the route I discover something new and exciting to see. I have so many favorite places that I could just go on and on with sites to see. If you are interested in Route 66 There are several websites that I would recommend checking out. I will list them below. If you are planning on traveling the route the best suggestion I can give you is take the time to contact the local chamber of commerce or visitor’s center for each of the towns along Route 66. You won’t believe how much information and how many suggestions they will give you if you just contact them. They will also send out a map for you of their town with famous Route 66 Landmarks on them. These make finding the route and seeing the different things easier. Also watch out for brown Historic Route 66 signs they will guide you along your way. Make sure you know what alignment you want to take. There are several 1917, 1934, 1943, and 1970 and so on. You could get multiple historic signs with the dates on them so it is best to know which year you want to travel. There are several wonderful books out there about Route 66 everything from books with stories, history and famous pictures of landmarks. The Mother Road by Michael Wallis is always a great book for someone that is just starting out researching 66 and what it has/had to offer. I might also recommend checking out the Route 66 Pulse

http://www.route66pulse.com/

This is an awesome newspaper that you can either have delivered or read online that tells stories from the road, events, new attractions and so on. This is a wonderful newspaper filled with tons of information about the Route and the stories are written by people that have lived and worked on the route forever. I find this newspaper helpful also if you have questions about places you can email them and they will assist you.

So you asked is it worth driving for the scenic and historical value, YES! I have made some of the best memories driving the “Mother Road”, meeting the people of the route and enjoying the people and the stories that I have been told. The Route from start to end is so diverse and a great way to see how America’s across the US lived/live. There are so many wonderful things to see and so many amazing things to do that Route 66 would be a great vacation for anyone. I hope this helps you if you are planning a trip or would like more info on Route 66 just shoot me an email. I can give you tons of suggestions for places to see, eat and stop.

Websites:

http://www.historic66.com/description/

http://www.national66.com/

http://www.bygonebyways.com/Route%2066.htm

http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/route66.html

http://www.oklahomaroute66.com/

http://www.route-66.com/

http://www.cart66pf.org/

http://www.route66university.com/

http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm

http://www.route66ca.org/

http://www.route66magazine.com/

http://www.missouri66.org/

http://illinoisroute66.org/

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 9:52 am and is filed under Route 66. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 comments so far

wdx2bb
 1 

Long stretches of the road aren't there any more, so that might make it tough.

However, there are guides to the attractions that are still left. If you are driving that way anyway, it's definitely worth it to pick up a book and at least see what might interest you. The Interstate can be boring after a while, so it's good to get off and see the sights.
References :

December 31st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Steve in NC
 2 

Absolutely! This space isn't large enough to go into all the reasons. I would suggest you get a travel book specifically on Route 66 and read for yourself. I have done many sections and I loved it. I especially like the Arizona, New Mexico and Texas sections.
Good luck and have fun!!
References :
Travel connoisseur

December 31st, 2008 at 3:35 pm
surfjax32
 3 

I love Route 66, I have driven it several times from start to end and each time is an adventure. I now live on Route 66 and enjoy taking weekend drives and trips on the good old Mother Road. There are still plenty of unique places to see from the glory years of the old route. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is still about 2,000 miles of Route 66 that are drivable. Most people think you just follow highway 40 and get off at the towns, but this is just untrue. With some research you can drive some amazing parts of the old alignments. There are several good books that can give you turn by turn directions or you can always use this website for free:
http://www.historic66.com/
This website is just the greatest when it comes to driving 66 it has the best turn by turn directions with the new street names listed. Makes finding and driving the “Mother Road” a lot easier.

There are many towns on Route 66 that are coming back to life and embracing their Route 66 heritage. You can find all kinds of small towns that have restored the old gas stations and diners. They have opened new Route 66 attractions and restored the good old motor courts. There are so many picture opportunities along the way and so many sites that just jump out and grab you. Who doesn’t like seeing things like the World’s Largest Totem Pole, The Blue Whale, The Blue Swallow Motor Court, The Adrian Café, The Rock Café, and so much more. Where else but on Route 66 can you sleep in a Wigwam, or a Hotel with rooms names after all the stars or even a silver bullet camping trailer. There are plenty of museums along the way that tell the Route 66 story and how it affected life in these towns. Route 66 has always had some quirkiness to it and that is one of the things that make the Route 66 great I mean Cadillac Ranch the Great Texan, The Barb Wire Museum, Henry’s Rabbit Ranch. The Rivera Restaurant, the Wagon Wheel Motel, Chief Yellowhorse, The Snowcap, and Tee Pee Curious are things that can only be found on Route 66 and make Route 66 so special. I think everyone should travel the old Route at least once. Travel the little back highways, go through the small towns and experience what it was like when the trip to your destination was just as fun as the destination. People need to see how it was like to travel, that you didn’t take an “interstate” and you went through the towns not around them.

One of the most amazing parts has to be the drive to Oatman AZ. Amazing it is hard to believe that years ago people actually had to drive this way backwards in their cars. This is one of the most photographed parts of the route and it is not for the faint of heart. The road twist and turns as it hugs the side of the mountain as you slowly wind up the mountain towards the ghost town that is trying to come back to life. There is no guardrail and the road is narrow, but it is the most amazing and scenic part of the drive. Oatman used to be a town then it was a ghost town and now it is making a comeback. It feels like you just stepped back in time to a small western mining town. I love this part of the trip; it is one of my favorite things to do on 66.

The people of Route 66 are also amazing, any family owned motor court, motel, diner, or gas station is going to be clean and wonderful and full of the Route 66 spirit. Talk to the people that live on 66 trust me they will share their stories and help you find places to stop. I love just asking people about the road and what they like to see and what is out there you will be amazed at the stories and the suggestions you get. Almost everyone that lives on 66 has embraced the history and the wonder of the road and there are so many people and organizations that are out their trying to save the pieces that we have left.

I still enjoy driving Route 66 to this day and every time I do drive the route I discover something new and exciting to see. I have so many favorite places that I could just go on and on with sites to see. If you are interested in Route 66 There are several websites that I would recommend checking out. I will list them below. If you are planning on traveling the route the best suggestion I can give you is take the time to contact the local chamber of commerce or visitor’s center for each of the towns along Route 66. You won’t believe how much information and how many suggestions they will give you if you just contact them. They will also send out a map for you of their town with famous Route 66 Landmarks on them. These make finding the route and seeing the different things easier. Also watch out for brown Historic Route 66 signs they will guide you along your way. Make sure you know what alignment you want to take. There are several 1917, 1934, 1943, and 1970 and so on. You could get multiple historic signs with the dates on them so it is best to know which year you want to travel. There are several wonderful books out there about Route 66 everything from books with stories, history and famous pictures of landmarks. The Mother Road by Michael Wallis is always a great book for someone that is just starting out researching 66 and what it has/had to offer. I might also recommend checking out the Route 66 Pulse
http://www.route66pulse.com/
This is an awesome newspaper that you can either have delivered or read online that tells stories from the road, events, new attractions and so on. This is a wonderful newspaper filled with tons of information about the Route and the stories are written by people that have lived and worked on the route forever. I find this newspaper helpful also if you have questions about places you can email them and they will assist you.

So you asked is it worth driving for the scenic and historical value, YES! I have made some of the best memories driving the “Mother Road”, meeting the people of the route and enjoying the people and the stories that I have been told. The Route from start to end is so diverse and a great way to see how America’s across the US lived/live. There are so many wonderful things to see and so many amazing things to do that Route 66 would be a great vacation for anyone. I hope this helps you if you are planning a trip or would like more info on Route 66 just shoot me an email. I can give you tons of suggestions for places to see, eat and stop.

Websites:
http://www.historic66.com/description/
http://www.national66.com/
http://www.bygonebyways.com/Route%2066.htm
http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/route66.html
http://www.oklahomaroute66.com/
http://www.route-66.com/
http://www.cart66pf.org/
http://www.route66university.com/
http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm
http://www.route66ca.org/
http://www.route66magazine.com/
http://www.missouri66.org/
http://illinoisroute66.org/
References :
Live on it, Love It, Drive It, Keep 66 alive!!!!

December 31st, 2008 at 4:03 pm