Hit
The Road Jack!
Driving the length of Route 66 will introduce you
to the many pleasures of life in the slow lane.
A blue whale beached
on the banks of a stagnant pond. A spaceman the size of a three-story
building. A dinosaur with a red-haired damsel dangling from its
toothy jaws. No, I’m not hallucinating
again, just recalling a few of the more colorful landmarks I discovered
during a recent roadtrip on that world-famous stretch of pavement
known as Route 66.
For more than 50 years, the 2,400-odd miles of
this historic road ran unbroken from the shores of Lake Michigan
in downtown Chicago to the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles. Along
the way it gave birth to the quintessentially American notion that
piling the whole family into the car and heading for the horizon
could actually be an adventure.
Fortunately for those of us who still believe there’s more
to roadtripping than making time on the interstates that replaced
it, choice sections of Route 66 and many of its treasures are still
out there waiting to be experienced. I know because I teamed up
with a couple of friends to drive the length of it on the highway’s
75th anniversary.
That cross-country ramble turned out to be an
absolute blast and it’s something I’d recommend highly
to anyone who understands the irresistible pull of the open road.
But be forewarned: Like all worthwhile undertakings, finding and
following what’s
left of the original Route 66 can require healthy doses of both
patience and perseverance.
Even with a virtual library of Route
66 guidebooks and a thick stack of AAA maps at our disposal, my
friends and I still managed to get lost at least a couple of times
a day. And while we found the guidebooks’ lack of clear-cut
directions frustrating at times, in retrospect I look back at all
of our missteps as just another part of the adventure.
Of course, I wouldn’t be telling you this tale if there wasn’t
an extraordinary payoff. From the homey little roadside café in
the middle of Texas that served what still stands out as the best
breakfast I’ve ever eaten to the spectacular sunset and the
scent of rain-washed sage we enjoyed on a deserted stretch of two-lane
west of Albuquerque, our trip convinced me that the rewards of
seeking out the last remaining stretches of Route 66 are both countless
and profound.
You see, when you stumble upon a long-forgotten stretch of the
old road or one of its classic roadside attractions it’s
like being let in on a juicy little secret. A secret made more
appealing by the knowledge that all those bored-to-tears travelers
whizzing by on the interstate a few miles away have absolutely
no idea how much really cool stuff they’re missing.
Xtrordinary
Xtra
All 2,400-odd miles of Route 66 weren’t
paved until 1937. The last section of the old road—through
Williams, AZ—was officially decommissioned in 1985.
Xtrordinary Xtra
If you’ve ever traveled cross-country
you may have already driven on sections of Route 66 without knowing
it. Many sections of Interstates 10, 15, 40, and 44 were laid down
right on top of the old road.
The Facts
Name: Route 66
Location: Runs through eight states (Illinois,
Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California)
and three time zones on its way from the intersection of Adams
Street and Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago to the foot of the
Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles.
Website(s):
www.national66.com
www.byways.org
My Advice
- Here’s my number one rule: Leave your trip planning a
little loose because, frankly, that’s where the magic is.
Traveling unencumbered by prearranged hotel reservations gives
you the freedom to explore an interesting bit of roadside kitsch
you might be tempted to pass by if you’re feeling pressed
to make another 150 miles before nightfall.
- I’d also strongly
encourage you to avoid eating at any national chain restaurants
along the way. Discovering all the great one-off eateries that
continue to keep the locals happy even after the interstates
passed them by was one of the highlights of our trip.
- If you’re
planning to retrace the length of Route 66 as faithfully as we
did, you’ll want to arm yourself with as
many Route 66 guidebooks and maps as you can find. Having multiple
sources to refer to is often the only way to track down the old
road’s real hidden gems.
- While it’s certainly possible
to drive Route 66 in either direction, you’re likely to
find that traveling east-to-west is easier because the maps and
directions in most guidebooks are laid out this way.
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