The previous posts remind me of my Grandparents. This recalls me to a time in the early '50s my grandparents' trip from East to the Pacific. He was recovering from surgery at the time. She needed to be taught to drive,,( '50 Plymouth ex-taxicab ) And gearshift. I'm certain they wound up on 66, by the 'souvenirs' they presented. I have of spoke this before, but always amusing to me is a visit I made to My MomMom, In '88 During our visit I mused about the cost of gasoline on their trip. With no hesitation, she half turned in her chair reached back to the book shelves and produced a small book. Showing me the last page I learned,,,, Round trip $72
I have driven parts on the bike . That was America at its best , for me . The Blue Ridge Parkway is one also if you ever can get to drive on and enjoy America
I turned 80 in June. 66 has been a big part of my life. I have done the whole thing but not on one trip. We lived in the Texas Panhandle and my grandparent moved from there to Northern California in 1940. We made at least one trip a year until we moved to CA in '59. My brother & I took his '39 Ford coupe to CA in 1858. He was 18 and I was 13. Much of the trip was the familiar Route 66 we knew. Break downs and amazing roadside repairs were all part of our trips. Dad pulled the pan on a '42 Dodge to remove a rod that was knocking at Peach Springs AZ. When we got to Hackberry he paid a gas station/shop owner to use his shop. He smoothed the crank with emory cloth turning the engine with the plugs removed with the starter. He replaced the insert well enough to Get us to Pittsburg CA. There he pulled the bottom end with the block still in the car. Rebuilt the bottom end installed new rings, lapped the valves and had it ready the night before we headed home. In the early 50s movies were mostly black & white. We had no TV. Neon lit towns at night. Neon was an art form. Bright and colorful signs were everywhere moving light shows. Cowboys roping steers, Indians shooting buffalo & cowboys, windmills pumping water, lightning flashes and rain falling from clouds, shooting stars, planes with turning propellers., running streams with swimming fish, wild animals moving through forests .......if it could be thought of there was a neon image. We could not afford "Motor Lodges" so Dad drove "straight through" with a couple of naps when Mom drove. At night I asked him to wake me up every time we came to a town so I could see the neon. The closest I get to that feeling now is at Disney Cars Land at night. I actually tear up! This month we will be heading to a family gathering in Amarillo and I'll do as much Old 66 as I can.
For those with knowledge or have traveled Route 66 what do you consider “must see” and “ don’t waste your time” attractions.
@pirate , I rate Route 66 in Arizona the best. It is well marked and deviates from the Interstate often. Very scenic.
I lived in Flagstaff AZ for a while and was on 66 all the time. I bought a 57 Chevy from a guy who owned a cabin camp and general store on 66 just west of Flagstaff town called Bellemont. It's where they filmed Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper filling up for gas in Easy Rider. Pat
The description of your road trips reminded me of this song and video. Hope it doesn't get you too choked up.
In 1966 I drove on route 66 from my home (Dad and Moms ) in Springfield , to Scott AFB . I could see the four lane under construction on my way to rt 4 . I can tell you that we could not wait to use that four lane . But now we get great joy in driving rt 66 . I have driven many parts of the route , and would tell anyone if you get a chance to drive any part of it do it. It's great fun !!!!!!
I First was on Rt 66, from California to Oklahoma, in 1951! But I don’t remember it! I was also on it every years after that until Oct of 1957! We moved back to the ranch in Oklahoma! My uncle was driving a 1936 GMC pick up with-a two wheel trailer, my Mom was driving a 1953 Ford Station wagon pulling a 12 foot Shasta camping trailer. My Dad and I were in the 1937 Ford ton and a half pulling a four wheel trailer with a 1934 Allis Chalmbers tractor in the bed. I remember this trip just like it was yesterday! I turned six in Arizona and my folks gave me a party and a Daisy canteen! It took us close to a week to get back to Oklahoma! Bones View attachment 6473015
For those that remember taking any trip in the 60s, we remember the possibility of something breaking with no real guarantee that the trip would be uneventful. But those events were the foundations that who we are was built on. How dad handled the unexpected helped shape how I dealt with problems later. Road trips were family experiences and the world we saw on two lane roads was a simpler, slower pace than what road trips are today. Families traveled together not just in the same car. And the slower pace allowed us to see details about the things we saw that piqued our curiosity and interest. The sights to see are still along the route but some of them require a little more imagination to see the true story behind them. When you see that boarded up gas station, just imagine how many people passes thru it and imagine some of the stories that unfolded there. Or the old tourist attraction, how many kids waited as patiently as they could to reach the landmark that held special significance to them. Paint the picture however you want, remember the stories that make you happy, just slow down a little and get out and really look and enjoy the ride.
Just got back from the family reunion in Amarillo. Loved the drive though much of it was I40. More trucks that passenger cars. At truck stops most truckers I heard weren't speaking English or Spanish. They definitely control all lanes.The old towns & spots continue to disappear. Glad I have my memories. On the way home we turned on to old 66 just west of Ash Fork, AZ and took it to Kingman. That is one of my favorite stretches. The piece from Kingman to Oatman and Needles is great but sorta hard to find, at least for me. I like to go through as many of the towns as we can. Some had a surge after "Cars" but some of that seems to be wearing off. Seligman, AZ is hanging on. The old business strip in Tucumcari, NM was sad but I heard the down town is better. Always have to stop Adrian, TX the half way point. Sometimes there is a business or two sometimes not. The Big Texan is a kick and the last few trips the food was better. There were lots of folks at the Cadillac Ranch. Tyler's Bar-B-Q in Amarillo is great. Two good Mexican restaurants in Gallup are Jerry's and Genaro's. New Mexico Mexican food is its own thing. 66 is always an adventure and sometimes you just have to take a chance on the tourist spots Giant Jackrabbit, Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon Caverns.....but if no one give them a shot they may be gone. A drive to the South Rim Of the Grand Canyon is worth it. The view of the canyon is unreal! I could spend weeks on just the Texas, New Mexico, & Arizona section.
It's a forgotten thing that was known as brand loyalty , the consumer didn't destroy it the Brands did ..
First I apologize for this, but all these memories and my Mrs. Don't Dig 'em. Always wanted to take a crack at the Big Texan deal but somehow the schedule would not allow. On one run from the Mexcan border to Oregon the trailer had a leaking rear hub seal. They directed me to a repair shop. I backed in where told, and was told to use the lunch room just off the repair bay. Walking past the extra dirty cattle trailer next to my trailer, I noted the flies feasting on the crud. The lunch room was also popular with the creatures. To the crew it appeared as business as usual
I just posted a video on my YouTube channel of my visit to The Bottle Tree Ranch located between Barstow and Victorville, California on the two lane Route 66 bypass that I took a few years ago … @ Jim
this just reminded me: going west to east on 66 in 1970 was great, but we took 70 to get out west. no speed limits in nevada back then!
Thanks I'll check that out if it is still there. I need to explore the remaining California pieces soon. One of our trips was made in my uncle's International K model grain truck. My mom's uncle was moving from his home in Santa Barbra and wasn't moving most of his furniture. He said we could have it. It was really nice stuff Mission Style living room & dinning room set. Mom talked Dad into borrowing his brother's almost new truck. Our old Ford was not up to the trip. We combined it with a visit to my mom's folks' farther north. (Pittsburg) On the way all 4 of us were in the cab, pretty tight fit. On the way home Dad arranged the living room set so my brother & I had a couch,a chair, coffee table, a rug. and a bed to sleep on. Some of to was fastened to the truck bed. The whole thing was covered with a tarp. We could lift it in a couple other places to see out and get some circulation. It got pretty war under the tarp. We communicated with our parents with written messages through the back window of the cab. It was a long 50-55 mph trip. We used the grain trucks for camping/fishing trips to New Mexico with 3-4 pairs of aunts & uncles and 8-10 cousins. Oh. yes Mom was into that matching shirt thing. If you could see my brother & me better our shirts matched too. Fancy store bought. The rest of our shirts Mom made from the the bright print material from chicken feed sacks. You can barely see stripes on my brother's sleeve. Here is a picture of Mom & Dad on a trip from Tulsa to LA when they transferred from Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa to West Covina during the war. Dad got a promotion the shop foreman. He was a machinist. My brother and I were not available yet to ride in the back of the truck. I think my brother is sorta there.
1968 eastbound in Arizona the trailer tongue broke. Limped on the safety chains to the first likely looking shop. Guy saw us coming in, he was already pulling the welder out.
Good on you fer crossin the chains. I've had idiot bozos tell me no and refuse. But then I get up my high horse. Having been witness on the interstates, I relate the physical mechanics, and the sorrows for lost property.
I have driven Rouite 66 so many times i lost count. 3 different hot rods out to California and back. Several tri fives and a bunch of late models. I towed a 56 Chevy home from California to Missouri with a tow bar when i was discharged from the service in 1966. I would never attempt that these days.
I like Arizona sections of Rt.66, yes...Snow Cap Cafe is a great burger and homemade onion rings plus all the staff are jokesters....watch out for the Delgado sisters.... and Seligman to Kingman is a great part of 'how it used to be' I like Meteor crater, kind of, and the Painted Desert is what the earth looks like if you take the vegetation off of it... I live at Zuzax, NM... it was a tourist trap on 66 in it's day with a sky ride and ponys walking in a circle.... cheap curios....all gone as I-40 took it out.... My favorite part of 66 is Mesita, NM on to old US 66 and you drive in the McCarty lava flow, along the Santa Fe mainline. You are right up against the tall, red sandstone cliffs on "deadmans curve" https://www.google.com/search?q=lag...d=chrome&ie=UTF-8&sei=fL6IaNDnD8jAp84PzqK-kAE You can take old 66 to Budville, NM, a notorious speed trap on 66 all the way to Grants, NM Downtown Gallup NM and the old sections of the highway...you can see dying remnants of businesses and hotels...lots of Indian Jewelry shops Albuquerque has a long urban stretch of 66 thru the town and even Rt.66 crosses Rt.66 at Central and 4th street Pre 1937 alignment took you thru Santa Fe, NM the #1 travel destination in the US currently...
Two things that I neglected to mention in post # 47 to make more sense of it. 'The Big Texan' in Amarillo on route 66 is a steak house, with a notable offer. The deal is they will serve you a 32 oz. ( as in two lbs. ) steak, cooked to your spec, with fixins. If you can finish the meal in one hour, it's on the house. So if you like free steak, that's the place.
The Big Texan now serves breakfast. I ate there a week ago Sunday. The free steak deal is a 72oz steak with all the fixins' and there is a time limit. It is actually funny to see the pictures of the people who have done it. Many are not the big guys you would think could. The Big texan winduotoy, Thanks for mentioning of places I have to re-visit. The last trip was a bit rushed. We stayed at a pretty nice renovated old motel in Albuquerque The El Vado. Not as nice as two years ago but within walking distance to Old Town. There is a bar, Pizza place, chicken wing place and a coffee shop. This hours didn't match mine. There is a good Mexican restaurant across the busy street. The company is restoring another almost connecting Motel and another down the street looks like it is getting cleaned up. All have Neon signs. Several years ago, close to 20?, while having breakfast in Santa Rosa NM the waitress told us about an old stretch from there to Glen Rio on the New Mexico/Texas line. We found it. Just a street sign on a hill south/west of town that said OLD ROUTE 66. It started as old pavement, went to gravel, then a dirt two track. I was glad our rental van was 4x4. There was a railroad bridge that said Rock Island. As we got closer to Glen Rio the road improved some. At one place there was a cross road with a couple of old buildings. One was a Gas station wurh a '55 Chevy an a couple of other old cars out back. Across the street I saw the front of a late 40s Packard sticking our of the tall brush, My sons were both sleeping but I got out and found an old wrecking yard with maybe 2 dozen cars back to the mid 30s. Fords, Chevys, Mercs, Mopars....... There was a ranch house near by and I stoped there to inquire. No one spoke English. Went on the Glen Rio. No one there. Remnants of the last Gas in NM and the first Gas in TX and similar marked motels and eating places. The old sign stealers hadn't found it yet. his year I saw a sign for pot dispensary there. Last weed in New Mexico- First weed in Texas, (not on the sign) When my oldest son woke up, about 15 then, I told him what I had seen. He called BS. When he started college at Texas Tech we drove his '54 Sthdebaker back and forth each year, When we passed the Glen Rio exit on I40 I'd mention it. He still said BS. The last trip home we were pulling a trailer with the broken Stude a couple of motorcycles and a bunch of parts and I took him to where the stuff had been. There was a new fire station at the cross roads and the '55 was still behind the gas station but the rest was gone. This was during the time when the old car pile in Moriarty NM was growing. The cars probably went there. Other small towns in the area were striped of old cars and many along the road disappeared too, The pile in Moriarty is smaller that it was for a while but there are still a lot there. You can see it from I40. Signs say 'Don't Ask". Or did the last time I looked. I guess if he hadn't bought them someone else would have stolen them. There was a guy on a thread here once that commented/bagged about the part of one of the arrows from Twin Arrows That he had stolen from the site and hauled back east somewhere. There is still one arrow and I think someone put it back up. I think they were both on the ground for a while. Hate to think of all the stolen pieces of Route 66 history hanging in "man caves" all over the country.
My favorite part of 66 is Mesita, NM on to old US 66 and you drive in the McCarty lava flow, along the Santa Fe mainline. You are right up against the tall, red sandstone cliffs on "deadmans curve" 0r u can take old 66 to Budville, NM. Likewise, Larry, my favorite as well.
@Blue Moon Garage ...been awhile since you had that sweetheart truck.... I recall the stretch of Rt.66 thru Tijeras Canyon, just east of Albuquerque had "Jesus Saves" painted high up on one of the large granite boulders with a white background and black border..... in the same manner, someone added below it... "Moses Invests"
I grew up on Foothill, Fontana to La Verne. Went to the little catholic school in Etiwanda. Meet my wife at Roller City. Went to high school in La Verne. It was just a normal street to us back in the 70s & 80s. Just the other day I was on it in St Louis, pot holes everywhere. They call in Manchester up there
The Jalopy Journal
