My girlfriend and I went to our first Hunnert Car Pileup this weekend and had a blast. Talked to a few HAMBers, saw some great cars, witnessed some pretty funny stuff at Fool's Pub and already talked about next year. On Sunday I got to do something I've wanted to do for at least the last 20 years, I drove on Route 66. When I was 9 or 10 Hot Rod magazine did a tour down 66 in a 1962 or so Corvette. Every month I waited to see where they went and the landmarks they saw. Since then I've had this lust to see the mother road and everything on it. We didn't get very far, we started in Briadville, Ill and made it past Pontiac to Chenoah before we turned around to head back to the thumbpit of Michigan. She had work and I had school and we didn't get back home till 11:00pm. So it just a little tease, but when we saw our first restored gas station and an abandoned train depot we said we'd be back to do the whole trip to LA. So who's done it? What did you think? Chicago to LA I don't care if gas is $5 a gallon, this little taste of Route 66 confirmed my desire to do this trip.
Now thats the spirit!! I've done from the west to St. Louis in 2003 and next April we're going to do Chicargo to Santa Monica, over a period of 4 weeks. Klaus
I've done it from L.A. up thru Oklahoma City. Its a blast and a really senic trip, theres points where theres a whole lot of nothin' though. Still alot of fun to see whats left of the old buildings and alot of really trippy stuff (tourist traps mainly). I'd totally suggest doing it atleast once though.
Yep, done a lot of it...some parts of it are ruff...like places in OK...but you can still do it...not much left of it... R-
Do it! I went last Spring with my Viper Brother, Terry, in his '55 Sedan Delivery and it was a hoot. Bellflower to Prairie Grove, Arky. Here's a shot from New Mexico. Note speedo, great scenery at a high rate of hurry. Chili Phil
Did it last June, left LA and went through Oklahoma City, and then turned south and headed home. I would reccommend it to anyone.
I've done most of it at one time or another. I think the most memorable time I had was at the Black Cat bar in Seligman AZ, a must stop if you ever go thru there.
my parents drove us all as far as AZ down it when i was younger on a fmily vacation........best and ONLY vacation i actually remember. My brother and have been planning to load up my shoebox and hit the road as soon as i finish college. We've been talking about doing this tripi for years. It may happen next summer as we may take the long way to Bonneville
I drove it a lot in the 60s, when I was stationed in California in the Navy. I-40 was being built then, but most of the rural roadway was still old 66, with interstate sections around the major cities. I returned in the 90s while I was doing my tour of drag strips of America, and was disappointed to see how much the smaller towns had decayed from being bypassed. I'm glad to see that a lot of the towns are making an effort to restore some of the mother road glamor that was lost. If you really want to experience America, get off the interstate and use the federal routes through small towns. It takes a while longer, but is worth it. There's nothing wrong with being a tourist.. This book has a lot of pictures from Rt66, and is a must for anyone into hiway history. Mutt
I did it from Ok City to LA. It was our last vacation before the kids started coming. I had the time and we had not planned a trip...so I told the Wife "I'll take care of it" Bought the plane tickets and rented a car. Bought some guide books and off we went. Hands down it was the best vacation I think I've had (Except for the honeymoon). All free form...stopped when we wanted and stayed wherever we found a good hotel. There is plenty to see. You'll be on and off of 66 since parts of it are gone...that's where the books came in handy. I would reccomend the trip...in a hot rod preferrably, but a rental would do too. -Scott
I couldn’t resist a side trip either on the way home. It was my first road trip in the truck and had to cross 66 anyway so why not. Here was my stop on Odell. I only did a short section this time as I did most of the Illinois section two weeks ago. A few years ago I did Illinois through New Mexico, ran out of time and had to come home. It was a great trip and look forward to doing it again. Do some research and get some maps, it will make your trip a little easier. Not all areas are marked as well as Illinois. Oklahoma was a great drive, I had to get on the Interstate one time and back off at the next exit. That might be my favorite state to drive RT66. I’m getting the itch to do it again.
I met ol' Mutt during his tour of the strips in the 90's. I guess the point I want to make here is that, if you do something special and cool, when you look back you can say: Ahhh, those were the good old days. Hey, Mutt, why don't you start a thread about that time? About how important it is to go and see things and especially how important it is to meet the movers and shakers while they're still around to tell stories. The time I met Mutt, we were hanging with people who are passed away now. Real charactors, the like of which we may never see again. Damn I miss those guys. RIP, the Hippie, Snips, Colonel Hogan CP
Last time I was on 66 was in 1962 I think. We were going from a Texas drag strip to OKy City to the drags. It was an old concerete road even then and bumpy as hell.
Did parts of RT. 66 in August prior to reaching the HAMB Drags. Springfield, MO thru KS, and into Miami, OK and some in IL. You really need a map, I got my maps at Nostalgia Ville USA in Kingdom City, MO. Check it out www.nostalgiavilleusa.com. I want to do the other four states soon!
I've done a lot of it a lot of times. Heck, I grew up within about 2 miles of it in South California. Just a few weeks ago I was invited to drive the last half of it in a Model T Ford in 2008. That will be a blast. Wayno
I've followed it here and there. It's certainly not the fast way to get anywhere. It *is* fing cool though. I saw the neon arrows, the motel with the teepees, and who knows what else. It really is going back through time.
I got to drive a rental from Kingman to Seligman,AZ a few years ago and it was a great ride. I don't care much about doing the Chicago end but driving from Oklahoma out to Cali. is a dream I have. There are a few DVD's out about driving the Mother Road and I put one of these on TV whenever the wanderlust gets me.
If I had an arm like I did in High School I could literally throw a rock onto old Route 66 from my house. I have driven across this great country of ours a few times, always on the Interstates, next drive will be in my shoebox on the old road, I can't wait.
Me and my ex did it in 95, from Springfield Il to Santa Monica in her late-model Corvette(hers was newer than mine ) Covered it in 7 lazy days. Probably the best trip of my life. We used a guide book and stopped any time, any where we wanted--did all the touristy things and saw all the landmarks.....that were still there. For instance, the Coral Court motel in St Louis was razed about 3 weeks before we started our trip Lots of landmarks and people are sadly disappearing every year. Luckily, I met some of those 'legends' and saw those places that are gone now---and they'll never be back. GO....while it's still there. There's still a lot of history on that road.
I connected with Rt. 66 at Oklahoma City in December of 1963 and drove it all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I remember Whiting gas stations (red and yellow signs) and stepping in chicken shit at a reptile museum. I had a hole in the bottom of my sneaker. Oh, yeah....and I bought a desert water bag (rookie kid) and hung it from the bumper guard of my '56 Chevy, when I stopped for a drink in the "desert" it was frozen solid.
I'd like to do it - I've driven a very short portion of it in NM east of Albuquerque - in fact, my new house (move in later this month) isn't quite a mile off old Rt 66 - can't get to my house any other way either!
I was lucky enough to do a section of it in Arizona from Kingman about four years ago when we did a bit of a road trip over there (sadly in a rental Chrysler Sebring ragtop). Stopped at Hackberrys General store and was immeadiately surrounded by about fifty Harley riding bikers who turned out to be Swedes (mostly dentists and lawyers) who'd been over for the big Harley centenary bash and had gone on a big trip afterwards. Was a great experience although doing it in a proper car would have been better.
Another book worth a look: http://www.motorbooks.com/Store/ProductDetails_10255.ncm He has written a number of other books on gas stations, motels, diners, drive-ins, etc....lots of nostalgia & Route 66 pics & info in those as well. 66 is definitely worth the effort...do some planning & allocate the time. Trying to do it on, say, an already scheduled 3-4 day trip to CA leads to nothing but frustration...as does taking very young kids.
I've done about 90% of it in bits here and there, never start to finish though, I do have a peice of old RT66 when they shut it down and tore it up (and put a freeway in next to it) in tijeras NM, also have a old orig RT66 road sign I picked up for pennies at a swap meet at the lobos stadium in 85...used to be (dont know if its still there) a old school filling station on the north side of the road that had a rotting A in it for years, best keep driving by it cause if you got out youd get threatened by a crazy old man weilding a shotgun. I've also been on NM HWY 666, the highway to hell (thats what we used to call it) but thats a different story for a different day....
I have. Not the whole way at once, but from Chicago to Springfield a few times. Then from here (Spfld.) all the way out and back about 4 times. You have to keep getting on and off little stretches of it of course. I grew up 1 block away from it, and only live 2 blocks off of it now on the other end of town.
I've done the road end to end 4 times once in my car 3 on my harley...ya cant beat it if ya can find the 1926 alignment in Illinois it can be beat, alotta small towns and brick road though,still ok to drive...the best books on route 66 are by Micheal Wallis, there in any book store....in fact a large section of the road is still there ya just gotta know where to look much became what appears to be frontage road and some is under I-40...what ever ya do hit the mom & pop diners and hotels and the mother road will come alive for ya ....enjoy
Wow, not one of you guys tried talking me out of it, it must be a great trip We bought a map at a gas station in Joliet and Rt 66 was nowhere to be found. Andria(my girlfriend) looked on her phone and found out that it's now US53 so we stumbled around and wound up in Braidville, rounded a corner and she points out the windshield and screams "There it is!!!!!" Once we got out of town and started driving I watched all the people cruising 90mph on US 55 right next to us, and I wondered how many of them actually knew they were passing the greatest stretch of asphalt in the world. Not to sound like a pussy but I actually got a little chocked up when I thought about all the history that surrounds that road. I just started driving and I didn't want to stop. We kept saying, "next town, we'll turn around." It just sucked because we both had stuff we had to do today or I would've kept going. We will deffinately be back, I am going to do a lot of research (and save a lot of money) but I can't wait. This has now become an obsession, something I have to do.
I have done the whole thing, but not all at once- I grew up just outside of Amarillo, so when we went to L.A.- it was the only logical choice. same when we went to Chicago. some of the most simply amazing stuff in America is on that road. and it's true- you can feel every person that has traveled down it riding with you.
If ya make as far as arizona lets us know in advance maybe some of us will run the road a ways with ya out here...some kool spots if ya know where to look...........the only part that Ive never liked was when ya get to the end
The Jalopy Journal
