We live in Central Missouri and we run on portions of it all the time, some good, some bad. I asked my Mother in law (who's 80) what it was like back in the days preceeding the interstates. I was expecting her to discribe the "good old days" with a slower pace, etc. She said it SUCKED! She told me that when her husband got a good job they moved down to St. Louis, but would come out on the weekends to see family. She said the trip which now days takes a little over an hour on I-44 would take them at least 3 hours (usually more); and that's only if they didn't get stuck behind some farmer hauling a grain bin down the road. There were almost no places to pass safely. Most of the cars a young couple could afford back then didn't have A/C so coming out in July and August with a couple of young kids was miserable. She said there were alway accidents so you were just stuck in place. She said the reason there were so many "road side attractions" is because after a while you just needed to pull off and take a break. I think Route 66 is romantic now because when we get tired of it the interstate isn't far away. I know that's the case with me. We have a 56 Buick and a 30 Model A rod and I love to load up and cruise the back roads, but I'm not dependent on them for my dailey commute.
Well,,,in '57 ,,when i was in Hi-School in Iowa ,,my folks went to Calif for a vacation ,in my Dads '57 Chevy ,we went straight south from Marshalltown to Springfield .MO then followed Route 66 all the way ,,in '59 ,,in my Dads new Impala ,,we did it again ,,it was GREAT ,,i have several super 8 tapes of the trip ,some converted to DVD ,,including Disneyland the first year they opened in '57 ,,and i took alota pictures along the way and of the kool kars in and around L A ,,it was a 2000 mile trip ,and took 4 to 5 days ,,i was 15 the first time,,,17 the second ,,,i remember it like it was yesterday ,,,i even got to drive it when my Dad got tired ,, i've driven many parts of it since then ,,it's a piece of History you don't wanna miss out on ,,even if it's just for a short trip ,,,
We are going to travel Route 66 in 3 weeks, we are going from Oklahoma through to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. Looking forward to the trip.
saw alot of the ok side of 66 back in oct..thanks to Jim and Randy...lots of cool stuff to see..some times it gets confusing as it converts to modern "numbers" along the way...went from ok city to tulsa...nice couple of hour drive...and i thought my head was going to fall off...every other minute i was snapping to the right to see all the old tin just hangin out...in lots, behind barns and tons just out in the feilds returning to where they came from!!!!!! it was great....really looking forward to the return trip in my topolino
Was returning to Joplin from St. Louis recently and noticed a new travel center - rest area before getting to Springfield. Has a Rt 66 theme. On I44. Some nice old time pictures and decor in the main building.......... The little pavillions outside with picnic tables were designed to resemble old buildings found along the Route.........
There's a national Rt 66 gathering next weekend (June 17--20) taking place at Downstream Casino-Resort just west of Joplin. Will be various programs and events, plus a car show on Saturday. The organizers of the Street Dreams shows have been promoting the thing, hoping to attract 700 to 800 cars from this part of the country. Due to other stuff going on, I won't be able to take my car to the show, and will only have a couple hours of the day to check it out. Will try to take some pics. Will be interesting to see how well it turns out.
I've done almost the entire Route, and the very best advice I can give is to buy a good route guide. The one I have is a really thick book and every page is like 3 or 4 miles at most. You follow the guide and it points out tons of stuff you would otherwise never see, or if you did see it, you wouldn't know what it was or the history behind it. My last run from Cali to St. Louis was around 2000, so I have managed to lose the book in the decade since (God, I can't belive it's been that long). Anyway, start searching out route guides, there are some great ones. These ain't just maps by any means.
a couple months ago ,,there was a documentary on Route 66 on our local PBS Station ,,a complete History of the Hi-Way ,,funny ,,the whole idea of Route 66 was dreamed up by a bunch of guys at a Springfield , Missouri Hotel ,,which still stands ,,along with several restored old Route 66 Motels in Springfield ,, not sure ,,but a person might Google PBS and see if that video can be still watched ,,
You can go from Joplin to Tulsa on an older stretch of the road......about 100 miles or so. Part is now four lane around the Claremore area. Makes for a nice drive. There's a place with some vintage vehicles in one little town on that stretch.....much of it is for sale. In White Oak, OK.
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