Thinking about driving the whole thing next summer, with a friend from Britain. How long does it take to do the whole thing, from Chicago to LA, with a reasonable amount of site-seeing? -Brad
What is your definition of "reasonable amount"? I'd say five days minimum, if you stop and smell some roses.
I'd give it two weeks. Might not take that long but you won't be rushed. Start now getting all the info you can. Everything from the internet + all the street map's of the major cities it goes through. Do your homework. Remember they changed the route in the late 30s so you will find two route 66 roads in places. And don't forget to "stand on the corner in Winslow Arizona."
Look up all the Rt. 66 associations in each state. From living in OK, I can tell you theirs is great. OK supposedly has the most miles of the original road still drivable. Get the maps that show the old alignments, in some cases there may be more than two through an area. I know it took us a few long weekend type trips just to see OK's RT. 66. Don't forget to stay in the Elvis room in Clinton - Tradewinds Best Western.
Seeing sights, sorta. A friend from Britain is talking about coming over to do it, and we'd have two cars, which means we need to go from Atlanta to Chicago to LA to Atlanta. I've done Rt. 66 from Atlanta as far East as it'd go before breaking off and heading back to Atlanta... last summer, in a Duster with overheating issues. Took me about 5 or 6 days, but that was fixing problems. He doesn't have an unlimited time, so we'd need to be on a schedule. We both work for car mags, so stopping to take pics is required. -Brad
I did Los Angeles to St. Louis in a T-Bucket...took 6 days...when I look back, I realize I made two mistakes...I should have stretched it out to at least 10 days and I wish I had taken more photos... But we were in a hurry....1967
when I was a kid my parents would go from So-Cal to Ohio every summer and we did all route 66 til somewhere in Il. and that part would take us 2 1/2 days back then when the road was in better shape. my Pops was nuts, he would drive it dam near straight with maybe a 4 hour snooze half way. I just did the stretch from Kingman Az to Bartsow Ca and it took about 6-7 hours(of actual driving time).Lots of cool stuff to stop and look at so allow extra time for that. Road gets real rough in spots in California between Ludlow and Newberry Springs but it is driveable . Definately recommend it while it is still possible.
Planning will be the key. There are places where you could spend several days, and others several minutes will suffice You'll need to pick and choose what you want. Like Amarillo, TX -- there's there's that bunch of Cadillacs buried pointing towards Las Vegas, the Big Texan ( and their "free 72 ounce steak dinner...") and Palo Duro Canyon and the outdoor drama "Texas" . Take your pick. How much time have you got?
Hi Brad54, I am planning an entire Route 66 trip myself, when my street rod is finished. I expect it to last 2-4 weeks to really experience everything I can. Last week, I had breakfast in the Route 66 Cafe in Springfield, MO and thought this is so damm cool! Another couple having breakfast also, was from KCMO and was doing a section at a time.. Check out this website and click on each state and then each town. This dude did a fantastic job on Route 66 sites to see. Link is: http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm You might do a search on Route 66 as this is about the 3rd and 4th inquiry in recent weeks, and much info was posted in those threads.. Anyway, enjoy the trip when you go... duane (42 miles south of Santa Rosa, NM on Route 66, home of the Blue Hole)
in my younger days, say 30 or so years ago, the route took me a little over three months. Stopped everywhere, saw everything, met many colorful characters. Pace was slower then, people a bit more friendly. I was also doing it on the seat of a Norton Commando, so stopping to relieve vibration fatigue was a must.
I would say 6-8 days and thats with stopping and looking through a lot of points along the way. I've been on quite a bit of it from New Mexico, especially Arizona, and California. I would say the most interesting to me is New Mexico and Arizonia. The road though between Kingman and Oatman Arizona can be pretty tight in the corneres especially just before Oatman. I drove that with my wife on our bike a few years ago, can't imagin trying to do some of those corners with a Semi back in those days ever if the trailors were shorter. It was a lot easier with our truck. Michael
My wife and I did Route 66 for our honeymoon, it took us 7 days, not including 2 full days of sightseeing in Chicago. We could have spent more time on the road, but she was getting tired of the car, and I was getting tired of Sonic burgers. (Once she discovered Sonic, that was the only place she wanted to eat!)
Did it in May this year.From Chicago as far as Kingman and then up to Vegas.Back down and then onto Barstow.Ran out of time and took the Interstate back to LA to catch the plane.Excluding the 4 days in Vegas we spent 2 weeks travelling 66 and that didn't include a chunk of CA Could have had a few more days to check out other things. Did the old road as much as possible amd only used the interstate when we were forced to. Buy the guide books.EZ66 Guide and the map set. http://www.historic66.com/description/ My advice is don't rush it.You will see the greatest sights and meet great people.If you look like staying in Cuba avoid the Wagon Wheel Motel.It was built in 1935 and they stopped maintenance in 1936.It looks very inviting and is worth a photo but thats all.Hope the manager has fixed his teeth The Missouri Hicks BBQ in front was good
Route 66 in Atlanta? Starts as Jackson St. in downtown Chicago, finishes at the Santa Monica Pier. Let Bobby Troup be your tour guide: It winds from Chicago to LA, More than 2000 mile on the way. It goes through St. Louie, Joplin Missouri, Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty. You'll see Amarillo, Gallup New Mexico, Flagstaff Arizona, don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino. Won't you get hip to this kindly tip? When you make that California trip, Get your kicks on Route 66. Much of the real 66 is gone, replaced by I-55 and I-40, but their are still stretches where you can see the original road. In urban areas like Chicago, LA, and Albuquerque, there are 'Historic 66' markers (eg. along Illinois Hwy 53, or Foothills Blvd in the LA suburbs). There are a lot of books on 66 that will help you plan the trip.
Takes me about 15 minutes on 66 to get to town............ End to End, I'd like at the very least 10 days, probably 2 weeks would be better.
It's a couple years out, but when my 32 is done my son and I plan to follow old 66 to LA, up the PCH to San Francisco, then the old Lincoln Highway (US 30 / I-80) back east to Chicago, with a stop at Bonneville Speed Week. I figure it will take about 3 weeks to do the whole thing.
that is an awesome pic! i don't think there's any such thing as 'too many pictures' on a trip like that. don't just do the obvious, this is a great example. have fun...
Yep, the Blue Whale is next to the Reptile Garden.................... never thought of that as a good pair. Don't think the "Garden" is still there, so what happened to all the reptiles?
We spent the better part of a week going from St. Louis to Amarillo Tx. but we stopped at every antique shop & tourist trap we saw.To me, the Missouri section is the most senic of what we traveled.There is a small town in western Ok. called Erik that is the birth place of both Roger Miller &Sheb Wolley. There was an old hardware store there that had been closed down for a long time. You could peep thru the windows & see all the old counters w/the old store stock still on them. This was about 10 yrs ago. I wonder if all that stuff is still there.
True. I`ve done Ok to Az, a couple times. Make sure you stop in Shamrock Texas. I also stayed at the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, last trip, great people, neon at night is really nice. I bought a few old maps off eBay, I plan to do the whole thing in about 2yrs with my wife and kids. I would say at least 2 weeks. Don`t forget the junyards.
We just did it last month.......eight days not counting the extra day in Santa Rosa, New Mexico (while Bozo replaced my 9" third member). We are still going through the 1500 images we took. We were home two days when the wife & I looked at each other and said...."let's do it again!!!" It was the coolest thing we ever did in one of our hot rods.
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