What is Route 66?
A wikipedia abridgement:
U.S. Route 66 (also known as Route 66, U.S. Highway 66, The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the Will Rogers Highway) was a highway in the U.S. Highway system. One of the original federal routes, US 66 was established on November 11, 1926. It originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles for a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).
Route 66 was a major path of the migrants who went west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive even with the growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.
US 66 was officially decommissioned (that is, officially removed from the United States Highway System) on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of the name “Historic Route 66″. It has begun to return to maps in this form. Some portions of the road in southern California have been redesignated State Route 66, and others bear “Historic Route 66″ signs.
Why travel 66?
Much of old route 66 still exists, running as often-abandoned road beside I-40 through the Southwest. Along the abandoned road are abandoned remnants of a bygone era – crumbling trading posts and motels that used to be neon-clad; old diners and filling stations left to the ages, and remnants of chain stores long out of business. I enjoy nostalgia. I also enjoy history. I hope to blog about oft-forgotten flashes in the pan of time – the Whiting Brothers chain, Valentine Diners, Raygun Gothic, Streamline Moderne and Googie architechture. We’ll see what comes up!
Best. Blog. Ever.
Thanks, Greg! Much appreciated!
We’re enjoying your journey along Route 66. We look forward to the daily updates.
What a cool blog. I saw some of the same sights on my trip last year, but you caught some I missed and vice versa! I wish I had done more background research before the trip though, it’s neat to see the context of some of the landmarks (Whiting Brothers, Valentine Diners etc.) Had no idea you needed a permit to hike up La Bajada, I drove all the way out there (no fun in my car) and climbed about halfway up before deciding that dying alone on that hillside would be no-so-cool. I attached the address of my blog as well, give it a browse if you’d like to!
Thanks for the kind words on my blog as well. Yeah, I would love to do the trip again, maybe on a motorcycle this time or in some other interesting type of conveyance. It’s a little far for the trusty mountain bike