I spent 5 hours in Two Guns last March, stuck there when they closed I-40 due to blowing dirt, 0 visability. Wasn't much fun, not much to do in Two Guns, especially in a 60 mph dirt storm! Oklahoma is a better section to travel for sure. Just like Arizona & New Mexico the little towns are trying to hang on to what's left of 66 history, only in Ok the towns are 20- 30 miles apart instead of 100 miles apart!
My Route 66 Stories... In the Fall of 1963, I was heading to California to go to College in Pasadena. My Dad and I left St.Louis in my '57 Dodge, hit Route 66 and took it all the way out. A great Father & Son Road Trip...if you don't count beating off the roaches & spiders at one of the Motels we stayed overnite in. In the Fall of 1964, I left where I was living in Hollywood to move back to St. Louis. Stopped at my Uncle's in San Bernadino for a short visit. Left San Bernadino about Midnite on September 30th, and arrived in St. Louis at 3am Saturday Morn., Oct. 3rd. Going through the desert, by myself, sometimes crusing at 80-90mph, you could say I made good time ! Oh, and about the time I got to Albuquerque, my water pump started acting up. Stopped at a Union 76 Station, the guy said they didn't have a replacement, would have to order one, BUT, it may last me a few more miles. WELL, I didn't have time to stay-over for a new pump, so I kept going...and, you know, when I sold that Dodge a year later it STILL HAD THE SAME WATERPUMP ! Never gave me a bit of trouble after the first scare. Some of my various girlfriends & I have talked about doing a Route 66 Trip sometime, but I haven't really had the time. AND, I'm afraid, like others above have stated, that some of the Classic Aura has vanished and we'd be a little disappointed. But, I can always look back and remember my two Personal encounters with the "Mother Road"...before Mike Wallis ever called it that. At that time, it was just good old, Route 66 ! And I thank God for my little part of the journey on it, and for being able to share it one time with my late Father. He was a Saint. 99 to Life: Enjoy your trip and let us know how it went ! PS: Below is a pic of my '57 Dodge Royal that was taken shortly after I had it painted in 1962. It's the car that I had from 1961 to 1965...the one that got me to California and back, on Route 66. JK
You just HAVE to visit the "Cadillac Ranch" just west of Amarillo, TX. To me, being a gearhead, it was almost a religious experience. It is a memorial to our great big road running cars of times past where we back then could set them on 110 mph and flat go across our great country if you had the balls! They are south of the old west-bound in a field like an 1/8 mile out and just past the great big CROSS that you will see for miles beforehand!! There is a small walk through gate w/ a small sign to stop and walk to them if I remember right. pdq67
In the middle 50s we lived at Worden, Il. and being 15 with no drivers license I rode my bicycle out to route 66 to see the construction of the new highway. We really didn't know what we were looking at.It was the end of a great highway. In 1963 I made two trips to Ca. and one back on 66 in my 53 Merc. What a great trip! I can still remember standing on the overpass at Worden and seeing a 1940 Ford 4dr going towards St. Louis and wondering where it came from and where it was going. It was white with fender skirts 49 Plymouth bumpers. What a neat car!
Depending on when your going - we are having a car / bike show in Sept right on Route 66 - Bristow Ok main street - Sept 4 - and there is a Christian Bike rally/ concert here the same week end with Jason Crabb on Saterday night - I would love to have you come and show - If your interested - PM me and I will get you and entry form and more info - Jaxx
We were out west a month or so ago, drove a rental from Seligman AZ. west thru Kingman and oatman. Nice trip ,lots of fun ,my wife even liked it.
A little OT.... I drove (by) RT 66 mostly on I 40 many times in the last 10 yrs. From western NY to AZ where I now live, I was amazed at how small in width the road really is,really noticable if you pay attention to the width of the steel bridges, now turn back the clock to the early fifties or before, and it must been a long ride from Ill to Cali, nowaday at 75/80 mph it seems like a long time, I can just imagine how it had to be in a '52 Chevy doing maybe 40 mph
The original route 66 was a two lane road. Just west of St. Louis there is a Route 66 museum that is pretty cool, it is on an old bridge that crossed I believe the Meramec River, you can see it from the "New" I-44. At Cuba Mo. there is an old Motel called the Wagon wheel, you may still be able to stay at it. It is on the national historic register. My car club stayed there maybe 10 years ago. The most expensive room was $18.00! The double bed rooms were $15.00. I knew the caretaker, he was a car guy named Roy Mudd His eyes got bad and he couldn't get a drivers liscense so he built a trunk on his Ford parade tractor and drove that around town for years. If you haven't seen the movie Cars you should. That animated movie has a lot of history in it.
A couple of friends and I did a short trip a couple of years ago on the harleys and rode from Springfield, Missouri to Bristow, Oklahoma on 66. I believe it was the best four day trip I've ever been on, even though the distance we covered could've been done in a few hours. When we got to the end of the 9 foot strip of pavement stretch, we stopped to take pics. There was a pothole that had some loose asphalt in it and one of my buddys picked up a piece approximately 6" by 3" and gave it to me. It now sits on my desk along with an old beer can from the green parrot bar in galena,ks, as a paperweight and keeps calling me to take the '46 out and finish the drive. Oh, and there's also a motorcycle shop in the town just before that stretch of roadway, I think it's Miama, that has a bunch of Steve McQueen artifacts on display. I think we were told that the actor was a distant cousin of the owner, but I can't swear to that. Worth the stop though.
I've travelled RT66 in parts from Chicago to California.. Last time on the bike.. Here's and old motel..near Flagstaff
I could actually tell a somewhat off color story about that motel.... Not what your thinking though...
On the tourist tin maps Ive seen, Route 66 was shown going thru Las Vegas NM which is north of Albuquerque. Also if you drive a back road east from Las Vegas NM you will travel thru a one horse Town called Delia NM which had a sign up saying that it was one of the oldest towns on the original Route 66. Delia is quite aways north of the I40 so I am not too sure what is what when it comes to the real Route 66 anymore. I also recall a turn off as you head south on the I25 towards Albuquerque where a sign post was pointing out the old Route 66 heading west. Maybe some older hands than me could add something to this. So Mazooma1 could have very well seen the other Las Vegas also being the home ground of Billy the Kid.
At the end of August we are taking a tour group of 40 Kiwis from LA to Chicago via the Interstates over 8 nights (Vegas, SLC, Casper, Rapid City, Souix Falls). A couple of nights in Chicago and then we make our way back to LA following as much of Route 66 as we can each day, over 16 nights - approx 300 miles per day. We have 20x Mustang convertibles for the journey. Lots of miles and a real "drivers" tour. It will be a lot of fun.... Noddy
We did a bit of 66 thru Arizona in March. Did the vintage train trip from Williams to Grand Canyon. That was a fun day. Did Prescott ,Jerome. Here's a couple of pics .
This is correct. Originally Route 66 turned north at Santa Rosa, went thru Las Vegas (NM) and Santa Fe, turned south going thru Albuquerque to Las Lunas before turning west again. The idea was every town wanted to be on 66 so the powers to be just had it wandering all over! They realigned it I believe in 1928 so it would head straight west from Santa Rosa, cutting around 200 mile off the trip thru NM! Leaves an interesting 66 fact for Albuquerque, we have one historic 66 all the way thru town running north and south (4th St/ Isleta Blvd) and one running east and west (Central Ave). Of course ya gotta be preety damn old to remember the 4th St route! Although I imagine he might of hung out in Las Vegas some, Fort Sumner NM (a ways south of Santa Rosa) is considered the home ground of Billy the Kid, suppose to be buried there.
There is alwas a cold one in the box If you make it to Kingman. I live 16 miles out of kingman on a golf course. Bring your clubs.
Yep. Get off I 40 at Tucumcari, little mom & pop Cafes’ a-plenty in the small towns along route 104 to Las Vegas. Get a real feeling about what the old ‘66 was like. If you breeze through on I-40, what's the point?[/SIZE]
I know a bit about Route 66 in Northern Az. Heading west from Seligman Az. to the western AZ stateline is the longest stretch of Route 66 remaining. Seligman is a great place to start. Has alot of Route 66 artifacts, old motels and some decent resturants. Heading west you pass thru an Indian reservation on the way to Hackberry Az. Tacky but worth the stop. Alot of good places in Kingman to see as mention here before. But the best part of the ride is from Kingman to the stateline. The road winds up and down for about 20 miles and you get a real feel what people went thru years ago. Great ride on a motorcycle. You go thru a "ghost town" called Oatman where the donkeys rule the streets (4 legged ones). I've spent alot of time in Kingman and I always visit Oatman. Have fun.
The train tour sounds cool. We were going to go to the Grand Canyon so my wife will like that. This is our first vacation in the 5 years I have been over here. Pretty cool that my wife says I can do Route 66 on my first time off.
I'm only an expert on the Lebanon MO part. I was raised there. For the most part across MO Rt. 66 is on one side or the other of I-44. Sometimes it's on the right side and sometimes it's on the left side. There was a place east of Lebanon called "Devils Elbow". That was the most dangerous part of the road back in the day. Lots of people killed there in car wrecks. In Lebanon there is the Munger Moss motel. It was the Cadillac motel of Lebanon back in the '50's. Business route through Lebanon is the old 66. There was a motel called Camp Joy. A couple of the little cabins are still there I think. Bonnie & Clyde stayed there one time. There is a Route 66 museum in the Lebanon Library which is on Jefferson St between old 66 (Elm St.) and I-44. It's a pretty neat little museum, not big, but pretty informative of that section of the road. I wore Rt. 66 out back in the '50 between Lebanon and Springfield where we went on the weekends. Here is a pic of Munger Moss. It is still here and caters to Route 66 visitors. The other one is Dream Village motel which is not there anymore. It was my Dad's motel. There is a Country Kitchen there now.
Great website that will guide you through whats left of route 66.... http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm (other hiways as well) Ive done most of it... Much of it is well marked, some of it isnt. Dont listen to the naysayers. Route 66 is alive and well, as compared to the parthenon, mayan temples, or angor wat. Its americas ruins road.
Yep, That is in Miami, Okla Also,if you continue from Bristow on into Oklahoma City, you will travel through very pretty countryside, several small towns that are very much alive and well with Rte66 neon signs, hotels and cafe's still serving the local people. A short distance down from Bristow is "Round Rock Cafe" which is built entirely out of rock as are most buildings in the area. Great place for lunch ! Lots of local Winery's have also been started and they all are a tribute to Rte 66 heritage with the style of buildings and signage they put up. Besides that, pretty good local vino !! As a final sight to see on the way into Okla City is in Arcadia, Ok where "The Red Barn" is quite a masterpiece of barn building technology for it's day along with "Pops" Cafe and Gas Station. "Pops" is a new place that does Rte 66 quite proud and serves over 400 flavors of nostalgia Soda Pop (Thus the name "Pops"). From Oklahoma City west it gets sparse on remaining Rte 66 relics but a still a fine ride on "The Mother Road"......Take your time and prepare to go slower than you are used to as the roads are somewhat rough, lotsa small towns and just an enjoyable road trip all around. Happy Motoring !!!
Did they ever get the Rock Cafe open again? It was closed and being rebuilt after a fire when we went through, so we didn't get to eat there. And yeah, the round barn is kinda cool... last year while on a family vacation, we ventured by on I40. I told my wife I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ride another bit of 66 and left the interstate. She thought the barn was cool and my three year old loved it. It wasn't the same riding the road in a modern cadillac though.
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