I cant think of any highway that says "America" more than Route 66. Made famous in catchy songs and hip television series, the 87 year old "Mother Road" is still very much alive & kicking all the way from Chicago to L.A. Heck, ask any old hot rodder ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
my first experience with ol 66 I was 16 and hitchhiked from Chicago to mesa az. spent most of our time on 66. loved every minute of it.ive tried for yrs to get back that way and made it on to 66 a few times but was always in a hurry to get somewhere else and didn't have the time to chase the highway down.it seems to move a lot if you know what I mean.at one point we were on 66 and then we were in the middle of a farmers field.with traces of the old highway under us.i have big box full of broken asphalt that is highway 66. but this is the yr we are going to start from one end and go as far as we can..i hope...
Thanks for posting. My family & I traveled Rt. 66 all the way to California in 1956 in a '54 Buick when I was 10 years old. Vid brought back lots of memories.
Guess everyone is in the garage working. Would have thought this iconic slice of Americana would have garnered some enthusiasm . . . YAWN . . . like these guys: Cool. Good luck on your quest. Guess you had to live life on the two-lane road to understand what it was all about. I'll say it again (because it is true) . . . those times were an order of magnitude simpler, less stressful, time moved slower . . . Sounds like fun Jay!
My Dad managed the Rio Pecos Ranch truck terminal in Santa Rosa, NM back in the late 60's and early 70's. I saw tons of really cool stuff roll by back in the day. Everything from truck loads of Elephants to TV tommy and Elvis....This is how it looks today. I-40 took its toll on Route 66....
This is timely: Lucky77 just sent me a pic of the Cozy Dog dinner he was chowing on down on the Mother Road.
There was an old Shell station in New Mexico that I used to stop in on my way to Phoenix that had a great PAM clock with Shell logo.I joked with the clerk that I would give her 100.00 for the old clock.She took it off the wall and handed it to me.Made my whole trip
Spent the day in this great old building, a restored Vaudevillian theater (The Coleman) in Miami, OK. The mother road runs right by it.
Did route 66 with my brother and cousin in 1966 in a 1954 Buick from Toronto Ontario Canada to L.A. My cousin was moving to San Fran to go to school, 3 in the front seat as the back seat and trunk was packed to the roof. I would do it again in a heart beat...
That's a festival I'd like to visit. Did the whole Rt 66 experience in 2007 and loved every minute of it.
I am lucky to have traveled Rte. 66 four times in it's entirety back when I was a kid. Once in 1956 in a '53 Ford, again in 1962 by Greyhound bus to SoCal and back and again in 1964 driving a '51 Buick Roadmaster west to east. In recent years I've been back looking for remnants of "The Mother Road", but as others have said they're getting harder to find every day.
I just finished up the last leg of Route 66 when I did a trip from Albuquerque to LA with the girlfriend three weeks ago. I was actually on the Mother Road in Missouri picking up my new 1950 F1 when this thread was posted. I've been traveling Route 66 since 2006 and it's the only thing passion wise that rivals cars with me. I'm completely obsessed with it. I took my sedan out on 66 a few times in Illinois after the Pileup in 2008-09. Its a great feeling driving an old car down that road. I took this pic yesterday on a forgotten section of 1926-30 Route 66 north of Gilispe, IL known as the Deerfield Loop.
Great Thread I will start the roadtrip on 24th august 2013 in chicago and will drive the route66 to los angeles.
Sounds like a fun event! It has been a dream of mine to travel the mother road. I drove a very short stretch of it when I picked up my '51 Merc. in Missouri. Someday I hope to travel the whole stretch from Chicago to LA. What is a reasonable time to spend on such a trip?
I call it "old roading" and do it any chance I get. The first time was as a kid driving across Nebraska in a 63 Olds. The year was 1974 and the trans. was acting up so we had to take US30 instead of Interstate 80. I've been hooked ever since.
Here is a neat article from awhile ago: http://www.motortrend.com/features/112_0601_barnfind_1957_chevrolet_bel_air/viewall.html
I had 30 days leave in 1963 when I got back from WESTPAC and drove my souped up '51 Ford with pumped Merc Flattie, dropped front end and scavenger pipes (remember them?), from Long Beach, CA following Rt.66 across America up to Wisconsin. What a great, memorable trip! I burned out my generator going across the Mojave, half way between Barstow and Needles (Ludlow, I believe or there abouts). Damn flattie & carbs kept vapor locking in heat of day and pulling up the mountains. Hit big hole in a tore up street in Nevada, Missouri and engine took big bite out of radiator ! Spun out in pouring rain on a curve near Lincoln, Illinois. My poor hot rod '51 was looking rough when I finally got to Wiz. Got stopped often by cops just checking out the strange looking loud, California hot rod. I WAS JACK KEROUAC AND I WAS ON THE ROAD !! I had to take the Greyhound back to Long Beach. My poor '51 was BEAT ! Several other trips later in the '60's after I was out of Navy, once in my '55 Pontiac with pumped 389 and B&M hydro, all the way to Hartford, Conn and back. Outran the cop in Horicon, Wisconsin. First and only time I ever did that. Next time out West, be sure to check out Tucumcari, New Mexico. Great Rt. 66 town that still has of old motels, some boarded up but some still open. Great Rt.66 tribute monument donated by local artist. So many great old memories....
Glad I was able to grab this pic from Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce site. Some good pics of motel row, still Rt.66. Check it out!
Here's a link to my 2012 trip in a '63 Mercury... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632577 We did it in 2013 in a 200 mph Cadillac...
HAMB Folks in Missouri: I'll be at the Route 66 International Festival tomorrow, Friday and Saturday in Joplin, Mo. We are showing a (sold out) screening of 'CARS' at the Route 66 Drive in Thursday night, plus lots of activities all three days... Please come by and say hello if you are in the area! http://route66internationalfestival.com/schedule_of_events/
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