OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

Over the years, ever since we moved from Michigan to Southern California in 1980, me and other members of our family have traveled Route 66, or what's been described as the 'Mother Road' or at times, 'America's Main Street'.

Route 66 was officially designated as such in 1926 and was proposed to run from Chicago to Los Angeles. Originally it was going to be routed through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Once they started to work on getting funding from Congress they decided to add Kansas to the routing in order to get support from their Congressional delegation. In the end, of the 2,448 miles that Route 66 stretched, only 13 miles ended-up running through Kansas, but those 13 miles are significant in that Kansas is the ONLY state where they've preserved, to this day, the entire length of the highway through the state, providing both sufficient resource to maintain the highway and to clearly mark those 13 miles.

Anyway, I estimate that in the years that we've driven along this route, much of which has all but disappeared or had been replaced by the interstate system, but of what's actually left that you can drive on, we've covered maybe 60% of that. My goal it to someday try and actually start in Chicago (note the it only counts as driving Route 66 if you're going East to West, or at least that's how the purest look at it) and find as much of the original roadway as possible. Note that I have a book which provides detailed instructions as to how to find the old right-of-ways and has even provided copies of the old AAA strip-maps that were published in the 30's and 40's when Route 66 was the only single-named East-West highway in the nation.

Following will be a series of posts showing the images which I've collected over the years and the many times that we've traveled the 'Mother Road'.

This shot was taken the first time that we drove those 13 miles of Route 66 through Kansas, when I was coming back to SoCal with our oldest son after he had finished his four-year enlistment in the Army - October 1993 - Minolta XG-M, 50mm


This is one of those well maintained bridges in the state of Kansas on Route 66, near Baxter Springs - October 1993 - Minolta XG-M, 50mm


Another notable landmark along Route 66 is the Continental Divide in New Mexico, on I-40, which now follows the longest track of the old route - July 2004 - Canon IXUS V


A Route 66 sign marking the old route through Santa Fe, New Mexico - August 2007 - Sony DSC-H2


One of the the more infamous landmarks along Route 66 is the 'Roadkill Cafe' in Seligman, Arizona - June 2009 - Sony A100, 18-70mm


Another one of those iconic landmarks is the 'Ludlow Cafe' in Ludlow, California - August 2014 - Apple iPhone 4S


One of the more famous landmarks along Route 66 is the 'El Rancho Hotel', in Gallup, New Mexico - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


The 'El Rancho Hotel' was popular with movie crews and movie stars back in the 40's and 50's, who would stay there when filming Westerns in the Gallup, New Mexico area - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


Today the 'El Rancho Hotel' is famous for preserving the feel of what it was like when Route 66 was at its prime - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


And this shows where Route 66 passes through the eight states, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, as it ran from the shores of Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Great!

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Would love to make that trip. Thanks for posting!

Don

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

As shown on the previous map, the 'Mother Road' ran from Lake Shore drive in Chicago, Illinois, to PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica, California. Contrary to popular belief, and what's promoted by the Santa Monica city officials, Route 66 does NOT continue out to the end of the Santa Monica Pier, even though there's a sign there which makes that claim. The actual termination of Route 66 is about a quarter-mile north of the pier, and there is an actual historical marker there designating it as such.

Anyway, here are some more images from the old road, starting with my absolute favorite stop along the way, 'Ted Drewes', in St. Louis, famous for their frozen custard. Now my first encounter with 'Ted Drewes' had nothing to do with Route 66. Rather, when I was working for McDonnell Douglas I would often have to travel to St Louis, as it was corporate headquarters. One hot evening after one of our meetings, one of the locals asked a couple us who were there from California if we had ever been to 'Ted Drewes'. Of course, none of us had ever heard of it, so they took us down there and after standing in a long line, we finally got what they call a 'concrete', which is so much better than simple ice cream. I mean, frozen custard is totally decadent. And ever since then, almost every time we've driven through St. Louis, if it's in the afternoon or early evening, we'd stop for a 'fix'.

The historical marker giving you the short history of 'Ted Drewes', located in St. Louis. Missouri - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


This is the sign that you watch for - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


And here's what it's like on a hot, muggy evening in St. Louis, waiting for one of those truly amazing frozen custards - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


And while you're in Missouri, another great place to stop along Route 66 is the 'Meramec Caverns', near Stanton, Missouri - July 2015 - Sony A65, 10-24mm


And of course, you get to wonder through the caverns where it's reported that Jesse James and his gang used to hide out there - July 2015 - Sony A65, 10-24mm


Another stop was at the 'Route 66 Diner' in Saint Robert, Missouri, which while it's not something that was there in the old days, it's made to remind people what diners were like in that era - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


As I said, it was designed to bring back the nostalgia of the era when Route 66 was in its prime - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm


And along the old road there are numerous Route 66 museums, like this one in Elk City, Oklahoma - July 2015 - Apple iPhone 6


Another one of the many signs which reminds people that Route 66 basically follows I-40, this shot taken at one of the exits for Gallup, New Mexico - July 2015 - Sony NEX-3N, 16-50mm

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

And a few more pictures from along the old Route 66 to finish out my travel log.

Now this marker is out in the middle of no where, literally. We found this one at a stop while driving through the Petrified Forest near Holbrook, Arizona - July 2015 - Sony A65 - 10-24mm


If you look carefully, you can kind of see where there might have been a road at one time, near where we found that marker in the previous shot. That car actually could have been there from when the road was last used - July 2015 - Sony A65, 10-24mm


Another famous stop along Route 66 is the 'Big Texan Steak Ranch' in Amarillo, Texas - August 2017 - Apple iPhone 6


Now this is the place where if you can eat the 72 oz steak, and all the fixens, in a hour, it's free, and while we've stopped and eaten there a couple of times, I've never taken the challenge - August 2017 - Apple iPhone 6


Now this is another one of those iconic places along Route 66, the 'U Drop Inn Cafe' and Gas Station in Shamrock, Texas, which is now a museum - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm


And what really caught my eye was the juxtaposition of the old and the new, when I saw this row of Tesla charging stations, placed next to this symbol from the 40's and 50's - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm


And of course, you can't miss the 'Bourbon' water tower in Bourbon, Missouri - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm


Another old time place to eat along the Mother Road is the 'Silver Moon Cafe' in Santa Rosa, New Mexico - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm


And a shot of the old road itself, Route 66, as it passes through Santa Rosa, NM - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm


And another one of our favorite stops is 'Clines Corners' in New Mexico, where the last time we stopped, I bought a 'Route 66 T-Shirt', which I'm actually wearing as I've been typing these posts - October 2018 - Sony a6000, 16-50mm

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

I made several trips on Highway 66 in the 50s and 60s and never took a single picture. Same with the Grapevine Hill. I would have been shooting with an Argus C3 and Kodachrome 25 back then. Who could have known it would become the highway of ledged.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Very nice! I made that drive in '69 with my new '69 Vette!

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

cdayton

We’ve driven most of Rte 66 but not the section from Williams, AZ to LA. One trip started on the National Rd (surveyed by George Washington) in Cumberland, MD, continued to Vandalia, IN and then North on Rte 66 to Chicago (almost). Another trip was the wrong way from Flagstaff, AZ to just East of St Louis and then other routes to the East coast. I have boatloads of pictures including several of yours (I painstakingly removed the overhead wires from that iconic image of that TX gas station). It is somewhat depressing to see thousands of still abandoned businesses that were shuttered by the creation of the Interstate Highway system and replaced along the Highway by big corporations. There are lots of guidebooks if you plan a trip and you really need several since segments, some preserved, some not, pop up here and there - however, there are lots of little Rte 66 signs to follow.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Great photos, great nostalgia, love driving portions of that route, especially in AZ & NM...I can agree with you on the dairy bar and the taste of frozen custard. Klines 'frozen custard' dairy bar has been in operation in Staunton, VA since 1943 and every time we pass through the area, we stop for a 'fix' with their Raspberry frozen custard Cheers...

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Fantastic set - well done!

Hereford Loc: Palm Coast, FL

Superb set of photos. All the business are cashing in on that nostalgic roadway. May they survive for years to come.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

Great stuff!! Thanks for the post. Brings back good memories.

TimmyKnowles Loc: Gallup, New Mexico

Nice set of pics. I live about 300 feet from the original Route 66 in NM and was born in Flagstaff, so I've spent most of my life near the highway. In the 1980s, I took a massive amount of slides of the somewhat dilapidated trading posts between Gallup, NM and Winslow, AZ and the old Toonerville, AZ cafe as well as the Two Guns, AZ stop nearby. Many are now either totally gone or repurposed. Some day, I'll get them scanned and posted.