Until Departure
Bike Ride from Amarillo to the Mississippi River along Route 66
I find route 66 very interesting. Some of the things I hope to see on my trip to the Mississippi River I have included in this blog.
Get Your Kicks (On Route 66)
Well if you ever plan to motor west
Just take my way that's the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66
Well it winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than 2000 miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66
Well, goes from St. Louie Joplin Missouri
Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty
You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino
Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
- Bobby Troupe, copyright 1946, Londontown Music
Interesting facts
The founder of McLean, Tx (Alfred Rowe), A rancher from England, went home to England for a visit and never came back because he was on the Titanic.
The numerical designation 66 was official assigned to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route in the summer of 1926.
Route 66 starts in Chicago, Illinois and ends in Santa Monica, California.
The Corvette has become a Route 66 icon.
91% of the original Route 66 is still in use in Texas.
On the corner of Route 66 and First Street in Tucumcari, New Mexico is a Texaco Station that is the only service station to have operated continuously through the Route 66 era to the present.
Kansas has the shortest section of the Mother Road with only 13 miles. However, three historic Route 66 towns are located on this short segment including Baxter Springs, Galena and Riverton.
As a publicity stunt in 1928, promoters of Route 66 held a coast to coast foot race that included all 2448 miles of the Mother Road and then some. The race kept right on going far beyond Chicago all the way to New York City.
In 1984 Route 66 was officially decommissioned as a federal highway. However, daily use of the road had been gradually replaced in earlier years by the Interstates. The road was decommissioned due to public demand for better transportation as the old road deteriorated after World War II.
Route 66 is also know as "Mother Road", "The Main Street of America" and "The Will Rogers Highway".
85% of the road is still drivable.
During all of its life, Route 66 continued to evolve, leaving many abandoned stretches of concrete, still waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
Cyrus Stevens Avery from Tulsa, Oklahoma can be called the father of Route 66. Mr. Avery lived in Tulsa. Conveniently, the new highway ran right past his own filling station and restaurant.
Elvis Presley used to like staying at the Best Western Trade Winds Motel in Clinton, Oklahoma.
Lou Mitchell’s Café has been providing breakfast for those beginning the long journey on Route 66 since the beginning. Opened in 1923 at 565 W. Jackson, breakfast is still served all day at Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago.
Most of the road was replaced by five interstate highways, including I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10, but still a surprisingly high amount of old road is waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
When is a corn dog not a corn dog? When you're at the Cozy Dog Drive along Route 66 in Springfield, Illinois. This first fast food of the road was introduced by Ed Waldmire at the 1946 Illinois State Fair. In 1950, he opened the Cozy Dog Drive Inn. This Mother Road icon still stands today at 2935 So. Sixth Street in Springfield, Illinois, but when go try their "Cozy Dog," don't call it a corn dog, or you might be met with little more than a steely eyed stare.
You cannot count on the road to be marked with road signs. Though some states and organizations have posted signs, these often disappear with souvenir hunters. Others are simply never posted.
Driving the route from west to east is historically wrong, and a lot harder, as all available documentation goes the "right” way.
John Steinbeck in his novel, Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939, was the first to refer to Route 66 as "Mother Road.”
Old Route 66 originally began in Chicago at Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard. After the 1933 World’s Fair, the terminus of the road was moved to Lake Shore Drive at the entrance to Grant Park.
Route 66 TV ShowGeorge Maharis and Martin Milner were the stars of the CBS television series Route 66 which debuted on October 7, 1960. In the show, the stars drove brand new baby-blue Corvettes, though the audience wouldn’t know that because the show was in black and white. The show continued for 116 episodes, finally ending on March 13, 1964. Ironically, the show was filmed on locations all around the USA, but rarely near the real Route 66.
Cyrus Avery, the father of Route 66, was the first to refer to Route 66 as "The Main Street of America” in 1927.
The last original Route 66 road sign was taken down in Chicago on January 17, 1977.
SEE YA ON THE ROAD!!
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