Route 66 Travels?

tonyandkaren wrote:
We're in Chicago now and will be leaving in three or four days to drive as much of Route 66 as possible, all the way to Santa Monica Pier. I have "The EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan that tetest recommends and I also made a map of places that we want to see - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=zWUSQ5x4Gi9s.kw7Mg3y1h0_o

Follow along on my blog!

When you go through Kansas (13.2 miles) stop at Eisler Brothers store in Riverton. (My home town) It's about 150 yards east of the stoplight. They make great sandwiches and have a gift shop with a lot of Rt. 66 stuff. At least they used to. Haven't been there in a couple of years.

If you are into guns, check out the J M Davis museaum in Claremore, OK.

Thanks Tony and Karen... I will definitely follow your blog. Looking forward to it

Mike

We're in Chicago now and will be leaving in three or four days to drive as much of Route 66 as possible, all the way to Santa Monica Pier. I have "The EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan that tetest recommends and I also made a map of places that we want to see - https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=zWUSQ5x4Gi9s.kw7Mg3y1h0_o

Follow along on my blog!

You'll find this website very useful Historic Route 66

Thanks guys...

I think I will add a book or two to my Christmas list. I doubt I would try to do the whole thing via RV on one trip, but would definitely like to do as much as possible.

It's always been on my bucket list, and I'd love to take my 63 Nova on a trip and really go back in time. Just have to decide which would be better.. Old car or RV. I think it would be awesome either way.

Mike

Old-Biscuit wrote:
THIS will help get you started.

I just took a look at the Route 66 section and then checked out some of the other highways. I have decided that the book will be in DH's Christmas stocking this year.

mileshuff wrote:
We love Grand Canyon Railway RV park in Williams, AZ. Great small town on Rt. 66 with lots to do in the area.

Rt. 66 from Kingman thru Oatman isn't recommended for RV's. Longest remaining stretch from Ash Fork to Kingman is a nice drive although Kingman isn't exactly a tourist stop!

We did the bit from Kingman to Seligman last spring. We did it in a car after driving the rig from Flagstaff to Kingman. Trust me, the Rt 66 was SMOOTHER and nicer than the highway!!!!! Also, that area on Rt. 66 WAS interesting. We went to the Grand Canyon Caverns and had a tour....FASCINATING and was the highlight of the trip for me!

Done it twice. Plenty of info on the internet. Take each and every off freeway exit in OK, TEX, NM, and AZ. There is a section between Bullhead City and Kingman that most people miss. It is worth the drive with over 100 curves.

brirene wrote:
On my bucket list, along with the old Lincoln Highway. Good luck and safe travels!

X2. I've been wanting to make that trip for years. But. :(

I've RV road-tripped old 66, sections of it in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, the Oklahoma - Texas section twice. I've traveled other parts by other than RV, and since I need to use some parts of the route to get from here to there, there are sections I've used maybe hundreds of times over 35 years of living here. Home is Michigan, Route 66 through Missouri and Illinois is a major part of one of tmy shorter routes back and forth.

There were different alignments over the years, some of the original sections were bypassed, then the bypasses bypassed, before US-66 was decommissioned. Urban routings in particular were frequently changed. Some of old 66 sits under the Interstate highway system, in other places 66 is nearly parallel, still others one or more of the old routes may be 30 miles or further from the Interstate that replaced 66.

So if you want to do this, you need a good book. The best I've found for finding various old parts (not just the final route) is "The EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan, published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.

Jamie Jensen's "Road Trip USA" gives you a Route 66 trip (along with several others on the numbered US highways) that follows the 1950s-60s route where it is interesting, uses the Interstate where that is more useful (do you really want to spend 4-6 hours crossing Los Angeles or Chicago on surface streets?) and directs you to the major points of interest for each road trip. The link above looks like "Road Trip USA" is now available as an web resource; I like the book for bedtime reading.