Travel on Old Route 66

West of Grand Canyon on old route 66 is the Caverns of the Grand Canyon, which is worth the visit. Take the guided tour (not expensive) which takes a little over an hour.

East of the Grand Canyon is Meteor Crater.

SouthEast New Mexico is Carlsdad Caverns, well worth the time to go. Dress a little warmly, as the 5 hours we spent in there chilled us because we didn't take jackets, and the temp is about 55 deg.

Here is another link that you might find interesting.

http://www.historic66.com/

Bob and Bobbie wrote:
We are planning a trip this summer going from Ohio to the Grand Canyon with some of our route being taken on route 66. We are in a 31ft motorhome and towing our car. Any suggestions or places that we should visit or not? Thanks for your imput.
Bob and Bobbie

dalenoel has already posted the best website for Route 66 I've found to date. Some of Route 66 along I-40 through different cities/towns is also known as Business Route 40 and in some places there is only a marker where Route 66 use to be.

Here I'll some easy places along I-40 in New Mexico and Arizona to see.

Albuquerque, NM

Petroglyph NM, easy to get to off the I-40 at exit 154 west bound.


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Old Down Town




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Arizona

Petrified Forest, another easy to get to and see the sight, no need to unhook your toad here. I traveled from the south end of the NM towards the I-40, you would be doing the reverse.
On the south end of the park is a rustic campground, just buy something from the shop and you can stay there.


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Just a few things at this location, most of the walking trails are very easy and some are wheelchair friendly, the road through the entire park is good.

Have fun on your trip. :B

We just wanted to take time and give a "big thank-you" to everyone for the great info. This is our first long trip and you folks have given us some great advice and by the way, Jim I do remember the tv show and yes I am that old---but still kicking.

Thanks again;
Bob and Bobbie

OR, if you want to "get your kicks" on Route 66 you can watch re-runs Here. Martin Milner, George Maharis and later Glen Corbett in a really cool Corvette Convertible. It ran from 1960 to 1964. Am I that old?
Rt. 66 only travels thru 8 states from Chicago to Los Angeles. And it took Martin Milner 4 years to drive it from end to end. :)

It starts at Adams and Lake Shore Drive (or Jackson in the other direction). This is Grant Park, on the east side of the Loop. Apart from big city traffic there is nothing bad or dangerous about this. I don't see anything wrong with the drive west on Adams to Ogden either. Ogden is a major, multilane road heading SW to the Chicago suburbs. Apart from lots of lights it should be a breeze, even in the largest RV.

http://www.historic66.com/illinois/det-il1.html

Obviously if your preference is quaint small towns, then neither end point is your cup of tea. You'd also want to skip St Louis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, etc.

We had a great time on Rt-66. (It actually only exists in memories as the DOT De-certified the road in 1984.)

Recommendation:
Do not try to pick it up as Adams and Jackson in Chicago as this is just not a nice place and not someplace you need to see. Instead, plan to join it in Joliet.

We ran with a book called EZ-66 and it was a great help.

Matt

There are hundreds of places to visit, depending on what interests you. What interests me may not interest you. I travel numbered US highways to stop at places most travelers are quite happy to bypass. What I find interesting are historical connections, places connecting to evolution of our way of life.

The classic guide is "Route 66" by Michael Wallis, emphasis on places Wallis finds interesting and why they are interesting (again, usually cultural history). He also has a Lincoln Highway book, reading that one just now.

For a bit of detail about what is where and how to finding, rather than why you might want to see it, Jamie Jensen covers Route 66 as one of the trips in "Road Trip USA" which also stays on me nightstand for reading.

If you want to follow the road, and actually find the places you've decided might be interesting, a good guide is "EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan, published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.

I've traveled most of 66 from western Arizona to southwestern Missouri, some sections dozens of times, some hundreds of times. I've traveled other short sections in Missouri (where there are other old routes I like better, like 54 and 36), and longer sections through Illinois, but not all the way into Chicago.

Traveling these older routes I like the museums, accommodations from the 40s through 60s, and finding old bridges and remnants of old road sections. It can take me three days to cover 200 miles of 66 in Oklahoma, when I'm in an exploring mood. Which means, on the average, about six places to see per 100 miles. US-66 in Kansas keeps motor clubs and bike clubs busy for weekends at a time, all 14 miles of it from Baxter Springs to Galena.

I'm not going to write you a guide to all these places, you can buy one and figure what places interest you. Or you can wade through the web sites of the several national associations for Route 66, and the state associations for each of the seven states the route passes through.

I can specifically recommend the Meteor Crater in Arizona. One needs to look at the thing simply for perspective. When one of those things (still flying around out there in collision paths) lands in your back yard, you no longer need fret the other things that might have been worrying you.

Bob and Bobbie wrote:
We are planning a trip this summer going from Ohio to the Grand Canyon with some of our route being taken on route 66. We are in a 31ft motorhome and towing our car. Any suggestions or places that we should visit or not? Thanks for your imput.
Bob and Bobbie

I worked calling on business's along 66 as a traveling salemen in the early 1960's I don't think it looks the same anymore, so I won't say where to stop.

We did a trip without the trailer in 2012 along most of the route going to Phoenix. Some of the sights we used from MI were the Springfield Zoo, Galena KS to see Mater from Cars, OKC bombing site, Cadillac ranch in Amarillo, and others.

POI Factory has a download for your GPS that will give many of the sights along the old route.

There are several other websites that list the sights like Roadtripusa.com . You can also find forums that are only for the route like Historic 66.

Have fun, take your time, and learn as much as possible.

Dale