Posted on 06/01/2017 5:49:08 AM PDT by rktman
For 30 years it has been a 2,400 mile ghost town, but experts now believe the iconic Route 66 is experiencing a turnaround.
The two-lane highway established in 1926 and coined the 'Mother Road' by John Steinbeck seemed to encompass the essence of America, threading through eight states from Chicago to Santa Monica.
But after it was decommissioned in the 1980s in favor of larger and faster thoroughfares, Route 66 appeared headed for the dustbin of history as the mom and pop stores, kitschy motels, diners and petrol stations that lined the road gradually shut down.
'Entire towns folded up and what had been a 2,400-mile carnival became to a large extent a 2,400-mile ghost town,' explained David Knudson, founder and executive director of the non-profit National Historic Route 66 Federation.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
We made many a run on the western part of 66 when I was a kid.
Some of my fondest memories.
It was a fun trip, an enlightening look at America from a local perspective, and even a great preview of the 2016 presidential election. I must have seen about 4,000 Trump/Pence signs and no more than a dozen Clinton/Kaine signs in that whole trip.
Dang, Topeka to Charlotte. Now that’s a trip staying off interstates. It actually takes planning to do those kind of trips today. But they do make interesting journeys.
If you get hip to this kind of trip And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66
I/we did. Made the ABQ-LA run a few times over the years between ‘63 and ‘67 when I left to sail the briny deep for Uncle Sam.
We encountered people doing the same thing as us from Hong Kong, Finland, the UK, and several States. The biggest and longest continuous extent of the old road beds (the route shifted over time) was from Missouri west. Over a long career in international business I've been to around sixty five countries, but that was a trip of a lifetime.
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Right. Route 66 is commemorated at countless places along it’s former route. I think any current effort is to better mark the old route. Many stretches have no indication that it used to be Route 66.
So, is there a gofundme set up to restore the entire route? LOL! At least it could bring some short term jobs to someplace in the middle of nowhere.
Been to parts of it in the Kingman area. A real trip back in time. The above sea level sign on the outside of the museum (3333.33 ft) was king of a neat oddity.
In 1984, my new wife and I went from Monterrey, CA down to route 66 and then across till somewhere near Tenn on our way the FT Monmouth, NJ. Took us a couple of weeks, being newlyweds and all, but we saw every “Thing” and “Crater” they had back then.
She still has the turquoise earrings from the Grand Canyon.
Drove it in a 1980 Mustang. Greatest road trip ever.
Normally I oppose transportation boondoggles, but I wouldn’t mind if the Feds spent a few billions to restore the road (a divided four-lane with safety improvements, of course), and recreate all the diners, cars, motels, and boutique shops along with it.
Myfather worked as a contractor on ICBM sites and the analog computers on B-52 tail guns back in the day. Between 1960 and 1967 we lived all over the western US and spent a fair amount of time on Route 66.
Then my wife and I, on our honeymoon in 1998 did a 3500 mile drive around the southwest US. One of our stops was the Snow Cap. The town is one that was used as inspiration for Radiator Springs in Cars.
Which brings us to Cars. Before I saw it, I thought it was a CGI movie about car racing. Little did I know the movie was about Route 66 and america’s loss of the love off triveling by car just for the sheer joy of the trip. The movie created in me a strong emotional response - even as I type this.
For me, the Mother Road is the symbol of the US we have lost. And she will be missed. IS missed.
And don't forget Azusa.
I wouldn’t mind if the Feds spent a few billions to restore the road (a divided four-lane with safety improvements, of course), and recreate all the diners, cars, motels, and boutique shops along with it.Build it and they will come.
There are parts, where there were old businesses, that after near disaster are being restored.
One of my favorites that I hit about four times a year is the Roadrunner Inn in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The owners are restoring it room by room. There are also breakfast and dinner stops there that I really enjoy.
I was just in Kingman on old Andy Devine Blvd yesterday and ate at Calico’s on Beale Street.
I travel it every week from Kingman Az to Ash Fork AZ through Seligman, Peach Springs, Valentine, Hackberry, Truxton. Matter of fact, I will be going that way today.
There is still a good portion of the OLD Rte 66 out of Kingman going west, and from the I 40 interchange through Oatman AZ. The Oatman route is restricted to shorter traffic for good reasons. That trip will make you stiffen up and make your knuckles white.
LOL! Going back to ABQ from LA Christmas of ‘66 (go figure) I got to Kingman and could see snow in the mountains ahead. $20 for a set of chains. Too much for my blood in ‘66. So I forged ahead in my 66 Ford Fairlane GT/390/4speed. That was interesting. During the previous summer, a heater hose had popped and we re-routed the good one back in to the block. No heater. Heck the weather was nice on the way out a week and half earlier. Almost stopped by the side of the road to sleep in Gallup but decided I’d keep going. Good thing since it got below zero that night. Cold? Hell yeah. But what a memory.
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