If you’re moving cross country, and you have the time, make it a road trip. If you’re moving east, you can try the famous Route 66, legendary home of all things Americana. Is Route really all it’s cracked up to be, though?
Route 66 is among the oldest highways in the United States. It’s route takes you from just south of Los Angeles, through the Southwest and into Chicago.
Author John Steinbeck famously traveled Route 66 and coined its nickname, “the mother road.”
Not everything about Route 66 is romantic. A portion of it in Missouri was used during the forced Indian migration, in which thousands of Native Americans died, called the Trail of Tears. In another shameful reminder of our history, before the Civil Rights Act, many businesses along Route 66 discriminated against African-Americans.
Despite its checkered past, Route 66 is a nostalgic peek at an America of the past.
Here are some of the must-see sights along Route 66
California
Image courtesy of Mark Stephenson/Flickr
Route 66 is famous for its ghost towns. While most of them are further east, Calico is a ghost town right here in California.
Calico is located just north of Dagget and like so many California towns, it dates back to the Gold Rush. You can even tour a real mine. Unlike many of the Gold Rush towns in California, though, it died after the rush ended.
Arizona
Arizona is full of sights along Route 66, but for a real glimpse of history — millions of years of history — stop by the Petrified Forest National Park, where dinosaurs roamed a mere 225 million years ago. While California has its redwoods, prehistoric Arizona had conifers that grew to 200 feet tall. That’s about the height of Los Angeles’ Cambria Hotel.
New Mexico
Image via Sylvain L/Flickr Creative Commons 2.0
For a taste of more recent history, stop by the 1940s era Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. They have a teepee shaped souvenir stand and a sombrero shaped restaurant. They even have rotary dial phones in the rooms.
Texas
Image Not surprisingly, the longest stretch of Route 66 is through Texas. Fill your tank at the original Phillips 66 in McLean, which looks more like a Tudor-style house than a gas station. For a look at cars past, visit the famous Cadillac Ranch in Bushland. Cadillac Ranch is an outdoor art installation showing 10 Cadillacs half buried in the dirt, wit their tailfins in the air for the world to see.
Oklahoma
As you’re passing through Oklahoma, be sure to stop by the National Route 66 & Transportation Museum in Elk City. It will tell you about all of the attractions behind and in front of you.
Kansas
You’ve visited the museum, now it’s time to see the ultimate Route 66 store. Nelson’s Old Riverton Store on the Oklahoma/Kansas star line. The owners have, for the most part, honored the store’s history. Its interior has barely changed since 1925. It’s still a grocery store/deli, and we know you’ll be hungry by that point.
Missouri
One of the absolute must-see places along Route 66 are the Meramec Caverns in Missouri. Take a tour of the limestone caves.
Illinois
Illinois may be one of the least interesting stretches of Route 66, but you can find the waterpower shaped like a ketchup bottle.
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