Route 66

While i’m not sure if anyone noticed I was away this past weekend in Chicago for my annual Beatles convention. Now what could the Beatles possibly have to do with Pixar? stay tuned and you’ll find out, there is a connection here.

Anyway, we left a day early as we usually do and my dad decided he wanted to find Route 66. So we had to go about 20 min south of Chicago to Joliet, Illinois (i guess he thought that was easier than trying to find the start in the busy city of chicago) and after stopping at a gas station to ask for directions, we found it, Historic Route 66. We didnt stay on it long, only about a half hour, but it was cool to see. You’d go through stretches where there was nothing but trees and grass, or maybe a railroad next to you (and these parts of the road were a little bumpy) and then you’d hit a little crop of buildings with some civilization.

We stopped at a diner at one of these places i think called The Polka-Dot Diner on Route 66. It had a revolving 66 sign with neon and everything. The architecture of the place totally reminded me of Flo’s. I saw another diner some time later, built exactly the same way, so it must have been standard for those parts.

The Road itself is no longer officially known as Route 66, although there are a few signs that say “Historic Route 66”. I think it’s now known as Illinois State Route 53.

We had a bit of trouble trying to get back to the Interstate! It reminded me of Lightning being lost so much, I had to laugh to myself. It was like “argh!!! We gotta find the Interstate!” (yeah, we found it eventually)

Now for a Beatles connection. The next day in the newspaper we found out that not 48 hours before, Paul McCartney had been traveling down the same road and was in the same place we were, near Joliet! I guess he’s trying to travel it, cuz it said he stopped at a 66 museum, and had gotten gas at a local station. (his car, a Ford Bronco, almost got towed, until people let the tower know “Dont do that! That’s Paul McCartney’s car!”) He must’ve been parking in the wrong place or something. So there was a joke going around at the convention that once it ended on Sunday we’d all board a bus and zoom down 66 at 80 miles an hour to try and catch up with him.

I live in New Mexico. I can probably walk to Route 66 from my house, if i have enough pepper spray. XD

I heard that one of the Beatles passed through here a few days ago.

Wow, some coincidence that was, huh?

Laugh Out Loud, imagine if Mr McCartney got stranded in the middle of nowhere. He’d be mumbling to himself, “I’m sure I parked my car there…”

Anyway, one of the few things I want to do before I leave this earth is to rent an old Cadillac, or a Challenger, or an Impala… or some other old beat-up classic, load er’ up with fuel, and just pound the miles away down old Mother Road. Probably pop by one of the little diners or soda fountains, have a milkshake or too, then hit the road again until I reach the next coast.

On my last overseas vacation to the US, I went with my family in a tour bus that travelled along the interstate. It was mostly straight-on driving, but I will never forget those beautiful sights of the immense canyons and those shrubs and tumbleweeds that pepper the desert landscape. It was a place of both beauty and solitude. I remember seeing the Grand Canyon (who would miss that?), Rainbow Bridge, Hoover Dam, the usual touristy sights from LA to Las Vegas. It was fun and all, but I wondered how it would be like to just take a road trip off the beaten track.

And this coming from a guy whose only experience of personal-vehicle interstate travel are childhood road trips up the North-South Highway of the Malaysian Peninsula to visit his grandparents.

I would love to travel Route 66 someday.

I went down Rt 66 with my parents from St. Louis to Needles, California a year and a half ago (jeeze it seems like forever, and not at the same time) for my graduation gift.
It Was Awesome!
We drove on the interstate through oklahoma (from Kansas to El Reno) because its oklahoma and the weather looked sketchy (which it was, we passed the weather channel storm chasers) but otherwise we tried to drive mostly on the Route (easier in some places than in others)
We didn’t actually hit the route until we got to Lebanon, Mo (we stayed at the Munger Moss Motel) but for most of the way between St. Louis and Lebanon Rt 66 follows right next to the interstate (its the access road) it kind of counts.

The second day we drove from Lebanon, MO through Kansas (Mater is in Galena, Kansas) and to El Reno, Oklahoma (just west of Oklahoma City) we found the “ribbon road” or “sidewalk road” that day (its only one paved lane because in 1934 when oklahoma was supposed to pave Rt 66 they didn’t have the $$ to pave 2 lanes, and they haven’t repaved it since, so its basically gravel, we got stuck behind a tractor pulling a hay bailer there)

The third day the clouds were all gone, but the wind wasn’t. We drove from El Reno to Tucomcari, NM (stayed at the Blue Swallow!) we stopped at the Oklahoma Rt 66 museum in Clinton, Okla. and ate lunch at the Big Texan in Amarillo, we also stopped at the midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas and got a piece of pie each. New Mexico has the best “Welcome to” sign too, just saying. Tucumcari was fun, theres a rock formation nearby that looks (to me) a little like a car, theres a “T” painted on the side and they light it at night (reminded me of the “RS” in the carburetor rock in Radiator Springs). The Blue Swallow was really cool, they still have rotary dial phones in the rooms and they teach you how to use them if you want, all the garages have Rt 66 related murals in them (and there are 2 with Cars murals!)

The next day we drove from Tucumcari to Holbrook, Arizona (stayed in a Wigwam! aka Cozy Cone). We stopped at the petrified forest/painted dessert (Where I can totally see where Pixar got the geology for Carburetor County, it looks like the area between the painted dessert and the petrified forest, and the interstate doesn’t see any of it) and a few other stops. At the Wigwam Village they have classic cars parked in front of each teepee, including a tow truck, a beat up old Hudson Hornet (the license plate says “doc Hudson”), and a Chevy that looks like Ramone but with baby blue paint.

The following morning we drove to Winslow, Arizona for breakfast (you know the Eagles song, “Take It Easy”? “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” theres a memorial to that song, I hadn’t heard it, my mom found it on youtube) then we drove through the Arizona dessert (it was only like 90 degrees) and stopped at the Meteor Crater. For most of the day we could see a little purple-blue mountain on the Horizon and it kept getting bigger, sometime in the afternoon clouds appeared around it, because the elevation was causing water to condense at the peak. These were the first clouds we had seen since the storms in Oklahoma. Eventually at like 2 that afternoon we got to the mountain… It’s where Flagstaff is. We could still see snow on the very top of the mountain (in early June). Make sure you drive the stretch of Rt 66 from Flagstaff to Williams if your out there. Williams is where the Grand Canyon railroad starts/stops and their train like suspiciously like the Polar Express. We also drove through Sleigman, Ariz and a tiny place in the middle of nowheresville called Hackberry where we saw 2 living things: the manager of the general store, and a donkey standing in the shade of a large bush. Oh, and it was 111 degrees at 5 pm there, not a fun place to get out of the AC. Needles was a little warm too, I don’t think it got below 80 degrees all night, it was still hot the next morning when we left (heading back east )

On the way back we caught the stuff we skipped: the Grand Canyon (spent like 2 days there), Albuquerque, The Rock Cafe in Oklahoma (Dawn, the lady who owned it was the inspiration for Sally), The Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX, the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, MO.

All in all, if you ever have the chance to go… DO IT!! but make sure your car has working AC, you’ll need it… oh, and make motel reservations if you want to stay at the Blue Swallow or any of the other famous motels/hotels/motor courts, etc, and take a camera

ok, I’m done… for now

Sounds like you had an awesome trip! I’ve never been on a trip down Route 66, (Which is sad because I live on Route 66) but it sounds like fun!

Yeah its definitely enjoyable. And interesting! Its different than seeing towns whiz by while on the highway