Route 66: A Journey Through Time

RZRBUG

For those who have travelled the Mother Road, or for those who dream of doing so, it is difficult to say what the lure is.  Some wish to remember a time gone by; some wish to visit a part of history that they have only heard about; and some just wish to satisfy a curiosity that they have read about. 

I have never had a wish to travel the entire road like some, but I have often wanted to see parts of it.  I got to do that over the last few days, and I was not disappointed.  Most of the old road is gone, but there are still parts of it available, at least enough to get the flavor of what others saw as they travelled across the U.S. before the days of interstates.

Over the next few days I will post pictures I took of the part I travelled with comments and reactions.  I started in Springfield, MO and ended in Tucumcari, NM.  The experience I will treasure most was meeting a gentleman in Paris Junction, MO, who has rebuilt an old service station, complete with a garage and old cars in the yard.  He insisted that I sit on the porch with him and have a "Coke," for which he did not charge me.  We talked of old days and shared past travel experiences.  He was a wealth of information and one of the friendliest people I have ever met.  A couple from Spain stopped by while I was there, and he insisted on giving the bride a wedding gift.

That visit lasted for over an hour and is at the top of the list of all my travel experiences.  I will cherish it forever.

(Sorry I forgot to resize the photo, and it is really too large.  I'll try to figure out a way to make it smaller.)

Michigan_Mike

I agree Larry.  I traveled some stretches of Route 66 coming back from Arizona to Michigan and it was amazing and allowed me to drift back to my childhood and when a lot of the major freeways were not intact or were under construction at the time.  The only issue I had traveling some of these stretches were the constant stop and go or from traffic light to traffic light pulling my trailer.  I was amazed at the old, decaying structures still in place and the fact that there is still a very large base oif business along some of these stretches....  But it was disappointing that some stretches were so short off of I-40 in NM.   I hope to do more stretches one day in western Arizona and into California.  

RZRBUG

If you travel I-40 through OK, there is a National Route 66 Museum in Elk City that is well worth the short detour to see, located on old Route 66 (Bus Route I-40).  I expected to see some tourist trap, but it is well done and very extensive.  There is also a blacksmith museum, a farm and ranch museum, and an entire old town set up.  You could spend half a day and not be disappointed.

The old Ford pickup loaded with mattresses on top and a household of goods is a reminder that the road was not just used for tourism, but was a path for people who pulled up stakes much like the pioneers and headed west in search of a better life.

Nomad

Boy, that's quite the service station he recreated. Cool