Originally built in 1953, Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In is still run by the original owner’s family. Also, don’t miss the galleries, antique shops, and historic saloons in the Route 66 Historic District just west of downtown Amarillo.ĭelgadillo’s Snow Cap (Seligman, Arizona) Graffiti is encouraged and the cars undergo ever-changing designs based on passersby leaving their mark. The sculpture is made up of ten old Cadillacs, half-buried nose down in the dusty Texas countryside, as a monument to America’s “Golden Age of the Automobile”. This quirky public art installation outside of Amarillo, Texas is one of Route 66’s most popular attractions. The museum offers visitors a journey through all eight states, and features plenty of old Route 66 signs, kitschy artifacts, antique cars, and a huge collection of Popeye memorabilia. You’ll find several Route 66 museums along the way, and the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma is one of the most comprehensive. National Route 66 Museum (Elk City, Oklahoma) The store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, and has been home to a real estate office, cleaners, and a Vietnamese sandwich shop since its original grocery days. This old grocery building has been around since 1930, but the giant milk bottle wasn’t placed on top until 1948. Route 66 is known for its gimmicky sights, and the giant milk bottle atop a grocery building in Oklahoma City is certainly a favorite of route-goers. Milk Bottle Grocery (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Several relics of Route 66’s heyday remain near the park including historic Route 66 signage and the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Nick Fox / Grant Park (Chicago)Ĭhicago’s Grant Park marks the eastern terminus of Route 66.
However, nostalgia for the route persisted, and in 1990 the state of Missouri declared the route a “State Historic Route.” This spurred a movement to protect the landmark old motels and historic signage along the route, as well as a renewed interest in road tripping along the route. Then in the early 1980s, the route was eventually decommissioned entirely. Over time, sections of Route 66 were slowly replaced by the newer, wider Highway 40. And the road was forever immortalized in Bobby Troup’s “ (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” song. For example, the highway provided the backdrop for John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. Route 66 was widely celebrated in popular culture. Consequently, hundreds of hotels, cafes, gas stations, and kitschy tourist attractions sprung up along the route. The route wound through many small towns in the Midwest and Southwest. Contrasted with other major interstates at the time, Route 66 headed west in a diagonal fashion offering the fastest way to California from the Midwest. Either way, a Route 66 RV trip is a nostalgic journey through America’s early days of westward travel.Īlso known as the Mother Road or the Main Street of America, Route 66 was designated a highway in 1926.
The entire 2,400-mile route makes for an epic RV trip, or you can tick off one segment at a time, in any of the eight states that the route passes through.
Today, much of the original Route 66 is still navigable, with hundreds of historic landmarks, tourist attractions, old time diners, natural wonders, and campgrounds lining the route. Yet, it stands out in American history as a symbol of freedom from the time the automobile became accessible to all, and how it transformed society during the 1930s and 1940s. It’s not America’s longest or oldest highway. Traveling the historic route between Chicago and Los Angeles is the quintessential American road trip-and a great cross-country trip to do in an RV.
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