Route 66
During the summer of 1926, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads created the first federal highway system, which included designating a network of existing roads connecting Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California as U.S. Route 66. Nicknamed “The Mother Road” or “America’s Main Street”, U.S. Route 66 stretched some 2,448 miles spanning eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The route from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean could take up to a week as Route 66 traversed the middle of America making its way through small rural towns. It was not until after the victory in World War II that Route 66 earned its place in pop culture.
Following the war, Route 66 was a symbol of opportunity, adventure and exploration for travelers. For many, a trip on Route 66 was not about the destination but rather it was about the journey that offered a unique way to experience America. Each stop along the way offered local flair and regional flavor. Route 66 was over 2,200 miles of neon signs illuminating one-of-a-kind motels, burgers and chicken fried steaks in a multitude of restaurants, filling stations that served as miniature oases, and countless gaudy tourist traps. Gas was cheap and the magical roadside attractions beckoned travelers to “get your kicks on Route 66.” It may have been a highway, but movies, songs, and TV shows elevated Route 66 to American cultural icon status.
Ultimately, the push for improved roads and more efficient ways of traversing the country that initially benefited Route 66 eventually led to its decline. Congress established the Interstate Highway System on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act which authorized $25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of modern highways. Stretching west from Oklahoma City through the Texas panhandle, New Mexico, northern Arizona and ending in Barstow, California, Interstate 40 replaced much of Route 66 by 1960. By 1970, Interstate 55 provided a faster way to get from Chicago to St. Louis, while Interstate 44 got drivers from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. Unlike Route 66, these modern multi-laned highways bypassed the rural communities that Route 66 had passed through and most of the iconic roadside attractions began to disappear. Now replaced by the Interstate Highway System, U.S. Route 66 was officially decommissioned in 1985.
Fortunately, Americans are nostalgic and over the years since its decommissioning, Route 66 has remained in the American pop culture. No longer a way of getting from Chicago to Santa Monica, only about 80% of the road remains, Route 66 has become the destination. Many communities have maintained their stretch of road as “Historic Route 66” and developed tourism around the old roadside attractions that remain. Traveling on Route 66 has become quite popular with RVers and for many it is a bucket list item.
In 2026, Historic U.S. Route 66 celebrates its one hundredth birthday. During this centennial year, hundreds of thousands of people will be visiting stretches of the old highway and celebrating its place in American lore. Although I don’t plan to drive the entire length of Route 66, I do plan to visit many of the sites along its path to help celebrate Route 66’s one hundredth birthday.
Winslow, Arizona (visited 3/7/26)
Route 66 was the primary east-west transportation artery through Winslow, Arizona until it was by-passed by I-40 in the late 1970s. In 1972, the Eagles released “Take It Easy” which quickly became the band’s first hit single. The song was originally written by Jackson Browne and was about a breakdown he had near Winslow while driving on Route 66. Browne wrote the iconic verse “Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see“. However, it was Glenn Frey who helped Browne finish the verse by adding “ It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me!“. Browne and Frey are credited as co-authors of “Take It Easy” which captured the carefree, road trip spirit of Route 66 and made Winslow famous.
Located on the corner of Old Route 66 and North Kinsley Avenue, “Standing on the Corner” park was dedicated in September 1999 to celebrate Winslow’s ties to this famous Eagles’ hit. The park features a two-story mural by John Pugh and a life-sized bronze statue by Ron Adamson named “Easy”. A statue of Glenn Frey was dedicated and installed in 2016. They even have a red, flatbed Ford parked on the corner to complete the iconic Route 66 photo op!
Petrified Forest National Park – Arizona (visited 3/6/26)
Petrified Forest National Park is the only park in the National Park System containing a section of Historic Route 66. Driving west of Route 66 in Northern Arizona, travelers could see the amazing pallet of colors as they entered the heart of the Painted Desert. After long hours of travel, the Painted Desert Inn was a welcoming oasis where weary travelers could take a break, stretch their legs, sip a cold beverage, and admire the view. Today, I-40 crosses through the park but traces of an old roadbed and weathered telephone poles mark the original path of Route 66.
Albuquerque, New Mexico (visited 3/16/26)
After meandered through the Sandia Mountains, U.S. Route 66 entered Albuquerque along Fourth Street. After traversing through the downtown district, it turned west passing through the historic Old Town. The original route of the highway crossed the Rio Grande three times, but re-alignment eliminated two of those crossings. Today, the stretch of Historic Route 66 that crosses the Rio Grande is on present-day Central Avenue before the highway turns westward towards the Continental Divide and the Arizona border.
Santa Fe, New Mexico (visited 3/10/26)
Originally, Route 66 entered New Mexico via Las Vegas, NM, went through Santa Fe, and then turned south towards Albuquerque. Route 66 followed the Old Pecos Trail into downtown Santa Fe and then headed south on Cerrillos Road. Some of the historic stops in Santa Fe include La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe Plaza, the Five & Dime General Store on the Plaza, and the classic neon-lit motor court El Rey. A political dispute in 1937 led to the removal of the Santa Fe loop from the official Route 66 in favor of a shorter, more direct route between Las Vegas, NM and Albuquerque. Today, the communities surrounding Santa Fe still celebrate their role in Historic Route 66 and there are still several neon-signed motels on Cerrillos Road.
Cadillac Ranch – Amarillo, Texas (visited 2/24/25)
Established in 1974 along Route 66, a group of artists created Cadillac Ranch as a monument to the American automobile. Specifically, they wanted to celebrate the iconic tailfin era, so they chose Cadillacs ranging from 1949 to 1963. The monument was originally ten Cadillacs buried nose-first at an angle mirroring the Great Pyramid at Giza to represent the rise and fall of the tailfin design. Initially, the cars were buried with their original paint, but travelers along Route 66 soon began shooting out the windows and adding their own spray paint. The roadside attraction quickly became an interactive landmark which is a continuously changing, colorful canvas celebrating the spirit of Route 66 and public art
Oklahoma
The nation’s longest drivable stretch of Historic Route 66 cuts through Oklahoma with more than 400 miles in the Sooner State. Route 66 has a special meaning to Oklahomans for many sought a better life in the West during the Great Depression. Prolonged drought and crop failures during the 1930s turned the Great Plains, including Oklahoma, into the Dust Bowl and migrants loaded up their possessions onto their cars and headed west on Route 66. In his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck described Route 66 as “the Mother Road” that carried Oklahomans to new opportunities in the West.
Located in Clinton, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is filled with exhibits, vintage cars, a replica of a diner, and an indoor drive-in theater. The museum is operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society and is a great stop to learn the story of this historic highway.
Weatherford, Oklahoma (visited 4/20/26)
A long stretch of drivable Route 66 runs parallel to Interstate 40 in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
The legendary hospitality of Lucille Hamons inspired Route 66 motorists to call her the “Mother of the Mother Road”. Her service station, originally known as the “Provine Station” due to its design features, opened around the same time as Route 66 became a highway. Lucille and Carl Hamons lived above the service station with their three children. As traffic on Route 66 increased, Lucille added a diner and small hotel in what became known as “Hamons Court”. Lucille ran the establishment for 59 years, and following her death in 2000 the property was purchased by a local resident and is maintained as a monument to Route 66 hospitality. The original neon sign for “Hamons Court” is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma and rose to became a decorated Air Force test pilot and NASA astronaut. He was the pilot of Gemini 6 which completed the first successful docking with another spacecraft in orbit. Later, he commanded the Apollo 10 mission which orbited the moon in a rehearsal for the eventual lunar landing. In 1975, Stafford commanded the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) flight, the first joint U.S.-Soviet space mission. Located in Weatherford, the Stafford Air & Space Museum is named in honor of their native son and it became a Smithsonian affiliate in 2010. The museum has an impressive collection of Project Gemini artifacts including the space-flown Gemini 6 capsule and a Titan II booster. They also have the Apollo 10 command module, named Charlie Brown, which Stafford flew around the moon and a fantastic technical display of the Saturn V main engines. I have been fortunate to visit many aviation museums, and the Stafford Air & Space Museum in rural Oklahoma is right up there with the best of them: a real gem right on Route 66.
Tulsa, Oklahoma (visited 4/22/26)
A total of 28 miles of Historic Route 66 runs through the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma which is frequently referred to as the “Capital of Route 66”. As a member of the federal board appointed to create the Federal Highway System, Tulsa resident Cyrus Avery was the architect of U.S. Route 66. He not only designed the iconic highway, but he also established the U.S. Highway 66 Association to pave and promote the highway. Avery was widely known as the “Father of Route 66” and there are several monuments to him in Tulsa. The route through Tulsa consists of roughly 22 miles on the 11th Street alignment (1932–1985) and 6 miles on the original 1926–1932 alignment along Admiral Place. There are numerous Route 66 sites to visit in Tulsa and the surrounding area.
The 76-foot tall Golden Driller is one of the tallest free-standing statues in the country. Standing at the entrance to Tulsa’s Expo Square, the Golden Driller was erected in 1966 as a monument to petroleum industry workers at a time when Oklahoma was the oil capital of the world.
Because of its ties to the petroleum industry, Tulsa has an active car culture which is celebrated at the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum in Sapulpa. While not hosting the largest collection, all the museum’s cars have ties to the local Tulsa community and there are some beautiful classic American automobiles including a 1905 Cadillac, 1931 Oldsmobile Sport Cabriolet, and 1946 Lincoln with the biggest chrome grill I have ever seen. The museum is also home to the world’s tallest gas pump which is 66 feet tall, non-operational of course.
The Route 66 Historical Village in Tulsa is an open-air museum along historic Route 66. The village features a 194-foot-tall oil derrick which commemorates the site of the historic first oil strike in Tulsa on June 25, 1901. There is a replica of a 1930s filling station that serves as a tourist information center and the grounds of the village has several classic Route 66 signs. In addition, the village celebrates some of Tulsa’s rail transportation with the Frisco 4500, an oil-fired 4-8-4 Baldwin locomotive built in 1942. The locomotive and Meteor passenger cars sit in front of the restored Red Fork Depot which is an event center today.
In 1972, zoologist Hugh Davis constructed an impressive blue whale in nearby Catoosa along Route 66. The whale was an anniversary gift to his wife, Zelta, who collected whale figurines. Constructed of pipe and concrete, the whale’s mouth rests opened on the shore of a small pond while its back extends over the water. It quickly became a summer hot spot for locals and travelers alike who came to swim, fish, play, and picnic around the famed blue whale.
