The Rise and Fall of Route 66 (Why America's Greatest Road Fell into Oblivion)

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 667

  • @damnitboy9635
    @damnitboy9635 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1041

    In the mid 2000s a lot of people gained or renewed their interest in Rt 66 due to the movie "Cars" that's continued to this day.

    • @SimulatedGoat
      @SimulatedGoat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +54

      Probably the only good thing that the cars movies did lol

    • @MrOiram46
      @MrOiram46 2 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      @vinny reviews Also probably inspired a new generation of vehicle animators

    • @bumblebee623
      @bumblebee623 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      No... not really. But good try

    • @micahfrye8885
      @micahfrye8885 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @StreetVibezPR exactly and I’m one of them. I was 4 when the movie came out and it’s one of my first core memories possibly the very first as it’s the oldest memory I can place. It and my babysitter and her husband who basically raised me got me into cars and trucks. While I don’t have anything running that’s too old (1980 k20 is the oldest) I take pride in what I do have and live the culture around these classics. It definitely did a lot of good

    • @mariokart8715
      @mariokart8715 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      And it was mentioned a bit in the RV movie by Robin Williams. At the end of the movie, a song played “Get your kicks on Route 66”. It was also seen in parts of Cars 2 & 3.

  • @jaydibernardo4320
    @jaydibernardo4320 2 ปีที่แล้ว +825

    Back in 2012 I drove Route 66 (Chicago to Santa Monica) on a Yamaha FJR1300, camping & moteling along the way. What a great adventure! So many things to see & great people along the way, I never had a dull day. One thing I noticed is at that time there were more people from other countries then Americans on 66. I grew tiresome of all the gift shops so I then turned my attention to the old abandoned structures that were once popular. Old gas stations, motels diners, bars etc. I even found some of the original highway, it was super narrow. What an amazing journey back into time! I've had many, many motorcycle tours in my life but Route 66 was by far the highlight of them all. It really is a slice of America that everyone should put on their bucket list. I would highly recommend anyone reading this comment to make the trip. You won't be disappointed.

    • @cavecookie1
      @cavecookie1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      I lived in Oatman, AZ in the '90s. Loved talking to all the different people from all over the world. There was a German who organized motorcycle tours of that area. They would fly into Vegas, rent Harleys and run up and down Rt. 66, Grand Canyon, etc. and were always warmly welcomed there in Oatman. This guy, Gunther, IIRC, even set up a month long tour of Germany for a friend of mine who did a one man country band thing, with MIDI computers, and his excellent singing and flat pickin'. Lots of great memories from Rt. 66!

    • @alanreber1027
      @alanreber1027 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @Derrick Bridges thank you for that blessed/bittersweet memory. I am a stickler for dates, a calendar brain if you will🤔 God is teaching me to number my days, and He recently put some more time on the clock. I had a third stroke on July 2nd,2022 and was out of the hospital in 10 days. The other 2 were 2010 & 2018. I'm almost fully recovered with only some minor slurring. "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows them that trust in Him"

    • @SKBottom
      @SKBottom 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      How long did your trip take?

    • @jaydibernardo4320
      @jaydibernardo4320 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@SKBottom If I recall correctly, two weeks.

    • @SKBottom
      @SKBottom 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@jaydibernardo4320 thank you. I've been as far as St Louis and I have been to the Route 66 Museum there. It's on my bucket list to make the rest of the trip.
      Fun fact, I used to live near the Ted Drewes frozen custard stand on Lindbergh. Lindbergh Road is part of the original Route 66.

  • @Javelina_Poppers
    @Javelina_Poppers 2 ปีที่แล้ว +380

    Being a 71 year old Arizona native, I've been on 66 many times over the years. People today have forgotten the joys and sights of taking a road trip.

    • @MR-wh6ji
      @MR-wh6ji 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Having made a Roadtrip through great Arizona I can only say that thats true

    • @southronjr1570
      @southronjr1570 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      My wife's from Phoenix and we take the I 40 route from the east coast every other summer.

    • @Javelina_Poppers
      @Javelina_Poppers 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@southronjr1570 Flew into St Louis for a family reunion and on returning, instead of flying, we rented a car and drove back to Arizona. Didn't drive a single Interstate, only US highways, state roads, county roads and sometimes gravel and dirt roads. The trip took 5 days and we saw the best sights and met some if the greatest people in the world.
      I would highly recommend trying this if you've got the time. Oh, and buy a big clunky road atlas at WalMart..........you'll need it.

    • @d.e.b.b5788
      @d.e.b.b5788 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Not me! I love road trips! I lived in NJ all my life, then moved here to Arizona! I moved a little at a time, so I retired, and then took many cross country trips, bringing a SUV full of stuff each time, and taking a slightly different route. It was fun, finally getting to see so much of the country in between. 2600 miles each way, and now I live two blocks from Rt 66. Love the little town atmosphere, and the neighbors are very nice. Up here in the 'high desert', it doesn't get so horribly hot, either, 100 with none of that NJ humidity is just fine, thank you! And now, I get to take nice, leisurely rides around the western states with my parrot as my co-pilot. My most common road trip, though, is to Nevada where they have some white castle burger places, a little bit of the east, here out west.

    • @garv0061
      @garv0061 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Pretty broad assumption made here. I'm a millennial (36) and just got back from a 10 day Route 66 trip with my dad (66). It was wonderful. Many road trips I've been on are focused on the destination, but this one the journey is the destination. I loved speaking with attraction/store owners. It was fun to run into others doing the route across multiple states. Definitely want to get back out there again.

  • @maingeemutt1668
    @maingeemutt1668 2 ปีที่แล้ว +428

    Real simple reason for Route 66's demise, the interstate system made it obsolete.

    • @jamesparson
      @jamesparson 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Double signing can be confusing.

    • @charleslindsay3201
      @charleslindsay3201 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      yes it was a dangerous 2 lane road with slow moving traffic mixed with cars that wanted to go fast.

    • @markfortin421
      @markfortin421 2 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      They did it by eliminating alot of exits to the small towns, which in turn starved the small businesses along old 66....

    • @andylauder2072
      @andylauder2072 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      You summed it up beautifully.

    • @jackson5116
      @jackson5116 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@charleslindsay3201 "fast" back then meant a whopping 30 mph!

  • @generoush3823
    @generoush3823 2 ปีที่แล้ว +88

    When I was a kid I used to watch a show where 2 guys in a corvette traveled and had adventures on route 66, always told myself I would do that some day.

    • @markdavis3539
      @markdavis3539 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      The series was called Route 66 with Martin Milner and George Maharis. I remember it well. My brother had a corvette of similar vintage.

    • @mescko
      @mescko 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@markdavis3539 Ironically very little of it was actually filmed anywhere along the route. It was a good show and a great jazzy theme.

    • @LUIS-ox1bv
      @LUIS-ox1bv 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@mescko Be that as it may, Route 66 was among the first television series filmed in locations throughout the country, and not just solely in California.

    • @jacksonspitsfax4526
      @jacksonspitsfax4526 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      man that sounds fun, I am still young and live on 66, my favorite older show is Dukes of Hazard.

    • @DCMarvelMultiverse
      @DCMarvelMultiverse 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      There were two shows called Route 66. When I was young, the second series was on with Dan Cortez. The show lasted half a season and ended about two years before the road was decommissioned.

  • @AcuraLvR82
    @AcuraLvR82 2 ปีที่แล้ว +323

    I live literally a block from the original first paved segment of 66 which is now College and St. Louis streets in Springfield. Great video but theres a lot of information left out. The route was also instrumental in connecting Fort Leonard wood and other bases to the Pacific coast and was vital for military logistics which didnt all go by train. The original highway was extremely dangerous due to it and the automobiles of the era being very crude by modern safety standards. Drunk driving was legal at that time leading to many untimely deaths and human suffering, as was the deer problem through Illinois Missouri and Oklahoma. There were many hardships for travelers who had little more than gas money. My grandfather broke down in Arizona with his wife and first baby in the dangerous heat and had to work an entire day in a salvage yard to afford the part he needed to get back on the road.Also, the heavy traffic clogged city centers toward the later years and the original route and its businesses fell victim to re-routs outside of towns then the much faster and safer Interstate highway system. The Cadillac Ranch is iconic but so were the many neon signs along the route. Another popular spot is were people stop to take pics standin' on the road, in Windslow Arizona, next to a flat bed Ford as mentioned in the Eagles song Take it Easy.

    • @Ethan7s
      @Ethan7s 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Thanks for adding to the info.

    • @zaco-km3su
      @zaco-km3su 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The strategic importance would have been nice to be known.

    • @tuckerbittick1718
      @tuckerbittick1718 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yooooo I go to MSU there in Springfield!

    • @rosaamarillo2110
      @rosaamarillo2110 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      As I was born in Springfield, I think the most interesting part was the little piece of 66 that touches Kansas at Baxter Springs, because a Kansas senator didn't want his state to miss out..

    • @RevJack-jn1nu
      @RevJack-jn1nu ปีที่แล้ว

      WHAT NEWS. !!!
      AS A KID ON 66 IN 1954, 1956, 1958 ! DANGEROUS TRAFFIC, CAR WRECKS. HEAD-ON COLLISSIONS AND BEAUTIFUL SCENERY !
      Rev. Jack

  • @adamaizenberg756
    @adamaizenberg756 2 ปีที่แล้ว +371

    Driving down old Route 66 sometimes feels like you’ve traveled back into the past.

    • @jtgd
      @jtgd 2 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Ghost infrastructure deserves a special place in history

    • @randallthedestroyer6061
      @randallthedestroyer6061 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Or in an apocalyptic world too sonetimes...

    • @jaydibernardo4320
      @jaydibernardo4320 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Because you are!

    • @kimballamram552
      @kimballamram552 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      All that much more reason to preserve it

    • @NazriB
      @NazriB 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Lies again? Birthday Date Home Number

  • @3.2Carrera
    @3.2Carrera 2 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    My son is a US Marine and the two of us drove from S. Florida to San Diego In late Dec '21 and had a great time. I had some car parts to drop off so we picked up I-40 in Amarillo. Route 66 was an old friend right there for most of the trip through the long desert. We used it to go to some of the small dusty towns that is still snakes through. At one point in New Mexico we hit a severe snow storm that closed the interstate due to jackknifed trailers and since we had a Jeep, it was a snap to so some adventuring on the old road for many miles (something the locals seemed to take advantage of as well). What a special trip.

    • @jamesgibson5876
      @jamesgibson5876 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lmao yeah my back yard ..with out even looking I can tell you that probably was Santa Rosa newmexico where the snow shut you down

  • @freetolook3727
    @freetolook3727 2 ปีที่แล้ว +87

    Back in the mid 1970's, I was lucky enough to travel parts of Route 66 in Arizona and New Mexico before Interstate 40 was completed.
    It certainly was a colorful highway!

    • @tonygalano6825
      @tonygalano6825 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Come on
      Everybody knows that it's ROOT 66 not rout 66. For example somebody had a paper rout on root 66.

    • @ernestpassaro9663
      @ernestpassaro9663 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Doesn’t route 80 parallel it?

    • @kimballamram552
      @kimballamram552 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ernestpassaro9663 Route 40 as 80 is further north

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Some in the North said Rãwt but the South always said Root❤yes root 66 is spelled route 66❤and it is 66 ❤not 666.😂

  • @vibingwithvinyl
    @vibingwithvinyl 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    2:45 to skip the sponsored section.

  • @alliehamilton-calhoun162
    @alliehamilton-calhoun162 2 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    I live on route 66 and absolutely love it! I travel to other towns on my favorite road frequently. I especially like the parts of the road where I can't see the interstate next to me and I can imagine that I'm back in time driving along the road when it was new. So many parts of the original road in my area are being torn up to make bike trails or to lay lines for high speed internet.... etc... which upsets me; it's something to be _protected_ , not destroyed.

    • @mescko
      @mescko 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Hear, hear!

  • @fishrowe8057
    @fishrowe8057 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    We drove from Chicago to Phoenix when I was 10yo. I'll never forget the cool things we saw along 66. Magical.

  • @girldaddividendinvestor
    @girldaddividendinvestor 2 ปีที่แล้ว +124

    My grandparents used the 'Green Book,' to travel in the 50s and 60s. I'm so happy you touched on it. Great video as always!! Thank you.

    • @Gail1Marie
      @Gail1Marie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I'm sorry they had to use the Green Book at all. I have a reprint of the 1940 edition; it and later editions are available online.

    • @jed-henrywitkowski6470
      @jed-henrywitkowski6470 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I wouldn't mind hearing a little about that.

    • @halnogaies1256
      @halnogaies1256 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Gail1Marie I'm offended that you feel sorry. lol. Nobody can mention anything about that part of history without you having a guilt complex. lol.

    • @olliebee5605
      @olliebee5605 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@halnogaies1256 since when does saying sorry to someone equate to feeling guilty? If someone tells me their grandma passed, I might say I'm sorry. I don't feel guilty, I didn't kill grams, I feel empathetic. You seem like someone unfamiliar with empathy..

    • @halnogaies1256
      @halnogaies1256 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@olliebee5605 I use google to navigate almost anywhere nowadays. SAY SORRY TO ME! At some point it becomes unempathetic and more obligatory. That is when it is absurd. Why don't you apologize for all the victims of wars going back to Punic times!

  • @ellenwheat3608
    @ellenwheat3608 2 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    Im familiar with folks only calling it “root” 66.

    • @philbenson6041
      @philbenson6041 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It's just the way some people say it.

    • @SkillandLuckCRAPS
      @SkillandLuckCRAPS 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@philbenson6041 Just like this narrator and you, do you know about the song?
      🎵Get your kicks on Route 66🎵
      Go check it out and learn.

    • @dragonmeddler2152
      @dragonmeddler2152 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      "Root 66" started as a mispronuncation of route in the song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" by the great Nat (King) Cole Trio, back in the 1930s. The rest of the US Highway system roads were usually called "Highway", such as Hwy 40, Hwy 50, etc.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤STILL ROOTIN FOR YA ROOT 66 ❤

    • @FaizKTG
      @FaizKTG หลายเดือนก่อน

      In french that's how you spell route

  • @sassiebrat
    @sassiebrat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    We moved to CA from TX in 1963. We took 66 in a car with no air conditioning. My great uncle had a restaurant on 66 in Clinton, OK. It would have been nice to revisit more of the businesses and towns along this historic highway. "Root" 66!

    • @jenniferwhitewolf3784
      @jenniferwhitewolf3784 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      What was the name of his restaurant? Do you know the address or if it appears online, or in any of the many books on 66?

    • @sassiebrat
      @sassiebrat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@jenniferwhitewolf3784...Pop Hicks on Route 66 in Clinton. And, yes, it is mentioned in articles about Route 66.

    • @jenniferwhitewolf3784
      @jenniferwhitewolf3784 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I looked it up.. amazing history. Sadly it burned down in 1999.

    • @jacksonspitsfax4526
      @jacksonspitsfax4526 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Hey Oklahoman here, is it still running, if so which restaurant is it? I live on Route 66 and personally Pops in Arcadia is my favorite, mostly because I live around there. Cool they named it after Will Rogers too.

    • @sassiebrat
      @sassiebrat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@jacksonspitsfax4526 ...No, my great uncle (Ethan Hicks) sold it (don't remember when) and then it burned down. Clinton, OK, is not what it used to be (but, then, what is?).

  • @Ayelmar
    @Ayelmar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Back in 2016 I found myself with the opportunity to take a few weeks to check off the biggest *attainable* item on my bucket list, and loaded up my little hatchback with me driving, my cat as copilot, and about 50 pounds of computer and camera gear, three duffel bags of clothes, and 30 pounds of cat food and cat litter, and set off from Nashville, TN, up to Chicago, then off on the Mother Road, all the way to Santa Monica. I've got about 100 GB of photos and footage from the trip that I *still* need to do something productive with....

  • @Oliver-kv2mm
    @Oliver-kv2mm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    If you started out for The West with a horse and wagon today with the roads and stores we have today it would still be one hell of a journey. Imagine that trip back then.

    • @scotcoon1186
      @scotcoon1186 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      First time I went to Scottsbluff, I could see a shadow that turned into the national monument over a half hour before I got there.
      That's two really good days afoot walking alongside a wagon.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@scotcoon1186❤WOW❤ AWESOME❤❤❤❤❤❤

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@scotcoon1186❤ AWESOME ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

  • @seamusburke9101
    @seamusburke9101 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I travelled Route 66 back in 2012 in an old Dodge van I bought for 800 dollers. Great adventure, definitely the journey of a lifetime. Greetings from Ireland.

  • @jonathangasana
    @jonathangasana ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Missourian here, just saying how great it is to have this historic landmark in our state. Thousands maybe millions used Route 66 for a better life. Them and their dreams will never be forgotten, that’s for sure.

  • @jimcabezola3051
    @jimcabezola3051 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    I miss long road trips...

    • @george5156
      @george5156 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah I was going to take a north US trip, but the fuel prices went out of sight

    • @mattwolf7698
      @mattwolf7698 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I don't have the vacation days for it

  • @RichieIV64
    @RichieIV64 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Thank you for mentioning the Green Book. Not many people know about that.

  • @johnchedsey1306
    @johnchedsey1306 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    It's wild to think these little towns boomed and busted so quickly just based on a highway which ultimately got bypassed by a better highway. Enough time has passed that some of the abandoned roadside attractions are decaying and disappearing. For instance, in Twin Arrows in Arizona, one of the two arrows collapse and fell to the ground in the past year. From year to year it's possible to witness the elements slowly reclaim things.

  • @JenniferinIllinois
    @JenniferinIllinois 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Growing up in Central Illinois, I was in the back of a car for many road trips in Route 66 before it was replaced by Interstate 55. Through the years, I've driven on basically every road that was ever part of Route 66 in Illinois (well those that still are publicly accessible).
    Had many breakfasts at the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean in the late 70s/early 80s. Was always packed back then as there weren't Love's, Road Rangers, etc in nearly every town along the highway.
    Get your kicks on ROOT 66. 😉

  • @freetolook3727
    @freetolook3727 2 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    Like most Federal highways before the advent of the Interstate Highway system, they were made obsolete when the interstates were built.
    Interstates may get you where you want to go quicker but you see less along the way!

    • @joemackey1950
      @joemackey1950 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I totally agree. I made a loop around the country in '19 and avoided interstates unless I had to absolutely, no excuse, had to use it. As Charles Kuralt once wrote: With the interstate one can go coast-to-coast and see absolutely nothing. I was able to travel on 66 from time to time. I often thought of all the people who had traveled that road over the years: where were they going, what happened to them/did they get to live their dreams, etc.

    • @oscarosullivan4513
      @oscarosullivan4513 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Something similar here in Ireland

    • @scotcoon1186
      @scotcoon1186 ปีที่แล้ว

      Depends on where you want to go, and where you're going from.
      There are no north-south interstates between Cheyenne and Council Bluffs.
      Sioux Falls and Buffalo, Wyoming.
      Fargo and Billings.
      The only one between Topeka and Denver is i135, which ends at i70 in Salina.
      Fun fact- there's only one state without a primary (one or two digit) north-south interstate, and it lies in that block.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤We took a long drive across the country and all over doubling back to mid - America in the northern states then up to Alaska through Canada❤One for our Children to Remember. ❤ Part of that trip was on Route 66.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

  • @Gizathecat2
    @Gizathecat2 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    My husband and I drove a small length of Rt 66 on our way to Flagstaff. We stopped to visit the Grand Canyon caverns. Also, farther east is Winslow Arizona home of the corner made famous by the Eagles song.

    • @cavecookie1
      @cavecookie1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hope you had a good tour at the Caverns! I was a tour guide there for 2 years, coolest job I ever had!

    • @kimballamram552
      @kimballamram552 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Jackson Brown wrote that song for the Eagles

    • @machupikachu1085
      @machupikachu1085 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I've got a picture of us standing on that corner LOL

  • @alanlight7740
    @alanlight7740 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    My father grew up in Rolla, Missouri in the 1930s and he remembered watching them pave Route 66 where it went through town ... with gravel.
    A few years later they added asphalt.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      😂 Rollo is just up the highway from us❤.

  • @skyden24195
    @skyden24195 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    During the late 90s and early 2000s, I would regularly attend the annual "Route 66 Car Show" in San Bernardino, CA. This event, typically held near summer's end and intended to celebrate the mother-road, was more than just a car show. There were free concerts held in open pavilions, beer gardens, temporary side-show type travel-trailer attractions, and much more, all held over several city blocks in the city of San Bernardino which is basically the last main stop or check point before reaching Santa Monica, CA. (Of course, it's the first stop if going the other way.)
    Unfortunately, over the years due to incredible financial drops in San Bernardino's economy, in addition to a sudden rapid increase in crime rates, the car-show festival began to diminish. I can't even say for sure that it still occurs especially now that the Covid pandemic has made a devastating change to the world's ability of public interactions.

    • @bigbaddms
      @bigbaddms 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It is still alive and well, just moved a few miles to Ontario CA. In fact it’s coming up again very shortly. And it’s better than when in San Berdo. Ontario has a beautiful pavilion for the music and Euclid is a wide and grand street for the cars.

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@bigbaddms Euclid in Ontario, isn't that the arts district? It would make sense to have the event in that area. At any rate, Ontario, in general, is a good place to have the event, and it's nice to know that the show goes on.

  • @dakotamilly2310
    @dakotamilly2310 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I loved cruising 66 in my 442 it’s one of the best times of my life I shed real tears more than once at the beauty of the mountains and endless desert views.

  • @hallkbrdz
    @hallkbrdz 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    More original 66 pavement miles in Oklahoma than any other state. It's held up pretty good.

    • @ObamaFleshlight
      @ObamaFleshlight 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The area around Clinton is mostly good, but try taking drink while driving it!

    • @richellebrittain2127
      @richellebrittain2127 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Probably because the eastern half of Route 66 in OK was mostly replaced by two I-44 turnpikes -- the Turner Turnpike (OKC to Tulsa) and the Will Rogers Turnpike (Tulsa to the MO border, also bypassing the entire Kansas segment). Much of the western part was directly replaced by I-40, but several towns were bypassed so much of western Route 66 survived as well.

  • @rustysmith5809
    @rustysmith5809 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Im 57 years old.I knew the basics of route 66, but this video added some more knowledge to my data brain.

  • @marinegunny826
    @marinegunny826 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    We took Route 66 in 2008 from St Louis to California. THE most fun trip we have ever taken. Drove from Virginia to St Louis to start the adventure. Took nine days (not in a hurry) and took in all the cheesey attractions we could. We even traveled the old alignment through Santa Fe. Neat place!
    If you ever have a chance to take this road trip,do it! There are books that will guide you along the way!
    BTW great video! Brought back some terrific memories!👍

    • @americanbadass88
      @americanbadass88 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      you can't drive Route 66 and NOT stop at every cheesy roadside attraction. Its mandatory! i mean if i wanted to just drive somewhere and not see anything i would just take the Interstate. Maybe one day i'll get to cruise 66

    • @marinegunny826
      @marinegunny826 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@americanbadass88 I hope you're able to drive it! You'll have a blast!

  • @waynesligar5948
    @waynesligar5948 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I live 20 miles from route 66 in central Oklahoma and i drive on it a lot of times and there is some great places to eat, pop's in arcadia is so cool to eat and look at all of the different soda drinks then the rock cafe in Stroud

  • @mikecooper5544
    @mikecooper5544 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    R.I.P Robin Williams July 21, 1951 - August 11, 2014 (aged 63)

  • @nickysindora6952
    @nickysindora6952 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    You should do a story about the Lincoln Highway

  • @johnmiller5679
    @johnmiller5679 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    In the movie Cars they have a great line. It’s says something like people used to drive to have a good time now they drive to make good time. Most people driving cross country or for a ping trip don’t care about seeing all these sites they just want to drive on a super highway going about 80 and getting to they need to go as fast as possible. Route 66 is from a bygone era that went away like bellbottoms.

    • @jordanberube7305
      @jordanberube7305 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Change of the times. Everything revolves around working. Only the lucky have actual free time for taking scenic routes. Sure wish I did…

  • @kosjeyr
    @kosjeyr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    I've always wanted to drive 66 to Santa Monica and then take the interstates back to see how much was bypassed... In my area, the Lincoln Hwy and 66 cross paths.

    • @kimballamram552
      @kimballamram552 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Joiliet, Illinois the only place in the US where that happens

    • @kosjeyr
      @kosjeyr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@kimballamram552 Or Plainfield, Illinois depending on which version of 66 you take (when 55 - IL 126 - IL 59 - 55 was 66.)
      Either way, still in my area.

  • @davidbrugman2171
    @davidbrugman2171 หลายเดือนก่อน

    When I was a little boy my parents and my younger brother traveled that road in the late 50s. All of it was still traveled. I'll never forget it never..

  • @Harold710
    @Harold710 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was very young when I took a greyhound bus from east to west (Long Beach) before the interstate turnpikes were created. It was just route 66. It was a lot of fun for a teenager.

  • @Adrian-zd4cs
    @Adrian-zd4cs 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Oh noooo.... He says "rouate"
    How can you get your kicks on ROOUTE 66 like that?!? 😏🤣🤣💕

    • @tonygalano6825
      @tonygalano6825 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      He said rout instead of root. I had a paper ROUT on ROOT 66

    • @SkillandLuckCRAPS
      @SkillandLuckCRAPS 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@tonygalano6825 This narrator also has no clue that there is no noise in Illinois.
      He is stuck being PC and completely fails. This is so disappointing because of his annunciation.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤🎉Cause it's COOL NO MATTER HOW YOU SAY IT BUT YOU BETTER SING IT AS 😂❤🤣🙃😅😂☺️ROOT 66❤

  • @tallinthesaddle1727
    @tallinthesaddle1727 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    We who are familiar with and have travelled the Mother Road several-many times pronounce it "Root 66."

  • @boostedswinger
    @boostedswinger 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    HotRod Powertour 2001 loosely followed the historic Route 66, my buddy and I drove down from Alberta and did the long haul from Pontiac to San Bernardino. I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, that was one of the coolest stops ever.

  • @CallsignTrike
    @CallsignTrike 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Taking a tent, getting on my bike and traveling this road is definitely on top of my bucket list when i will go explore USA some day.

  • @kirtreeves7777
    @kirtreeves7777 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Its the journey, NOT the destination! That romantic notion of the unexpected on the open road, the promise of something new and exciting just over the next hill. So many of us find our happy place on the open road with no itinerary.

  • @Gail1Marie
    @Gail1Marie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    If you ever plan to motor west, be sure to take the original section from Kingman to Oatman if you really want to get a feel for what the road was like in the 1900s. When they say it isn't passable by a vehicle longer than 40 feet, believe them. If your passengers are prone to motion sickness, they should take Dramamine beforehand. This section was bypassed in 1953 in favor of the Kingman to Needles route.

    • @cavecookie1
      @cavecookie1 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Best stretch on the whole road! I lived in Oatman, and we'd drive up to Sitgreaves Pass in the evenings to watch the sunset and enjoy a beverage or two after work!

    • @Gail1Marie
      @Gail1Marie 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@cavecookie1 What I can't believe is that it wasn't bypassed much earlier. How could a truck get over it?

    • @Inb4theban
      @Inb4theban ปีที่แล้ว

      Trailer we're smaller then

    • @clinthowe7629
      @clinthowe7629 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I remember the route to Oatman, I went there and fed the donkeys, they let them go when they closed the mines so they come into town to get carrots, i saw the hotel where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon night, creaky, rickety and squeaky old
      building surely no hanky panky that night. 😂

  • @dzymslizzy3641
    @dzymslizzy3641 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    It's also called "The Mother Road."

  • @zaco-km3su
    @zaco-km3su 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You didn't say why Route 66 was decommissioned. You forgot? It was because of the Interstate system. It was way faster.

    • @glennso47
      @glennso47 ปีที่แล้ว

      How about route 64 between Chicago and Cedar Rapids Iowa?

  • @EASTOAKLANDSS
    @EASTOAKLANDSS 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Traveling this road will remind you of the great freedom of mobility we enjoy here in America!

    • @More_Row
      @More_Row 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      And how its dying.

  • @giraffesinc.2193
    @giraffesinc.2193 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The narration and editing are outstanding! I have lived near route 66 most of my life, and it continues to fascinate me. Not far from my job is the Wigwam Motel (which is still, inexplicably, in business) and memorialized at the model train railroad out at the Living Desert in Palm Desert. In my neighborhood, Route 66 is Foothill Blvd, with plenty of markers and unique signs. Excellent episode!

    • @illinoy
      @illinoy ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I’ve stayed at both wigwam motels. Rialto and Holbrook. I’m obsessed with Route 66

    • @giraffesinc.2193
      @giraffesinc.2193 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@illinoy Wow, really? I am not brave enough to stay there but kudos to you for experiencing such a cool part of our local history!

    • @paineys3341
      @paineys3341 ปีที่แล้ว

      I stayed in the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook in 2012 and ate at Joe & Aggies across the street, while there I chatted with a guy doing Route 66 in a 66 Vette convertible , how cool is that, I was doing it on my Harley, started in Tampa, rode up via Nashville to Chicago and then travelled right across to Santa Monica pier, just amazing trip of a lifetime... so wanna do it again

  • @josearbelada5902
    @josearbelada5902 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    1. The only thing you need to get used to is CHANGE!
    2. Ultimately, everything dies. Given enough time, the earth will become a a smooth ball.

  • @eaglescout1984
    @eaglescout1984 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Meanwhile, US 60 is still very much an active US highway. And it is very often used in West Virginia as a way to avoid the tolls of the turnpike and go through a much more scenic route, including passing just a few miles east of the New River Gorge Bridge.

  • @sethmaki1333
    @sethmaki1333 หลายเดือนก่อน

    In 2013, I was on a journey from Northwestern Arkansas to Albuquerque. I stopped for the night in OKC. The next morning, my boss asked me to take an alternative route in order to avoid a truck scale (I was hauling a load), so I programmed my phone's GPS to "Avoid Highways" and it wound up taking me down old 66 the rest of the way through Oklahoma and into the Texas panhandle. The road even took me through two ghost towns that died when they were bypassed by I-40.

  • @JrGoonior
    @JrGoonior ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque!"

  • @jollyjohnthepirate3168
    @jollyjohnthepirate3168 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    The Dust Bowl struck an area that should have never been put under the plow. Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas were the worst hit areas.

  • @hkitm
    @hkitm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I'm surprised that the Route 66 television series was not mentioned.

  • @Dalt21
    @Dalt21 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    You forgot to mention the London Bridge! Arguably the coolest stop along Route 66. It was built in 1825 in london, used to cross the Thames river. It was dismantled , then rebuilt in the 1960s in Arizona.

    • @milojanis4901
      @milojanis4901 ปีที่แล้ว

      Maybe because the London Bridge is not anywhere near 66! It's about 30 miles South in Lake Havasau City!!! 15:50

    • @Dalt21
      @Dalt21 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@milojanis4901 I wasn’t aware how far it is. I just knew that it was always advertised on those old Route 66 attractions maps

  • @winterwatson6811
    @winterwatson6811 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    the way the road clips over the border in the bottom of the thumbnail made me think i’d already watched part of this for a second

  • @jessicacarvalho6039
    @jessicacarvalho6039 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My towns only personality trait is the fact that radiator springs is based off it and that it’s all Route 66 themed

  • @dannyjones3840
    @dannyjones3840 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    One of my favorite stops is Two Guns Az- right off I-40- great forgotten tourist attraction with historic native American death.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Who's death ?

  • @20Unknown
    @20Unknown หลายเดือนก่อน

    I used to live in close proximity to and use Route 66 every day in Upland, California. Its street designation was Foothill Blvd, the main east to west thoroughfare in that city. Memories...

  • @AgitpropPsyop
    @AgitpropPsyop ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I think it’s a little bit disingenuous to say that much of what made route 66 special is gone. I just drove through Route 66 in Arizona a few months back and it’s so incredibly beautiful. couple that with the quirky shops in small towns along the way, and you have an unforgettable adventure

  • @myrandomthings1
    @myrandomthings1 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The movie cars really brought rout 66 into the spot light again for a few years

  • @KD-nb3mp
    @KD-nb3mp 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Just drove Route 66 from Amarillo TX to Holbrook AZ. Some little towns like tucumcari NM are still really nice. A lot of the 66 is sadly dead by now. Cant imagine what it was like back in the day.

    • @jamesparson
      @jamesparson 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Lots of places are re-signing it. They could just resign the whole thing so it is easier to find.

    • @KD-nb3mp
      @KD-nb3mp 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @vinny reviews For real? Thats cool haha. Are you in holbrook?

    • @KD-nb3mp
      @KD-nb3mp 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @vinny reviews I did. Thats awesome :D.

  • @TheSwedishLuna
    @TheSwedishLuna ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I've driven on route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica in my McLaren Senna and I can without a doubt tell you that it was very fun. I felt like a kid again considering I've watched the Pixar movie Cars when I was growing up with my 25 siblings. And yes it's 25 I'm not over exaggerating at all that is the amount of siblings I have.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Love to hear your stories ❤

  • @MrJest2
    @MrJest2 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    First off, I live right off of old route 66. Secondly - it's interesting to note that Avery's contribution continues to this day, even if only "culturally". I recently had reason to travel across country, largely following the Rt. 66 replacement of Hwy 40... and of all the States we passed through, Oklahoma had, far and away, the *best* roads in terms of maintenance and durability. I think these days it's just institutional habit, but they do a great job of keeping up their roads.

    • @danacox8600
      @danacox8600 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      It's the only state that you travel from Kansas to Texas and never get on the interstate. It's also well maintained end to end

  • @thechronicphilosopher6166
    @thechronicphilosopher6166 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I live in Banning ! Such history !

  • @catalinsoare1261
    @catalinsoare1261 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Loved your video. My dream is to travel from east to west and enjoy beautiful landscapes. Didn't know what route to choose. Now I know one. Thanks

    • @cavecookie1
      @cavecookie1 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Indeed! As the song says...
      If you ever plan to motor west,
      Take my way, the highway that's the best,
      Get your kicks on RT. 66!

  • @NovaDeb
    @NovaDeb 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Very interesting! I have lived in several cities in different states that are directly on Route 66. It's appeal and visitors is growing internationally.

  • @MonsterKidCory
    @MonsterKidCory ปีที่แล้ว +1

    "One of the best things to see along Route 66 is this kitschy statue!"
    Meanwhile, the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments, Grand Canyon Caverns, Amboy Crater, Mojave Desert, Cahokia Mounds, the Mississippi River, Grant Park, Fort Reno, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Palo Duro Canyon, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Lincoln Home, Meramec Caverns, Onondaga Caves, Santa Fe, Pecos National Historical Park, Hollywood, etc. shed a single tear...

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      COLD IN THE CAVERNS BUT SO BEAUTIFUL ❤

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤COLD IN THE CAVERNS BUT BEAUTIFUL ❤

  • @Route66BothLanes
    @Route66BothLanes 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The interest to travel is really fundamental to the development of the U.S. We love hearing the stories of everyone's travel stories.

  • @robertewalt7789
    @robertewalt7789 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I took Route 66 from LA when I got out of the Army, on my way to my parents’ home in Cincinnati, 1973.

  • @JustJDB
    @JustJDB หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love your videos! They are solid! It’s great motivation as I am starting my own channel! Thanks for sharing such engaging content and awesome history!

  • @bettyboyne8531
    @bettyboyne8531 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Drove it in 64 - quire fascinating, still is.

  • @rah62
    @rah62 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    You referenced the song but mispronounced it - it's "ROOT" 66, not "ROWT".

  • @Gordon-u2b
    @Gordon-u2b 10 วันที่ผ่านมา +1

    Self-complacency is fatal to progress.

  • @cavecookie1
    @cavecookie1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Nice to see a brief shot of my old home town...Oatman, AZ. Lived there through the '90s.

  • @juneholbrook9452
    @juneholbrook9452 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The Hammonds station is outside of Hydro. You can still stop and take your picture in front of the station with the old style gas pumps.

  • @vrjanice2
    @vrjanice2 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    There was a weekly drama tv show in the 1960s called Route 66. It was very popular and successful.

  • @woodencoasterfan
    @woodencoasterfan ปีที่แล้ว +1

    It should be noted that America’s oldest operating truck stop is in McLean, IL. It is called the Dixie Truck Stop and opened in 1928 on old Route 66.

  • @areyoujelton
    @areyoujelton 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Didn’t Kmart have Route 66 branded jeans? Good times.

    • @jamessimon2002
      @jamessimon2002 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yeah they did. I remember owning some back in the day.

  • @RandyR
    @RandyR 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Got to go down parts of it in Southern California and here in AZ. Got my kicks on Route 66. Great history video. The freeway took a large part of the traffic away. Thanks for the video.

  • @alegnarolyart5133
    @alegnarolyart5133 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I'm going to use this video in my World Literature classes to teach my students a little history and to teach them how to write an objective summary.

  • @brindahoward4527
    @brindahoward4527 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My dad took us to Disney Land in 1967. We were on the Will Rogers Turnpike. I didn't know it was Route 66. My aunts lived closed to the ketchup bottle water tower that I learned later wass close to Route 66

  • @kokobwild2413
    @kokobwild2413 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Question:
    When did Americans decide to stop saying 'route' in the way that we in the rest of the English speaking world say it?
    I only ask because on the hit 'get your kicks on route 66' by chuck berry he sings it properly and in this video you're insisting on saying rout in the same way as all Americans seem to nowadays.

  • @richardnelson64
    @richardnelson64 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fantastic story!!!! Thanks man!! 👌👍😁✌️🔆❗☮️💠🖖🌞🌞😀♥️

  • @henryweick2244
    @henryweick2244 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Main Street U.S.A.

  • @UncleBearski
    @UncleBearski 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    "ROOT" 66!! 😛😛😛

  • @billwilson-es5yn
    @billwilson-es5yn 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I never traveled on 66. Drove 41 and few others that were similar with the diners, car parks, camp grounds and small towns that the US highways ran thru. Highway 41 runs from Lake Superior in the UP of Michigan all the way down to Miami, Florida. It hasn't died like 66 did due to now running thru metropolitan areas and regions that still have a robust economy.

  • @sandraroberts7406
    @sandraroberts7406 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    ONE OF THE BEST VIDEOS BESIDES MICHAEL WALLIS, A JOURNEY DOWN ROUTE 66. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS VIDEO.

  • @SewolHoONCE
    @SewolHoONCE 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Having done Rt. 66 many times, I once drove the alternative Rt. 62 through my mother’s birth territory around Paducah, KY. 62 was often a two-lane road with no shoulders.

  • @cliff8669
    @cliff8669 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Being a Man who love nostalgic things about history, I've been able to drive on parts of Route 66 that are still there. Not the bits that are Interstate 40. I've driven along parts in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. Most notably, Oatman AZ and Winslow. I also made a point when riding my motorcycle from California to Texas, I crossed the middle of no where Nevada on Route 50 ... the loneliest road in America. As it was a part of the Lincoln Highway, I made sure to take pictures of the markers of Lincoln's profile along the way ... Placerville, Carson City and other points in Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa. It took me three weeks to make the trip. I was in no hurry at all. Got off the Interstate as much as possible and road the old routes as much as possible. I got hailed on in Nevada, road to the Bonneville Salt Flats and froze my butt off for a day in Rawlins Wyoming. Got rained on thru Nebraska and Iowa. At Iowa City, I took US 218 south to Keokuk Iowa. From Keokuk, I followed the Mississippi River south on US 61. Stopped in Hannibal Missouri for a bit. Followed Highway 79, The Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road to St. Louis. Spent some time there with my Daughter, and then off for Texas. What a ride.

    • @jaydani-k5o
      @jaydani-k5o 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤ "That's the way !"

  • @JeffDeWitt
    @JeffDeWitt ปีที่แล้ว

    I got laid off from my job a few years ago, and the first day I couldn't go to work I headed for Chicago, then west on Route 66. I'm so glad I was able to do that, it was such a cool experience... and yes, I went all the way to LA.
    Fun fact, that meeting in 1926 where they established the designations and routes of the original US highways was held at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst, North Carolina. (still a VERY fancy hotel). So it could be said Route 66 started in North Carolina.

  • @carolynridlon3988
    @carolynridlon3988 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    My hubby & I have done many sections of Rte 66 in our lifetime. The most from CA thru Texas. But last year we did the final section in Illinois (from border to Springfield)

  • @glennso47
    @glennso47 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    In the 1960s there was a tv show called “Route 66.” George Maharis and Martin Milner starred. Along with a Corvette.

  • @derrick7648
    @derrick7648 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I live in Victorville on the California end of Route 66. You can very much tell that everything on that route stopped when they built the I-15. Only the railroad still keeps the Route 66 end of town alive.

  • @safffff1000
    @safffff1000 หลายเดือนก่อน

    In Missouri, most of 66 is still used. In Oatman Az. they sell food to feed the donkeys. I remember going along the whole route in the late 50s

  • @mikenixon2401
    @mikenixon2401 ปีที่แล้ว

    I genuinely feel fortunate that I got to travel Route 66 more than once, and before Interstates were completed (except for the ongoing work zones).

  • @azrefereeii1806
    @azrefereeii1806 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I was born and raised in small town along Route 66 in Arizona and can still remember before I40 bypass and having my father showing me the culvert to get under it to avoid getting hit by all of the trucks and cars going through Main Street. I still return there from time to time and these areas are featured in this video

  • @pippilongstocking.
    @pippilongstocking. ปีที่แล้ว

    When we were stationed in the USA in Louisiana and Arizona my dad would take route 66 to go visit my grandmother in California and there was some pretty cool things to see when I was a child growing up through there...

  • @johnclayden1670
    @johnclayden1670 ปีที่แล้ว

    Been on my bucket list for decades. Will do it one year ......

  • @kennethgreggs5903
    @kennethgreggs5903 ปีที่แล้ว

    Route 66 is definitely on my bucket list!