Route 66 trip- NY->CA and back

[shaeff]

Hi, all!

My wife and I are about two weeks from taking a one month long cross country road trip. Plan is to drive from NY to IL, pick up 66 and take it southwest, jump off to visit New Orleans, then catch up again in time for Cadillac Ranch in TX. We'll be visiting a good amount of roadside stuff, half the fun for me is the drive. Once we get to CA, we'll be taking the coastal highway up toward Redding to visit one of my wife's friends. While we're in CA we will be visiting Yosemite, sequoia Nat'l Forest, Lake Tahoe, among other things.

We'll be visiting big places like the Grand Canyon, Crater Nat'l park, etc... Are there any things that we just should not miss while on this journey?

On the way back we'll be driving through some of the northern states for some Nat'l parks, etc... We're starting to plot our actual course now, push-pins on a large USA map. I figured with the diverse culture of people we've got here from all over the place, you guys and gals might have some secret places that are "must-see" kind of things.

Thanks for any advice!
-Chris

 

[bcp]

Besides the natural sites, visit some museums along your route that are in your areas of interest. (truck, tractor, car, airplane, railroad, toaster, quilt, dollhouse, etc)

Yes, there is one. ANTIQUE TOASTERS for TOASTER COLLECTORS

Bruce

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Very little of the actual rt 66 remains. Bits and pieces. We did springfield il (lincoln house, grave, cozy dog) to st l, (soulsby service station in mt olive) getting off interstate at various locations to see some of highlights. Then down to springfield MO. Dont remember any significant rt66 items on that stretch.
then did okcity to williams az last yr. See Tucumcari. Santa rosa blue hole, Holbrook wigwam hotel, stand on corner in winslow,

 

[rekees4300]

Sounds like fun ... ENJOY :steeringwheel:

Road Trip Tips

 

[ericm979]

In CA if you go up 1/101 from SF to Eureka consider taking 36 (from Fortuna) over to Red Bluff instead of 199. Both are interesting and fairly remote, 36 is just more so. It's also a fun motorcycle road. If you have time check out Ferndale near Fortuna- lots of nicely restored Victorian houses.
If you can get over there check out highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. Scenery is spectacular and it's much less crowded than Yosemite (esp. the valley) and Sequoia.

 

[WVBill]

When in San Diego, visit the USS Midway Museum. The folks there have done a magnificent job restoring, renovating and presenting the United States' longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century, from 1945 to 1992. Their focus is on education and they do it with enough entertainment to be voted the #1 Museum in the state of California. The Midway was also my home-away-from-home for 11 months in 1972/73 and one of the planes I flew in while aboard now sits on the aft flight deck - the EKA-3B.

When you're finished in California and Oregon, come on up to my neck of the woods. Stop in and see the sights of Seattle then continue up I5 until you get to the off-ramp for Mukilteo/Whidbey Island. Enjoy the ferry ride over to the island then stop at some of the small towns (Langley, Freeland, Coupeville) and at Fort Casey/Admiralty Head Lighthouse for some spectacular views of the Admiralty Straits and the Olympic Mountains. On your way North along the "Cascade Loop Scenic Highway" (Hwy 525/20), stop at the Deception Pass bridge which takes you off the North end of the Island The Bridge is Washington's #1 tourist attraction. Continue along the "Cascade Loop Scenic Highway" via Route 2?north Cascades Highway which will take you across the Cascades into Eastern Washington and beyond. On your way, stop by Winthrop WA, a replica of an "Old West" town, and Leavenworth WA, a German/Bavarian replica town. Caution on timing your trip - the North Cascades highway is closed from sometime in November until sometime in May due to snow and avalanche danger. Enjoy your trip!

 

[jeff9366]

Hi, all!

My wife and I are taking a one month long cross country road trip. Plan is to drive from NY to IL, pick up 66 and take it southwest.
-Chris

I did Route 66 west to east, forty years ago on a BMW R60/USA motorcycle. Interstate runs over much of the "old" route 66. Where the interstate is a few miles away, the interstate and Walmart have sucked the life out of small communities along old 66. You pass through many sad small towns. Sometimes you encounter really good pie, but not often. Give it a try and see what you think.

 

[mddorange]

My wife and I are about two weeks from taking a one month long cross country road trip. Plan is to drive from NY to IL, pick up 66 and take it southwest -Chris

I drove Rt. 66 when it had no speed limit in the parts of IL. Followed it all the way to Santa Monica, CA. A lot of it was 2 lane road back then. In parts of AZ it had no speed limit either. There would be a sign when leaving a city saying: "Resume Safe Speed." What a trip. Back then there were some real weird places, like: a Teepee Motel. All vehicles were stopped and inspected when entering AZ and CA. Since almost no cars had A/C back then, they sold small "Swamp Boxes" that fit in a car's window to cross the desert. If you wanted some cooler air, add ice. :laughing:

 

[ericm979]

Those window mounted coolers are popular now with people restoring cars of the '40s-'60s. CA had agricultural inspection stations up through the '90s and into the 2000s. Some of my college friends worked in them. I lived in Williams AZ for a couple years in the mid '80s. Back then route 66 ran through town, along with I40. They moved I40 out of town for a short section not long after I was there. I thought that would kill the town but it's been revived as a tourist destination. I went through in 2000 and it was a lot nicer than when I'd lived there. I40 is route 66 for a long stretch from out beyond Holbrook, westward through Williams. Then to the west there's a really big section of route 66 on it's own all the way from Ash Fork to Kingman.

When I was living in Williams there were three bars- the tourist bar, the cowboy bar, and the indian bar. I lived across the street from the cowboy bar for a short time and there was a fight spilling out into the street nearly every night. I did not dare to go into the indian bar unless I was with a Navajo.

 

[mddorange]

That's like in Texas where I40 took over most of Rt. 66. In Amarillo, Rt. 66 went through the north part of town but I40 went through the southern edge of town.