Here's a little history, courtesy of The Mother Road: Historic Route 66. U.S. Route 66 was commisioned in 1926. It ran 2448 miles from Chicago, Il to Santa Monica, CA. With the introduction of the Interstate Highway system in the 50s and 60s, it gradually became a byway. In 1985 it was officially decommisioned. The picture shows downtown Chicago where the route began.
It seems like the conventional direction of travel is westward, following in the footsteps of those who migrated along the route. Since I live in California, I'm going to reverse that. I don't yet know exactly when I will start, nor how long I will give to the journey. It won't be epic, maybe four or five days. That should allow some opportunity to stop and see sites along the way.
posted by capnjack96934 at 11:46 AM
2 Comments:
The only portion of Route 66 that I am familiar with is the portion that runs from Barstow eastward to around the Goffs VOR. There is one airport enroute at Amboy. The airstrip is somewhat rutted due to water running down the runway. The old Roy's motel and restraurant is reported closed now. They put the town on sale on Ebay a year ago, but no one bid on it. The actual highway from Barstow to Goffs is pretty rough with a zillion patches and potholes. There is a huge metorite crater within a long walk from the airstrip.
Over west of Barstow is the town of Hinkley made famous by Erin Brokovich. Also around Barstow is the old mirror farm they experimented with in the early 70s. It is a huge concave semi-circle of mirrors that point to a central point where water was heated and turned to steam and then electricity.
Of course a few miles further west is Edwards Air Force Base.
The last time we traveled from Barstow to Needles, the road was in terribly rough condition for about ten miles east of Ludlow. It gradually improved the farther east you went and was in very good condition for a few miles west of Essex to the I-40 connection.
The road from Needles to Kingman via Oatman and Sitgreaves Pass is in fair to good condition, but with many steep grades and switchbacks and a few stretches of slippery gravel.
For a good report of conditions, check out this website.:
http://a7route66.typepad.com/
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