mahobaygirl

My sister called today and suggested that we drive my neice to Colorado (from Maine) instead of her flying alone. She is going to spend the winter there.
It will be mid-October. I will fly out there and drive home with sis.
My question is, if we go Rt. 66, what are the must-see things to do. We will take about a week to get back.
I know this is a huge question, but just looking for some ideas.
We are 40 and 45, but young at heart! Interests include antiques, gardening, music-rock, alt, punk-pop...
My favoite places are the Virgin Islands (BVI & USVI), Vegas, Newport RI.
Thanks so much, I am off to start researching ....

dwooddon

What part of Colorado?

There is not too much of Rt-66 left now, especially in its eastern portions and most of what there is would be quite a way out of the way unless you are headed for the extreme southern part of Colorado. I haven't driven that area in ages but there may be a few attractions left between Chicago and wherever you would turn west to get where you are headed.

mahobaygirl

you know, I am not really sure where we will leave Colorado from. My niece's destination is ski country. My sis mentioned Rt. 66, but knows no more than i do!!
I guess just seeing some of small-town america along the way would be great. I know there will be Amish country as we hit Iowa, Penn, and Ohio.
Thank you for your input!

CAPH52

I too think it would be way out of your way. I'm sure it'd be a great trip, if you have lots of time.

And you do realize that Route 66 doesn't start until Chicago?

CAPH52

And route 66 doesn't go through Iowa. It starts in Chicago, goes down through Illinois, crosses into Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, NM,etc.

mahobaygirl

CAP-I had no idea. Guess that will be out of the question.
Perhaps we should do it this way...Kansas or Nebraska, which has more to see or do, whether it be small town americana or national parks, then continue east, searching state by state. We will have approx. a week.

CAPH52

Most people take either I-80 through Nebraska or I-70 through Kansas. Which is better depends on where you're going and who you talk to! We prefer I-80. Others don't!

I can't tell you much about taking smaller roads. But with a week to get from Colorado to Maine, you're not going to have a whole lot of time to spare.

I have a feeling you're going to be getting a lot of people weighing in here with advice. I hope so anyway!

Obviously, the first thing you want to do is take a good look at an atlas and see what you think will work best for you.

Good luck and have fun!

starrsville

My sister bought a Route 66 book in Sedona and we planned to do stretches of it in Arizona.

The book was wrong.

VERY little of R66 left anymore. Just very short sections.

Mapquest between your two cities and look for interesting places relatively near that route.

RedRock

I have tried to follow old 66 thru some of the satates. It is nearly impossible, most are very poorly marked. Some will carry a "Historic 66" sign and even those are few and far between. The most famous part of 66 that is easy to find and travel is in AZ. The Seligman-Kingman-Oatman portion of the highway. In most other areas 66 has been relegated to the business loop thru a small town or the access road running along the Interstate Highway.

http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/route66.html

marleneawe

There is alot of RT 66 left. DH and I took the complete trip two years ago. I have two huge scrapbooks full of pictures and literature of all we saw. We left Chicago and took it all the way to Santa Monica, Ca. I spent four months collecting information, maps and directions and the best book was the Route 66 Travel guide. There is alot of the original buildings, signs etc left. Alot of it is marked by brown Rt 66 signs, some portions along the way you do have to know where to go. This is where all my research etc came in handy. This was one of the best trips we have taken. Few roads have changed names but is still the actual Rt 66. For Arizona a good portion runs through the petrified forest. In Holbrook there is the original teepee motel where we slept. Another one is in Calif.The Geronimo's Trading post still survives. The famous Jackrabbit Trading Post is there.Takes you into Winslow, Az. It also goes through Flagstaff, then Seligman is a real neat place. We got to talk and meet Angel Delgadillo who started his barber shop in 1953. Had many great stories about Rt. 66. Oatman where the wild burros run wild and you can purchase carrots in town and feed them. Well I could go on and on and on. It is a very very unique trip. Each state has its own thing. This was just a very small highlight of Arizona and Route 66.

starrsville

We did not have the same experience in Arizona. We headed south from Hubbell Trading Post, got on the interstate, and tried to find the segments the book said were still open. They weren't. I was SURE (using maps) that I could find the segment through Petrified Forest area. No luck. Sister said to just go back to the Interstate. Nope. Stopped at the entrance gate (manned by a ranger - or womaned by a ranger, I guess) and asked. I was willing to pay the park fee to drive it if Route 66 went through PFNP. The ranger said "no" and let us make a U turn. We did get off a little bit later as we neared Holbrook, but as someone said early, it was a business route through town. We stayed at the Wigwam Motel (see my trip report) but were both discouraged at the disconnect between the Route 66 guidebook and our experiences. It was published in 1996 - so maybe things have changed significantly since its publication date. There may be longer stretches east of Holbrook, but we were headed back to Phoenix the next day.

If you do it, just make sure (not sure how to do that) that the segments you want to drive are still open. The guidebook we bought for that purpose was completely inaccurate.

mahobaygirl

Well I had done a little research and found a but of Rt. 66 (13 mi.) in south eastern Kansas, then the Outlaw Trail in north east Nebraska...today sis says we are going from Co. to ME via new Mexico, texas, olkahoma...
I may start this over under a different topic name, but can anyone toss out some ideas of what we may want to see/do in New Mexico?
Thanks

CAPH52

According to a mystery series I read, there's an interesting part of the old route 66 in Amarillo, TX.

The author's name is D.R. Meredith. There are 6 books in the series. But the latest, Murder by the Book, has a lot of background on the "Oakies" passing through on route 66 during the Depression. If you've got the time, you might enjoy reading at least this one, if not all of them, before your trip.

As for New Mexico, I'd recommend doing a search on this board. There have been lots of threads, particularly on Santa Fe.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

If you REALLT want to see larger stretches of what remains of Rt 66, I would consider flying out west with the niece then renting a car for a vacation out there.

If it's smalltown America you're looking to see, driving the interstates before you get to Rt 66 will do you little good. Consider travel on other "US-" Highways, such as US-20, US-40 ("The American Highway"), etc.

As pointed out, most of "Historic Rt 66" is in NM and AZ, so you'd never see those at all on your long trip from ME to CO. I bicycled from LA to Boston twice, and there are a LOT of interesting towns with amsll, fascinating museums & historic sites all over the country, but somehow, being in a car makes us "itchy" to keep moving instead of stopping to smell the roses.

BTW - Barnes & Noble magazines usually have some "Route 66" magazines, often some back issues as well, as well as some Rt 66 "nostalgia" or coffee-table books. Your local library would be a great source for travel info & suggestions too. Good luck.

RBCal

85% of Route 66 still exists and is driveable. See

http://www.national66.com/

http://www.historic66.com/

virginia

hi mahobaygirl, i've driven both I70 and I80 from summit county area-frisco, dillon, breckenridge- of colo (which is what i presume you mean by "ski country") to central maine. neither is particularly scenic. you do not pass through small towns. and the drive at 8 hrs per day takes about 4 days traveling 55-75mph w/out any sightseeing and no delays (we sat in chicago traffic for several hours on one trip). you will probably add 2-3 extra days on return trip by going to texas.
so i think rb travelers idea to fly to denver and rent a car for a week or so is an outstanding one. if neice has more stuff than you can fly with ship it. colo is gorgeous (aspens hopefully will still be yellow at lower elevations) and full of small towns to check out on the way south to ariz for your exploration of rte.66
where will your neice be working/skiing?
too bad neice is not headed to oh say st. john huh...

bbqboy

MB girl, skip Hwy 66, and take US 50/56 back through Kansas and Missouri.
http://www.route50.com/
It's the longest surviving US Coast to Coast Highway and you can, for the most part, take it intact clear to Maryland. It runs through Southern Colorado past the Black Canyon, (Close to) Crested Butte, Royal Gorge, Monarch Pass, follows the Arkansas out of the Rockies.
US 56 follows the Santa Fe Trail and is my favorite Road.
http://www.stjohnks.net/santafetrail/
You could head down to Santa Fe, then hit 56 and head East. Another Fun Road is US160
that runs right above the Okalahoma Border
past the Red Hills, Coffeeville,
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/towns/us160.html
then East through spectacular parts of the Ozarks.
US 24 would take you way back east-
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/svha/

Alton Brown just covered Parts in the "Feasting On Asphalt" mini series.
Here's Fodor Poster Keith's cool Kansas Tourism
Site:
http://www.kansastravel.org/

missypie

I moved from southern Illinois to Texas in 1981 and have made the drive back and forth every few years since then. Until a few years ago, I could spot quite a few of the old motor courts and signs as we made the long drive through Missouri. Now, sadly, most of that is gone. (I know, I can't expect property owners to keep long-closed motels intact, just so I can glance at them every few years, but it is still a loss of history.)

CAPH52

bbqboy, I was interested to see your reference to US 50. The house in which I grew up is on US 50 in Illinois. Old Route 50, that is. They put in new four lane "test pavement" 20 years or so ago for a distance of maybe 30 miles that runs outside of the towns. But I can definitely attest to the fact that, outside of that strip, 50 definitely goes through small town America! And, actually, old Route 50 is still well used in the area of "new Route 50".

I seriously doubt the OP has time for that sort of a trip. But it would certainly give her a taste of the Heartland!

starrsville

Or do Dixie Road on your next trip to Florida? It will take most of your vacation to get there, but you will see a heck of a lot of small towns!