route 66 east to west
 

I need help planning a road trip along route 66.

Several threads:

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...earch=route+66

There are so MANY options...need more info!

This may be helpful -
http://www.route66motels.com/

We stayed in the teepees ;)

When are you going?

My DW and I stayed at this Route 66 hostel in Albuquerque NM: http://www.rt66hostel.com/
There are some of the old motels along National Trails Highway in the west end of Barstow, CA. I wouldn't want to stay in any of them though.
There are Route 66 museums in Barstow (RR station) and Victorville (across street from Amtrak station).
I've also see the sign for the east end of Route 66 at the intersection of Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

Here's a guide to Rte. 66.

http://www.historic66.com/

More information- we have as much time as needed. we would like to see the old stuff along the way and maybe some interesting items (to old people) along the way. So no amusement parks or wild places needed. Fun stuff. CAlm. engaging.we will probably take our 2 small dogs along, too.

There were some books for sale when I was out there last. Here's one that sounds useful -

http://www.historic66.com/books/book19.html

There's a map at that site too.

If you are traveling with pups, you may be limited to the motels listed at the link above. www.lq.com may help you find pet-friendly LaQuintas along the way.

You do realize that in many areas, there is no actual Rt 66 left, it is interstate. And that some Rt 66 areas are a tad run down, putting it nicely.

Deb is right. We hopped on and off several times. It can be quite confusing.

From the book description above - "The books features over 40 maps of old Route 66 overlayed with the current Interstates"

To plan, I'd start with a good map and a good book. Both can be found via the website dbdrand listed above.

We stayed in the teepees at Holbrook, AZ (and enjoyed it) but got tired of all the red lights along what WAS old Route 66 and is now congestion through towns along the route.

When driving DF out to Pueblo, CO we stumbled upon a fairly long stretch through wide open spaces. That was nice for a while (I was the navigator and detoured off our original route to see what 66 looked like there).

It's a patchwork, for sure. Buying a book AND map would be my first step. Or reading a lot of websites.

"As Route 66 doesn't appear on modern maps anymore, one needs a good description before heading out on the old 2-lane highway."

Here's the link to turn-by-turn directions in Texas -
http://www.historic66.com/texas/det-tx1.html

Seligman, Arizona on the 66 is a good place to stop for Route 66 info. At Seligman Sundries, besides a good coffee the guy there Frank, is a Route 66 mind of information.. We also stumbled across a remote stretch of the old route at Amboy where the iconic Roy's Motel is still there, although no longer a motel the sign which is in many movies is still there. the guy who now owns the site was hoping to get the motel and cafe up and running again..

I think I am losing my enthusiasm for said trip.

It's kind of like driving the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's fine for a segment or two, but not for several states. Or maybe a better example would be Highway 1 to Florida. You COULD get on it in Maine and try to drive the route - but soon you'd want to jump on an interstate and make some time.

It's not like you can wrap a scarf around your head, put on your sunglasses, get in the convertible and GO! The road doesn't really exist anymore.

Now, if you want to see and do a lot neat things, you still could make a trip and get on pieces of the old 66. But 66 for your route? It's not an easy feat.

One person's "run down" is another person's character.

Only 13 miles of Route 66 go through Kansas, but every mile has something interesting and you can fill a day on that short stretch. http://www.kansastravel.org/route66.htm

I can't speak for the entire stretch, but here in ABQ, the section that is left isn't character, it is run down and in a not so good area of town.

Oh don't lose your enthusiasm maribethp. No one said it would be easy but it will be all the more rewarding when you do it. It just takes a little more effort and research but that is when you become a traveller and not a tourist.

I'm with DebitNM on this one, but maybe I just haven't seen the good parts. As others have suggested get a map and guidebook for the route and then determine if you really want to do it and just where would be the best places for the journey.

Oklahoma has long stretches of Route 66 that parallels I-44.
Go to www.travelok.com and order your free Route 66 guide. It becomes more like patchwork past OKC to the Texas state line.

There are some great books out there and we followed some of them. I liked New Mexico and Arizona. That was neat. The towns are poorish but there are restaurants now and the food was OK. Gallup, NM had a fantastic old hotel where all the movie stars stayed and there were their photos all over. The lunch there was good. We stayed all night in Tucumcari, NM. You should drive round this town. This is a little poor town with murals on all the buildings. The local Chamber of Commerce gave us a breakfast. They live very different from us in the east. The people were ranchers. They have a great sense of community. Arizona has a lot of the little towns, with one gas station, set up for tourists. We ate at the Roadkill Cafe too! Of course Don loved all this and it was fun with a group of Corvette people who hail from Canada to California. They loved seeing those cars roll into town.

This is from a friend who did the trip recently- a few years ago. Another viewpoint.

Oh my goodness, I would love to have the time to do this trip! I have been working on it in segments and have done at good job on Oklahoma, which has the most driveable miles of Route 66. Check out this link :http://www.travelok.com/maps/view.ro...e12_Route66Map

I think it you do your research and pick the places that sound most interesting to you it would be absolutely fabulous. Hope off and on the Interstate or other highways as needed and take a trip back in time!

Please excuse my typos!

jayne - this thread is 2 + years old; it was topped by someone advertising, but, your link is helpful should anyone happen across this thread for a real trip.

Oh geez, DebitNM, thanks-- hate it when I slip up and do that!

Thanks for letting me know!

On our recent Southwest trip, we didn't have the time to follow ROute 66 for any distance, but enjoyed getting of I-40 for Route 66 going through Seligman, Arizona. Over half of the downtown is devoted to the Mother Road and we had a fun supper at Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In.