Route 66 Review - Route 66

Following on from talking about driving, I thought it worth reflecting on Route 66 itself. For me, as I said at the start, I wasn't going to be completest. The trip was about making an American road trip, not driving every inch of Route 66 as a historic pilgrimage.

The Route itself is a mixture of roads. In some places (particularly Texas, New Mexico) it has been taken over by the main interstate routes. Here, there is an interesting detour whereby there is generally a "business" route through major towns which has the same number as the interstate but takes you off for a few junctions. This is generally where you will find the interesting points of the route, with the illuminated signs and old diners. A journey whereby generally you travel on an interstate but detour onto a business route occasionally, is quite a fun (and efficient) journey to do.

Elsewhere, Route 66 runs as a parallel road to new modern roads, running literally alongside, pausing occasionally to go through a town or just to cross to the other side of the interstate. Generally, this just means that you are travelling on a slower, 1 lane each side road (although generally it is empty) - on one occasion this did mean I was whizzing by a big traffic jam on the interstate though!

There are only a few occasions whereby it runs to a very different route. The way to Oklahoma City was one of these occasions, and a bit through Arizona was another. These are occasions where "Route 66" is still an actual road, and can be quite useful.

Generally, Route 66 today is a historic route. Therefore, where you are following it, it can be a little complex. It is only flagged by small signs like those shown above (you will note that they can look quite different in each state) and generally they only appear just at a junction (if at all). This means that it is easy to go wrong, particularly where it is running as a parallel road, but also as was shown by the fact I wasn't in Kansas at all on my trip. I still can picture the junction where I think I went wrong, but as generally there can be a lack of direction signs in the US, as well as only the small route markers, it can be tricky.

There is a "cult" of Route 66, and along the way you will see many Route 66 museums to visit if you want. I went to several, but there were many more that I missed. The interesting parts are the neon signs, the old businesses, the large figures, the murals etc which do make for interesting things to see. I have some pictures, but there is more to see where it is more difficult to just pull over and take a photo.

More generally, the route does take you through some dramatic natural scenery, from the farms of Illinois to mountains, to deserts and scenery that can be red, yellow or green. The drama of the route is certainly one of the stars of the trip.