Route 66

U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).

It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" and the “Route 66” television series, which aired on CBSfrom 1960 to 1964. In John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the highway symbolises escape, loss, and the hope of a new beginning. US 66 was a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous, and they later fought to keep it alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.

We also stopped along Highway 15 just outside Barstow, Arizona at Peggy Sue’s 1950’s diner which was a blast from the past and lots of fun.