Kinda surprised that there is no Route 66 trip info out here already ...... or did I do a bad job of searching ?

I drove a car through a portion of Rt 66 in Arizona (Williams to Oatman) and really enjoyed it.


I'm thinking about riding Route 66 from Chicago to New Mexico. I'm thinking of doing this in May and am hoping to do this stretch in about a week.

I've found several web sites, books, etc, but I'd like to hear from others who have done this leg of the trip, preferably on a bike :

- Is it worth the 'hassle' of reaching the true start point in Chicago ? (I know, will vary by person)

- How well marked is the route in general ? (I've been manually creating a GPS route, turn by turn ...... wondering if I'm wasting my time ?) I thought western AZ was very well marked (but its much simpler to follow out there), but as I recall a trip to Springfield, ILL, Rt 66 was less clear, partly due to so many variations of the route there since it changed multiple times.

- I really like seeing old buildings, diners, gas stations, etc ..... if I bypass some of Chicago and St Louis, will I regret my decision ?


Any comments/suggestions are welcome.

 

Last summer 5 of us rode parts of Rt 66 so will tell you, from personal experience, what I saw. We hit Winslow Arizona, which is where the Eagles hit song, "Standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona" . If you ride there, you can stand on the corner of Winslow Arizona, and get your picture taken. In the background on the building, is a full size portrait of the girl in the flat bed Ford who was slowing down to take a look, and if you step back and include the intersection, Rt 66 is painted on the road. So in one picture, someone can take a picture of you, standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona, with the girl in the flat bed Ford, on Rt 66. It's all free, and we all thought well worth the trip.

We also stopped outside Amarillo Texas at Cadillac Ranch. Standing along Route 66 west of Amarillo, Texas, Cadillac Ranch was invented and built by a group of art-hippies imported from San Francisco. They called themselves The Ant Farm, and their silent partner was Amarillo billionaire Stanley Marsh 3. He wanted a piece of public art that would baffle the locals, and the hippies came up with a tribute to the evolution of the Cadillac tail fin. Ten Caddies were driven into one of Stanley Marsh 3's fields, then half-buried, nose-down, in the dirt (supposedly at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza). They faced west in a line, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, their tail fins held high for all to see on the empty Texas panhandle. It's also free, and worth seeing but not going out of your way.

Russell's Travel Center, located on historic Rt 66 is worth a stop for the authentic Route 66 Diner and free classic car and memorabilia museum. This is located in Glen Rio, NM.

Continuing west, it would be a sin if you didn't head to Madrid, NM where the movie Wild Hogs was filmed. It is a little out of your way, but if you have seen the movie, go see the town. Enough said.

 

I have ridden Rt. 66 from Jackson St. in Chicago to Sana Monica. You need to know that a large portion of the road is under I-40, or has been removed after I-40 was finished. You can find small portions of the road in every state, but some of it you have to really look for and there is some backtracking.

Michael Wallis is an expert on 66 and his book "Route 66: The Mother Road" will serve you well in planning this trip.

Bill

 

If you ride on into AZ, there is a long stretch of original road from just west of Ash Fork to Seligman, Kingman, Oatman, then to Needles, CA. The stretch from Kingman to Oatman and Needles is across a low mountain range and is scenic and twisty.

Then if you want to ride further, run a little of I40 and U95 to pick up 66 over to Goffs then down to Amboy and points west. Past mid-May it gets pretty toasty in the Mojave Desert. Plan accordingly. Fall would be a good time, too.

More info here: http://digitalroute66.blogspot.com/

 

A couple of years ago, we rode to Amarillo and spent the night. I didn't realize until we got home, how close we were to that "Cadillacs in the ground" place. I was pissed. We did go to Pala Duro Canyon...if I spelled it right. Pretty awesome...like a very miniature Grand Canyon.

 

If you didn't see it when you were in Springfield, IL, just outside of town is "patch" of the original RT66 made with brick pavers.

When you go through Amarillo, eating at the BIG TEXAN restaurant is a must, but I can't say anything good for their motel other than it's "interesting"!
However, we stayed there in '07 some perhaps they've changed the sheets since then.

Perhaps you should consider trailering to Flagstaff?

 

Yeah, we did Williams.......... I guess I can say Flagstaff (but Flagstaff to Williams was pretty much I-40) too, all the way to Oatman. The road from Kingman to Oatman was great, even in a car at the time.

I think I may have been spoiled because there were so many great attractions between Flagstaff and Oatman. Hope the eastern section that I plan to ride (ie Chicago to NM) even comes close.

 

I will add the Springfield 'patch' (missed it last time) and BIG TEXAN to my agenda. Thanks.

 

Definitely seeing the Caddy Ranch and will plan on Russell's in Glen Rio.

I gotta be honest .......... despite looking forward to Wild Hogs before it came out, I hated it ......... (spoiler alert for anyone who has not seen it - ha !) I could not wait for the bar scene to end .......... and it ended up being the focal of most of the movie - ugh. Yet, I still might consider heading to Madrid.

Thanks for the tips !

 

Adding Palo Duro Canyon - thanks!