That reminds me of something that happened in June 2010. I had been visiting Phoenix and drove up to Williams to take a train up to the Grand Canyon. I got to the parking lot quite early and was surprised to see a Hurst Oldsmobile arrive soon thereafter. Then another arrived, and another, and I wondered what was going on, since Hurst Olds are not very common. I asked one of the drivers, and it turns out that the national Hurst Olds club was having its annual meet in nearby Flagstaff that weekend, and the train ride to the Canyon was one of the optional events. By the time the train left, there must have been 50 Hurst Olds - different years, different models - in the station parking lot! Now, every time I see a Hurst Olds at a car show, I ask the owner if they were at the 2010 meet in Flagstaff, and whether they took the train ride to the Grand Canyon, and a few of them have said, yes! And I tell them that I was on the same train.
Here are some of the eateries seen on the Motor Tour, both functional and non. I had a good Greek lunch at the Ariston in Litchfield. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
There are some iconic old gas stations on Route 66 in Illinois, and here are three of them: Soulsby's Shell in Mt. Olive (which had some interesting displays inside), Standard Oil in Odell and Ambler-Becker Texaco in Dwight. If you drive the Route in Illinois, visiting this trio is a must! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Atlanta is a nice, happy place. (No, not the one in Georgia; this one's in Illinois!) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login (The fellow with the Boss 302 pulled up just as I was getting ready to leave. I thought it made for a nice image, especially with the Route 66 shield on the pavement.)
I'll be traveling part of the Route again on a road trip to Las Vegas the next few weeks. I'll probably be spending most of my time on the Interstates but plan to get off and go to the old road for meals and lodging. An oddity is that in the part of Oklahoma where I'll be spending a Sunday night, it is almost impossible to find a place to eat dinner! Except for fast-food chain restaurants, all the others close on Sunday in mid-afternoon. I guess they don't care about the plight of tourists.....
One thing to worry about, at least between Albuquerque and Kingman, is the distance from any lodging you consider from the BNSF railroad tracks. On my trip last month, I stayed at three motels - in Grants, NM and in Holbrook and Seligman, AZ - that were within earshot of the tracks, and those trains run all night! In Holbrook, it was even worse: the motel was three blocks from a level crossing, so eastbound trains were blowing their air horn as they passed by! I had to keep my A/C on, even if I didn't need it, just to drown out the rumble of the very long trains.
Indeed; makes this Frenchman here wonder if it is not time now to work on a plan for travelling it with my "kid brother" (actually only two years younger than me) before I'm too old... Rgds
You won't be out of place. On my 2019 trip the only other travelers I chatted with were German and Dutch, and note where the festival on the poster below is located (and it is apparently an annual event!). The innkeepers I've talked to say that they get as many or more foreign guests, mostly European, than they do Americans. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'm sure you are right, Jim. It's a strange, and sometimes weird thing that some journeys have become legendary outside their country, more so than inside the country itself. When I travelled the Transsiberian in 2001 from Moscow to Vladivostok, it was also a childhood dream; my "other half" was reasonably fluent in russian, so we could exchange with the locals. They were rather puzzled to learn that we were traveling from the start to the end, all seven days of the journey. To them, the whole journey means nothing special, rather a boring experience; they use the train rather like a commuting train, climbing on one station and getting out on another, but they see no poetry or mystery in it; and should they have to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok, then they take the plane. Only the tourists make the whole trip, not the Russians. Rgds
Guys. there's some comment on Route 66 in the "Get Off My Lawn" thread in Silver. Those of you with positive Route 66 experiences may wish to contribute to help other F-Chatters who think the Mother Road essentially no longer exists.
We travel alongside Route 66 several times a year when we go to Lake Havasu City, AZ. That portion of Route 66 is alive and well. The asphalt is kinda rough and the gas is very expensive, but if you’re from another country and have always wanted to travel on it, you’ll have a good time. There’s lots of little stores, markets and restaurants along the way. All kinda rustic and old, but safe. I can’t tell you about any of the other parts of the Route because I’ve never been on them. PM me if you have any questions. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
I've never paid too much attention to "American Road" magazine, which covers all the two-lane roads that criss-cross America, but the Spring issue is chock full of Route 66 content! It starts with the cover article, 28 delightful pages of color images of Route 66 neon! There is a multitude of shorter articles about attractions from Illinois to California. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Good news for anyone contemplating driving Route 66 in 2023. Jerry McClanahan has just finished updating his essential EZ66 Guide for the first time since 2015. Jerry says that he drove the entire route at some time during 2022, so the book has been fully updated. It is available from www.national66.org, and you can buy it in bundles with other Route 66 literature. If you buy it elsewhere, just make sure it says "5th Edition" on the cover. Image Unavailable, Please Login