On November 11, 1926, a brand-new highway officially linked Chicago to Los Angeles. Nobody at the time could have guessed that a strip of asphalt would one day become a pop culture legend.
A century later, Route 66 is still going strong… or at least, large chunks of it are.
Stretching roughly 2,400 miles across eight states, the old road has outlived its own retirement, survived the interstate era and picked up fans from every corner of the globe. Strike up a conversation at a Route 66 diner and you are just as likely to hear German, Dutch or an Aussie accent as you are a Midwestern twang.
So what is it about this road that keeps drawing people in? Buckle up.
Chicago: Where It All Begins
The journey traditionally starts in downtown Chicago, near Grant Park, where a brown “Begin” sign marks the spot. Expect a small crowd of road trippers lining up for photos, many of whom have flown thousands of miles for this exact moment.
It is a humble starting line for such a famous road. But then again, the best stories usually start that way.
Illinois: A Giant Welcome
Just south of Chicago, in the town of Wilmington, stands the Gemini Giant. This fiberglass spaceman, complete with helmet and rocket, was built in the 1960s to lure hungry drivers into a drive-in restaurant called the Launching Pad.
It worked then, and it still works now. The Giant has become one of the most photographed figures on the entire route.
Not bad for a guy who has never once left the ground.
Oklahoma: Whale of a Time
Here is something you don’t expect to find in the middle of Oklahoma… a big, smiling blue whale.
The Blue Whale of Catoosa was built in the early 1970s by Hugh Davis as an anniversary gift for his wife, Zelta. Most of us settle for flowers, but Hugh went with a giant concrete whale perched on the edge of a pond.
Families once swam and slid off its tail. Today, visitors mostly stop to grin, snap a photo and wonder what they will be getting for their own next anniversary.
Texas: Art You Can Spray
Outside Amarillo, ten old Cadillacs stick nose-down out of a wheat field, tail fins pointed at the sky. Welcome to Cadillac Ranch.
Created in 1974 by an art collective called Ant Farm, with backing from local eccentric Stanley Marsh 3, the installation has become a living canvas. Visitors are encouraged to bring spray paint and add their own mark, so the cars wear thousands of layers of color.
Come back next week and it will look completely different. We are told that is the point.
Arizona: Teepee Time
Ever wanted to spend the night in a concrete wigwam? Of course you have.
The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook has been offering exactly that since 1950. Each room is shaped like a teepee, and vintage cars sit parked outside like they never got the memo that the 1950s ended.
It is kitschy, it is cozy and it is pure Route 66. Book early, because the wigwams fill up fast.
Why Overseas Travelers Can’t Get Enough
For many international visitors, Route 66 is the America they grew up watching on screen. Open skies, neon signs, roadside diners and endless desert all come together in one long, glorious drive.
The road’s nickname, the Mother Road, comes from John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, which followed families heading west during the Dust Bowl years. That sense of history, combined with all the delightful oddities along the way, gives the route a pull that few highways anywhere can match.
With the centennial bringing celebrations to towns along the route, plenty of fans from abroad are planning their pilgrimage right now.
A Word to Our Overseas Road Trippers
If you are coming from Europe, Australia, Japan or another Visa Waiver Program country, there is one bit of paperwork to handle before you start dreaming about neon motels. Most visitors from these countries need an approved ESTA before boarding a flight to the United States.
Every traveler needs their own, kids included, and it is wise to apply well before departure rather than the night before. Your rental convertible will wait… your airline won’t.
The End of the Trail
After all those miles, the road finally runs out at the Pacific Ocean. On the Santa Monica Pier, an “End of the Trail” sign marks the official finish line, and road trippers celebrate with a stroll along the boardwalk and a well-earned look at the sunset.
Some people drive the whole thing in a week. Others take a month. A few of us would happily never stop.
Either way, a hundred years on, the Mother Road is still doing what it does best… getting people out on the open road and sending them home with stories.
