October Road Trip To/From California - Post #2
As I mentioned in Post #1, this was a driving trip I made to/from the National Financial Literacy and Economics Conference in Carlsbad, CA (just north of San Diego) earlier this month (Oct 2026). As usual I did some other visits while I was coming and going - some of those are not topics for blog posts (like my visit to my brother in L.A. to see the Broncos beat the Chargers at SoFi Stadium) but some other visits fit here well. Post #2 is going to focus on a little bit of the 100th Anniversary (and general history) of "Route 66" . . .
Part One - Some History and Basic Facts about Route 66:
I wanted to start with a few basics about Route 66 - where it travels, why it was significant, and some history about its' development - before I get into more of the "quirky" bits of Americana it tends to be associated with. Let's start with a map of the route, provided by the website Route66roadtrip.com (I thought it was the best combination of detailed and colorful):
From the History Channel - "During the summer of 1926, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads created the first federal highway system, which included designating a network of existing roads connecting Chicago and Santa Monica, California, as U.S. Route 66. Native Americans and settlers heading westward first created these trails, including the Fort Smith Wagon Road which began on the Arkansas-Oklahoma border and ended in Santa Fe. Route 66 also ran parallel to railway lines, like the Santa Fe, because railroads “were graded into higher ground to avoid flooding and tended to be on flat, stable terrain,” and ran between established transportation hubs, notes David Dunaway, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, and author of A Route 66 Companion and Researching Route 66: A Bibliographical Guide.
Route 66’s placement along the 35th parallel was key: It wasn’t so far north that snow would be a problem several months of the year, and it wasn’t so far south that the heat would be unbearable in the summer. The National Park Service also credits another factor - the active promotion of the U.S 66 Highway Association, which advertised it as “the shortest, best and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. Merchants in small and large towns along the highway looked to Route 66 as an opportunity for attracting new revenue to their often rural and isolated communities. As the highway became busier, the infrastructure of support businesses — especially those offering fuel, lodging, and food — also expanded. Even with tough times, the Depression produced an ironic effect along Route 66. The migration of destitute people fleeing their former homes actually increased traffic along the highway, providing commercial opportunities to a multitude of low capital, mom-and-pop businesses. In 1938, Route 66 became the first highway to be completely paved in the United States, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
The National Park Service continues the story into the World War II era - "World War II caused a marked decline in civilian and tourist traffic, but it stimulated new business along U.S. 66, when it acted as a military transport corridor moving troops and supplies from one military reservation to another. Motels saw an increase in occupancy, as families of servicemen stationed at military bases stayed for long stretches. But more significantly, Route 66 facilitated perhaps the single greatest wartime mobilization, as thousands of jobseekers headed to California, Oregon, and Washington to work in defense plants."
Right after the war ended, Route 66 entered its' tourism heyday. “For the first time, Americans were beginning to think about automotive travel on a mass basis,” Professor Dunaway says. “This is a period when Americans had vacations, thanks to the boom in manufacturing and unionization drives that helped people earn a decent salary. And they wanted to drive west in their new car on their vacation.” This was the era of roadside attractions, neon signs and souvenir shops, along with independently owned motels, trailer courts, greasy-spoon diners and gas stations.
I will link both the History Channel and National Park Service websites and resources below, along with an older article from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration on the history of Route 66 . . .
Resources and Links Mentioned Above (in the order presented):
"Travel Route 66: Essay Series", National Park Service, Aug 2026, https://www.nps.gov/articles/series.htm?id=5E607D69-BA39-423B-C7DF1CB4F729D57E
"Route 66: The Iconic Highway’s Rise and Decline", The History Channel, updated Jul 2026, https://www.history.com/articles/route-66-rise-decline-highway-system
"8 Things You Might Not Know About Route 66", The History Channel, updated Apr 2026, https://www.history.com/articles/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-route-66
"Route "66" The Mother Road", Federal Highway Administration (from the U.S. Department of Transportation), updated Jun 2023, https://highways.dot.gov/highway-history/general-highway-history/back-time/route-66-mother-road
"Route 66 Is Turning 100 This Year. It Still Has Stories to Tell About America.", Esquire Magazine, Jun 2026, https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a71559320/route-66-anniversary/
"This 2,448-mile Highway Is the Most Famous in the U.S. and Crosses 8 States—With Motels, Neon Signs, and Americana Charm (Here's what you need to know about the Mother Road)", Travel + Leisure Magazine, Mar 2026, https://www.travelandleisure.com/guide-us-route-66-road-trip-11920706
Links to Resources page, National Historic Route 66 Federation, 2026, https://national66.org/pages/links-to-resources
"Route 66, a quintessential American road trip heavy on kitsch and history, turns 100", Associated Press (AP) News, Apr 2026, https://apnews.com/article/historic-route-66-road-trip-e13af3e4e1005464b911519c3aae1bc4
"Route 66 Centennial Events in 2026", Route 66 Road Trip, 2026, https://www.route66roadtrip.com/route-66-centennial-events-2026.htm
"Travel Guide to Route 66: The Mother Road", Route 66 Road Trip, 2026, https://www.route66roadtrip.com/
"Get Your Kicks on Route 66" (audio recording of a Nat King Cole performance), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCYApJtsyd0
"Cars Movie trailer", Disney/Pixar Studios, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_H7_tDHFE8
AND TWO ADDITIONAL "tourist-style" VIDEOS:
"Why Is the World Still Obsessed With Route 66" (video), Engineering the Impossible, Jun 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngSgEAbQWGs
"Route 66 History: The Mother Road and the Towns Left Behind" (video), Front Porch Hour, Oct 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp7UJ9XpN1I
Part Two - Websites and articles focusing on the "Americana" culture of Route 66:
Here I am going to focus on existing websites that can be used for a picture of "Route 66" travel history and the memorabilia that came from that period of the 1950s to 1980s, along with some recent articles about the same time period. Each of them has a slightly different approach - some are the work of organizations, while others are the product of a single person or small group. Most of these are NOT focused on an education audience, so make sure you review before using materials in the classroom. I will also echo a few of their pictures to add to your understanding of the options.
"Route 66 Is Turning 100 This Year. It Still Has Stories to Tell About America", Esquire Magazine, Jun 2026
I wanted to start with a new article that caught my eye - it was one of the things that made me consider this topic for a connection to my San Diego trip. Definitely focuses on some of the "quirky" nature of Route 66 memorabilia in the pictures, but a lot of pieces on the impact of modern life of Interstates steering everyone around the little towns in the midwest.
One piece of western bias, though - found it interesting that the editors of the magazine chose to only cover three distinct pieces of the route - Chicago and a little bit of rural Illinois, northeast Oklahoma (that writer is a member of the Osage Nation, so covered Indian Territory), then skipped 75% of the route (1500 miles) - to feature Santa Monica, CA at the end of the route! Guess that's Esquire's version of "flyover" country . . .
"Travel Guide to Route 66: The Mother Road", Associated Press (AP) News, Nov 2026
Finally, an eclectic website/blog telling stories of Route 66 and some of the cultural connections that go with it (like the movie "Cars", the TV series "Route 66", or Nat King Cole's classic song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66"). This is one you have to see for yourself - I will simply note it is produced by a couple rather than an organization (so like this website sometimes looks like "amateurs" designed parts of it). I will note that they also have a guide to 100th anniversary events around the country (which I also linked). A few highlights below . . .
Two Articles from Travel + Leisure Magazine - "This 2,448-mile Highway Is the Most Famous in the U.S. and Crosses 8 States—With Motels, Neon Signs, and Americana Charm (Here's what you need to know about the Mother Road), Mar 2026 AND "The 8 Best Towns to Visit on Route 66—With Historic Motels, Quirky Roadside Attractions, and Charming Small Towns", Feb 2026
Travel + Leisure Magazine did two articles in back-to-back months on the "quirky" nature of Route 66, particularly emphasizing the places people can stop off the Interstate Highways to see some of America's history from the last century. Because it is a travel magazine, there is going to be a lot of focus on recommendations - but little in the way of sales content (mostly links to outside websites). This one was almost the opposite of the previous article - lots of emphasis on the open stretches of the west, and relatively little on the cities (Chicago and Los Angeles) at either end of the trip . . .
"Links to Resources" from the National Historic Route 66 Federation
I would not recommend most of this website to educators or students - a lot of it appears to be sales opportunities for travel guides and other resources - BUT they have the best list of Route 66 links to many of the unique restaurants, tourist traps, and motels along the trip. Up to you whether you use the rest - I am only linking (below) the single page for the links . . .
"Route 66, a quintessential American road trip heavy on kitsch and history, turns 100" (article AND video), Associated Press (AP) News, Nov 2026
This was an article and 2-minute video made by AP earlier this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the designation of Route 66 - though the actual anniversary is this month (November). I particularly liked the focus on the changes that have taken place over the past 100 years, and the impact (good and bad) of the route of specific groups of people - for example, the native American groups living along the route in the American Southwest, or black travelers in the 1950s/1960s using the Green Book to find motels and restaurants willing to serve them. Only a couple of pictures, but I do include a link to a YouTube version of the video . . .
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