Take a trip down Route 66
There have been songs written about, television shows about it, and even board games and souvenir postcard collections named after it - there is in fact a whole line of blue jeans that has co-opted the Route 66 name, but along the way, as it became more and more famous and its legends grew larger and more colorful, the actual two-lane American highway all but disappeared into oblivion.
No, Route 66 will not show up on your modern GPS coordinator, nor can you print it out using a computer program like Map Blast, because although we all want to find adventure on that old highway, it just doesn’t appear on modern maps anymore. To find it, you have to be part history buff, part maphead, with a dose of road warrior tossed in for determination. But you will have lots of help. There are something like 150 different clubs, websites, blogs, and publications dedicated to keeping Route 66 alive, at least in our nostalgic memories. Here’s a hint to help you get started: You need to find a vintage 50s or 60s era muscle car or sports convertible, preferably in cherry red. Then get some cool sunglasses, tank up on gasoline, and if you start asking in Chicago, you will eventually discover the leftover bits and pieces of Route 66 that snakes to Tulsa, Amarillo, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. But be sure to take along a camera and a scrapbook, because one of these days the Route 66 you traveled will be only a distant and legendary memory, replaced by Interstates and shopping centers. Meanwhile you can help to preserve the character and legend of the road, by doing your part to ride it in style.