Route 66: Revisited

This last week, I've had Route 66 on my mind.  It's been over 5 months now since our trip to the west coast, and the desire to repeat the trip grows stronger every day.  It was unlike any trip I had ever been on before.  A trip that left me hungry for more.  I had heard many say that Route 66 really no longer existed.  Truth be told, Route 66 is alive and well.

That is not to say that there isn't plenty of abandonment, even ghost towns, along the way.  Yet even the vacancies are now part of the attraction.  The Mother Road represents a time long past, a time that has survived, and a journey for many yet to take.  It isn't just the road side attractions, the 2 lane blacktop, or even the people along the way.  It's the adventure, and a combination of everything and everyone.

I'm sure that a return trip is not going to happen in our near future, but that's not to say I'm not already preparing for such a trip.  We got our feet wet our first time out.  Our return will be at a much slower pace, and hopefully entail even more of the 2 lane road.  I did some quick research the first trip, and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to see and where I wanted to stop.  For our return, I'll research even deeper, find those attractions we missed, drive through more of the small towns, and take the trip without planned destinations by days end.

I can't say that we'll drive a classic on our next trip, as it's likely to still be one of our daily drivers, with and extra kid or two.  Contrary to my belief though, the trip wasn't so much about what we drove, as much as it was about what we saw and where we went.

In the near future, we will likely make our road trips/vacations to the east coast and down south, a fraction of the distance we traveled to California. Until then, I will keep day dreaming about our trip of a lifetime, and the day in which we retrace our steps....or prehaps I should say, treads?

Here is a quote from the owner of the Hackberry General store, one of my favorite stops, along one of the best stretches. The article that follows also illustrates that while there is a huge attraction to traveling Route 66, the desolation is also amazing.  You can go miles without passing another car, and yet at most every gas stop, general store, or motel, you bump into people taking the same trip you are.

In 1998, Pritchard learned that the general store was for sale. He sold his commercial glass company in Washington State and bought the property. The Pritchards spent a year putting the place back together and opened in March 1999. “It took off so quick, I was overwhelmed,” he said. “The second year I had to hire people. All the car guys, the car clubs, the Harley-Davidson riders, the tour buses stop here.” Today, he adds, “I’d say 90 percent of the people coming down this road are foreigners. One French guy told me, ‘We say in France, if you want to see the face of America, drive 66.’”

The Mystique of Route 66