This is it. U.S. Route 66. The Super Chief. The Grand Canyon. The Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations. The Mojave Desert. The Painted Desert. Tucumcari. The Texas Panhandle. The Sooner State. Ozarks. The Mississippi River. The Joad and Wilson families. The Griswold family.

Highway 66. The route of legend and romance. "All the way on the Atchison, Topeka, & the Santa Fe . . .." "Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino . . .."

Route 66 lives on

Alas, U.S. Highway 66—the so-called main street of America—exists no more, except in isolated sections as state highways, replaced on maps by segments of various Interstate highways.

Route 66 lives on, however, in the hearts of Americans and people worldwide as a symbol of the free spirit of the United States, the route to a better life, not always achieved as we saw in the book and movie Grapes of Wrath, but nevertheless always a possibility.

During 2001, the affection Americans and others have for the "Mother Road" was shown in celebrations along its route marking its 75th anniversary.

Pardon the detours

These pages sometimes do not follow the original route, but always retain its spirit. The goal is to provide an awesome transcontinental itinerary that gives the flavour of Route 66 experience.

Please don't complain because we sometimes take detours.

Few travellers who drove the old 66 failed to detour to the Grand Canyon.

And, who'd want to pass so close to Las Vegas without actually seeing it?

The Route 66 opening celebrations went all the way to New York City, just as we do here.

And, throughout its history, Route 66 changed its path due to politics or better engineering. Some of these changes took it miles from its original course.

On these pages, you'll gain the information needed to enjoy your Route 66 trip to the fullest.

Now go on to Part II, Santa Monica to Las Vegas

Go to >> Route 66, part I: Introduction
Go to >> Part II: Santa Monica to Las Vegas
Go to >> Part III: Las Vegas to Albuquerque
Go to >> Part IV: Albuquerque to the Mississippi River
Go to >> Part V: Mississippi River to Virginia
Go to >> Part VI: Understanding the War Between the States
Go to >> Part VII: Virginia to Washington, D.C.
Go to >> Part VIII: Washington, D.C. to New York City
Go to >> Part IX: Planning your Route 66 trip