thinking about driving coast to coast, with a ride on route 66?

Question

i'm thinking about about driving coast to coast (NC to CA) via 40W in Raleigh, NC, and hitting route 66 for as long as i can along the way. a few questions: where do i get on/off of route 66? any safety concerns such as fuel, bad road conditions or highway robbers (if they even exist anymore in any real numbers)? are there any ghost towns along the way and if so, where are they?

Answer 1

The original Route 66 went from Chicago to LA through the states of Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California. From NC, your best bet would be to head east and catch it in southern Missouri (Springfield or Joplin) or eastern Oklahoma (Tulsa).

Note that most of Route 66 no longer exists as it was largely replaced by modern interstates (mainly I-40 and I-44) in the 1960s and 70s. In some places, there are still intact stretches of the original Route 66 that you can travel (the longest is in western AZ), in other places the modern interstate runs through the same area and in still other spots the original road is abandoned and no longer passable. Traveling the full length of the true Route 66 from end to end is no longer possible - the best you can do is hop on and off the surviving stretches along the route.

I can't speak to the eastern end of the route, but in AZ and NM, some interesting places to see along the way are the Blue Hole (a giant spring fed pool) at Santa Rosa, NM, the Acoma Indian pueblo to the south of I-40/Route 66 near Grants, NM, the old main street buildings and trading posts at Gallup, NM, the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert near Winslow, AZ and the famous SnoCap Cafe in Seligman, AZ.

The longest surviving stretches of original Route 66 in the US is the part running from Seligman to Kingman, AZ (get off I-40 at Seligman) - pretty country that gives you a feel of what it was like in the 'old days'. Another good stretch is from Kingman, AZ to Needles, CA via way of Oatman. As the poster above notes, it is a winding mountain road, but it is not that bad, the scenery is dramatic and there are many interesting historic buildings and ruins along the way. Ice and a little snow may occur here in mid-winter, but it does not last long and roads are usually dry and clear.

As for ghost towns, Oatman, AZ is not abandoned, but has many old historic mining buildings (scenes from the movie 'How the West was Won' were filmed here) and the nearby ruins of 'Gold Road' are a true ghost town. In New Mexico, you could detour off of I-40/Route 66 just east of Albuqueque to take NM14 north toward Santa Fe - this is a great drive that runs through the historic semi-ghost towns of Golden, Madrid and Cerrillos (Cerrillos is where much of 'Young Guns' was filmed).

Along the entire route, you should have no problem with gas, facilities or robbers - as mentioned above, most of the route is now covered by modern interstates and the few remaining stretches are pretty short.

One of the best books is the "Route 66 Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion" by Tom Snyder. It would have everything you could want to know about following the old route today.

Another interesting one is "A Guide Book to Highway 66" by Jack Rittenhouse. This was originally published in 1946, but more recent reprints are available. It does not help you with traveling the road now (it was a guide for travelers in the 1940s), but it is interesting to see and compare the different descriptions, cafes and ads from that period.

Have fun!

Answer 2

I've lived in Phx. It's hard there. The commute is murder, so you'd better be prepared to shell out a lot of money for gas. Plus, the housing is only so-so. Many people from LA move to Phx, so the jobs are almost always going to them. Really really hard to find work. The main newspapers here are Arizona Republic, and the East Valley Tribune. However, there are TONS of smaller newspapers. You could also look into Tucson, which is a smaller city about and hour and a half south of Phx. They have quite a few newspapers as well. LA is exp. And it's hard to get work that pays worth a damn. I know nothing about San Diego. Las Vegas is where I am now, and I love it here. Times are a little tough, but there is still work to be had. Also, housing has gone down, if you're wanting a house. Apt's here can be expensive, if you want to live in a good part of town. The major newspaper here is the Las Vegas Review Journal. You can also get on at local free newspapers, like the Las Vegas Weekly. Personally, I'd pick LV. Hope it helps.

Answer 3

There is actually a Historic 66 website that can tell you where to get on and off, and which parts don't exist or aren't even paved road anymore. I just drove from CA to IL and followed a good portion of 66. However, I would stay off of the segment between Oatman and Topock, AZ , especially in winter, as it is EXTREMELY steep and hazardous. I'm not sure what the name of the website is, but you can just do a search and I'm sure you'll find it...the one I saw has turn by turn directions.

Answer 4

Route 66 is historic route. It has allot historic buildings, restaurants, and inns on the route since its one of the original freeways in the USA. Check out these sites.

Answer 5

did it.. no dont worry about anything just follow the map and heck no there arent robbers .. bad road conditions thats a famous route and they keep it up perfect.. no safety concerns driven it or parts of it many times its fun ,safe and no worries..

Answer 6

Check out "The Great American Truck Stop Cookbook". Lotsa stories, good advice, anecdotes, ya know.

Godspeed!