Time: Let’s just say it was some time in the last millennium.
Place: Gallup, New Mexico.
What: My husband and I, on a month-long, cross-country road trip, pulled into a gas station to refuel our VW Bug. We left with a full tank, a new fan belt and some hoses. I don’t remember the cost, but it was pricey at the time.
Some months later, I related this story to a friend who sighed, then informed me that we’d been victims of a common Gallup, N.M., scam.
That was our first introduction to Route 66, and it wasn’t until later, when I learned the significance of this highway and its history, that I forgave Gallup.
Fast forward to 2026.
While the United States celebrates its 250th birthday this year, Route 66 marks its 100th.
It was on April 30, 1926, that the idea for an efficient thoroughfare from Chicago to Los Angeles was born. According to Chris Epting, author of “The Birthplace Book: A Guide to Birth Sites of Famous People, Places & Things,” federal officials met in Springfield, Missouri, and after much contention, the “catchy sounding number” 66 was chosen.
The name became official Nov. 11, 1926. (A plaque in Springfield’s Central Square marks the event.)
World War II, population growth, the love of travel, the booming petroleum business, the Great Depression, John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” (where the name Mother Road first appears), and the growth of the West all accounted for the incremental expansion of Route 66. For decades, this 2,448-mile highway symbolized adventure, freedom and an independent spirit.
Route 66 eventually was replaced by the Interstate Highway System, which spread its tentacles in the 1960s and 1970s, but sections of the historic road still exist. It still holds a bit of mystique and heaps of nostalgia, and beckons for drivers to take the Great American Road Trip.
If such a trip is on your bucket list, a little research beforehand can make the most of your time and miles.
“The Best Hits on Route 66: 100 Essential Stops on the Mother Road,” by Amy Bizzarri tells readers where to find a 30-foot-tall, fiberglass space man (Wilmington, Illinois); a legendary frozen custard stand (St. Louis); an 80-foot-long Blue Whale (Catoosa, Oklahoma); a rattlesnake museum (Albuquerque, New Mexico); and a herd of dinosaurs (Holbrook, Arizona).
Bizzarri also has mapped out eight themed itineraries — Native American history, Hollywood lore, natural wonders, the supernatural and more.
Should you return home craving some of the memorable road eats, or are just an armchair traveler/foodie, check out Linda Ly’s “The Route 66 Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Every Stop Along the Way.” Recipes include not only iconic diner food, but ethnic gems, drinks and desserts. Think Elvis Ugly Crust Pie from Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas; späetzle from Rock Café in Stroud, Oklahoma; and Spicy Seafood Soup from The Albright in end-of-the-line Santa Monica.
The last chapter of Jamie Jenson’s “Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways” contains 80-plus pages dedicated to Route 66 and is jam-packed with info and color photos of things to see and do along America’s Main Street.
“Whether you are motivated by an interest in history or feel a nostalgic yearning for the ‘good old days’ Route 66 has come to represent,” Jenson writes, or whether you want to “experience firsthand the amazing diversity of people and landscapes that line its path, Route 66 offers an unforgettable journey into America, then and now.”
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