Some Curiosities Of The Historic Route 66

Route 66 is one of the most famous highways in the world. And yet at present we can say that it does not officially exist. The passing of time caused it to become outdated and disappear from the official road map of the United States. That is one more of the thousand and one curiosities that surround this historical path. Here we are going to tell you some of them.

Route 66: from east to west

The route of the mythical Route 66 linked the city of Chicago with the Pacific Ocean on the California coast by a single highway. It was about 4000 kilometers of journey that made it for a time the longest highway in the country, and also the busiest, both by vacationers and by migrants seeking the prosperity of the west, as in times gone by.

So we are talking about an itinerary loaded with data and stories like these:

At first it wasn’t Route 66

Initially it was given the number 62, and even the places where it passed would have preferred 60 or 61, since those endings gave more substance. However, Cyrus Avery, its creator, always wanted a round number to give him more fame. And certainly, when he managed to officially call it Route 66, it was a tremendous success.

The first asphalt in the USA

Cyrus Avery conceived that road in the 1920s, but it was obviously a pharaonic work in which many existing sections were used. Even so, it took several years to completely asphalt. This happened in 1938, when no other American road had such a firm in its entirety.

Go through eight different states

Carrying out such a work, supposed that Route 66 has eternal straights, so sometimes its route can be even boring. But it always provides the feeling of freedom, and that is why today there are thousands of travelers who want to explore it entirely by car, motorbike or motorhome.

Route 66 and a Nobel Prize

The first nickname of Route 66 was given by Avery himself, who called it the ‘longest street in America’. However, another very famous nickname is Mother Road. It is a name that the writer John Steinbeck gave it in his work The Grapes of Wrath , one of the most emblematic creations of this author who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

A very cinematic tour

But Route 66 doesn’t just appear in books, it has also inspired songs. And, above all, it has been the setting for countless films, some as charismatic as the delirious adventure of Easy Rider or the races that Forrest Gump followed in America, since he simply ‘wanted to race’.

It does not reach the sea

Precisely, the character played by Tom Hanks is running to the Santa Monica pier, where there is a sign that says that it is the end of Route 66. However, that is false, since originally the route did not reach the coast. It stayed a little earlier and linked up with US101.

Multiple changes

The truth is that over the years, the route underwent various changes. So much so, that in one of those improvements a crossing of Route 66 with Route 66 was created. It exists in Albuquerque, in the state of New Mexico.

Route 66 disappearance

The gradual updating of the North American highways made Route 66 little by little engulfed by modernity. The result was that in 1985 it was removed from the official list of interstate highways. But despite what it may seem, that has not meant his disappearance.

The most romantic travelers have made an effort to recover it as a tourist activity and vital experience. Businesses, motels, gas stations, historical elements and even certain stretches of asphalt have been recovered. The result is incredible and today Route 66, without a doubt, offers us a tour of one of the most spectacular roads in the world.