Get your kicks on Route 66 - in 3 minutes end-to-end

[Fairportfan]

Time lapse video of the drive. Apparently some sections of The Road are pretty much completely gone.

[bmonk]

Time lapse video of the drive. Apparently some sections of The Road are pretty much completely gone.

I thought maybe it was in an SR-71, which apparently will get you across the nation in 68 minutes, 17 seconds. But this is even faster, it seems.

[jwhouk]

I think they skipped a state or two in there.

Then again, most of 66 in OK is Turnpike.

[DinkyInky]

Time lapse video of the drive. Apparently some sections of The Road are pretty much completely gone.

What a shame. I remember a family road trip down that road to visit my Aunt in AZ.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Time lapse video of the drive. Apparently some sections of The Road are pretty much completely gone.

What a shame. I remember a family road trip down that road to visit my Aunt in AZ.

Eh, people don't care anymore. Back then, a car was a way to explore. A drive was recreational. Vacations were to be extended and enjoyed.

These days, a car is how you get from Point A to Point B, generally in as short a time as possible because every OTHER nut-job out there seems to be doing their level best to generate an impact at speeds several times faster than Evolution could have possibly prepared you for, with generally lethal results.

Back then, a car was a status symbol. There was once a car commercial, I think it was for Lexus... it had a rather typical lady in a skimpy outfit stating "The question is... when you turn your car on... does it return the favor?"

These days... they don't care if your car goes 0-60 in 3.7 topping out at 210+, unless you happen to be a NASCAR driver, in which case they will probably just want your autograph like any other short-lived celebrity. No one cares if you've got a turbo eight under the hood, because it's a 'gas hog'.

Route 66 started to die when the interstates went through. I-10 will take you from Cali all the way into Texas, it's much better maintained, larger, straighter, and less hassle. You don't have any stop lights or intersections unless you exit. It will at least halve your commute time. Sure, it's boring, monotonous, but it gets you there in about a day to El Paso from LA. (heck, I should know, I drove it from LA to Dallas... one day from LA to El Paso, the next from El Paso to Dallas).

But it was in the 80's when America's love affair with cars abruptly ended and the relationship went from 'honeymoon' to 'beer me, woman' that really stuck the knife in and twisted.

[Jabberwonky]

"It is the spine of America, a two-lane ribbon of asphalt, chat, concrete, and gravel that for fifty years channeled dreams and sweat from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean. America's energies stretched out along the Mother Road, coming to life in democratic kitsch and quiet desperation on the bones of cowboys and Indians, gangsters and rebels. Born of the automobile, it died by the automobile, paved over and broken into pieces by the new interstates, but still visible in frontage roads and overgrown side-tracks. It is America's ley line, a dragon curve of magickal power laid down by the benevolent hand of Calvin Coolidge and buried deep beneath the American consciousness. Buried -- but not dead. Route 66 lives and runs forever, beneath the wheels of John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac, in a West where jackalopes roam and the Big Rock Candy Mountain is always over the next ridge."

American Ley Line: Route 66 - Suppressed Transmission Sept. 24, 2004 - Kenneth Hite

The openening paragraph of a series of three articles on Route 66 pointing out the Illuminated, pararnormal, and just plain weird along the trip from Chicago to L.A.

It's a cool piece of writing if you can find it.

Edit: misspelled 'Jackalope'

[jwhouk]

My little contribution:


(Taken back in 2003, during one of my trips with my Dad from home here in Wisconsin to his winter place in AZ.)

[MerchManDan]

These days, a car is how you get from Point A to Point B, generally in as short a time as possible because every OTHER nut-job out there seems to be doing their level best to generate an impact at speeds several times faster than Evolution could have possibly prepared you for, with generally lethal results.

My favourite part of that comic is how there's no possible way to read that sign if you are indeed travelling that fast.

[bmonk]

Another worthwhile read is Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. (I always thought of the highways as blue because they were asphalt rather than concrete like so much of the Interstate system.)

[shadowinthelight]

Some cruising music.

[DinkyInky]

My favourite movie on the subject of Route 66 has got to be Pixar's Car's. It shows you in a nutshell what has happened to all the wonderful things about touring America.

For me, I lived for the family road trip. We got to spend time together doing something we loved...camping, fishing, visiting family, enjoying the sights. As was said in the movie(and several books), it wasn't the destination, it was the journey. Even back as far as the 90's, when there was a road trip, I loved being a passenger as much as driving. We took scenic routes. We conversed. We just enjoyed life.

Not like today, when it's all rush here, rush there, get the stupid hot gift idea before that idiot grabs it first. I take my son on road trips, even if it's just for an hour, and drive to no particular place...so long as it's got trees and open roads and no freaking technology.

People are too lazy to enjoy themselves on a road trip vacation. That's right, I said too lazy to have fun on a vacation. If everything isn't planned out to the nanosecond and able to be plastered all over failbook right away, it's not worth the time. They're missing out on a rich rewarding life, that will melt off years of stress and health problems if they only took time to stop and smell the flowers.

But most of America is just too damned lazy. It's a crime...or it should be.

The roads may be mostly gone, but I'll still drive down the ones that are left and give my child the important thing--good memories of family times together.
I can't wait for a certain season that I'm not allowed to talk about yet starts, so I can take him out for a drive in the pretty scenery.


Just my 2cp.

[Fairportfan]

Another worthwhile read is Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. (I always thought of the highways as blue because they were asphalt rather than concrete like so much of the Interstate system.)

Isn't the title from the fact that the roads it's about are printed in blue on most maps?

[DinkyInky]

Some cruising music.

Yeah, that's perfect.
*grabs shades and goes for a drive in my Cutlass*

My God, I just thought of something. All of my cars were "enjoy the scenery" cars. Perfect for cruising...

Hiding the wallotext list. Highlight if you wanna read it.
Over the last 21 years I've owned:
'79 Granada L6
'85 Crown Vic V8
'78 LeSabre(PoS, but it got me where I needed to go)
'89 Grand Am SE Quad 4 Turbo DOHC
That surprised the hell outta me when I opened her up on the highway the first time, as the paperwork did NOT list a supercharged engine, and the dealers didn't either. I did inspect under the hood, and it didn't look like that. When I cleaned up under the hood(tune-up, wiped down the covers, etc.) I discovered all that. Then I did more research on the car within my lemon period. Turns out it was bought, and traded in at the same dealership, and she did a TON of aftermarket goodies to it, new engine was done at a different dealership, killer soundsystem set up for Classical, and electric starter, airbag and special doors that took a lot more of a beating than the standard ones.
'89 Grand Am SE 6cyl I had fun airbrushing that one.
'94 Taurus(I worked on that thing...soo much work...too much work, especially with a toddler underfoot--found out it was a racecar after finding and removing...add-ons. I ditched it soon after.)
'94 Camry(best. car. ever. 30 miles to the gallon, 19.5 gal tank. I cried when it got rearended and they claimed it a total loss. I don't keep a car if I can't have full-coverage insurance on it. My friends Nephew fixed it and says he gets 28 mpg, and best car ever. *sob*)
'94 Cutlass Ciera SE
For putting around, if I had the funds, I'd get a Tesla Z. Roomy and perfect for the short trips. Then again, if I had the funds, I'd get that 64.5 Mustang and the Studebaker(I forget the year) that one of the guys in my neighbourhood has up for grabs. Oh, and the '55 T-bird I saw last week... Oh, and a good set of Snap-on for the Garage. What, a girl can dream can't I?

Cars are a teensy obsession of mine, can you tell?

[bmonk]

Another worthwhile read is Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. (I always thought of the highways as blue because they were asphalt rather than concrete like so much of the Interstate system.)

Isn't the title from the fact that the roads it's about are printed in blue on most maps?

As I found out from wikipedia. But, just saying, I had this nice image, and found out years later that I was wrong.

[Fairportfan]

Another worthwhile read is Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. (I always thought of the highways as blue because they were asphalt rather than concrete like so much of the Interstate system.)

Isn't the title from the fact that the roads it's about are printed in blue on most maps?

As I found out from wikipedia. But, just saying, I had this nice image, and found out years later that I was wrong.

I thought it was, but i wasn't sure.