GET YOUR KICKS
On Route 66 T
by Terri Guthrie | photos courtesy of Terri Guthrie
he historic Route 66 may be the most famous road in America! It was built in 1926 and stretches over 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois to Santa
Monica, California. Its popularity grew when travelers realized it was one
of the most direct ways to reach the Pacific coast, and it was quickly nicknamed
away by police who were instructed to
Main Street of America. Now an embodiment of the carefree, road-tripping spirit,
force the migrants to move. On Route
Route 66 has been immortalized in songs, television, and famous works of fiction.
66 near the California/Arizona border, there was actually an official sign from the state of California warning migrants
Along the way, on the “double six,”
completion of your road trip with
to turn back because they were not
countless curious motorists will stop
a ride on the famous Ferris wheel
welcome in California. Contrary to
to witness numerous wacky roadside
or by just watching a beautiful
popular belief, of the 200,000 people
attractions, stunning natural landscapes,
sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
who migrated to California, only 8%
and many significant historical landmarks. Of course, most of the allure of traveling
If you have read John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath,
Route 66 isn’t just in the memorabilia of 1950s you know it’s a story about a
had made the journey back home. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck
and 60s America—it’s the Western American
man and his family that are
became the first writer to refer to
landscape. One of the most beautiful parts of
forced from their farm in the
Route 66 as the “Mother Road.” In
the road is in Arizona, where it passes near the
Depression-era Oklahoma Dust
doing so, he helped capture the
Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, Meteor
Bowl and set out for California
road’s image of redemption and
Crater, and the Grand Canyon. Route 66 ends
along Route 66 with thousands
turned it into a cultural icon.
in California at the Santa Monica Pier, a classic
of others in search of jobs, land,
American boardwalk. It’s fun to celebrate the
and hope for a brighter future.
like Route 66. It is filled with so
Well, that book is actually
much adventure, glamour, history,
very close to the truth.
and nostalgia. This enduring route
We learned all of this and more at the Route 66 Museum in Kingman, Arizona. It depicts the historical evolution of
eight states and three time zones. During COVID-19 times…this could can “Get Your Kicks on Route 66!”
California in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, life was not better. Along the way, they would gather in migrant camps only to be driven
2021
should be about! It even goes through
that became Route 66.
thousands from the Midwest to
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embodies everything that a road trip
travel along the 35th parallel The drought and the depression
LAKE WORTH DIRECTORY
Few roads in the world resonate
be your epic road trip where you
during the 1930s drove
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stayed! Within a few months, most
