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Route 66 - The Mother Road
Get Your Kicks on Route 66, The Mother Road, Main Street of America. First formally named in 1926 (though portions of the trail date back as far as the 1880s), Route 66 covers nearly 2,500 miles through eight states (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California) and runs from Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California. During the great westward migration of the 1930s through the 1960s, as a result of the Great Depression and the Dustbowl as well as post-World War II expansion, hundreds of thousands of Americans made their way west to seek fame and fortune, making Route 66 the most-traveled roadway in the United States. It has been the subject of popular songs, books, and movies, including "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Cars," and even a popular 1960s television series, entitled simply "Route 66." Today, much of Route 66 has been replaced by Interstates 40, 44, and 55, though significant portions of the original two-lane roadway still exist. In many cities along the route, sections have been preserved and granted landmark and historic status. While the majority of the many mom-and-pop restaurants, motels, and gas stations along the route have fallen into disrepair and some of the smaller towns bypassed by the interstates have become ghost towns, others have been restored and rejuvenated, now turned into museums and tourist attractions. Road trip purists and those seeking a little nostalgia, especially travelers who own motorcycles, regularly make the pilgrimage between Chicago and Los Angeles, following convoluted instructions and complex maps in order to drive as much of the original roadway as possible. Having made the trip myself (though I only had a week to devote to what normally takes two to three weeks), here is my collection of images from along the way.
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