A Brief History of US Highway Route 66

I have been wanting to create a video about the history of US Highway Route 66 for quite some time now. I have driven it many times while delivering motorhomes. It is not what it used to be, and I tell you how it all started, and why it is not as great as it once was.

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#JustExploreIt #LetsGoRoadTrippin #nosmallcreator

[LetsGoRoadTrippin]

I would love to hear your Route 66 stories!

[ShadyBoy]

America really needs to make route 66 popular again. I think there are more people interested in it than the government may realize.

[swapnil]

I'm from India and I've always wondered about Route 66 coz it's been mentioned in many American shows and movies. Thank you so much for the short and great explanation and a brief history about route 66.

[francineroot-adler]

In 1959 my family traveled from Chicago to see our family in LA. It was the only way to go! I remember the Burma Shave signs too. Now it's on my bucket list to re ride Route 66! Thanks for the history!

[VianoMusicAcademy]

I just drove the entire route from Chicago to Santa Monica. I may be back in NYC, but the Route is still with me.

[ClawBoss]

Just finished my Route 66 road trip today. Love it! Great video!

[estelleadamski]

when I was 5 we left KS. and drove to CA. on RT. 66. My parents never told me' You are on the Famous Mother Road" it was just a road then. we drove it all at once, my dad only stopping for naps. It was a long drive and I remember all the roadside attractions and billboards and seeing Indian children and teepees being depicted on everyone. I am so glad for that road trip and I have always had the travel bug, in June I visited my 50th state!

[florpulido]

There is also a chunk section in Barstow off the 15n freeway. All of main street is route 66. I've only followed it from barstow to victorville just to get away from all the traffic. Really amazing highway to drive on.

[robertortiz-wilson]

Wonderful overview! Truly a great piece of Americana! Many things truly get lost in the rush of things.

[notavailableatthemoment]

I love this so much! Thank you for teaching me and future generations about Route 66!

[dstarsbravo]

I just moved to Oklahoma City and love living so close to Route 66 and all it’s roadside attractions.

[jamsum]

For those who don’t know, it was John Steinbeck’s 1940 book The Grapes of Wrath that coined the term “The Mother Road”

“66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.”

[lisasmith]

My father Bill Swan made a lot of iconic fiberglass statues which are placed along Route 66 some of which are in new short Amazon book for only 14.99 called "The man behind the mufflerman ".

[mattcolver]

For 22 years I had a vacation home about 20 minutes from Oatman, Az. I used to drive that section of 66 over Sitgreaves Pass a lot since it was probably the most beautiful stretch of Route 66 and made for a nice afternoon drive.

[lw]

I just got back from a trip to California and the Grand Canyon, the second time in my life I've made such a trip, and it was only late into the trip that I realized we were basically more or less following route 66. I live in central Illinois near I 55, and my mom played the song Route 66 a lot, so I already knew a bit about Route 66 but it was one of the unexpected cool things about this trip that I ended up running smack into the history of Route 66.

[Masterlewger]

I always wondered why this road was so famous, like apearing in video games and tv shows, cartoons, animes, everywhere. Now i finally know, ty

[VanWolf]

Younger drivers say that driving on Route 66 is cheesy and a boomer thing. But man, i would gladly drive that entire road if i could

[auntlynnonline]

Wow! This is a great video. Thank you! I drove over the road for a few years, and have been on these highways many times - I was always curious about Route 66. I've been on parts of the old highway and wondered about the Glory Days of it. I think I'm going to have to do a road trip in my car and take it from start to finish.

[samphillips]

Thanks for mentioning Oatman Arizona, that stretch is our absolute favorite!

[robdonnelly]

Living in Tulsa, I've heard about the route all my life. Been up both ends of 44 between St Louis and OKC hundreds of times but only last year, had I ventured west on 40 beyond OKC. That trip we went to Phoenix and saw a side of this beautiful country id never seen before! Absolutely amazing...

And also, can't leave my comment without mentioning some of our favorite stops on the route: Redmon's candy factory, and one of my personal favorites, Cline's Corner!