The Glory Of Route 66..........

Agreed. Just before I went to high school, my family moved from L.A. to Shamrock, Texas (along the route, as it so happened), which had been my dad's hometown before he went into the Navy toward the end of WWII. One of the two main streets in Shamrock at that time actually was 66, before the infamous "bypass" went in (with I-40). Great for businesses out at the highway intersection -- the other main street (the actual Main Street) was the transcontinental Highway 83, so that the town actually sat directly at the intersection of two transcontinental highways, which you would think might've made it a metropolis -- but terrible for the longish stretch of businesses along Old 66 in town.

One of those businesses (in fact, right at the intersection of the two old highways) was the Tower Cafe (aka the U-Drop Inn), where I worked while I was in high school -- two different summers, one on the gas station side, and one in the actual cafe -- which is the model for that similar cafe you see in the animated film Cars. (You can see photos of it all over the internet, starting with the Wikipedia page on either Shamrock or the U-Drop.)

Also on Old 66, on the way out the east side of town, was Payne's Truck Stop, where you could get a shower and buy a big wall plaque with the history of barbed wire in the region, with samples mounted on it. (I'm trying to get across just how this was, for somebody who had grown up to that point a few blocks north of Compton and just east of Watts.) Worked there, too. Five-thirty a.m., peeling potatoes and making real fries in the kitchen, junior year. Good jukebox out in the actual dining room, though.

There was also a really cool throwback-type hamburger joint, pinball and pool in the back room, drive-through, etc., just to the east of the truck stop. They eventually found out the place was using horse meat, but I'm telling you, over the years they were known for having the best burgers around. So that was a bit of a moral dilemma. I actually don't remember whether that place got shut down for the horse meat or whether it closed because of the new Dairy Queen out by the interstate bypass. Place was dying anyway by that time, because the DQ was absolutely killing it.

It was the kind of town where you could get your lunch break at school, pile into the car with three or four other people, drive down to the local drug store and get a cherry coke (like, best ever) and a grilled cheese for about a buck and a half. Not 1940s. 1970s. And you'd be back in 25 minutes, including drive time.

I think it's pretty much the same story with any number of small towns along the old route. Too bad, really. But things change.

Route 66 may not be what it used to be (then again, what is?), but it's still a great highway with a lot of history and interesting places to see and explore. As a California I've driven it many times and continue to enjoy the south western areas. Oh, and it's quite the educational drive for anyone wanting to find out more about Native American culture, visit historic ghost towns, and just take in the beautiful scenery of the 'ole west ...

Would you prefer it set today, or back in the early 1960s like the original?

I drove on Route 66 several times in the mid-1990s while living in the Midwest, made a point of seeking it out the first time. Even then, it was losing the nostalgic, old America feel. Had heard of, but never seen the show back then; now watching for the first time after buying the series on DVD.

Obviously, shooting on location all over the country would be a huge challenge today if the story takes place back then, and (ironically) would likely require digital manipulation and editing. But if done right, it'd be a lot better than a modern one, I think.

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Watched Somehow it gets to be Tomorrow last night and of course the great opening scene with Tod driving over the Corpus Christi Bridge,
and I was reminded of this site:
http://www.ohio66.com/somehow/default.asp which has a lot of great shots of that episode before/now.

And then read that the bridge will be gone by 2020, replaced.


Ephemeron.

While the interstates have dominated long distance automobile travel, the two lane blacktop roads are mostly still there. You just have to look for them. Lots of GPS have options to avoid highways. Try doing that, and you'll get to enjoy the real America that still exists. Just a word of warning; it's going to take you MUCH longer to get wherever you're going. Example: From NYC to Lake George, N.Y., via highway, 3 hours. Taking local roads, anywhere from 6 up to 10 hours if you have a lot of traffic, for a 210 mile trip. Hope you enjoy the ride! Local roads mean LOTS of stops along the way, and, of course, lower speed limits too.