Creating Our Own Travel Guide For Route 66
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Only 7-1/2 states to go!
Having just completed the California section of Route 66, I’m now in the throes of planning out the rest of our route from Michigan Ave in Chicago to Kingman, Arizona. There are guides galore out there. Some you can buy. Some are free. I’ve found that no one guide has everything I’m after, so I’ve been carefully reading and vetting each guide I find, culling the information I want, and creating a personalized guide that fits our travel style.
I just found out, for instance, that the Navy Pier in Chicago now has a ‘The Road Starts Here’ sign that was erected in March 2025 and that there are 12 Illinois ‘passport’ station stamps available at Wayside Exhibits along Route 66 in Illinois. Then there are the 3-D street paintings in Joplin, Missouri that I’d never heard of, and the special Land of the Giants passport book you can obtain in Tulsa. None of the guides mentioned these. If we’re going to spend the time traveling 2,448 miles to celebrate the Mother Road’s 100th birthday, I want to make sure we do it right. If we miss something, I prefer it’s because we choose to bypass it, not because we didn’t realize it was there.
Then there’s the quandary of diverting from the route a little bit to visit places that aren’t part of the Route 66 experience, but definitely merit a stop. Route 66 starts on Michigan Avenue in Chicago directly across the street from the Chicago Art Institute. Shouldn’t we allow a few hours in the schedule for a visit to this premier museum? And, of course, the Art Institute is close to Millennium Park; shouldn’t we snap a pic of ‘The Bean’ while we’re there? Since the route travels through St. Louis, not stopping at the Gateway Arch would seem just plain wrong. There’s so much to consider and the more I dig and research, the more I find. I realize we can’t see it all, so prioritizing seems prudent… even though I know we’ll probably change our minds by the time we get there.
I’m organized. I have a binder with eight separate state sections, and I keep adding bits of info as I find them. I’ve ordered road maps and available brochures from each state’s tourist office. Some Route 66 state guides are available to download online; others are dribbling in via snail mail.
I have a separate section in each state for ‘Can’t Miss’ stops as well as quirky Roadside America and Atlas Obscura sights since no one source seems to have them all. Man, there’s a lot to see. From museums, historical sites, murals, and one-of-a-kind roadside attractions to iconic diners, restaurants, motels, and restored gas stations, every little town along the route has something to offer.
I’ve checked each state’s Route 66 Association website. Some are helpful and provide specific information about each town in their state and why people should visit. Others are less helpful, so I’m using other sources to determine suggested stops, possible motels/hotels, and any trivia that I can dig up… like baseball great Mickey Mantle’s hometown was Commerce, Oklahoma. There’s a statue of him there. Maybe we should see it.
There are innumerable Route 66 apps… I counted at least 21 currently available. Some are free and others range from $-$$$. We’re still evaluating some of them, especially those that offer turn-by-turn directions in larger cities. Based on our travails getting through Los Angeles, this might be helpful and more efficient. We’ll weigh cost vs. convenience further down the research road. We’ve got time and it’ll be an ongoing process till we leave in September.
I started my research with the Route 66 Road Trip website, which offers a free travel guide download and also the Route 66 Road Map Checklist, also a free download. Though there was lots of duplication, as you’d expect, each one also offered some different perspectives on driving the route. Both also send occasional updates on events and additional details about specific sights that I’ve found interesting.
The clock is ticking, but I’m confident I’ll have a well-conceived plan of all the places I’d like to see and things I’d like to do along the route. When I’m all done, I’ll share my results with you.
The trip might be a bit longer than originally anticipated, but I have plenty of time to iron out the details and then convince David that this is exactly what he wants to do.