Gettin our Kicks on Route 66

About a week before Christmas, we flew out to Niagara, New York to visit our good friend Ken (HappyCurmudgeon) who's been fighting a losing battle against cancer, buy his silver 2-door JK and drive it back home to Southern California. At first, we were just going to make a beeline for home but, after looking at some of the weather reports, we decided to take a more southerly route with the hopes of bypassing some of the snow storms coming our way. And, so long as we were at it, we thought now would be as good a time as ever to get our kicks on ol' Route 66. I hope you enjoy the pics from our epic trip

DAY 1 - Friday, December 16th
Sitting at John Wayne Airport getting ready to head out...


Flying over Arizona and starting to see some snow...


Almost to our first stop in Atlanta, GA...


While we had only been in the air for about 3 hours, flying east has you seeing the sun go down fast...


On our second flight and just about ready to land in Buffalo, NY...


Our good friends Chris and Tom came on another flight and landed shortly after us...


If you can believe it, the guy at the rental car counter said that this was a 2012 Jeep Wrangler "or equivalent"... NOT!!


DAY 2 - Saturday, December 17th
A shot of Tom, Ron and Chris packed in the back of our Jeep Wrangler equivalent...


Everyone in town at last and taking a group shot of Tom, Tim, me, Michael, Ron and Chris with Ken at his home...


Sharing some American Honey later on that evening...


DAY 3 - Sunday, December 18th
Making a quick stop over at Niagara Falls before picking up our new 2-Door JK and heading back for home...


Say goodbye to Ken and New York...


On the road and crossing into Pennsylvania...


Making a quick stop for dinner at Five Guys...


Back on the road again and pulling into Ohio...


While paying tolls to use the Interstate took some getting use too, I do have to say that the Travel Plazas they have are really nice - a HUGE step up from the crappy rest stops that we're used to seeing in California...


Rolling into Indiana...


When you cross into most states, you are typically greeted with a sign welcoming you to that state. In Illinois, the first sign we came across was one for the city of Chicago and asking you to pay up...


More pics below...

DAY 4 - Monday, December 19th
Doing some sight-seeing in Downtown Chicago and getting a feel for the wonderful traffic they have...


Took us about a half hour to find this parking spot and it was about a mile away from where we wanted to be...


Having a brew and some pizza with our good friend Jeff over at Piece...


Yum!! Having a tasty Camel Toe...


Some shots of Chicago at night...






Don't ask as I don't know...


I didn't even know old record shops still existed...


DAY 5 - Tuesday, December 20th
Getting an early start to check out Grant Park - the start of Route 66...


View looking west...


Looking out across chilly Lake Michigan before heading back for home...


Making our way into old town Joliet and crossing over the Ruby Street Bridge built back in 1935...






Stopping over at the beautiful Rialto Theater but unfortunately, they weren't open...


Saying hello to the Gemini Giant at the Launching Pad Restaurant in Willmington, IL...


Posing for a shot next to this awesome mural in Pontiac, IL...




Illinois Historic Route 66...


This barn with an enormous advertisement for Meramec Caverns painted on the side of it was restored a little over 10 years ago...


We found these guys chasing after us a bit off 66 near the town of Chenoa...






Stopping over in the old town site of Funks Grove to see their old train station and general store...






Gasing up at the old Dixe's Truck Stop...


Stopping in Lincoln, Illinois to see the worlds biggest covered wagon and Lincoln statue...


Having dinner at the birthplace of the Corndog - The Cozy Drive In, in Springfiled, IL...






Yum!!!


Posing for a shot under the world's largest "catsup" bottle...




Crossed into Missouri and made a stop at the bottom of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis...


Before calling it a night, we stopped over at the Public House Brewing Company in Rolla...


More pics below...

DAY 6 - Wednesday, December 21st
Among other things, Rolla is famous for their 1/2 scale replica of Stone Henge...




Built in 1933, the old Totem Pole is supposed to be the oldest trading post of its kind in Missouri along Route 66...


Stopping over at the old trading post in the old town of Gascozark...


This place has seen better days...








Awesome old gas station and zombie breeding grounds we found...






Crossing over the old 1922 Gasconade Bridge...




Posing for a shot in front of the old Munger Moss Motel...


Lurvey's Court looked it might have been a really nice place to stay in its day...


We simply couldn't pass through Springfield, MO without making a stop over at the birthplace and headquarters of the Bass Pro Shop...


Rolling into Kansas on old Route 66...






While in Galena, KS, we ran into the movie star, Tow Mater...


Posing for a shot next to Tow Mater and getting his auto-graph...




Driving across the only remaining Rainbow Arch Bridge on Route 66...




Rolling into Oklahoma...


One of the most famous landmarks along Route 66 is the Big Blue Whale in Tulsa, OK...


Fortunately for us, the whale was lighted for Christmas and made for a great shot at night...




Nearby was the Catoosa Ark as well...


More pics below...

DAY 7 - Thursday, December 22nd
Legend has it that Elvis made multiple stops at this old Erick gas station back in the day...




Thanks to a tip from a friendly local, we got to swing around and see the old Erick Jailhouse too...


Posing for a shot over at the National Route 66 Museum...


Cool windmill fence on the east side of Erick...




There are no shortages of creepy old Motels along Route 66...






Awesome old gas station in Texola, OK...




View down the empty highway...






Hitchin up to ol' Water Hole #2 - to the best of my knowledge, there is no #1...


The sign says it all...


One last look back across Oklahoma ...


Onward to Texas....


Crossing into Texas...


Pulling into the nicely restored Conoco Station in Shamrock, TX...








Posing for a shot next to the Leaning Tower of Britten...


Stopping for lunch and a world famous steak over at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX...


Yum, a Texas Red Amber Ale...


Although it's about 20°F with a wind making it feel more like -10°F outside, we couldn't pass up making a stop over at the famous Cadillac Ranch...










Making a stop over at an old Phillips 66 called the Bent Door in Midway Station...




Pole with signs showing the way to Santa Monica to the right...


And, Happy back to the left - totally took me off guard seeing this....


Stopping for a shot at the official Midpoint...


Crossing into the Land of Enchantment - New Mexico...


Sitting right on the border between Texas and New Mexico is the old First and Last in Texas Motel...




Driving over an old wooden bridge along an upaved section of Route 66...


Checking out the old Tepee Curios in Tucumcari, NM...


The old Blue Swallow shown brightly with its awesome neon...


More pics below...

DAY 8 - Friday, December 23rd
We were stopped in Santa Rosa the night before due to heavy snow, ice, wind and low visibility. Fortuantely, we found this place which had some of the best New Mexican food I've ever had...


Unfortunately, we were still stuck there the following morning even though it really didn't look all that bad out...


Looking online at the NM DOT website, it would appear that the entire state was closed down...


Tired of sitting around, we decided to see if there was another way out of town but just found ourselves back where we started...


Tried again later when the roads started to clear up but, it was a no go again and again...






So, we decided to kill some time...




And, checked out some sights around town including this place called The Blue Hole...




The Blue Hole is an artesian well about 80 feet deep and offers crystal clear blue water. Apparently, divers from all over come to this place...


Just before sundown, we got the word that the Interstate would be opening back up and so, we lined up with the rest of the heard...


Yippy!! On the road again...


Posing for a shot next to Owl Rock...


Coming around Deadmans Curve...


Making a stop at the 1930's Phillips 66 station in Budville...


With slick roads like this, it's a good thing we're in a Jeep...






Love the fact that there's no shortage of cool signs and relics to check out all along the way...






Dinner in Holebrook...


With real sopapillas...


More pics below...

DAY 8 - Saturday, December 24th
Having gotten stuck in New Mexico pushed us back a day and being that it was Christmas Eve, we really wanted to get home as quickly as possible. But, there was still so much to see and, we simply couldn't pass them up. Here's a few shots of the famous Wigwam Motel...






Parked out in front of the worlds longest map of Route 66...


Heading west, we found it...


Don't forget Winona...


We just love these old bridges - this one was closed to traffic...


Pulling off onto another unpaved section of Route 66 near Flagstaff...




Checking out some of the cool sites in Seligman...










Feeling hungry?


Ahhhh, definitely getting closer to home...


Back in good ol' California and checking out some of the relics in Essex...






Stopping over at an old well established by the AAA back in the day...


Making a quick stop over at the Roadrunner Retreat...


Gotta make a stop over at Roy's as well...


And finally, a stop over at an old gas station in Ludlow before hooking back up to the Interstate...


A parting shot as we drive off into the sunset...


Our little silver JK is finally at it's new home after traveling almost 3000 miles....


We hope you have enjoyed riding along with us on our journey across America along old Route 66. If you would like to see all the pics we took along the way, simply click on the link below:

Gettin Our Kicks on Route 66 Photo Gallery

That certainly looks like it was a fun trip! Thanks for the pictures.

Thanks for sharing!
Excellent photos and documentation of the trip

Very sorry to hear about your friend Ken

D

Great jobs! love the photos

Great photos. I bet you guys had a blast.

how much days it took the hole trip on the 66?

Great pics of this awesome journey.

Thanks for posting all the pics of your journey cross country, it was a blast getting to see the entire route 66 trip since I'm really only familiar with the part that goes through my old home state of OK.

Sorry to hear about Ken as well, he seemed like a great guy.

kris003 said:

how much days it took the hole trip on the 66?

Click to expand...

We did it about 5 days but really, I would say you should give it a week... ONE WAY. If you're gonna do this as a round trip, I would recommend no less than 10-14 days.

only1phoenixx said:

Thanks for sharing!
Excellent photos and documentation of the trip

Very sorry to hear about your friend Ken

D

Click to expand...

cbob said:

Thanks for posting all the pics of your journey cross country, it was a blast getting to see the entire route 66 trip since I'm really only familiar with the part that goes through my old home state of OK.

Sorry to hear about Ken as well, he seemed like a great guy.

Click to expand...

Thanks guys, we lost a very dear friend tonight.

Fantastic job! I liked how you made small captions & let the photos do the story-telling.
Thanks for sharing.
Ross

rossinvrland said:

Fantastic job! I liked how you made small captions & let the photos do the story-telling.
Thanks for sharing.
Ross

Click to expand...

thanks, i'm glad that you enjoyed our adventure.

Rexacon said:

Sry hear about ur dear friend, I have lost friends too from that very horrible thing. Looks like y'all had a great adventure on the way back.

Click to expand...

cancer really does suck. i lost my dad to it over 20 years ago. the only thing i know how to do is to move forward and help out where i can. in this case, ken's family. hopefully we can build up his jeep, auction it off and provide a bit more financial help for his family.

wayoflife said:

the only thing i know how to do is to move forward and help out where i can.

Click to expand...

An attitude like yours will get you far in life...Kudo's to you..

About your trip,,

Excellent photojournalism, I never realized so much of the past still exists on that route..

I hope we can cross paths in Moab this year...