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Post by Jer on Jun 29, 2014 16:26:16 GMT -5
 June 27th marked the 28th anniversary of the official death of my beloved Route 66... autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/june-27--route-66-officially-disappears-on-this-date-in-1986-123621152.html Those that travel I-40 now have absolutely NO idea of how great it used to be: Need to pee: pull over to the side and pee behind the abundance of bushes and wildlife lining the road Need a trinket: bank it onto the shoulder where the native Indians of that area had tons of stands How about a burger: Burger stands, gas stations, squeezed orange stands, fruits and vegetables, from local produce "truck farmers"...all available for a pittance, all fresh. No "'wait for the next exit"....No carbon copies of the last exit waiting for you at the next exit. No "better stay here locked in my car and wait for the help I called for on my cell phone" You just lifted your hood, opened your doors for air, and sooner or later someone would stop and help you get on your merry way....and that Good Samaritan was as safe for you to deal with as hitchhikers were to pick up to keep you company on your trip, when your eyelids started getting heavy. And stopping for the night consisted of: "That looks like a clean motel", pulling over off the road, pulling up to the office, driving your car up to the FRONT door of your room, and unloading...about 10 minutes total time....5 of which was the check-in time...of course the clerks back then all spoke English you could understand, which expedited the process considerably...and the rooms WERE always clean with no unidentifiable smells, odors, etc. If you think I'm making all of this up, or maybe that time has somehow polished the rough edges off of my memory into thinking things were better back then than the Interstates of today, you're wrong....my twin brother, my sister, my same-aged friends and co-veterans of Route 66 travel, all remember it the same way. "AAH but the roads are so much better with the interstates" you say....wrong! With what the gazillion 18 wheelers have done to the surface of most Interstate Highways, and the increasingly lower amount of construction and repair funds available, the actual Interstate surface conditions are largely bad....very bad....and getting worse....right, Tom ?? We rode in the back seat of (several) cars from Santa Maria California to Ft. Smith Arkansas many times, often with one of us "sleeping" on the floor between the seats, and the bumps, potholes, and just plain bad road surfaces were almost non-existent. THE ONE DOWNSIDE OF ROUTE 66: When your Dad "needed" to pull over to swat your mis-behaving behind a few times (something else that is unfortunately no longer "politically correct"), he just banked it right there..on the spot.....no "stay of execution" while you drove to the next exit/gas station/parking lot.... Get out of the passenger side, assume "the position" (hands on the fender, arse facing the countryside, and take your medicine !! AAH the good ol' days.... (most of the time we deserved it, by the way...travel does that to kids) |
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purplecharger
Been Here A While
collecting parts for the next one
Posts: 768
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Post by purplecharger on Jun 29, 2014 17:52:14 GMT -5
Jer The only time I have been on Route 66 Cops patrol it like hawks looking for food In March there was very little traffic and very smooth compared to MN roads. It has very little bumps Are you a little spoiled for constantly repaving pavement?  We are lucky to have a road repaved every 15 years With all the frost heaving rocks being pushed up and other climate elements destroying the road beds Oh I almost forgot the ore boat loads of salt being dumped on the environment |
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Post by Jer on Jun 29, 2014 18:22:52 GMT -5
There IS no official Route 66 anymore, Purp...
Just little spurs and side roads called "Old Route 66", where the locals scrape by and try to make a living off of shards of "what used to be"...
Winslow, Arizona, for example, where for 6 bucks you can stand next to a "girl my Lord in a flat bed Ford" and get your picture taken....things like that....(God Bless The Eagles)
You misunderstand me on the paving, PC....roads suck EVERYWHERE now...especially Interstates, and I know of very few places that doesn't hold true....
Road Departments (State and otherwise) will take 3 to 4 years and millions upon millions of dollars to "upgrade" one 5 to 15 mile stretch, and by the time they've "completed this project with the help of Federal Funding", the road is already starting to be noticeably damaged by the big rigs at the other end
....sad but true....I don't think it's what Ike envisioned when he got home from "the Autobahn" after WWii.
The irony is, that his interstate contingency plan for moving mass amounts of military equipment across America (on the brand new Interstate System) in the event of emergencies isn't even realistic today...we don't move mass amounts of military equipment on highways anymore...we fly or rail them (with all the commercial trucks today, we'd lose a war before we could get the equipment moved anyway !!!)
Incidentally, I try to make a point of taking at least one "Old 66" detour on my way back east, and again on my way back west, to try to enjoy at least a bit of a semblance of of the ambiance of
"how it used to be."...
...sometimes it only makes me sadder.....God Bless Walmarts, Dollar Generals and Applebees.
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DynoDave
CO-ADMINISTRATOR
Motown Mopar-Wizard
Posts: 11,150
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Post by DynoDave on Jun 29, 2014 18:41:11 GMT -5
Incidentally, I try to make a point of taking at least one "Old 66" detour on my way back east, and again on my way back west, to try to enjoy at least a bit of a semblance of of the ambiance of "how it used to be."......sometimes it only makes me sadder.....God Bless Walmarts, Dollar Generals and Applebees. That's awesome Jer. This is an interest we share. I read two Route 66 related blogs each morning while eating my breakfast. They are my "morning paper". ROUTE 66 NEWSAFTON STATIONDon't expect to agree politically with Ron at Rte. 66 News. But while it's his blog and he can do what he likes, he generally refrains from politics, unless it has some relation to Route 66. Mostly it's quality reporting about goings-on on Route 66. I'd love to get by Afton Station some day, and meet Laurel, the owner. Looks like a great place. Do your travels take you by there? This IS a trip I plan to make some day, from Chicago to LA. I had hoped it would be this year, actually, for our 20th wedding anniv. But we are doing something else instead. Still intend to run the full length of it before I die. While it has been de-certified as an official US highway, it is still very much alive, with each of the 8 states having an active Rte. 66 association, and there are still quite a few wonderful things to see, a more interesting road to drive, tons of history, Mom & Pop businesses, etc. I have a full laundry list of places I hope to stop and visit. I have had the opportunity to drive most of 66 in Illinois of over the years.  |
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Post by Jer on Jun 29, 2014 22:52:06 GMT -5
I read 'em both, Dave, and I've been to Afton Station, and met Laurel and Ron M. and some of their friends...likewise for Midpoint Cafe in Afton Adrian.
And you can't call yourself a "route 66-er" if you haven't stopped by Bama Pies.
The La Posada in Winslow is awesome.
There really IS so much out there still, once you tear yourself away from the boob tube, I-phones, I-Pads, and other meaningless distractions that have no redeeming social value.
The whole point of my original post, though, was that the WHOLE highway used to be like that...as nice as the remaining "revived" sections are now, imagine the entire run from Illinois to Santa Monica, CA being like that...
and MORE !!
And it once was....90 per cent gone now to make way for ''progress".
Change for the sake of change is not necessarily progress...we give up another piece of our heritage--forever gone--every time we bulldoze it to make way for more "progress".
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DynoDave
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Motown Mopar-Wizard
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Post by DynoDave on Jun 30, 2014 8:41:12 GMT -5
That's great Jer. If you happen to stop at Afton on this trip, tell Laurel I said hello. She knows my DynoDave nickname...is use it on her blog comments, and on the Rte. 66 Yahoo Group too.
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Post by Jer on Jun 30, 2014 10:45:59 GMT -5
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DynoDave
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Motown Mopar-Wizard
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Post by DynoDave on Jun 30, 2014 14:31:16 GMT -5
Yeah, I'd seen this story on Autoblog, but decided not to post it in my Corner, as it was Mopar specific. Also could lead to some political debate. But, to stick my toe in the water.... AUTOBLOG |
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Post by azhighcountry on Aug 15, 2014 10:41:00 GMT -5
No Rout 66 trip is complete without a stop in Oatman. Where there is always a traffic jam caused by burros. Which have the right of way and out number cars.
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DynoDave
CO-ADMINISTRATOR
Motown Mopar-Wizard
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Post by DynoDave on Aug 15, 2014 22:11:34 GMT -5
No Rout 66 trip is complete without a stop in Oatman. Where there is always a traffic jam caused by burros. Which have the right of way and out number cars. Have heard about it, and seen pictures / videos. Definitely on my to-do list. |
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