Travelling the Mother Road my Route 66 adventure.

This past October, my partner, Andrew and I had the chance to drive Route 66 and found it was more than an epic journey into real America; it was also a journey of self discovery.

Our tour started in Chicago with a group of fellow Aussies, led by Dale and his team from Route 66 Tours. Dale has been organising these tours for many years now, so he knows all the points of interest and what petrolheads will like to see along the way. The good thing about Route 66 Tours is that they are flexible, so you don't have to slavishly follow the itinerary. You can check out your own sights along the route, 'do your own thing' and meet up with the other tour participants at the end of each day.

After a day touring the 'Windy City' we were on our way. Our vehicle was a current model Jeep Cherokee, which was well equipped and pretty luxurious. The car was great, but our first day on the road was quite un-nerving! Apart from getting our heads around driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, we had to negotiate traffic, tollways, on-ramps, off-ramps and a GPS that seemed to contradict itself all the time! However, we overcame all this to make it to our first stop on our first day of driving - the famous Volo Auto Museum and Antique Shopping Malls, located north of Chicago. This had every car imaginable, including a huge 'Hollywood Car Collection', showcasing vehicles that have been in major movies and TV shows. The Hollywood collection included everything from the Beverly Hillbillies car, complete with rocking chair and other props, through the 'Ghostbusters' '59 Cadillac ambulance, Grease Lightning Ford from Grease, Gone in 60 Seconds 'Eleanor' Mustang, to the Dukes of Hazzard's 'General Lee' Dodge Charger and plenty more. There were even a couple of life-sized interpretations of Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson from 'Cars'! In addition to the display vehicles, there were over 200 cars for sale and many more on consignment. Convertibles, classics, street rods, late model muscle cars, pre-War and more, there were plenty there to tempt us!

Major features along the historic Route 66 are the many restored service stations and one of the iconic ones we visited on the third day was Ambler's Texaco Gas Station in Dwight, Illinois. Also known as Becker's Marathon Gas Station, Ambler's is an historic filling station that was restored in 2007 to circa 1933 appearance. It was certainly worth the stop to check out the old bowsers and take some photos. Soon after, we stopped at the 1932 Standard Oil Filling Station, another iconic fuel stop along the way. Considering how we are used to large, multi-bay service stations these days, I was surprised by how small these old gas stations were. Another great stop in Illinois was Pontiac, where the Route 66 Museum (one of several along the route) housed many bits and pieces of the road's history. It was easy to spend two or three hours looking around and a good spot to swat up on some Route 66 history before we tackled our journey on the 'Mother Road'.

While still in Illinois, we stopped to look at a portion of the original Route 66 which was made entirely out of red bricks. The 1.4 miles of road is still paved and in very good condition considering its age and the amount of traffic that still drives on it. Another key stop was the 1926 Soulsby Shell Gas Station in Mt. Olive, Illinois. This one was in use as recently as the early 90s before it was restored. From there, we travelled to nearby Staunton to visit Country Classic Cars, a dealer in collectable cars and trucks. What started as a hobby for a Midwest farmer has grown to become a huge business, but it's still family owned. As well as the biggest car yard I've ever seen, Country Classic Cars also had a restoration works and wrecking yard. Plenty of us wished we had slightly bigger wallets so we could go home with a couple of projects!

By day six, we had crossed from Illinois into Missouri, and just out of St Louis, we visited Gateway Classic Mustang (GCM) for a workshop tour. Gateway are the leading Mustang restoration company in America, building, restoring and selling classic Mustangs under the 'GCM-R' (Gateway Classic Mustang Restoration) name. They've done resto and custom projects for the likes of Van Halen's Sammy Hagar & Michael Anthony, and were specifically chosen by Chad McQueen to build a modern take on the classic 1968 'Bullitt' Mustang made famous by his dad, Steve McQueen. This used a modern Dynacorn fastback body, Ford Racing 347 Boss V8 and a stack of modern transmission, suspension and braking components. GCM built the whole thing in less than four months, with the entire build broadcast on Hot Rod TV. The car was on display at Gateway and looked stunning.

While we were there, photos of another Gateway project that caught my eye was a replica of David Pearson's 1976 Daytona 500-winning Mercury Montego. One of the 'Wood Brothers' NASCAR racers, the Montego was famous for limping over the finish line after a last lap crash with Richard Petty in the '76 Daytona 500. The car GCM created was built around an original '74 Montego as a "streetable" version of the '76 Daytona winner, so it kept things like lights and indicators, but still packed a whopping 521ci Ford Racing V8 under the bonnet, full roll cage and racing seats and harnesses, all topped off with authentic 'Purolator' (they're oil filters, in case you were wondering!) livery. The replica Montego was auctioned for charity earlier in 2011 and went for $90,000.
After a good hour or so checking everything out at GCM, we hit the road again and spent that evening at the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, Missouri. To me, this iconic motel with its neon sign epitomized what Route 66 would have been like in its golden years. The cosy rooms have been restored, but retain some original charm in their colour scheme and decor. We all really enjoyed the evening here and the following morning ate some authentic 'cowboy food' out the front of Wrinks Market. It was a real working Chuck Wagon, which certainly made for an interesting morning!

Paris Springs, Missouri was the first stop on day seven, where we visited the Gay Parita Sinclair Gas Station. This replica station was a great chance for us all to have a group photo and explore. Even though it was another vintage service station, it had character and seemed different to the others we had seen so far. Maybe it's because of the dinosaur that Sinclair used as their logo - odd! Further along the route, we crossed from Missouri into Kansas. Kansas only has 13 miles of Route 66, but they are incredibly proud of it. In the main street of Galena, Kansas, we came across '4 Women on the Route'. Another former gas station (for Kan-O-Tex gasoline - never heard of that one!), what made this one special is that sitting outside the giftshop was "Tow Tator", which apparently was the inspiration for 'Tow Mater' in the movie 'Cars'. We also met Dean "Crazy Legs" Walker while at 4 Women on the Route. Dean is the President of the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association and was apparently the inspiration for the personality and "backward" driving of Tow Mater. It was good to meet Dean, a real character who's a bit of living Route 66 history.

Following Route 66 into Oklahoma, we saw the '9 ft Highway' in Miami. This section of the road is named for the fact that, to save money, the county road builders only poured 'Pontiac concrete' 9 ft wide, instead of the usual 12ft - a pretty narrow road! Heading south out of Miami, we visited the 1930's Afton Station & 'Route 66 Packards' in Afton, Oklahoma. This is another restored gas station, with the difference being that it featured a collection of classic and vintage Packards. There was a De Soto and Model A hot rod pickup on display, too. This was a nice break from the heat of the day (our trip was in the early US Autumn, but damn it was hot), and the gift shop there was great, too. West of Afton, between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, we stopped at the 'Rock Café' in Stroud. What made the Rock Café significant is that is was supposedly built using stone excavated during the construction of Route 66.

Crossing from Oklahoma into Texas on day ten, out first stop was Shamrock, where we checked out the amazing 1936 U-Drop Inn and Conoco Service Station. All of us recognized this impressive art deco building as the inspiration for 'Ramone's Body Shop' in 'Cars'. After closing in the late 1990s, the U-Drop Inn and gas station (they were originally two distinct businesses that shared the same building) were historically listed, which helped ensure their survival. Restored a little over a decade ago, the buildings now house a gift shop, museum, and visitors' centre. It also serves as the location for Shamrock's Chamber of Commerce. Visiting this building was a real highlight of not only the day, but also the entire trip. If there was one place where I "got my kicks" on Route 66, this was it! Not long after that, we stopped at a restored Phillips 66 Gas Station as well as a 1930's Texaco 66 Super Service Station. These were all restored to their original glory and were great photo ops.

The next morning, day eleven of the tour, we started with a visit to the famous Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas. We arrived just as the sun was rising, which made the sight of the line of Caddys sticking out of the ground even more surreal. They've been pillaged of parts and trim for souvenirs over the years, and absolutely covered with spray painted graffiti, but they're still a 'must see' for any serious car buff travelling Route 66. West of Amarillo, we hit the traditional 'midpoint' of Route 66 - Adrian, Texas. The Midpoint Café was filled with Route 66 memorabilia, and was the main - you could say the only - point of interest. If Adrian didn't sit smack in the middle of the iconic route, I don't think there'd be much of a reason to visit this small town. A culinary highlight at the Midpoint Café was their home made 'ugly crust' pies. If you're in Adrian, you simply MUST call in and have a slice - or seven - of the ugly crust. You won't regret it!

On the border of Texas and New Mexico we stopped at an old ghost town - Glenrio. It had a Texaco service station and an old 60s Pontiac out the front, but not much else. It was quite disturbing looking at some of the ghost towns and thinking about how many businesses and lives were affected by the interstate highways bypassing these areas. Our next stop was Tucamcari, New Mexico. This town once boasted 2000 hotel rooms, but is practically a ghost town now. The Blue Swallow Motel still rents rooms out and has been operational the whole time, but it's one of the few still in business today. Travelling around Tucamcari, it was sad to see so many other motels and other buildings that are now derelict, with their broken windows, rusting signs and destroyed neons.

Despite this, New Mexico was stunning. We travelled through numerous Native American reservations and National Forests, and also saw a few really old Spanish churches and monuments. For the next two nights, we stayed in Santa Fe, the capital city of New Mexico (off Route 66), and explored many sights in and around the town. Andrew and I also visited the Santa Fe Harley Davidson dealership, which was huge! South of Santa Fe, we went through Albuquerque. And yes, Bugs Bunny fans, we DID take a left turn at Alba-koiky!

As pretty as New Mexico was, Arizona was just as stunning, with some truly amazing scenery. Along the route, there was the 'Continental Divide' (the traditional Rocky Mountains "border" between eastern and western USA), Painted Desert National Park, Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, and of course, the Grand Canyon. Along these parts of Route 66, the main attractions are the natural ones, so we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. Stopping in Holbrook, we saw another reference from 'Cars' - the Wigwam Motel - which served as the model for the Cozy Cone Motel in the movie. The fifteen wigwam-shaped concrete rooms were built in the late 1940s, apparently inspired by a similar motel in Kentucky. Like the Blue Swallow in New Mexico, the Wigwam has remained operational to this day, with the current owners adding to the historical feel of the place by parking old cars around the complex. On first appearances, the rooms seem tiny, but each is large enough to hold two double beds, tables, chairs and a TV, with a small bathroom located at the 'back' of each wigwam. Travelling west out of Holbrook, we soon came to Winslow, Arizona. This was a major highlight for Andrew, and we both "stood on the corner". There was even a flatbed Ford parked next to the corner, just like in the Eagles song!

The next day, our sixteenth on the tour, we headed to see a huge meteor crater near Flagstaff and also visited another ghost town, Two Guns, located between Winslow and Flagstaff. Two Guns originally had souvenir shops, the 'Infamous Apache Death Cave', two zoos, plus other touristy places. Now it's just a pile of rubble, but a great place to poke around. After travelling through Flagstaff, we headed north and spent the night at the South Rim Village of the Grand Canyon, where we watched the sun set and rise over the stunning scenery of this natural monument.

Seligman, Arizona was our first stop on day seventeen, and one of the most interesting of the whole trip to that point. Unlike other towns that died when they were bypassed by the Interstate freeways, Seligman is still a busy place. An icon there is Angel Delgadillo, who has been a huge part of keeping not only Seligman, but also Route 66 in the limelight. Angel operated the town's barber and gift shop, while his brother, Juan, ran Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In reastaurant. When we arrived, there were four buses there with Scandinavian tourists and this old town felt as busy as it would have been when Route 66 was the main highway. For his efforts in keeping Route 66 and local culture alive, Angel has been recognized as an 'Arizona Culture Keeper'. Unfortunately, Juan died in 2004, but the Snow Cap has been kept open by his two sons. Angel's retired, but still around, and is as much of an icon in Seligman as Route 66 itself. He was more than happy to tell visitors like us tales of what Route 66 was like back in its glory days.

Still in Arizona, our next stop was Hackberry. Situated out of the remains of the township, but right on Route 66 itself, the 'Hackberry General Store' looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. Aside from this tourist stop, the rest of Hackberry was virtually a ghost town. When we got out of our car to look around, the wind was hot and we knew we were really in the desert. Vintage petrol pumps, signs and memorabilia adorned the General Store. Inside, there was a bunch of Route 66 memorabilia and a vintage diner setup. A sign saying 'Last drinks for 300 miles' next to a couple of Joshua trees out front told me that this would have been a real life-saving stop for a lot of early travellers. Or maybe it was just a way for the owners to sell more bottles of their 'Route 66' root beer! With all the old bowsers, enamel signs, a vintage Ford and '57 Corvette out the front, the place had plenty of character and was a real highlight. It's a quiet place, though, and when the signs creaked in the wind, it felt like we were in an old Western movie. We even saw a couple of tumbleweeds roll by!

After leaving Hackberry, the Route 66 tour went through places like Kingman, Oatman, Goffs, Amboy, Victorville and San Bernadino (where there is a McDonalds museum, believe it or not!) to its traditional California finishing point at Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles. However, Andrew and I headed off the Route at Hackberry to see 'the lights in the desert' - Las Vegas. We spent our last two days of the trip in Vegas and had a great time. As well as all the glitz and gambling of the main casinos and tourist spots, we also took a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon. This was stunning and a fitting way to finish off our American adventure and Route 66 road trip.

Special thanks must go to Dale and the crew at Route 66 Tours. They really looked after us and were great hosts and tour guides. For my first Route 66 experience - and first experience of the USA - I couldn't have asked for more.

If you want to find out more about what Route 66 Tours do and what tours are scheduled for 2012 and beyond, contact them on 1300-760-806, or go to www.route66tours.com.au

by Tracey Pocock