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R66 Attractions

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Route 66 is a never ending series of experiences. Everyone talks about the famous manmade or natural tourist attractions. But if you've never been to the Southwest before, the weather, plants, animals, towns and cities are as unique as anything. You can't drive 66 on a tight schedule. You have to allow time to stop, explore and photograph all these attractions. We've arranged them here from East to West, from Chicago to Santa Monica. You might want to stop at some on the way out, and others on the way back. But allow for some spontaneity. You'll come around a bend and see the unexpected, perhaps a vehicle, building, or scene that just demands a stop. On Route 66, the highway itself is truly the Destination.

Shea's National Gas Station Museum in Springfield is the first truly quirky Route 66 stop you'll come to heading South from Chicago. Bill Shea and his wife Helen ran the core building as a Texaco Station for 50 years, and then for 10 more years as a Marathon station, before retiring and converting the facility to a museum. In 2000 the Mahan Station, the oldest still standing station in Illinois, was moved 21 miles to the Shea compound and meticulously restored. To the contents of those two fully equipped stations they have added artifacts from various other stations until they have a large menagerie of pumps, tools, advertisements, promotional devices and other memorabilia unique to the gas station business. You also get to listen to Bill, now 92, tell stories about his adventures serving Route 66 travellers since the road first opened. The "museum" has a sort of Sanford & Sons ambience. Memorabilia clutters the inside and outside of both buildings. But it's worth the stop to hear Bill talk about pumping gas for Al Capone and various country music stars. The station is popular with foreign visitors and has been featured on various TV shows over the last decade.

Meramec Cavern is the only cave you'll visit along Route 66. It's one of the most beautiful "show caves" in the world. Meramec is not as big as Mammoth or Carlsbad, with a main route of only 4.6 miles, but has more colorful and artistic formations. It also has an interesting human history. Native Americans used it for several thousand years. Union and Confederate forces fought over it during the Civil War because it was a source of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), a key ingredient in gunpowder and dynamite. The most famous occupants were Frank and Jesse James, who used it as a hideout during their outlaw careers. At one point the Sheriff tracked them here and waited outside the main entrance, but they escaped out another entrance and, knowing their secret had been discovered, never returned. Ballroom dancing was popular in the cave, and during Prohibition it was a location for drinking. Parts of the cave have been used in various films, and in 1972 it was used for the lengthy cave sequence in Tom Sawyer, where Tom and Becky are fleeing from Injun Joe. Guided tours are led by park rangers along the lighted main route. There's also a Lantern Tour, which explores unlighted side passages. In addition to the cave, there is canoeing on the river (six or 11 mile trips), 30 minute riverboat trips, a canopy experience involving four ziplines (the longest being 1250 ft.), and panning for gold (actually "fool's gold," fossils and lower grade gemstones). The Meramec Cavern Motel on the park grounds is another vintage motel but most Route 66 guidebooks don't list it because it's off the actual route. During the Route 66 heydey, thousands of travellers stopped at the cave and stayed at the motel. It's a short walk from the cave, gift shop and restaurant to the motel, which is a 1958 facility that has never done much updating. Meramec Cavern is only three miles off I-44 at Exit 230 at Stanton. The cave achieved a certain fame because promoter Lester Dill was the first in the nation to use bumper stickers and barn roof advertising. Barns across Missouri and nearby states still have Meramec Cavern signs painted on their rooves, and there are 150 billboards along I-44 which echo the 135 which used to line Route 66.

One of the more unique features along Route 66 in Oklahoma is The Round Barn. Built in 1898 by Bill Odor to be tornado proof (the winds can't get a grip on any surface), it was used not only to store a huge amount of hay in the above ground part and cattle, horses and oxen in the basement, but also for square dances. No structure like this had ever been built. Odor designed and built special rigs to bend the beams into the curved shapes for the walls and roof. When Route 66 was built right past the barn, it became an instant landmark and for a long time was one of the most photographed icons on the road. The barn had been deteriorating when Luke Robinson and a bunch of specialists called The Over The Hill Gang took on the project of restoring it. Using their own skills and lots of volunteer labor, they completed a total restoration for only $65,000, a full $100,000 under the estimate made by the National Preservation Society. The oak floors and oaken beams have been beautifully refurbished. There's a gift shop and guided tours. In 1992 the National Preservation awarded Robinson and his friends the National Preservation Medal for their "Exceptional Craftmanship." The Arcadia Barn is important architecturally because it is the only truly round barn in the world. Others had the same idea as Odor, but since they had no way to curve the beams they used short straight segments to build pentagonal, octagonal, or hexagonal barns. He was the only one to go the extreme of building special rigs to curve the beams. Unfortunately, the process took too long to be commercially feasible, so this remains one of a kind.

Either on the way out or the way back you should take Old 66 through Santa Fe (Due to some political shenanigans, the governor had 66 rerouted through Albequerque). If you do, as you come through downtown Santa Fe, you'll see this magnificent Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi on the square. It's definitely worth a stop. If you stay at La Fonda this will be just down the street. Begun in 1869 and completed in 1886, the cathedral contains numerous statues and other features of special note. The large rose window in front and the stained glass windows along the sides commemorating the 12 Apostles were imported from France. The doors are of Bronze, the baptismal font of Granite, and the Stations of the Cross in etched glass. These are the earliest examples of etched glass in North America. This is the largest cathedral in New Mexico, and is not a historical display. It is not only a functioning church, but is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate this building. The ceilings, sculptures, stained glass, and various historic artifacts are museum quality.

You haven't seen a Farmers Market until you've seen the one in Santa Fe. You can buy Blue Corn, Bolita Beans, Posole, Mesquite Cactus Honey, Buffalo Sausage; Ancho, Guajillo, Habanero and other Chiles; Dairy products, especially Cheeses; local Wines, Tomatoes you've never heard of like Oaxaca, Purple Swash and Rose Quartz; Various kinds of Jerkies; and Jujubes ("Desert Fruit"). Jujubes are like red dates. You can buy Tomatillos and Native American rugs, blankets, pottery, baskets and art. The Baked Goods are unique : you really MUST try the Green Chile Croissant. There are also food vendors, tempting you with local entrees like Poblano Chile Stew, Grilled Lamb Skewers and Navajo Goat Cheese. Every Saturday and Tuesday from sunrise until noon. There's also the Railyard Artisans Market from 10 - 4 every Sunday. It features hand blown glass, jewelry, pottery, paintings, fiber art and sculpture.

If you're into Western history, you'll want to turn north on Route 191 and drive onto the Navajo Nation to the Hubbell Trading Post. This is not a replica or a reenactment; it's the original trading post in its third century of business. It is the oldest continuously operating trading post in North America. Today, the post serves residents of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Apache and Comanche nations. Navajo weavers create rugs at the trading post and you can buy what they make. The site includes more than a large store. There is a 130 acre homestead, featuring a home and outbuildings. Today, there's a display of Native American art. For 100 years, Hubbell maintained a guest house for white visitors and a row of Hogans for Native Americans who came from far away. Today, however, there is neither lodging nor restaurant at the trading post. During the 1800s and the first part of the 1900s, no money was used here. Hubbell would bring goods from back East, especially coffee, sugar, tools, flour, baking powder, tobacco and, later, canned goods. When the railroad reached the Southwest he would pick up wagonloads of goods from the depot in Gallup. The Native Americans would bring wool, blankets, rugs, jewelry, pots, and baskets. Gallup would take these in exchange, then sell them to buyers from back East. The Hubbells were unique in that the whole family lived here. Other trading posts were run by men who kept their families back East. Several generations of Hubbells are buried here in the family cemetery.

From Peach Springs, you'll head out into the Arizona Back Country. This is the wildest, most remote stretch of Route 66. You'll be driving through a mix of mountains and desert, with winding road, steep hills and no true towns. The debris of Route 66 is everywhere : abandoned gas stations, general stores, cars and signs. But there are some great photo opportunities. Be sure to fill up with gas whenever you come to a station, because you won't find many.

Standard practice was to drive the road at night. That avoided the overheating, but was of course much more dangerous because of the steep, narrow, winding road with no guard rails and fatal drops. Another strategy was to drive the road backwards, because in the old cars reverse gears were lower and allowed a slower climb without stalling out. Families would often get out and walk in front of their vehicles with lanterns, lightening the load, lessening the danger and providing some illumination, since driving backwards the headlights were of no help. Modern drivers also need to keep reminding themselves that these older drivers had to deal with manual transmissions, meaning they were continually fighting clutch pedals and shifting levers.

With the opening of I-40 between Kingman and Needles, the old road has never been improved. You will thus see it just as the Joads (the family in Grapes of Wrath) and their counterparts saw it. It's paved now, and slightly wider, but cars still overheat, drivers still find it nerve wracking, and you still can't travel more than about 15-20 mph.

Route 66 between Kingman and Topock (the Arizona village on the river before you cross over to Needles) is definitely the most scenic section of all. There are only a few places to pull off, but anyone not driving can get great photos at every turn. The two photos here do not show the worst of the hairpin turns, switchbacks and narrow ledges. You must also be prepared for Desert Mountain Goats, Wild Burros, Desert Fox, Mountain Lions, Deer, Coyote, Desert Lynx, Javelina, a dozen birds and assorted snakes and small mammals. For anyone from further East, there are also the fascinating desert plants, especially the dozen varieties of cacti. The road is also a spectacular display of geology, with various layers slanting and tilting back and forth. All of this is why we recommend you not start out late in the day from either Needles or Kingman. You need daylight not only for safe driving but to see everything.