An enterprising YouTube user has assembled city-limit signs, welcome signs, or other landmark signs of each town on Route 66 and put them onto one video: https://youtu.be/8DBmhPj2EeQ A few dinky or ghost towns are missing, and the 1920s alignment in central Illinois isn't covered. But this clip is remarkably comprehensive. (Image of Glenrio at the … Continue reading All of Route 66’s towns
Category: Road trips
Religious imagery and “The Grapes of Wrath”
Frank Gifford of rt66pix.com recently was interviewed by Susan Olasky of WORLD radio, which is part of a Christianity-based multimedia group. Gifford explained how he found Christian imagery in John Steinbeck's seminal novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," much of which takes place on Route 66 during the Depression: WORLD radio also linked to this University … Continue reading Religious imagery and “The Grapes of Wrath”
On the Mother Road with Freeway Jim
A fellow on YouTube by the name of Freeway Jim takes a lot of video of his travels. A few days ago, he posted "Off the Beaten Path" videos of sections of Route 66 that were bypassed by Interstate 40. Although they're high-definition, the speeded-up videos aren't remarkable by themselves. What's interesting are the annotations, … Continue reading On the Mother Road with Freeway Jim
Where Cars Land got its inspiration
This video shows how Disney engineers (they're called Imagineers) traveled Route 66 to research and figure out the right look for a life-size fictional town of Radiator Springs for Cars Land at Disneyland California Adventure. https://youtu.be/dKYi8gbbIn0 Route 66 author and "Cars" actor Michael Wallis led the trip about five years ago. My story about that … Continue reading Where Cars Land got its inspiration
Frenchman travels length of Route 66 on special bicycle
French cyclist Thierry Suptil last month became the first person to travel the 2,400-mile length of Route 66 in an ElliptiGO, an elliptical bicycle. According to a news release from the bicycle company: Averaging 47 miles per day, it took him just 52 days of riding to travel from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California, ending … Continue reading Frenchman travels length of Route 66 on special bicycle
Chinese tourists’ take on Route 66
This is fascinating. These two videos from the China-based Blue Ocean Network contain interviews with a Chinese couple that recently traveled Route 66. Those in the tourism industry should take notes. Part 1: https://youtu.be/AwFC0cVlj5g Part 2: https://youtu.be/bccQAT3wmfk The number of Chinese tourists in the United States reportedly will reach 100 million a year by the … Continue reading Chinese tourists’ take on Route 66
Music duo’s album inspired by Route 66
The Nashville-based husband-and-wife music duo, Smoking Flowers, said their new album, "2 Guns," was inspired by a Route 66 trip out west. According to the South Bend Tribune's interview with Kim Collins: “It was literally the first time we hit the dirt road, the old stagecoach-era part of Route 66,” she says about the photo … Continue reading Music duo’s album inspired by Route 66
Another time-lapse road trip
This video of time-lapse footage by Jody Cusack of the UK-based ZeroCut Media essentially is a plug for the Go Pro Hero3 camera, but there are a lot of cool images from Route 66 here. GoPro Time-Lapse USA from Jody Cusack on Vimeo.
“Road Trip” episode from 2004
Here's the complete 44-minute episode of the Discovery Channel's "Road Trip" program that prominently featured Route 66. https://youtu.be/dTRzvhqDMa8 The episode shows Las Vegas' neon-sign boneyard before it opened, the Oatman Hotel when it was still taking overnight guests, and a lot of behind-the-scenes look at Hoover Dam, before the new highway was built near it.
Coming soon to your road
The Czech Route 66 Association will shoot another feature-length documentary about Route 66 next May. https://youtu.be/R5YF8pGRTj4 Its first film back in 2010 was televised all over Europe, and it's hoped this one will do the same.