Yesterday we finished our leg of the journey that took us on Route 66 and I thought I would reflect for a minute. I really enjoyed driving the road. It was much better than the interstate for me.
The part we took was from Albuquerque to Barstow. I know it was only a short part of it, but it felt like an experience all the same. Much of it followed I-40 as a frontage road or as I-40, but through towns and for other stretches it was a road all to itself.
To follow it we found a few sets of instructions on the internet and chose the one we thought was easiest to follow. Although it was only a few years old many of the landmarks it mentioned as being still open were closed. One hotel had a sign outside proudly proclaiming 70 years of service while it’s windows were boarded up.
For most of the road we were the only car on Route 66. When we were going through towns it was pretty empty, except for some of the bigger towns like Flagstaff. We could just stop in the middle of the road and not worry about any traffic. To me that was really nice. Very different than what I am used to.
Just being on the road made driving feel very different. Because of the isolation I was very observant. There were many little things to look at along the way: ma and pa hotels, farm animals, abandoned businesses, Route 66 memorabilia stores, the emptiness of the desert, and the list goes on. It was very easy to pass the time, and I was not just counting the miles until the next town; which is what I usually do on the interstate.
The bad part about that is I can understand why a state wouldn’t want to budget to keep the road up. If no one drives it why spend the money. If every one drove it there wouldn’t be the same experience of seeing different parts of America and being able to stop anytime you see something that peeks your interest.
I would definitely recommend driving a long stretch while it is still around. In California almost all of it not connected to the interstate, but judging from the condition of the road I don’t know for how much longer. Taking 66 has made me feel I will try and take smaller roads to get from one place to another. It does take a little longer, but it was much more pleasurable than the emptiness of the interstate.
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