I developed my interest in the history and lure of Route 66, the "Mother Road", in 1999 when we drove from New Orleans to Las Vegas for our kids to compete in the USTU Taekwondo National Championships. I didn't realize prior to the trip that we would be following part of the old route, so I didn't do any preplanning of sights to look for, therefore I missed a lot. In 2003 we drove to Colorado and caught more of Route 66 and retraced some of the 1999 trip. This page shares what I did photograph both years. Our retirement dream is to travel the entire route from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA.
The maps on this page come from a 1968 Enco Western United States map. They show Route 66 and what existed of I-40 at that time. The highway was officially decommissioned in 1985 and was not included on maps again. |
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Route 66 meets I-40 in Oklahoma City. In 2003 we entered Oklahoma from Texas and hit I-40/Route 66 in Oklahoma City and headed westbound. |
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I-40 follows Route 66 through Texas. In 1999 we hit I-40/Route 66 in Amarillo, coming from the south. We then headed westbound across the state. In 2003 we entered Texas from Oklahoma, heading westbound across the state. |
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I-40 follows Route 66 through New Mexico. In 1999 we entered New Mexico from Texas, heading westbound across the state. In 2003 we entered New Mexico from Texas, heading westbound and exited at Albuquerque on our way north to Colorado. |
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Diagram showing correlation of I-40 to Route 66. Adapted from Historic Route 66 website.
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I-40 follows Route 66 through Arizona. In 1999 we entered Arizona from New Mexico, heading westbound. We exited at Flagstaff to spend several days at The Grand Canyon. Afterwards we got back on I-40 and traveled as far as Kingman, where we exited and drove over The Hoover Dam on our way to Las Vegas. |
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Diagram showing correlation of I-40 to Route 66. Adapted from Historic Route 66 website.
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