English
Route 66, which is also known as the Main Street of America, Will Rogers Highway and the Mother Road, is one of those intrepid routes full of myths and legends on which everything is possible. It was originally part of the U.S. Highway System. Created in 1927, it originally ran from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, ending in Los Angeles after a total distance of 3,923 kilometers.
In the 30s it was the main route of emigrants on their way out west. In the 50s it was a popular vacation route for travelers to Los Angeles, passing through the Arizona desert, whose crater was one of the most popular stops. With this boom in tourism, all kinds of attractions began to pop up along the road, from motels shaped like tepees to shops specialized in reptile breeding or souvenirs made by Native Americans.
In 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned from the U.S. Highway System and replaced by the Interstate Highway System. The entire stretch through Arizona, where the legendary Historic Route sign is repeated every mile, was declared of artistic heritage. It is the section of the road most visited by fans of the historic route who wish to relive their epic journeys of the past with help of a Mustang, Chevy, or Harley, sometimes as a group, a couple or even solo.
Route 66 is more than just miles of road, however, it is a historical route and one that is full of myths, legends, hope, progress and freedom as well as literature and music. Steinbeck, who was from California, is the author who dubbed it the Mother Road. In 1939, he published “The Grapes of Wrath”, a novel that portrays the large migration of farmers from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression, who went west in search of a better life in the promised land.
The musician Bobby Troup traveled this route to get to California in 1946. It inspired his most famous song, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”, which was made famous by singer Nat King Cole. This song has since been covered by the Rolling Stones, Manhattan Transfer and Depeche Mode.
It was, however, the Beat Generation´s Jack Kerouac who popularized Route 66 with the book “On the Road”. This novel was like the bible of the Beat Generation, which was based in San Francisco, a city that represented progress and freedom. This movement rebelled against the establishment of that era. It focused on the freedoms of life on the road as a reason for existence and was peppered with sex, drugs and jazz.
Kerouac wrote “On the Road” in just three weeks. It was based on trips he made between 1947 and 1950 that took him through practically every state. It narrates the adventures that he encountered during these long journeys in an autobiographical style and includes to references to other important figures from that time such as Cassady and Ginsberg.
If you decide to trace all 3,923 kilometers of Route 66, rent apartments in New york so that you can begin your journey in New York, following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac in his novel “On the Road”.
