The Mother Road

Never in a million years would I have pictured myself as an axe-wielding, dragon lady, chopping up multi-colored flannel shirts into my very own plaid mulch. But here I am, chopping away my frustrations. It all started when my brother, Paul, convinced me to go on one last family road trip across the Mother Road with him and my dad.. Just like old times, right? Wrong. What Paul fails to mention is his best man, Porter, will be joining us, who just so happens to be my childhood crush and the man who broke my heart four years ago. What is supposed to be a fun, family bonding experience across Route 66 turns into a war of pranks, awkward moments and bathrooms full of dirty flannel shirts and day old beard clippings. Paul's know-it-all attitude and Porter's devilish charm brings me to the brink of my sanity on my seven day trek across the United States with three bearded men in a small 1980's RV

Tells the story of the legendary road, Route 66, begun in the early 1920s that covered 2400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.

It started in the heartland and originally ended in Los Angeles (not, contrary to myth, at the ocean). It carried truckers crossing the country, Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl, vacationers seeking the sun. It was Americas Main Street, the Mother Road, the Will Rogers Highway, and, at its dangerous curves, Bloody 66. Get your kicks on Route 66 with this wonderfully illustrated tribute to the best-loved highway in this car-loving nation. Michael Witzel shares his expertise and wealth of personal, archive, collector, and contributing photographer images in these pages, offering a nostalgic tour of the charms and oddities of this road through American cultural history. Starting in Chicago and running to Santa Monica, this book highlights the sights along the highway with historic and current photos in then-and-now pairings, and includes Route 66 postcards, road signs, trinkets, maps, brochures, and advertisements. Here we see Route 66 as it was in its heyday and as it is now, the neon glamour of yesterday versus the ghost towns of today. Witzel and his wife, Gyvel Young-Witzel, recount the highways history, its role in popular culture, and its demise, as well as the individual stories of famous sights. Several profiles of those with close ties to the Mother Road, including the woman who played Ruthie Joad in the The Grapes of Wrath film, are included.

On a hot summer day in 1932, Andy Connors, who owns a garage that serves Route 66, finds himself in major trouble: He's been bitten by a rabid skunk.

Tom Cotter is barn picking along Route 66! Motorbooks' newest collector car title records his journey and incredible automotive finds.

Trace the humble beginnings of Route 66 through its formative years to its present rebirth as an international tourist destination. The captivating text offers carloads of legends and lore, as well as miles of stories about the unique characters who have traveled the fabled road. Nostalgic photographs that capture the spirit of the highway's glory days are juxtaposed with modern images by award-winning photographers and tell today's version of Route 66's story. From the road's bustling origin in Chicago to its western terminus at the Pacific Oceans, this beautiful book will guide you through every roadside attraction. So fill your tank, put the top down, and find out what it really means to Get Your Kicks On Route 66!

Get off the beaten path and explore the hidden-gem destinations within a few hours of the Mother Road! Includes numerous photos and illustrations. Known as the Main Street of America and the Mother Road, US Route 66 is the nation’s best-known highway. This lavishly illustrated book steers you from Chicago to Los Angeles, traveling through the lowlands of the American Plains and the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns. Best of all, it lets you branch away from the Mother Road and encounter gems hidden beyond today’s standard motels and tourist traps—the quaint frontier communities that date back to the nation’s westward expansion; the legacy of ancient native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. State parks, wildlife refuges, museums, historic sites, literary landmarks, and much more are there to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66. The fifty trips included here offer new travel opportunities for the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more. “The road and this book recall a time before franchise restaurants and chain motels choked America’s highways . . . the guide consists of 50 driving tours, which include plenty of side trips.” —Arizona Republic

DIVAs a longstanding cultural icon and beloved vacation destination, U.S. Route 66’s legendary notoriety continues unabated. In fact, thanks to a corps of preservationists dedicated to keeping nostalgia for the road alive, interest in America’s Main Street is actually growing. But modern 66 enthusiasts aren’t the first to spread the word about the Mother Road—in fact, Route 66 has a rich, decades-long history of advertising behind it./divDIV /divDIVIt’s been more than half a century since Route 66 functioned as a major cross-country thoroughfare, but following its displacement by the U.S. Interstate system in the 1950s, advertising ephemera used to promote Route 66 motels, diners, souvenir shops, and the road itself became highly sought-after collectibles. In Route 66 Treasures, author Jim Hinckley’s unique new look at the road examines it through the lens of those promotional and advertising efforts, going so far as to include 15 pieces of fabulous removable facsimile memorabilia—as among them diner menus, cocktail napkins, paper coasters, window decals, postcards, brochures, and more—each enclosed in its own vellum envelope. Hinckley’s chronological history provides a richly illustrated and thoughtful review of Route 66 promotion through the decades in each of the eight states through which it travels./divDIVAn utterly new look at the Mother Road, Route 66 Treasures offers a rare collectible archive for the growing hordes of 66 enthusiasts./div