Route 66: Amarillo to Santa Rosa

We started our journey along historic Route 66 today heading west toward California. Route 66 roughly parallels Interstate Highway 40 and we seldom traveled more than a few miles from the Interstate. When the Interstate highway came through, towns and businesses not fortunate enough to have convenient highway access withered and died.

There were boo coo sights today, ranging from painted fiberglass ponies to scary motel signs to colorful wall murals to museum-quality iron works such as, well, irons heated with coals or with gasoline. We also talked with interesting locals running the museums and shops, in some cases they were newly retired and beginning new projects to revive and keep alive Route 66.