In search of the Mother Road

E D I T O R I A L | spur@thetexasspur.com Paragraphs & pixels BARBARA BRANNON
  • In search of the Mother Road
    In search of the Mother Road
  • WISHYOUWERE HERE Postcard and photo props—like this one in Joliet, Illinois—abound all along the 2,448 miles of historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. | CAPROCK COURIER
    WISHYOUWERE HERE Postcard and photo props—like this one in Joliet, Illinois—abound all along the 2,448 miles of historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. | CAPROCK COURIER
  • SIGN, SIGN This colorful new sign helps Route 66 travelers mark their starting line along busy Michigan Avenue across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago.
    SIGN, SIGN This colorful new sign helps Route 66 travelers mark their starting line along busy Michigan Avenue across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago.
  • BERGHOFF’SRESTAURANTon theChicago Loop—only steps from the starting point of Route 66—has been family-operated for more than 125 years.
    BERGHOFF’SRESTAURANTon theChicago Loop—only steps from the starting point of Route 66—has been family-operated for more than 125 years.
  • ON THE ROUTE there’s no telling what sightsyou’llsee—orfromwhichviewpoints.
    ON THE ROUTE there’s no telling what sightsyou’llsee—orfromwhichviewpoints.
  • EVERYWHERE A SIGN Following the 2,448 miles (give or take a few, depending on which routing you take), brown-and-white official signs mark different alignments of Route 66 over different periods of the road’s history. Sometimes stretches of original, or at least older, pavement exist; in other places, original road was torn up, blocked off, or overpaved by other highways. A map is a must.
    EVERYWHERE A SIGN Following the 2,448 miles (give or take a few, depending on which routing you take), brown-and-white official signs mark different alignments of Route 66 over different periods of the road’s history. Sometimes stretches of original, or at least older, pavement exist; in other places, original road was torn up, blocked off, or overpaved by other highways. A map is a must.
  • IN ATLANTA, ILLINOIS (one of 19 Atlantas in the U.S.), the newly opened American Giants museum tells the story of roadside advertising figures from Muffler Men to Paul Bunyan, to Big Boy and the Esso Tiger. Photo ops abound.
    IN ATLANTA, ILLINOIS (one of 19 Atlantas in the U.S.), the newly opened American Giants museum tells the story of roadside advertising figures from Muffler Men to Paul Bunyan, to Big Boy and the Esso Tiger. Photo ops abound.
    ROUTE 66 RAMBLE, PART 1It’s rare that local newspaper editors— especially ones like us, who have an active stake in hometown publications that go to press once a week year round—get to take an extended vacation. No Caribbean cruises or gala getaways for us.Yet, our comparative freedom to report from the road does provide s...

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