In 1963, when I was 10, we traveled route 66 from California to Oklahoma. I remember the four lane highway going through small towns and weaving through communities. In the desert area, the native americans lived in adobe structures and doing their cooking outside in an adobe oven. The women were dressed in an indian skirt with pants. It was interesting at the time. But today as we traveled route 66, the home’s are now double-wide mobile homes with electricity on the same property of times past. Old abandon structures still remain, giving history and feeling of times past. The busyness of the road is gone but the nostalgia feeling is still there.
I have vivid images of our travels, from getting $10 motel rooms to driving through the desert with a water canvas bag hooked to the antenna mount. At night, we got one room and us kids slept on the floor. It was the way it was for the time. As a 10 year old, my memory is about how I lived. We did not have AC, nor did we have FM radio. I remember the radio on AM listening to the static local stations as we past through towns, Johnny Cash was the hit. If I remember correctly, it took us four days to travel to Oklahoma. We would leave our motel room by sunrise and the drive through the desert at early morning was an incredible desert beauty that I will never forget. The sun directly in your face and the desert mountains to your side, every shadow and colored desert scenery was interesting to a 10 year old.
“Get Your Kicks on Route 66” (click) If you ever plan to motor west Travel my way, the highway that’s the best. Get your kicks on Route 66!…. Nat King Cole
Glad to see you’re still getting your kicks on Rt 66!
Really enjoyed this and the Petrified Forest visit.
Safe travels,
Craig & Laurie
Looks like fun!! Love all the nostalgia on Route 66.
Sounds like some good memories too! 😀