Can You Still Get Your Kicks on Route 66?

Route 66, also known as the Mother Road, was the first road to connect the east and west coast of the United States. Today Old Route 66 still holds a great fascination for many, with some individuals planning vacations or day trips around its pathway. One wonders how two lanes of concrete stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles could capture the minds and even to some extent, the souls of so many individuals. Perhaps one answer to that riddle was the Television program of the 1960's "Route 66" which brought the road to life as each week the nation traveled it with Tod and Buzz. Whatever the hold is that catches peoples' imaginations today, as cars got faster and more plentiful, the two lane route was slowly replaced with a four lane highway known as Interstate 40. Today numerous super highways crisscross this great nation connecting north, south, east and west. None however has captured the heart of America like the Mother Road Route 66.

In its heyday, the Mother Road had numerous road houses, mom and pop motels and family attractions that could put each small town on the map. A good attraction meant a family had an excuse to stop and visit the town for the evening. The kids could swim, play miniature golf or return home to tell there friends that they had spend a night in a Tepee. Before the time of fast food restaurants on every corner, dinner that evening, and breakfast in the morning, could be enjoyed at the local café with the owner usually present and in many cases, be either the cook or waitress. The friendly hometown hotel could attend to your accommodations and offer you directions to near by attractions. Route 66 was an adventure. Something new was around every turn. With what so many refer to as progress; the superhighways began to replace this route and many of the other two lane highways that traveled though the local communities, instead of around them. This proved to be a fatal blow to many of the little towns that the Mother Road had provided with its life blood. There were a few die-hards that stayed, but this type of commerce for small town America, while not totally disappearing, caused many to abandon the small town for the city.

A resurgence of interest in Route 66 has led to the preservation of buildings throughout the eight states that it passes though. Suburban sprawl from the larger cities has engulfed the smaller towns along the route in some places and sometimes the road itself becomes swallowed up by a superhighway, it soon returns to two lanes of traffic soloing through the countryside. Meandering through main streets of burgs that have been transformed into middle class suburbia, a reincarnation of the mother road has occurred. Antique shops and little boutiques now dot the landscape along the way. Yet casualties of our time, underscored by our one size fits all mentality, still abound. Mom and pop motels have not fared well in our franchised world. Slowly, however, the sweat equity of volunteer groups is breathing new life into these cozy but tired shelters.

There are new destination type convenience stores restoring commerce and capitalizing on the nostalgia of Route 66. One such store is Pops, located in the small town of Arcadia , Oklahoma, population 279. An embellished gas station and diner combination, Pops boast modern architecture. The building looks like a gigantic pop bottle opener with the largest pop bottle in the world in front. Pops has a selection of over four hundred different kinds of soda on site with the ability to order over 1200 varieties of pop. Individuals are able to mix and match there own cartons of pop. Hundreds of bottles glisten in the large windows that serve as displays. A variety of items are available in the fifties themed dining area and you can enjoy a snack out on the patio overlooking sixty-six trees. For a brief time one can imagine being with Tod and Buzz on there journey down 66. Unfortunately one will be unable to find gas prices like those in the sixties. Traveling the two lane highway these days does not lend itself to the seventy mile an hour life or more we live. Slower traffic from a slower time has the proverbial speed traps along the way. Think Barney Fife from Mayberry. But, that's fine. No need to rush along Route 66. Enjoy the sights. Appreciate the renaissance of the Mother Road. Barney would be proud.