Planning – My Route 66 Road Trip

Reading the posts in the various groups on Facebook, there are several guides to help one navigate the journey.

I’ve acquired the first guide and the set of maps. Invaluable! Since Route 66 is no longer one route, but many chopped-up segments of the original highway, one needs to be able to navigate correctly. From what I’m reading, most of the route has historical signage, but not all! And with the various changes in routing through the decades having a guidebook to show the way is crucial.

There are two more I’m going to buy.

After skimming through the guide, and reading the Illinois map for westbound directions while viewing Google Maps and tracking the route, I can say that the maps and EZ66 Guide are invaluable.

We’ll see how they travel.

The whole idea of the trip is to see what is there, stopping to see places when the mood strikes, having an idea of things I’d like to see but juggling on the fly. The trip is not going to be planned in detail, however there are a few key stops to make along the way. As of Sunday, 24 July 2022, the itinerary is:

Depart Clearwater, FL on the morning of Saturday, 06 Aug for Chicago with youngest son
Stop in Tuscaloosa, AL Saturday evening to visit family
Arrive Chicago Sunday evening
Visit a museum Monday, 08 Aug
Dip a toe in the waters of Lake Michigan
Cameo appearance at the “Start of Route 66” sign
Depart Chicago Monday afternoon/evening
Cameo in front of Joliet prison
Catch the first day of the festival in Springfield, MO on Thursday, Aug 11
Visit Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS (27 miles north of Route 66) and visit faculty I know
Visit Big Brutus (an amazingly huge electric shovel {like a steam shovel, only electric-powered}) on the way back to Route 66
Amarillo, TX by Sunday afternoon
Dinner at The Big Texan?
Detour to Colorado Springs, CO, to visit the Air Force Academy
Tour the Air Force Academy campus on Monday, Aug 15
Drive through the Garden of the Gods Monday afternoon on the way back to Route 66
Head south to Route 66
Go west, young man
Visit the Grand Canyon
Arrive in Santa Monica by ???
Plan A: Arrive in LA/Santa Monica by Thursday evening. Leave LA Friday, 19 Aug and dead-head back to Tampa on US10, arriving Sun 21 Aug (not likely)
Plan B: Arrive in Santa Monica by Sat 20 Aug
Fly son back to Tampa on Sunday 21 Aug so he can start college class on 22 Aug
Mooch off of friends for a few days in LA
Work during the week remotely
Drive back to Clearwater starting Friday afternoon, 26 Aug
Plan C: Drive back in the evenings, doing late checkouts at hotels along the way, while working remotely during the day.

Planning the Adventure

The Guides

Planned Itinerary

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