In late May 1998 I travelled Route 66 along with eight other friends on a trek with trek America. This web site is a journal describing the journey , the route & the fun we had along the way.
Route 66 was one of the main east west highways in the US between the 1930's and the 1950's. Route 66 does not exist today having been replaced by the Interstate system, in fact the final part of route 66 ceased to exist in the early 1980's
Q Was Route 66 like an British Motorway / American Interstate ?
A No Route 66 was a collection of local roads joined together by road signs.
Q How long was route 66 ?
A 2400, 2500, 2600 are all lengths I have read. To be honest I think the distance changed as the route changed over the years as new roads were built.
Q Where does route 66 run from and too ?
A Route 66 starts in Chicago near to Grant park and finishes in Santa Monica by the Pacific Ocean
Q What states does Route 66 travel through ?
A Illinois, Missouri, Kansas Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & California
The trip we undertook was organised by the tour company Trek America who organise camping holidays aimed at people between 18 and 38, Treks have a maximum of thirteen people plus a tour leader. Treks are run throughout the USA, Canada and Mexico a sister company Trek International operate in South Africa. If you want to find out more have a look at there Web site
I can personally recommend Trek America this was my second trek and I am intending to do many more starting in November 1998.
Q Did we follow the full Route ?
A Whilst we started in Chicago and finished in Los Angeles we did take a few detours which are indicated in the text.
Q Did we follow the published Trek America route ?
A Not exactly. We changed a few times for various reasons. You will have to read the diary to find out why.
Larking about
Diary Day 0 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16