Phantom Blooper
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Sorry to see it end....beautiful journey and very informative......just like I was a fly on the wall....GREAT job!
Route 66 Road Trip
- Thread starter rvwandering
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waldenbound
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I just read this entire thread, all 19 pages of it.
As I was looking at the pictures, I wondered about all the people who traveled that road. The Dust Bowl refugees with their overloaded jalopies, and the regular vacationers. Did outlaws travel Route 66 to outrun the law? Did the "Mob" travel Route 66 on the way to set up casinos in Las Vegas?
This is what travel is all about, looking into the window of America's past. Seeing a different part of history, aside from railroad and mining museums.
Thank you Tony and Karen for a wonderful journey into America's past.
As I was looking at the pictures, I wondered about all the people who traveled that road. The Dust Bowl refugees with their overloaded jalopies, and the regular vacationers. Did outlaws travel Route 66 to outrun the law? Did the "Mob" travel Route 66 on the way to set up casinos in Las Vegas?
This is what travel is all about, looking into the window of America's past. Seeing a different part of history, aside from railroad and mining museums.
Thank you Tony and Karen for a wonderful journey into America's past.
Thanks everyone! I'm going to write one more post about LA with a summary of the whole trip.
The RTR is next then ???. Highway 1 down the coast would be a wonderful trip. It's definitely in our future plans. I think that the it would be a good trip in late spring before school lets out, driving south to get good views of the coast with easy access to all of the pull outs.
The RTR is next then ???. Highway 1 down the coast would be a wonderful trip. It's definitely in our future plans. I think that the it would be a good trip in late spring before school lets out, driving south to get good views of the coast with easy access to all of the pull outs.
karl
Well-known member
That was fun, Thanks!
I just want to point out if you do the west coast highway 1 then you'll eventually have to do the east coast highway 1 which is much longer but in my opinion has much more historical value/content. See what you started, lol. Merry Christmas
Los Angeles
There’s so much to see and do in Los Angeles but we missed most of it because, after driving through small towns and along almost deserted roads for several months, the traffic and sheer mass of the city was too much for us. We lasted for two days. :-D
Part of the problem is a lack of places to stay. Walmarts in the city ban overnight parking and there are few RV parks. If you are stealthy is may be possible to park on side streets in Santa Monica and Culver City just pay attention to the street cleaning days. We also saw many RVs parked on the streets in Venice - again pay attention to the street signs. We were planning on staying at Dockweiler RV Park, a very expensive county campground which offers blacktop camping, but by the time we got there it was closed for the day so we moved onto Hollywood Park Casino. The next morning we noticed “No Overnight Parking” signs posted on the distance chainlink fence. Since no one bothered us we stayed an additional night.
Santa Monica has a lot of restrictions for RV parking on the streets so check for signs. There’s absolutely no RV parking at night unless you have permit. Day time parking is restricted on many streets too. The easiest place to park a RV is in Lot 1 North. The lot is really big and not crowded in off season. The listed price for off season RV parking is a flat $24.00 for any amount of time between 6:00 AM to midnight but we were only charged for the spaces that we used – 2 spaces for $12.00 total.
La Brea Tar Pits is a fascinating place. Asphalt has been seeping up from the ground in this spot for tens of thousands of years. The pits were fairly small and shallow but very sticky and deep enough so that many animals that wandered unaware into the asphalt would become stuck. An enormous amount of animal bones, some dating from as far back as 55,000 years, have been recovered from the pits. The most common animal was the dire wolf, then saber tooth cats and coyotes. Bison, horses, ground sloths, mammoths, reptiles, birds and even insects have been found.
The pit pictured below is actually a small lake formed from asphalt mining. It’s filled with a mixture of water and asphaltum.
![144_thumb[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/vanlivingforum/data/attachments/25/25263-87952494062ef923f99cb0958e1fe775.jpg "144_thumb[1].jpg")
The park has a paved walkway with interpretive signs. There isn’t a charge to enter the park but there is a $10.00 fee for parking in the lot and an entrance fee for the museum. RVs may be parked in the lot if only one space is used. We fit by backing up over the grass.
![135_thumb[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/vanlivingforum/data/attachments/25/25264-5405e247b5700aeed2f0518a714b9340.jpg "135_thumb[1].jpg")
Watts Towers was on our way out of LA which was good since this was one place we really wanted to see. Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant, built this huge work of art over a period of 33 years. The sculptures are constructed of metal rods covered in concrete and embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, glass, bottles, sea shells, figurines, mirrors and other scrap materials. Rodia stopped working on the towers in 1955 when he went to live with his sister. They’ve withstood the passing of time very well and are in excellent condition.
![012_thumb[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/vanlivingforum/data/attachments/25/25265-b9a0f2003c626bf451f23a8d33504257.jpg "012_thumb[1].jpg")
![004_thumb[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/vanlivingforum/data/attachments/25/25266-05039229dc6ec1680d47821b24d7c1a8.jpg "004_thumb[1].jpg")
A fence surrounds the sculptures and to get a good look at everything a guided tour is necessary. Tickets are sold at the art center (free admission to the art exhibits) located in the park.
Do not drive a RV down 107th Street. It’s a dead end with very little room to turn around. Park on Graham Ave and walk down 107th.
![016_thumb[1].jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/vanlivingforum/data/attachments/25/25267-324a43e15a2e4f7f1381d7b0f0174b6d.jpg "016_thumb[1].jpg")
The Route 66 trip was a lot of fun... but we probably won’t do it again. I’m sure that we’ll drive certain sections of it in the future however staying on one path is much too restrictive for us. There’s always something interesting just a few miles east or west or north or south and there goes the whole plan! :-D
So to summarize:
Distance - 2278 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. We were on the road for 80 days so we drove about 30 miles a day. These aren’t totally accurate figures. We drove extra miles because we backtracked and went off the route at times. There were days that we didn’t drive at all. But overall our mileage per day was short. We could have gone even slower and extended our trip by a couple of weeks or even a month and still have found plenty of stuff to occupy our time.
Following the Road – It really is possible to drive most of the way on the old road. It’s not always marked as Route 66 but it is still there. The EZ 66 Guide proved to be a valuable resource. At first glance it looks very confusing but once on the road it makes sense although driving alone without a navigator might still be difficult. We used the Guide most of the time but also consulted our US atlas at times. Our GPS was a help finding our way around in unfamiliar territory.
Time of Year and Weather – We chose to travel in the fall to avoid spring tornadoes, summer heat and winter snow. The temperatures were warmer than usual and we had wonderful, sunny days for most of the trip. We had one worrisome evening near Vega,Texas, listening to tornado warnings but the most we got were high winds and a few minutes of small ( but very noisy) hail. The coldest temperatures were around Gallup, NM where it when down to 11 degrees at night. Starting the trip in early September rather than late September would have been ideal. Some of the museums and other attractions were closed for the season by the time we reached them.
Parking for the Night – This wasn’t a problem anywhere on the route except in Chicago, Tulsa and Los Angeles. There are plenty of Walmarts in the mid-west states where RV parking is permitted and they’re not far off of the path of Route 66. Farther west we stayed in casinos and boondocked when possible. Established campgrounds are located close to Route 66 for travelers who prefer them.
The Cost – I didn’t keep track of our expenses however this is an inexpensive trip mostly due to the short distances traveled per day. Route 66 follows a populated and long used path so food, fuel, dump stations and places to park overnight are never far off of the route. Almost 100 museums are along the road. At least 30 are free and many have fees of less than $10.00. In addition to the museums about 40 free sites have interpretive signs, walking paths or some other item of interest. The small towns are great for just wandering around and seeing the sights.
Traveling by RV – Our RV is 25’ long, 8’ wide and 10’ 8” high so it’s on the small side. Some of the old sections of road in the mid west are very narrow so it’s important to slow down and use some care when passing oncoming traffic. Fortunately there’s very little traffic. We had no real problems driving along most of the road but low underpasses, weight limits and length limits will make driving on the interstate necessary at times if you have a large class A.
Highlights – Often the most memorable parts of a trip are the people who are met along the way. This trip was no exception. We really enjoyed talking with people at our stops. Almost everyone is friendly and ready to tell visitors about the things that make their community and their Route 66 connection special. An added bonus for us was the chance to spend time with a couple of old friends and to meet a couple of new friends.
Chicago was our favorite big city. Both St Louis and Tulsa are wonderful mid-sized cities to visit. Pontiac, Illinois, with three free museums and a mural walking tour, gets a gold star for the best Route 66 spirit in a small town. And as always we loved all of the folk art.
I’m going to work on the map a little bit more but since Route 66 is constantly changing with some places going out of business and other places opening I’m sure that it won’t be long before it’s out of date and has a lot of bad links.
There’s so much to see and do in Los Angeles but we missed most of it because, after driving through small towns and along almost deserted roads for several months, the traffic and sheer mass of the city was too much for us. We lasted for two days. :-D
Part of the problem is a lack of places to stay. Walmarts in the city ban overnight parking and there are few RV parks. If you are stealthy is may be possible to park on side streets in Santa Monica and Culver City just pay attention to the street cleaning days. We also saw many RVs parked on the streets in Venice - again pay attention to the street signs. We were planning on staying at Dockweiler RV Park, a very expensive county campground which offers blacktop camping, but by the time we got there it was closed for the day so we moved onto Hollywood Park Casino. The next morning we noticed “No Overnight Parking” signs posted on the distance chainlink fence. Since no one bothered us we stayed an additional night.
Santa Monica has a lot of restrictions for RV parking on the streets so check for signs. There’s absolutely no RV parking at night unless you have permit. Day time parking is restricted on many streets too. The easiest place to park a RV is in Lot 1 North. The lot is really big and not crowded in off season. The listed price for off season RV parking is a flat $24.00 for any amount of time between 6:00 AM to midnight but we were only charged for the spaces that we used – 2 spaces for $12.00 total.
La Brea Tar Pits is a fascinating place. Asphalt has been seeping up from the ground in this spot for tens of thousands of years. The pits were fairly small and shallow but very sticky and deep enough so that many animals that wandered unaware into the asphalt would become stuck. An enormous amount of animal bones, some dating from as far back as 55,000 years, have been recovered from the pits. The most common animal was the dire wolf, then saber tooth cats and coyotes. Bison, horses, ground sloths, mammoths, reptiles, birds and even insects have been found.
The pit pictured below is actually a small lake formed from asphalt mining. It’s filled with a mixture of water and asphaltum.
The park has a paved walkway with interpretive signs. There isn’t a charge to enter the park but there is a $10.00 fee for parking in the lot and an entrance fee for the museum. RVs may be parked in the lot if only one space is used. We fit by backing up over the grass.
Watts Towers was on our way out of LA which was good since this was one place we really wanted to see. Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant, built this huge work of art over a period of 33 years. The sculptures are constructed of metal rods covered in concrete and embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, glass, bottles, sea shells, figurines, mirrors and other scrap materials. Rodia stopped working on the towers in 1955 when he went to live with his sister. They’ve withstood the passing of time very well and are in excellent condition.
A fence surrounds the sculptures and to get a good look at everything a guided tour is necessary. Tickets are sold at the art center (free admission to the art exhibits) located in the park.
Do not drive a RV down 107th Street. It’s a dead end with very little room to turn around. Park on Graham Ave and walk down 107th.
The Route 66 trip was a lot of fun... but we probably won’t do it again. I’m sure that we’ll drive certain sections of it in the future however staying on one path is much too restrictive for us. There’s always something interesting just a few miles east or west or north or south and there goes the whole plan! :-D
So to summarize:
Distance - 2278 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica. We were on the road for 80 days so we drove about 30 miles a day. These aren’t totally accurate figures. We drove extra miles because we backtracked and went off the route at times. There were days that we didn’t drive at all. But overall our mileage per day was short. We could have gone even slower and extended our trip by a couple of weeks or even a month and still have found plenty of stuff to occupy our time.
Following the Road – It really is possible to drive most of the way on the old road. It’s not always marked as Route 66 but it is still there. The EZ 66 Guide proved to be a valuable resource. At first glance it looks very confusing but once on the road it makes sense although driving alone without a navigator might still be difficult. We used the Guide most of the time but also consulted our US atlas at times. Our GPS was a help finding our way around in unfamiliar territory.
Time of Year and Weather – We chose to travel in the fall to avoid spring tornadoes, summer heat and winter snow. The temperatures were warmer than usual and we had wonderful, sunny days for most of the trip. We had one worrisome evening near Vega,Texas, listening to tornado warnings but the most we got were high winds and a few minutes of small ( but very noisy) hail. The coldest temperatures were around Gallup, NM where it when down to 11 degrees at night. Starting the trip in early September rather than late September would have been ideal. Some of the museums and other attractions were closed for the season by the time we reached them.
Parking for the Night – This wasn’t a problem anywhere on the route except in Chicago, Tulsa and Los Angeles. There are plenty of Walmarts in the mid-west states where RV parking is permitted and they’re not far off of the path of Route 66. Farther west we stayed in casinos and boondocked when possible. Established campgrounds are located close to Route 66 for travelers who prefer them.
The Cost – I didn’t keep track of our expenses however this is an inexpensive trip mostly due to the short distances traveled per day. Route 66 follows a populated and long used path so food, fuel, dump stations and places to park overnight are never far off of the route. Almost 100 museums are along the road. At least 30 are free and many have fees of less than $10.00. In addition to the museums about 40 free sites have interpretive signs, walking paths or some other item of interest. The small towns are great for just wandering around and seeing the sights.
Traveling by RV – Our RV is 25’ long, 8’ wide and 10’ 8” high so it’s on the small side. Some of the old sections of road in the mid west are very narrow so it’s important to slow down and use some care when passing oncoming traffic. Fortunately there’s very little traffic. We had no real problems driving along most of the road but low underpasses, weight limits and length limits will make driving on the interstate necessary at times if you have a large class A.
Highlights – Often the most memorable parts of a trip are the people who are met along the way. This trip was no exception. We really enjoyed talking with people at our stops. Almost everyone is friendly and ready to tell visitors about the things that make their community and their Route 66 connection special. An added bonus for us was the chance to spend time with a couple of old friends and to meet a couple of new friends.
Chicago was our favorite big city. Both St Louis and Tulsa are wonderful mid-sized cities to visit. Pontiac, Illinois, with three free museums and a mural walking tour, gets a gold star for the best Route 66 spirit in a small town. And as always we loved all of the folk art.
I’m going to work on the map a little bit more but since Route 66 is constantly changing with some places going out of business and other places opening I’m sure that it won’t be long before it’s out of date and has a lot of bad links.
Attachments
B and C
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Thanks for the ride along. I really enjoyed it. 
KristinaKarina
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Beautiful! Awesome rate 66 guide! Maybe you should make it into a book and sell it?!
I finally updated all of the photos on this thread (#$@%## photobucket!) so if any newcomers opened the thread recently and found a bunch of gray squares, take another look. The photos looked better with photobucket sharing but after what they did I'm not trusting any photo sharing site so if you want to see a larger view, click on the photo. Most will be a little larger than the thread view.
Route 66 is a fun road trip!
Route 66 is a fun road trip!
Almost There
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It sure is. I enjoyed every moment of it last spring.
Stinky Old Goat
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tonyandkaren said:
Was Bob Hit & Run posting? I see you replied within a few minutes of each other and nada, no answer
highdesertranger
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this is one of my all time favorite threads. highdesertranger
