The kids have been on Christmas vacation since December 21
and will return to school on Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
Hopefully they've been logging some miles over the holiday
to add to their Route 66 challenge. In the meantime, we
thought you might like to learn a few facts about Route 66:
Current maps do not include old Route 66. The last stretch
of the road disappeared from "official" maps in 1984.
Route 66 crosses 8 states and 3 time zones.
In 1926 (the year it opened) only 800 miles of Route 66 were paved.
Eleven years later, in 1937, Route
66 got paved end-to-end.
The old round barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma is the most famous
and most often photographed barn on Route 66.
The numerical designation "66" was official assigned to the
Chicago-to-Los Angeles route in the summer of 1926.
Kansas has the shortest section of Route 66 with only 13
miles. However, three historic Route 66 towns are located on
this short segment, including: Baxter Springs, Galena and
Riverton.
As a publicity stunt in 1928, promoters of Route 66 held a
coast to coast foot race that included the entire distance
of Route 66, and then some. The race kept right on going far
beyond Chicago all the way to New York City.
Route 66 is also know as "The Mother Road", "The Main Street
of America" and "The Will Rogers Highway".
About 85% of the road
is still drivable.
Most of Route 66 was replaced by five interstate highways, but still a
surprisingly high amount of old road is waiting to be found
by the more adventurous traveler.
The famous KiMo Theater along Route 66 in Albuquerque, New
Mexico is said to be haunted by the ghost of a six year old
boy by the name of Bobby Darnall who was killed at the
theater in 1951 from a boiler explosion. According to
legend, the spirit of the child causes the performers
problems by tripping them and creating a ruckus during
performances. To appease the spirit, the cast leaves
doughnuts backstage, which are said to be gone the next
morning.
You cannot count on the road to be marked with road signs.
Though some states and organizations have posted signs,
these often disappear with souvenir hunters. Others are
simply never posted.
Driving Route 66 from west to east is historically wrong,
and a lot harder, as all available documentation goes the
"right" way
─
which is east to west.
Cyrus Avery, the father of Route 66, was the first to refer
to Route 66 as “The Main Street of America” in 1927.
The last original Route 66 road sign was taken down in
Chicago on January 17, 1977.
Oklahoma has more miles of the original Route 66 than any
other state.
The Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri is closed to vehicle
traffic, but remains open as the
world’s longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
The first McDonald’s restaurant was located in San
Bernardino, California in 1945 on Route 66. The site is
currently home to the McDonald's Route 66 Museum.
Click Here To Read The Next
Journal Entry > >
|
5th Grade (41 students):
They're on Christmas vacation.
Their total
is 744½ miles.
