The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours
This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers.

Route 66 is arguably the world’s most famous highway (more than 60% of Route 66 adventurers are from overseas!)—its motels, diners, and roadside attractions comprising a time capsule of America’s love affair with the automobile. While many of the road’s iconic attractions have disappeared with time (along with large stretches of the road itself), others are as enduring as ever.

In this completely revised and updated version of The Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.

But rather than take the road oft traveled and the sites most photographed, Hinckley encourages you to branch off the Mother Road and discover the hidden gems beyond today’s familiar motels and tourist traps—quaint frontier communities that date to westward expansion; the legacy of native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. There to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66, discover:
 
  • Outdoor attractions
  • Museums
  • Historic sites
  • And much more

The thirty trips in The Backroads of Route 66 offer new travel opportunities for you and the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.
1140503687
The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours
This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers.

Route 66 is arguably the world’s most famous highway (more than 60% of Route 66 adventurers are from overseas!)—its motels, diners, and roadside attractions comprising a time capsule of America’s love affair with the automobile. While many of the road’s iconic attractions have disappeared with time (along with large stretches of the road itself), others are as enduring as ever.

In this completely revised and updated version of The Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.

But rather than take the road oft traveled and the sites most photographed, Hinckley encourages you to branch off the Mother Road and discover the hidden gems beyond today’s familiar motels and tourist traps—quaint frontier communities that date to westward expansion; the legacy of native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. There to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66, discover:
 
  • Outdoor attractions
  • Museums
  • Historic sites
  • And much more

The thirty trips in The Backroads of Route 66 offer new travel opportunities for you and the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.
34.99 In Stock
The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

by Jim Hinckley
The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

The Backroads of Route 66: Your Guide to Adventures and Scenic Detours

by Jim Hinckley

Paperback

$34.99 
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Overview

This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers.

Route 66 is arguably the world’s most famous highway (more than 60% of Route 66 adventurers are from overseas!)—its motels, diners, and roadside attractions comprising a time capsule of America’s love affair with the automobile. While many of the road’s iconic attractions have disappeared with time (along with large stretches of the road itself), others are as enduring as ever.

In this completely revised and updated version of The Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.

But rather than take the road oft traveled and the sites most photographed, Hinckley encourages you to branch off the Mother Road and discover the hidden gems beyond today’s familiar motels and tourist traps—quaint frontier communities that date to westward expansion; the legacy of native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. There to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66, discover:
 
  • Outdoor attractions
  • Museums
  • Historic sites
  • And much more

The thirty trips in The Backroads of Route 66 offer new travel opportunities for you and the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780760374498
Publisher: Motorbooks
Publication date: 09/13/2022
Pages: 192
Product dimensions: 8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jim Hinckley is the author of twenty books and hundreds of feature articles on Route 66, the American Southwest, and the American auto industry. He has been a featured speaker at European Route 66 festivals in Germany and the Czech Republic, and at events in the United States and Canada. Hinckley is a former associate editor for Cars & Parts, and currently writes a monthly feature for New Zealand-based MotoringNZ. He also assists with the creation of visitor guides for communities such as Tucumcari, New Mexico, and the development of historic district walking tours. Jim is the creator of the Jim Hinckley’s America network that includes a website (jimhinckleysamerica.com), social media, the weekly livestream Coffee with Jim program, a YouTube channel, and the Wake Up with Jim podcast. Linked with this are community education programs developed to foster an increased awareness of an area’s history and its role in the development of tourism as a component in economic development.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 5

Introduction 8

Part 1 Illinois 11

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Land of Lincoln" 12

Drive 2 The Chicago Coast 21

Drive 3 The Time Capsule 24

Part 2 Missouri 29

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Show-Me State" 30

Drive 2 Discover St. Louis 40

Drive 3 An Ozark Adventure 45

Drive 4 The Heart of the Ozarks 49

Drive 5 Miners and Desperados 53

Part 3 Kansas 59

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Sunflower State" 60

Drive 2 Ghost Towns and Outlaws 64

Drive 3 The Pioneer Trail 66

Part 4 Oklahoma 71

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Sooner State" 72

Drive 2 The Western Frontier 81

Drive 3 Discover Tulsa 85

Drive 4 Discover Sooner State Capital 87

Drive 5 The Wilderness 90

Part 5 Texas 95

Drive 1 Route 66 in the Texas Panhandle 96

Drive 2 Canyonlands 102

Drive 3 Trails West 104

Part 6 New Mexico 109

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Land of Enchantment" 110

Drive 2 The Original Las Vegas 120

Drive 3 Discover Albuquerque 123

Drive 4 Timeless Wonders 126

Drive 5 Fire and Ice 129

Part 7 Arizona 133

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Grand Canyon State" 134

Drive 2 Red Rock Wonderland 148

Drive 3 The Grand Loop 153

Drive 4 The Western Frontier 156

Part 8 California 161

Drive 1 Route 66 in "The Golden State" 162

Drive 2 The Caldron 169

Drive 3 The High Road 173

Drive 4 The Megalopolis 176

Image Credits 186

Index 187

About the Author 192

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