Route 66: A Cruise Down Main Street (1995) - full transcript

Route 66: A Cruise Down Main Street celebrates the rich, but vanishing, tradition of the all-weather highway that captured our imagination.

(synth music)

(bright upbeat music)

(door clicking)

(car engine revving)

- Most of the time you take

a trip to get somewhere.

(country music)

My destination is the road itself.

♪ 2,200 miles or so from LA to Chicago ♪

It's the highway of the hip,

of big rigors and romantics,

dreamers and dharma bums,

folkies and Okies.

It's an American classic and

a one way ride to adventure.

♪ 2,200 miles of highway ♪

Get your kicks.

♪ That goes both ways ♪

(country music continues)

America's main street, the mother road.

It once started here in

the middle of Chicago.

They called it Route 66.

Today, it doesn't exist on any maps,

but to many people, it's

still the ribbon that ties

America together.

A highway of dreams.

(country music)

I'm on a trip into the past and present.

It's eight states, three time zones,

and three quarters of a century long.

The original Highway 66 spans

over 2,200 miles all told.

From the Windy City,

I'll go through Dwight,

Springfield and Mitchell, Illinois

before crossing the border into Missouri;

then onto St. Louis, Cuba

and the Devil's Elbow,

and I'll wind up in Kansas

at Galena and Baxter Springs.

Through the Snowbelt, sunbelt bound.

Here we go!

This was the first year-round

continuous highway,

connecting the Midwest to the west,

and the gateway to the American dream.

Now all that's left of 66

is some remaining stretches

of the old route and a

whole lot of interstate.

I'm here to put the pieces back together;

one historic mile at a time,

and to meet the people who

fought to keep this road alive.

It all began as a vision to

link two thirds of a nation

smitten with wanderlust.

By 1926, 800 miles of 66 were paved.

Nine years later, a sprawling

engineering achievement

was complete.

Route 66 became a lifeline,

connecting the rural towns

of the Midwest to urban

centers like Chicago.

Soon, 66 was a haven for

truckers and car crazy Americans.

(upbeat music)

♪ You know the news and the

weather and what time it is ♪

♪ In fact, you got to be a regular wiz ♪

- [Radio Host] While you're

traveling the highways

and byways out there, be

sure to stop and fill up with

quality Marathon gasoline.

That's at the quarter of Route

17 and Route 66 in Dwight.

- [Hunter] At the Marathon gas station,

I met my first 66 regular.

Hi there.

- Good afternoon. How are you today?

- [Hunter] Phil Becker

pumped his first tank of gas

at the Marathon when he was just 13.

30 years later, he owns it.

So what's your competition here?

- There used to be a Sinclair

station where an Napa store is

across the street and there

used to be a Amoco station

across to the west of us here,

but both of those are gone

and stuff.

We survived.

- You got the main corner

on 66.

- Well, we're

one of the last gas stations

that are still existing

on old 66 that are still running.

- [Hunter] Once the very idea

of a highway service station

was radical.

America's come far.

The question is; what have

we lost along the way?

(soft music)

♪ Number one for news and talk ♪

♪ WTAX ♪

- [Radio Host] WTAX News

Watch for the capitol city,

Tim Switzer straight ahead

with what's news today.

Brought to you by the Cozy Dog.

Now, even old Abe Lincoln

would loved the Cozy Dog.

It's the home of the original

breaded hot dog on a stick

on Route 66.

- [Hunter] Some of the

best kept roadside secrets

have been passed down for generations.

Bob Waltemeyer holds a secret

for that delicacy known

as a Cozy Dog.

- It's a story that started

when my father got the idea

out in Oklahoma at a roadside cafe

and came up with the idea of

impaling the wiener on a stick

and then coating it in

batter and cooking it.

- [Hunter] Bob is a classic 66-er.

- I knew that the people were

interested in 66 and getting

off of the interstate.

I didn't realize the

phenomenon was going to grow

like it has, it's truly a global thing.

And I like to think of

and say that 66 belongs

to the whole world.

(light smooth music)

- [Hunter] I've come 310 miles.

The Mississippi opens the way west

and the river's welcome mat

is the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

It was built in 1929.

And once, this was the

site of a wildly popular

amusement park.

Things have calmed down here since then.

(smooth jazz music)

66 is more than just blacktop and detours;

it's the lifeblood of the land.

The ribbon that binds it together.

It's family.

(smooth jazz continues)

♪ Get yourself out at

the state you're in ♪

♪ Wake up to Missouri ♪

- [Radio Host] KDHX.

- [Children] St. Louis Community Radio.

- [Radio Host] St. Louis of

course is the home of the

Cardinals, the Gateway Arch;

Route 66 runs right through

St. Louis, and of course

we are the home of the

Bowling Hall of Fame, along with

a lot of other great things.

(upbeat music)

- [Hunter] There are

bowlers and then there are

living legends.

This one has bowled more than

20 official perfect games.

Meet Dick Weber.

- These lanes here are

from the 19 teens, the 20s,

the 30s, even some of

them are from the 40s,

where they have no markings

on the lanes whatsoever.

- So you're going to help

me get coordinated then?

- Certainly.

(classic rock music)

- [Hunter] Before the

age of super highways,

66 was lined with bowling alleys.

Today, the Bowling Hall of Fame

has one of the few remaining

alleys where the pins

are replaced by hand.

(classic rock music continues)

(pins clattering)

(radio chattering)

- [Radio Host] Hey motorists,

are you getting weary

and ready to settle down for the evening?

They're waiting for you

at the Wagon Wheel Motel;

a clean and inexpensive

motel on historic Route 66.

- [Hunter] A full tank of

gas can only get you so far.

Hospitality is the real fuel of this road.

In Cuba, Missouri, Pauline

Armstrong is the remedy

for the road weary.

For just $12.95 a night, she'll

give you a comfortable bed

and lots of friendly chat.

- Can I help you?

- Yeah, I need a room.

- You need a room.

One bed or two beds?

- [Hunter] One bed.

Why do you think people love Route 66?

- [Pauline] I don't know, it's nostalgia.

- [Hunter] Even on vacation,

Pauline can't seem to get away

from her connection to 66.

- And when I was on this

Panama trip, this cruise,

and they had the song,

"Get Your Kicks on Old 66,"

and they says, "There she

is, Wagon Wheel Motel."

- Home sweet home.

Good night.

(upbeat guitar music)

There's nothing like hitting the road

after a good night's sleep.

They call Missouri the show-me-state,

and they've got the

billboards to prove it.

(jazzy music)

Route 66 fueled the evolution

of roadside architecture

and design.

Businesses tried to outdo each other

with elaborate enticements,

anything to lure motorists.

Even gas stations offered landscape lots

and uniformed attendance.

That's what I call service.

- [Radio Host 1] And

you're at your Kansas home

of country music; KTBK.

A beautiful day today.

- [Radio Host 2] We keep this

party going 24 hours a day,

airwaves shaking, requests

taken, this is AM.

- Kansas has only got 13

miles of Route 66 blacktop,

but it's long on legends.

In Galina, 84 year old

Dorotha Center gave me a few

fashion tips.

So this is the hottest

fashion item on Route 66?

- Maybe.

Maybe yeah.

- Something like this.

- What does this say?

Some of them run a little more than that.

It's unusual.

- So probably between

$12 and $20?

- Yeah. Most of them

will run around $18.95.

(light jazzy music)

- [Radio Host] KSEK, 99.1 FM.

Hey, if you're coming

up on Baxter Springs,

stop by the Gypsy's Tattoo Parlor,

that's the place to hear

all about the ghostly old

spook light.

- Evening.

I saw your sign out there on spook lights?

What's that all about?

- The spook light; it's a

unexplained ball of light

that kind of wonders around south of here,

right off of Route 66.

- In the woods?

- In the woods.

(engine revving)

- So there I was; driving to

the woods with a tattoo artist

named Gypsy in search of

the infamous spook light

that's said to haunt the back roads of 66.

I wasn't scared. He's a member

of the Chamber of Commerce.

Now you said they could

be up in the trees, right?

- I'd be in the trees.

- [Hunter] Okay.

- [Gypsy] Could be in the field.

- [Hunter] Could be in the field.

- [Gypsy] Could be right behind you.

(both laughing)

- [Hunter] For centuries,

back to the time of the

Quapaw Indians, people

have observed a strange

ball of light hovering around here.

- [Gypsy] But he'll come

out; he always does.

(soft guitar music)

- [Hunter] They claim it's

the ghost of a love stricken

miner in search of his runaway bride.

Me, I just chalk it up

to the spirits of 66.

Having had no luck

spotting the spook light,

I headed out of town to Oklahoma.

(soft music)

Oklahoma. OK.

Woody Guthrie, Pretty Boy Floyd,

Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker;

they knew how to travel in style.

This is road heaven, with more miles of 66

than in any state.

There are 400 miles here, all told,

through towns like Afton,

Foyil, Sapulpa and Clinton.

Welcome to the land of the Dust Bowl.

- [Radio Host 1] All oldies,

KOMA, the perfect station

to crank up in your car.

- [Radio Host 2] 101.9 KTST,

Oklahoma City, the Twister.

- [Radio Host 3] 101.9, the Twister.

And as you're cruising

down Route 66, be sure

and take a turn into Darryl

Starbird's Rod and Custom Car

Hall of Fame.

- [Hunter] What would 66

be without four wheels

and eight cylinders?

This is the place where the car was king

and the hot rod ruled supreme.

Just ask auto enthusiast, Darryl Starbird.

- This is kind of a typical

all American hot rod.

Much like they used in the Route 66 movie,

or TV series I guess actually.

- Now speed and good looking

cars kind of go hand in hand

with Route 66, don't they?

- Right, and that's kind of

what this whole thing is about.

Beautiful cars, speed,

high powerful engines.

- Lots of noise.

- Restyled hot rods.

Lots of noise.

- Let people know you're coming.

(classic rock music)

In 1920, there were only 6.5

million cars on the road.

By 1956, there were over 65 million.

To postwar baby boomers, a set

of wheels was an invitation

to a lifestyle that we've never outgrown.

On Route 66, America

and the car came of age.

- [Radio Host] Covering the

Heartland 24 hours a day

with quality Bible teaching

and Christian information

your family can depend on.

Galloway's Totem Pole

Park in Foyil, Oklahoma;

the world's largest totem pole.

(smooth jazz music)

- [Hunter] The world's largest totem pole.

It was built about 50 years

ago, and built to last.

90 feet of pure concrete.

Take my word for it; this

monument will outlive

the pyramids.

And why shouldn't it?

(smooth jazz music continues)

- [Mike] AM 1050 KGTO.

Hi, it's Mike McCarthy as

we cruise down to Route 66,

a cruise down main

street into Norma's Cafe.

Norma's been serving the

same menu in Route 66

since the 50s; everything

is made from scratch.

- What was it like when

you first opened up?

- Oh, we were busy, busy,

busy back then in the old day.

And as a matter of fact, we

were open 24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

Didn't even have a lock on the door.

- Oh, isn't that nice?

- We just didn't close.

- [Hunter] During the heyday

of Route 66, Norma herself

cooked a dozen pies a day.

Today, Norma still cooks up

24 different kinds of pie.

So, do you make the pies fresh?

- Yes, I make pies every

day and we do not sell

day old pie as a general rule.

We sell all of our pie every day.

I don't make a huge amount

of pies, I make what we need

for each day, and that way

they're good and fresh.

And I find that people

like them better that way.

- Yeah.

(slow jazzy music)

Oklahoma hospitality

was born of hard times.

In the 30s, dust choked the

life out of these parts.

More than 200,000 people

fled for California

in search of better days.

Route 66 was their road of opportunity.

(soft guitar music)

Today, the dust has settled.

But the Okies will always live on.

In the "Grapes of Wrath,"

John Steinbeck called them

the people in flight

from the terror behind.

Strange things happen to them.

Some bitterly cruel

and some so beautiful that

the faith is re-fired forever.

- [Radio Host 1] KATT FM Oklahoma City.

- [Radio Host 2] If you're

traveling Route 66 through

Clinton, Oklahoma, enjoy

a game of miniature golf

at McLean Rogers Park on

Old Route 66 in Clinton.

As always, take along KCLI, oldies 107.

- Today I have a rendezvous

with a real Route 66 fixture.

The woman who ran every kind

of business along the old road.

I better win this.

Oh!

- Ready?

- You and me.

Hello, Gladys Glancy.

All right,

so shall we let the games begin?

This is almost like taking

a drive down 66, isn't it?

- Yeah. All the way.

- Kansas. I think this is my lucky state.

- Did it go in?

- No.

- No.

I'm back behind it.

- Oh my, you got it!

(both laughing)

(banjo music)

No hands.

- Is that cheating?

(banjo music continues)

(Hunter cheers)

(banjo music continues)

You whooped me.

Should we count it up?

- Tell you what, let's tie.

- Let's tie?

- Yeah.

- Okay. I like that.

That's good.

For Gladys, Route 66

is more than a highway;

it's the road of her life.

So long, Gladys, I'm Texas bound.

(golf ball clattering)

There's good reason they

call it the Texas panhandle.

It's hot and flat and long.

There was a time when 66 ran

180 miles straight across

this stretch of endless earth.

My first stop is the

sleepy town of McLean.

Then the leaning water tower of Groom.

A sip at the Adrian Cafe

before I turn cowgirl.

(jazzy piano music)

At the Devil's Rope Museum in McLean,

Old 66 is alive and well thanks

to collector Delbert True.

What do we got here?

- Well, this is our

typical greasy spoon cafe

that we've tried to show-

- Saddle up to the bar.

- Yes, well, you just sit

down and you scoot it up

and straddle the stool.

And you looked at the ugly cook

and you looked at the menu.

- [Hunter] Look at those prices.

- One fourth fried chicken for .90 cents.

And then when you ordered it,

the old brassy waitress says,

"Run that chicken across

the fire twice," or-

- Other wise, meaning well done.

- Yeah. Burn this steak or

leave it a-bellowing.

So they always had a snappy comeback

and it was quite a treat

to order in a greasy spoon

Route 66 cafe.

- [Radio Host] This ain't no jukebox.

The most fun.

♪ Get your kicks ♪

♪ Amarillo ♪

- The panhandle is flat and clear,

and except for those crickets on AM radio,

it's quiet as can be.

With Adrian, the midpoint of my trip,

it's a mighty good time to slow down.

At the Adrian Cafe, they say

you get your sips on Route 66.

(smooth jazzy piano music)

Well, I could fancy a cup

of coffee right about now

and a big helping of hospitality.

And I hear a real gentleman,

88 year old Lauren Critz,

has some time on his hands

and many a tale to tell

about that old mother road.

(bell rings)

This the Adrian Cafe?

- Sure is.

- Well, I heard I was

supposed to come here and

hear some great stories

about Old Route 66.

- Well, is that so?

- You know any stories about

Route 66 you can share with me?

- Oh, I guess.

I sure know a lot of them.

My first experience, and

only experience going to

California, they had a

boardwalk across the desert

out there.

A boardwalk. You don't

know what a boardwalk is.

- I do.

- You do?

- Sure.

- Timbers.

- Yeah.

- And every so often you'd

come to a place where you could

pass.

- When you go got your

first car, what was it like

driving around on Old 66?

- Well, when we got our

first car, we didn't have a

paved road or a dirt

road even, a grated road;

it was just driving across the prairie.

We just come across pastures.

- By 1938, all of 66 was paved.

For Texas, this meant

crops, cattle and oil

could hit the road as well as the rails.

Trucking went into high gear

and with rain from above

and that hard top below,

the region put the Dust Bowl

in the rear view mirror.

John Steinbeck once

called 66 the mother road.

Here in the panhandle,

at the halfway mark,

I can really sense how

much this road created,

how much it nourished the

people in these places

in its heyday.

For a time, I think this was

one very nurturing mother.

(harmonica music)

Before leaving Texas, I

promised myself a view of 66

from tall in the saddle.

And who better to show me

the ropes than the fellow

who manages more than 40,000

acres of ranch land in Texas,

Butch Boydston.

So where does Route 66 run out here?

- Well, it comes off the

cap rock right over there

where you can see those vehicles.

That's the interstate 40 now

and the original Old Route 66

come off to the left and come

right down in front of us

and just blow the cap rock here.

- [Hunter] When Route 66 was very young,

there were more horses in Texas than cars.

Some say those were better days.

As for me, I've got 1,200 miles to go.

I think I'll take the car

and head to New Mexico.

(harmonica music continues)

- [Radio Host] Ladies and

gentlemen, you're listen to

Cool 102 FM,

oldies radio for New Mexico.

- [Hunter] Old Route 66 helped

many quintessential American

concepts catch fire.

Like the motel; that uniquely

American home away from home.

New Mexico; from

Tucumcari, the motel town,

to the Spanish influences of Albuquerque,

to the roots of Native

American culture in Gallup,

this state is its nickname;

a land of enchantment.

- [Radio Host] You're

listening to KTNM 1400,

Tucumcari, New Mexico.

- [Hunter] In 1961, the

number of US motels hit an

all time high.

61,000.

Tucumcari is one reason why.

It's known as the town

of 2,000 motel rooms,

and I'm on a mission to

find the perfect one.

(salsa music)

There are still 29 legendary

motels on Tucumcari's

Vegas style neon strip.

Prices range from $18 to $70,

and of course the carpeting

ranges from industrial

to shag.

So take your pick.

Mine's the 1948 Blue Swallow

and have yourself the sweetest dreams.

(Spanish guitar strumming)

Out of the original 350 miles

of Old 66 in New Mexico,

much of it is still drivable.

My next stop is the small town of Barton,

just east of Albuquerque.

There's a man there who

collects classic 66 memorabilia.

They say he's a classic himself;

having broken nearly every

bone in his body as a young

iron worker.

His name's Bob Odette.

- Hi.

- Couldn't help but stopping.

- Yeah.

- You sure do have a collection of stuff.

- I've been working at it.

- So California or bust, huh?

- Oh yeah. Route 66.

- What do we got over here?

Route 66.

So these are the old

Bonnie and Clyde cars.

- [Bob] That one is.

- This one working?

- That one runs good.

- How about you take me for a spin?

- I was just checking the gas leak.

- Oh yeah?

A gas leak?

- Little bit. Not too bad.

- [Hunter] You don't smoke, do you?

- [Bob] Nope.

- [Hunter] So let's see if she'll start.

(door thuds)

(engine rumbling)

- Warmed up.

- California bound.

Ope, wrong way.

- Get your kicks on Route 66.

♪ Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino ♪

(mysterious flute music)

- It's hard to imagine

this place as it was;

the homeland of many

generations of Native Americans.

From the ancient Anasazi

to the Pueblo of today.

Trading posts along 66 brought

commerce to these communities

with hoards of tourists

looking for trinkets.

(mysterious flute music continues)

The Native American presence

has still strongly felt

as you travel through this landscape.

More than a trip through our recent past,

here, the old road takes

us back even further

through century upon century.

(light upbeat music)

Before leaving New Mexico, I

want to make one last stop.

A few miles down the road near

Gallup is Fort Yellow Horse,

a trading post that

dates back to the 1920s.

While Native Americans couldn't

own their own businesses

until the 1950s, today

Chief Juan Yellow Horse

runs the show here.

He's actually been selling

goods on 66 since he was

a small boy in the 1930s.

Hi there.

- Hi.

- I saw your light on.

- Good. I'm glad you stopped.

- I've been driving on Route

66 and I'm heading on my way

to Arizona.

- You're almost there, right there,

you're at the last place

in New Mexico here.

Chief Yellow Horse's.

- Take one step in.

- One step and you're here.

- We're here in Arizona.

(both laughing)

So this is a traditional trading post?

- Yes, ma'am, this is a

traditional trading post.

These is are some rugs

that we make, us Navajos,

we make these type of rugs.

This is jewelry that we make.

- [Hunter] It's late, but

Chief Yellow Horse invited me

for a walk in his backyard.

Legend has it that Geronimo

came right here to ask

the Navajo to join him in battle

against the United States.

Many such ruins and much of old Route 66

lie on private property today.

So look closely;

backyards across the west can

hold many ancient secrets.

- Back in about 900 up to

1100, the Anasazi Indians,

they came in here and they built their

villages and that's some of

the ruins up there on the wall.

(Spanish guitar music)

- [Hunter] I've already

set foot in Arizona,

and yet there are miles

to go before I sleep

in the Grand Canyon state.

(swinging harmonica music)

Here it is, Arizona.

And here I am tracing

Arizona's 386 miles of Route 66

from the Painted Desert's

kaleidoscopic hills

to Holbrook's concrete wigwams,

from two stepping in Flagstaff

to a trim in Seligman,

and the open road of Oatman and Topack.

- [Radio Host] Some lead, others follow.

And we don't know how to follow.

You're getting your country kicks

on Route 66 with Super Country.

- Route 66 runs right by the

Petrified Forest National Park

and right by that 170

million year old forest

is the famous Painted Desert.

Here, the golden sands and

soils and the red rocks

of the west are tinted purple,

rose, chocolate and blue.

And as the hours and seasons change,

so do the colors of this landscape.

It simply takes your breath away.

Next stop, the town of Holbrook.

Have you slept in a wigwam lately?

Well, not me.

So this is the place to

rest those weary bones

western style.

This wigwam village is

one of the old road's most

memorable landmarks.

They opened their flaps

for business back in 1950.

There are 15 concrete wigwams and all

with double beds, full

bath and air conditioning.

The tents may be cement,

but I can assure you,

the beds are genuine dream catchers.

Great.

My own little wigwam.

Enough resting.

Flagstaff in the Arizona nightlife beckon.

♪ Colt 107.5 ♪

- [Radio Host] Colt Country

107.5 invites you in your crew

to the best happy hour in Flagstaff

only at the world famous Museum

Club on historic Route 66.

(pool balls clattering)

- The Museum Club was created in 1931

to house freakish taxidermied animals,

but it soon became a hopping roadhouse.

- Would you like to dance?

- I'd love to.

You have to teach me a step.

- This is called the two step.

- Two step?

- Yeah.

- The Ponderosa Pines

the club was built around

became part of the dance floor.

My partner, Dave McLaughlin,

says he started dancing

when he was four years old.

Didn't know I could dance.

The club says country western

greats like Willie Nelson

and Waylon Jennings crooned here

before they hit the big time.

(jazzy music)

- [Singer] Y'all come

on and dance with me.

(jazzy music continues)

♪ If you ever plan to move to the west ♪

♪ Traveled my way, take the

highway, that's the best ♪

♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪

♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪

- [Radio Host 1] Your Route

66 and I-40 country music

connection.

- [Radio Host 2] And if

you're traveling down Route 66

right now, make sure you

stop by and say hi to Angel

in Seligman at Angel's Barbershop.

- A lifetime resident of

Seligman, Angel Delgadillo

is credited with sparking

the revival of Old 66.

I'm from Florida.

- From Florida.

- But I'm driving all the way

from Chicago on old Route 66.

- Oh my gosh, on Route 66?

- Yep.

It's been a great thing

for me to discover because

it really is going into a very

special part of America and

when you get on the big

roads you just don't

get the same feeling.

- Well, it's our heritage.

Route 66 is our heritage.

On that highway right

there, people had a dream.

If we can just get to California,

we're all going to be better off.

But now that my wife and I

have raised four children

and we almost, the Delgadillo

family almost joined the

Grapes of Wrath back in the late 30s.

How hard it was. It was America

having a hard time then.

It was very rough.

In the winter time, they

may have ran out of gas,

they were cold, the cars didn't

have the heaters of today,

refrigeration of today

and it was just different.

- By the time World War

II hit, the Okie migration

gave way to America's war machines.

The route and the region

around it became training bases

and even POW camps.

Old 66 helped pull off the

greatest mobilization of troops

in US history.

Driving west from Seligman

on the longest stretch

of uninterrupted Old 66,

I think how wide open spaces

and open arms go hand in hand

out here.

Route 66 is a real community.

Everywhere you go you make

friends, and you know what?

In Oatman, Arizona, even

the animals are friendly.

(campy piano music)

(Hunter laughing)

Bye, everybody.

So long, Arizona.

On to the 315 marvelous

miles of California.

(soft fiddle music)

How many roads save their best for last?

315 marvelous miles of pure California.

But before I head through

the desert and set my sights

on Hollywood, I make a slight

detour off 66 onto I-40

to take a ride on the Colorado River

along the California border.

A canoe ride with Ernie Doyren.

He runs a nearby canoeing service.

And even a river ride

leads you home to 66.

So this is the Old Route 66 bridge?

- Yes, this was the first major

construction in California

after the Route 66 crossed

the Colorado river.

- [Hunter] What's it made out of?

- It's Navajo red sandstone

and probably quarried

on a Kaibab Plateau north

of Grand Canyon because

we have no rock quarries here.

- It's a beautiful condition, isn't it?

- Yes, it's probably 50 years

since anybody's maintained

anything on it.

- Let's go take a look underneath.

(soft guitar music)

Now, Ernie wants to show

me one more place before

I hit the road again.

So this supposedly is

the place where Steinbeck

finished up the "Grapes of Wrath."

- People that lived here said that he

probably wrote the last two

or three chapters of the book

while he was staying

in one of these cabins.

- Little did they know

what they were getting into

in California, did they?

- No. 100 miles of desert

did a lot of people in

before they got there.

(engine rumbling)

(country music)

- Hitting the road, I head for Needles,

the country's hottest

city in the Mojave Desert,

to tiny Essex where I bolt the desert road

and spring through Newberry Springs,

all the way to Santa

Monica and Ocean Avenue.

♪ Roadside motor court ♪

♪ Cabins made of sandstone ♪

♪ Traveling in style ♪

♪ Was a port in the storm ♪

Ironically, Route 66

was largely responsible

for its own demise.

The road was so popular that

the public clambered for more.

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

would revolutionize the nation's highways

and blast 66 into the past.

In the sun baked town of Needles,

one of the Mojave's oldest,

the temperature's rising.

Here in the 1920s before

the era of motels,

the Cardi Camp was a

bustling overnight stop

where cars pulled in,

families pitched tents,

then loaded up on gas and

supplies for the toughest

leg of the trip, crossing

the parched desert.

(melancholy piano music)

For the Okies, Steinbeck

called this bleak flatlands

"the Path of a People in Flight."

They all sought the

land of milk and honey,

but some never even made

it across the Mojave.

The city of angels for

them remained forever

only a vision, fleeting.

There's a place where every road ends,

but some stretch on long

after their black top stops.

66 goes on forever.

My trip is nearly ended

now, so as I cruise into LA,

I'll just crank the radio

and let the wind blow back

my hair.

After all, life on 66 is still a kick.

♪ There used to be a main

street across country ♪

♪ That good old take you all the way ♪

♪ From Clark and Ogden

Street up in Chicago ♪

♪ To Lincoln and Olympic in LA ♪

♪ Oh Lord, I hope they got

where they were going ♪

♪ All the children of the mother road ♪

- Route 66,

it's been a journey of

many little journeys.

Sunset rides on a Texas prairie,

canoeing down the Colorado River.

Two stepping in Flagstaff.

In the 2,448 miles I've traveled,

people have welcomed me

in mom and pop hotels

and roadside cafes.

There's one thing I've learned;

Route 66 doesn't just take

you to your destination,

it is your destination.

♪ Get your kicks on Route 66 ♪

(country music)

♪ Might be chasing some dream you had ♪

♪ Decide to take a ride ♪

♪ Could be it's your business

takes you to the other side ♪

♪ Looking for some work to do ♪

♪ Trying to find someplace to play ♪

♪ 2,200 miles of 66 ♪

♪ Goes both ways ♪

♪ 2,200 miles or so from LA to Chicago ♪

♪ 2,200 miles or so, Chicago to LA ♪

♪ 2,200 miles or so ♪

♪ About 2,200 miles ♪

(bright music)

(synth music)