Route 66

Here’s something I didn’t know before (Teddy did).  Route 66 – the legendary highway from Chicago to LA – doesn’t exist anymore.  It was removed from the US highway system in 1985, after completion of parallel Interstate highways.  Today there are lots of signs along I-40 pointing the way to “Historic route US 66” which is a mostly 2-lane road, designated by states as a scenic byway.  We saw tangible evidence of the devastating effect that the interstates had on local businesses when we stopped for gas in Tucumcari, NM.  Nearly every building in the town along 66 was gone – service stations, motels, restaurants.  When they went belly up they weren’t torn down, so they stand sadly as shells, slowly falling in on themselves.  A modern ghost town.