Mervyn Iles Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I am a member of CMCA (in Australia) being a campervan/motorhome RV club similar to yours. I will be travelling Route 66 with a stroke affected brother in May/June 2015 and looking for someone suitable to would be interested in driving us in their car (all fuel, food & motel accommodation provided). We think this would be a better option than simply hiring a vehicle and driving ourselves. My brother (ex police officer) is 62 yrs and I am 63 yrs old - both retired and previously travelled in the States. We have booked a cruise Sydney to Vancouver arriving 10 May 2015. We expect to travel by boat/train to Chicago and after travelling Route 66 will fly out of L. A. on 20 June 2015. We intend having a fun road trip lasting approx one month and figure having a "local" with us will enhance the adventure. If anyone is available in this timeframe and has a passing interest in our planned travel I would be happy to provide further details including probity checks to confirm our genuine intent. Please direct questions to m_c_iles@hotmail.com . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N TX Dave Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Just be aware there are parts of Route 66 that are gone back to nature and can not be found. There is still a lot of it put miles and miles are gone. There are maps that will route you around the missing parts. Dave Watkins Highland Village, TX 2014 F-350 Dually Open Range 349RLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Iles Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Thanks for the heads up Dave Watkins. In Australia all we see are advertisements to join convoys of motorbikes or mustangs travelling Route 66 doing the trip in about 2 weeks (seems like low flying given the distance). As my brother walks with a stick and has one immobile arm bikes & mustangs are out as I couldn't get him back out of any low to the ground vehicle. Pity because we both would have enjoyed a motorbike trip. Will look out for a road map & GPS when we get over there. Mervyn Iles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa_desert_rat Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Hope you find someone. Or maybe find a one-way rental van. You can travel Route 66 on Google Earth just to see what's still out there. I found this Google Earth overlay for Route 66 just by doing a search for "google earth route 66 overlay". The page has a link to a download. D/L it and if you have Google Earth installed on your computer it will come up. https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gec-travel-information/fHQyZgsykfc Kinda cool. Amazing, sometimes, what people think up. WDR 1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires Raspberry Pi Coach Computer Ham Radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjim Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Dave is correct about a lot of it being long gone. In the west I would guess that New Mexico may have the most remaining. Even there it was severely rerouted a couple of times during its life time. I was traveling part of it once coming east toward Albuquerque through an Indian reservation and about 1 hour or so from Albuquerque it had gotten dark and the next thing I knew I was on a gravel road surrounded by cows. A whole lot of the interstate highway covers the same route as 66 basically and often where you come to a small town if you take the business route through town you are on the same road that was 66 unitl you rejoin the interstate. One longer segment goes from Moriarity NM all the way to a little west of Albuquerque and includes right through downtown Albuquerque. Far to the east it used to turn north to Santa Fe than back south to Albuquerque down to south of Albuquerque before turning west again. (that had to do with a political spite) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim & Alice Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 There is a considerable amount of the old road left in Northern Arizona (West of Flagstaff to Needles), and Southern California (Needles to Barstow). Jim 2007 Dolphin Safe-T-Plus Steering Bar Our Blog: Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N TX Dave Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 I came across a neat deserted section in Arizona called Two Guns and the old route 66 bridge across Canyon Diablo. The road was gravel east but pretty much gone on the west side of town. The is an old building on the east side of the road that used to be three stories high that you could see the crater in the desert, I think it cost a quarter to go and you could not really see the crater other than the top of it you were still fire or so miles from it. Do a Google search of Two Guns AZ, if you see a photo of a wall that says Mountain Lion that was a zoo and I have my picture standing in the doorway of it. There is nothing left open now it is a ghost town, but if you want to go wondering around the old town I was told there were many rattlesnakes around town. You get off of I 40 at exit 230 and it is on the south side of the freeway. Here is a great article about the town: http://casitaadventures.smugmug.com/Casita-Adventures/110806-Two-Guns-Arizona/ Dave Watkins Highland Village, TX 2014 F-350 Dually Open Range 349RLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjim Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 One issue you run into is some segments left it parallels the interstate and you get on it and next thing you know it is a dead end and there was no advance warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Esslinger Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Unfortunately we got caught up in one of those reverted to nature sections of Route 66. Got on this gravel/dirt road with no place to turn around for 20 miles. It finally rejoined the highway. This was a couple of years ago and I think it was somewhere in New Mexico. The cows really looked at us funny. 06 38L Bounder 300hp Cat2012 GMC TerrainStarted FT 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjim Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 That is what happened to me more than once but the first time was after dark and I nearly took out a cow or two. At least I was just out exploring and didn't have the trailer hooked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raquel Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't know anything about the app, except knowing there is one, for Route 66. It's an Android app. Trish & Raquel -------- "Road Runner" -- 2005 Volvo VNL780, 500hp Cummins ISX, Ultra-Shift, ET-Hitch, 198" wb "Wile E." -- 2013 Heartland Landmark San Antonio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimalberta Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 I think a jeep 4x4 would be the best way to retrace rte 66. <p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well. IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa_desert_rat Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 I think a jeep 4x4 would be the best way to retrace rte 66. Sometimes a link to YouTube can set me off exploring through videos an area that has always intrigued me and I was thinking to myself pretty much the same thing. Certainly setting up a home base from which to drive whatever is left of the highway. The OP might want to consider that option... but I'm not sure if you can rent an RV and then rent a 4wd Jeep that's towable. But you can buy 1990s Jeeps pretty inexpensively (we bought ours 3 years ago for $4,000) and rent a car trailer (not a dolly!) for it from U-Haul. We've explored bits of Route 66 (in AZ) in the 1970s when Route 66 was less glamorized and mostly ignored. The DW thought I was crazy for driving down mostly deserted roads with shabby abandoned motels. Now it's in vogue. But I can understand the attraction and even fall prey to it. But a Jeep is clearly the way to do it. Fortunately, I have one. WDR 1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires Raspberry Pi Coach Computer Ham Radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skp51443 Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Google maps in satellite mode was our first step in looking at new areas, shortcuts and even picking areas within RV parks we hadn't been to before. Really nice to be able to see paved or gravel on a likely route before you get there, same for avoiding satellite signal eating trees in a park or boondocking spot. First rule of computer consulting: Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day. Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa_desert_rat Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 Google maps in satellite mode was our first step in looking at new areas, shortcuts and even picking areas within RV parks we hadn't been to before. Really nice to be able to see paved or gravel on a likely route before you get there, same for avoiding satellite signal eating trees in a park or boondocking spot. Yes... although I prefer Google Earth since that can be "slanted" to give you a "driver's eye" view of the roadway. I use it mostly on mountain bike trails in the desert to see whether it's passable before I risk my neck on it. Amazing detail on desert trails. But not so much on forest trails where there are a lot of trees. It can also give you a good idea of gradient. WDR 1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires Raspberry Pi Coach Computer Ham Radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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