ROUTE Magazine’s shares its top spots to enjoy a meal when on a trip down historic Route 66 ..read more

On Saturday morning March 27th, 1915, everything seemed quiet as usual in Stroud, Oklahoma. Grocers began setting up their stalls, saloons bristled with the breakfast rush, and eight men tied their horses to the stockyard fence on 3rd Avenue. Three men went north to the First National Bank on 4th Street, while four men went south to the Stroud National Bank on 3rd Street, and one man stayed in the middle to guard the horses. They wore fine clothes that blended in with the townsfolk as they went about their morning errands ..read more

When Melody Murray was told her eclectic collection of neon signs, full-sized Barbie mannequins and oversized red arrows were “bringing down the property values at their trailer park,” she did the only rational thing she could think of: she opened a boutique shop on historic Route 66 in Elk City, Oklahoma ..read more

Driving along U.S. Highway 90, a small, unassuming building comes into view, sitting all alone in the picturesque desert of Valentine, Texas. The walls are white, the lights are on, and as you pull up to the front entrance, you are greeted with a display of designer handbags and shoes, the word “Prada” printed across the grey awning ..read more

Route 66 is home to a wide variety of attractions, some historical, others picturesque, but the most memorable and fun may fall under the category of kooky and strange. Each with their own unique story, most have lived on the Mother Road for many decades, but that does not mean that there is no room for new additions to America’s Main Street. And where better to introduce a new landmark than in the city where the proclaimed father of Route 66 was laid to rest; Tulsa, Oklahoma ..read more

The Mother Road may be the most famous highway in the country, but California’s stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) may be the most astoundingly scenic. Spanning 656 miles, it stretches from just near Leggett in Mendocino County and across the entirety of the United States’ western border of the Pacific Ocean, down to Dana Point. Known by locals as “the One”, the most popular stretch of this highway runs between San Francisco and San Diego, meandering in twists and turns through quaint coastal towns, pristine beaches, breathtaking views, and plenty of historical places, making it one of ..read more

One of the things that makes Route 66 so special is its uniqueness: there’s nothing else quite like it in the world, and its magic cannot be replicated. One of the key driving factors that formed the persona of the Mother Road was, as Oklahoma Route 66 Association member Rhys Martin put it, “the advent of station-wagon tourism.” The creation of the route coincided with the new wave of automobile culture. With the development of more affordable cars, beginning with Ford’s Model T in 1908, and the rise of expendable income after WWII, family road trips became the norm, and every business along t ..read more

“In 1962 my father got an old Willys Jeep. That was our ticket to going far out into the desert. We started collecting quickly on these camping trips. It was just an accident. We started bringing stuff home. One day he found a bottle, and that was it.” Most serious collectors have a genesis story like this. Hobbies seldom start out of volition. They just happen. Elmer Long, 72, is no exception. He did not find a hobby; it found him ..read more

You might not believe Joy’s full name the first time she tells it to you. When you initially ask her, she’ll say something like, “If I told you my name, you’d just die laughing.” You’ll probably think she’s making it up, but honestly, her full name is Joy A. Weed ..read more

The humidity hangs thin over southwest Missouri, near where the land starts to open up to the west, and things begin to dry out. It is lush and green most years, and always hot in the summer. It is the place of small quaint towns every few miles, with buildings constructed in the vernacular style of native stone and rocks. Families sit on front porches after supper, swatting flies and reflecting on the day’s events ..read more