Hooray for a gelling plan!
But color me mystified at the idea of planning anything 9 months in advance. I’m leaving tonight = Thursday for a 5-day weekend in Costa Rica. I decided to do that on Tuesday evening. That’s about as far as I ever plan travel ahead: 48 hours.
When using Amtrak it’s wise to reserve tickets as far in advance as possible for two reasons. First, they use their own peculiar dynamic pricing so in advance is likely to be vastly cheaper and secondly, there are limited seats and especially limited sleeper choices on the scenic Midwestern and western long distance trains so if you want a sleeping berth on a certain day or week, to be sure of getting it you better snag it early, months early. Amtrak accepts reservations up to 11 months in advance. Those scenic long distance western US trains go once a day each direction, some go only 3 or 4 times a week.
I’ve ridden the Amtrak from LA to Chicago, as well as Route 66, so I can answer any questions.
I can’t add much because the last time I took the Rte 66 trip I was about 5 years old. We went from L.A. east, and turned off before the official end of the road, because our destination was in Ohio.
I have fond memories. I wish I could find the picture of us four kids posing in the Petrified Forest.
Preeeeee-cisely.
I’m going to book my tickets from DC to Chicago and back fairly soon. I looked at the pricing online and both directions claimed “only 1 left!” for sleepers.
It may not have been that close, on the eastbound Southwest Chief, as we got well-placed roomettes across the hall from each other on the upper level.
Now, we haven’t planned anything ELSE out, beyond expecting that our first night will be in Springfield, IL and we need to be at LA Union Station on the 20th.
Ran across this:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/route-66-highlights
I’ve not been on that route in a long time; I assume the Capitol Limited still stops in Cleveland for an hour (~Midnight - 1) and pauses a bit in Elkhart for allowing passengers to take photos of the nearby railroad museum displays.
They combined the Capitol Limited with one of the Silver routes last year - so the train goes all the way from Chicago to Miami and back - and is notoriously non-punctual. I doubt there will be any longer stops that aren’t abbreviated to try to get back on schedule. On the plus side, I can now catch it in Alexandria, VA - no need to either change trains or brave DC traffic to get to the train.
I’ve booked the outbound part of that; have been waiting for some points to hit my account before booking the return.
My family drove on route 66 in a ‘57 Chevy. Of course this was in 1957 and it was the new family car.
That counts. It’s even more pure. No I40 cutting on into pieces.
It sure does!
Our trip is just over 4 months. So far we have made ZERO concrete plans, beyond Springfield, IL being our first stop.
Bumpdate: here’s our map with all the places we’ve ever heard of - including everything mentioned here. We wont hit it all, most likely, but we’ll see.
Friday night, we’ll be in Springfield. Saturday morning, the Lincoln museum.
I want to go up the Gateway Arch - I’ve been there but we didn’t go up in the Arch itself. Depending on when we finish in Springfield, we might make that Saturday afternoon, or we’ll stay a night and go in the morning. I just hope we don’t run into any ancient Greek monsters….
If you are going to detour up to Tuba City, make sure to stop at Gray Mountain. Fantastic graffiti-art:
Your map is pins, so I can’t see the exact route.
Are you taking Illinois 4 out of Springfield?
You going to the Marsh Arch Bridge in Baxter Springs?
Lake Overholser bridge?
Pony bridge over the Canadian River?
Hext-Erick-Texola?
You can take the dirt road going west out of Glenrio, mostly. The bridges look scary but it is a legal open road and people live there.
We’ll do actual 66 wherever we can. I’m adding the places you noted right now 
We won’t hit them all, but it helps with day to day planning.
Is the Marsh Arch bridge the same as the Rainbow Bridge? That’s what I came up with when I googled it. I found the Historic Route 66 Bridgeport Bridge west of OKC.
I see a town named Texola - what’s interesting about that area?
The dirt road: is that part of the old 66 route? I don’t know if we’ll want to do that in a rental car but it’s always an option.
There is a lot, and sometimes it takes a stop, and sometimes a drive by is sufficient.
I love old bridges. And there are a ton, and some you have to take the “alternate” 66. One really cool one in Missouri degraded so much they had to close it. The Rio Puerco in NM is still there. I drove across it decades ago, but you can still walk it now.
Yes the March Arch is the rainbow. It is on the old old old 66 in Kansas. The Overholser is the Bridgeport bridge.
I hope you have fun! I love looking at old gas stations. I was going to make a collage of how many were turned into something else, but still are recognizable. Like a flower shop, tax office, etc.
The Hext-Erick-Texola stretch is untouched original 66. 66 north of Hext has a really cool stretch of when 66 was divided four lane, and one set of lanes is overgrown in a most cool tree tunnel fashion. Texola is like a ghost town.
Glenrio is a funny place. It looks abandoned, like Texola mostly is, but it isn’t. Someone cuts the grass and keeps it nice, even if the signs are failing and fading. The dirt road going west to San Jon is like the last old old really old unpaved 66*. Some people don’t want to drive it, and that’s fine, but it isn’t as bad as it looks. But use your own judgement - the last time I drove it was one year ago. And then the bridge to San Jon was out, but you can drive the road back up to 40 and the Russell travel stop (nice museum!)
*The Jericho Gap is still there, but I’m not sure I’d drive it. It was bad when it was new!
I also like looking for the old alignments. Like in Glenrio, and NM Continental Divide, and Devil’s Elbow, you can see how the old 66 just got buried right under I44 and 40. In Missouri there are fun spots where 66 is now a county road, and in places where it parallels 44, you cans sometimes see how it used to go straight, and got ripped out by 44. Now you have to jog around, but you can still see these spots.
That’s I44 just ahead.
Since Gallup is one of your stops, I’ll add a couple of places you might consider.
Richardson Trading Post. Packed full of Native American jewelry, art, pottery, and rugs. There are plenty of Native American jewelry shops in Gallup and many are worth visiting, but if you are only going to one this is it.
Oasis Mediterranean restaurant. No website, but great Mediterranean food in a place that you don’t expect it.
Red Rock Park. If you are coming from Albuquerque, you will see beautiful sandstone cliffs to the north as you get closer to Gallup. if you want to get a closer look and perhaps a short hike in, this is a good place to do so.
If you are going to Window Rock, I suggest doing it on your way out of Gallup, and then continue on from Window Rock to Ganado, then taking highway 191 south back towards Petrified Forest National Park. It’s a nice drive.
The El Rancho is a cool hotel. I stayed in the Wes Studi room. it was terribly mysterious.
and small.
We’re back!
We updated the map to turn pins green where we actually stopped (sometimes just as a drive-by).
I’d say we spent more time on interstate highways than actual 66 - lots of places it simply was not practical. I quipped to my friend that we were “reform” versus “orthodox”.
We got in yesterday afternoon after 2 days/nights on the Southwest Chief train - not nearly as scenic as the California Zephyr but still pretty.