Welcome to the Roadscapes Wednesday segment! Each week here on Geek Alabama, Roadscapes Wednesday will feature roads and infrastructure related topics. Geek Alabama Editor / Publisher Nathan Young is often called the “road geek” for a good reason, Nathan loves roads and loves talking about roads!
My first acquaintance with Route 66 was in California. I remember standing under the famous sign, wondering how a highway that officially vanished in 1985 could still feel so alive. From that moment, I was hooked.
I traced its path backward, from the laid-back vibes of Santa Monica to the bustling streets of Chicago. Along the way, I met people who called it the Main Street of America — a road that once carried dust-covered migrants chasing hope, Elvis-loving tourists snapping photos beside neon signs, and Corvette-driving dreamers speeding toward freedom.
I stayed in quirky roadside motels where time seemed frozen in the 1950s. I wandered through ghost towns where tumbleweeds were the last residents. And every mile made me wonder: how did this decommissioned highway outshine the modern roads that replaced it? Maybe it was the stories buried in its asphalt, the songs written for it, or the movies that kept its legend alive.
All I know is that once I set my wheels on Route 66, I knew this wasn’t just a road — it was a journey through America’s restless heart
Categories: Roadscapes Stuff
