Gribblenation

An old alignment of Route 66 is preserved at Missouri's Route 66 State Park. Since its decommissioning, preserving the history and culture of Route 66 has been a mission for many businesses and communities along its former route.  In Missouri, an entire state park is dedicated to the Mother Road. Route 66 State Park is located on both sides of the Meramec River, where relics of the highway both physically and culturally remain. The former Bridgehead Inn Roadhouse is now home to the Route 66 State Park Visitor's Center. The park's visitors center sits on the east side of the Meramec inside the former Bridgehead Inn.  The Bridgehead Inn Roadhouse first opened in 1936 and included a bar, restaurant, dance floor, and overnight lodging.  The establishment changed hands a few times in the 20th Century and was later known as Steiny's Inn and Galley West.  The restored Keys Twin Bridge Cafe neon sign. The visitor's center (closed when visited in February 2024) has plenty o...

One of the more common sites along the western half of 66 was the red and yellow Whiting Brother's logo.  Whether it was fuel, service, food, or lodging - you could find them from California to Texas.  The family-owned chain started when the four sons of a lumberman opened a gas station in St. John's, Arizona in 1917.  The brothers incorporated the company in 1926 - the same year the US Highway system and 66 were created - and moved their headquarters north to Holbrook, where Route 66 would soon run through.   Whiting Brothers would rise and fall with US 66.  At its peak, there were nearly 40 Whiting Brothers Stations along 66 from Lenwood, CA to Shamrock, Texas .  Over time, the company built truck stops and motels.  Many of the Whiting Brothers Motels were built next to an existing gas or service station.  When much of Interstate 40 replaced US 66 in the 1970s, many Whiting Brothers stations began to close.   Whiting Brothers were...

Driving west of Albuquerque on Interstate 40, an old truss bridge sits just off the highway at Exit 140.  This old Parker Truss Bridge hasn't been in use since 1999, but it was a critical piece that allowed US 66 to make a more direct route through New Mexico. The Rio Puerco Bridge - built in 1933 - allowed Route 66 to be routed along the "Laguna Cutoff" four years later.  This new direct east-west routing of the highway from Santa Rosa through Albuquerque and Mesita.  This direct route was 107 miles shorter than the S-curved shaped route that took US 66 from Santa Rosa to near Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Albuquerque south to Los Lunas, and then north and west over today's NM Route 6 towards Mesita. The Rio Puerco Bridge was a federally funded project that began construction in 1933.  Opened one year later, the bridge is Parker through truss that is 250' long.  When US 66 was twinned in the 1950s, the bridge was rehabilitated to handle more modern traffic l...

Route 66 is full of landmarks - quirky, natural, or historic.  Many date to the highway's heyday of the 1930-50s.  However, one of the more well-known landmarks dates to the final days of the Mother Road.  Located in the small town of Groom, the Leaning Tower of Texas dates to around 1980 - the last few years of US 66's existence. Truck Stops along the Interstate and major highways are a dime a dozen, and in the Western US, you will find them in every size imaginable, from small mom-and-pop operations to large corporate travel centers.  The former Britten Truck Stop is just one of many along Interstate 40 or old Route 66. The story of the leaning water tower is that around 1980, truck stop owner Ralph Britten purchased the water tower as a water supply for his business.  When Britten realized that he did not have a need for the water tower - there was a better and simpler source - he decided to use the water tower as a way to market his truck stop.  Groom a...

Just to the south of Interstate 40 between Elk City and Sayre, an old alignment of US 66 crosses Timber Creek.  Over the creek is a 99-foot-long Pratt through truss bridge built in 1926.  The bridge carried US 66 from its inception until the highway was twinned in the late 1950s.  When the new 66 was built, the Timber Creek bridge was bypassed by a new alignment just to its north.  The dual highway would eventually become Interstate 40. The bridge is easily seen from I-40.  It can be accessed via Exit 26. Josh loves Lauren. All photos taken by post author - April 2010. Site Navigation: East - Oklahoma Route 66 Museum - Clinton West - Conoco Tower Station & U-Drop Inn - Shamrock, TX Return to Gribblenation's Route 66 Homepage Sources & Links: Old US 66 Bridge over Timber Creek ---Oklahoma Bridges Timber Creek Bridge ---Route 66 Times Timber Creek Bridge ---Bridgehunter.com How To Get There:

US Route 66 was formally approved by the American Association of State Highway officials to be extended from Los Angeles to Santa Monica in June 1935.  At the time US Route 66 had an interim terminus at US Route 101 Alternate located at the end of Santa Monica Boulevard at Ocean Avenue.  In 1936 the more recognizable terminus of US Route 66 in Santa Monica at Lincoln Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard was established upon the opening of the McClure Tunnel. Before being officially extended in 1935, the city of Santa Monica did about everything it possibly could to get US Route 66 extended into its boundaries.  These attempts went as far as paying the Auto Club of Southern California to sign US Route 66 through Los Angeles all the way to Ocean Avenue via Santa Monica Boulevard from December 1930-January 1931.  The rogue signage of US Roure 66 into Santa Monica is one of the most bizarre stories in the history US Route system and an example of how a city not taking "no" fo...