Route 66 Road Trips

About Route 66 Road Trips

Cruise down memory lane on the Mother Road with trivia about the diners, motels and roadside wonders of the great American family road trip. Route 66 Road Trips packs 15 multiple-choice questions with a mix of 7 easy, 5 medium, 3 hard questions into a relaxed session of roughly 7 minutes — no sign-up, no timer pressure. An explanation appears after every answer, and finishing once a day keeps your streak alive.

A few sample questions

1. 1. Route 66 earned the nickname "The Mother Road." Which famous American author gave it that name?

   Answer: John Steinbeck

   John Steinbeck called Route 66 "The Mother Road" in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, following the Joad family's journey west during the Dust Bowl. The nickname stuck forever.

2. 2. Route 66 stretched from Chicago all the way to which California city?

   Answer: Los Angeles

   Route 66 ran about 2,448 miles from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California — part of the Los Angeles area — ending famously near the Santa Monica Pier. It passed through eight states along the way.

3. 3. The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona offered guests a very unusual place to sleep. What were the rooms shaped like?

   Answer: Teepees

   The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook featured concrete teepee-shaped sleeping units that delighted families traveling Route 66. Despite the name, the structures were modeled after Plains Indian teepees, and the motel still welcomes guests today.

4. 4. Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas is a famous roadside art installation. What does it show?

   Answer: Ten Cadillacs buried nose-first in the ground

   Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by the art group Ant Farm: ten Cadillacs from model years 1949 to 1963 were half-buried nose-first in a Texas field. Visitors are encouraged to add their own spray-paint graffiti.

5. 5. The famous "Blue Swallow Motel" with its glowing neon sign is located in which Route 66 state?

   Answer: New Mexico

   The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico is one of the most photographed neon signs on all of Route 66. It was built in 1939 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Things you'll learn along the way

• ✓Most Muffler Men stood roughly 18 to 20 feet tall — just the right height to catch a driver's eye from the highway. They were made by International Fiberglass starting in the 1960s and dressed up to represent cowboys, giants, spacemen, and more.
• ✓Route 66 was officially designated on November 11, 1926, making it one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. It took another decade before the entire route was fully paved.
• ✓The TV series Route 66 aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, following Buz and Tod as they traveled the country in a Corvette. The show was actually filmed on location all across America, though not always on Route 66 itself.