Route 66 Road Trips
Instructions: Cruise down memory lane on the Mother Road with trivia about the diners, motels and roadside wonders of the great American family road trip.
- 1.
Route 66 earned the nickname "The Mother Road." Which famous American author gave it that name?
AJohn SteinbeckBErnest HemingwayCJack KerouacDWilliam Faulkner - 2.
Route 66 stretched from Chicago all the way to which California city?
ASan FranciscoBLos AngelesCSan DiegoDSacramento - 3.
The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona offered guests a very unusual place to sleep. What were the rooms shaped like?
ALog cabinsBTeepeesCCovered wagonsDAdobe domes - 4.
Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas is a famous roadside art installation. What does it show?
ATen Cadillacs buried nose-first in the groundBA row of Cadillacs stacked on top of each otherCCadillac hood ornaments mounted on tall polesDA Cadillac painted to look like a rainbow - 5.
The famous "Blue Swallow Motel" with its glowing neon sign is located in which Route 66 state?
AOklahomaBArizonaCNew MexicoDMissouri - 6.
"Muffler Men" were giant fiberglass statues that stood outside businesses along Route 66. How tall were most of these roadside giants?
AAbout 8 feet tallBAbout 18 feet tallCAbout 35 feet tallDAbout 50 feet tall - 7.
In what year was Route 66 officially established as a U.S. highway?
A1921B1926C1932D1938 - 8.
Which popular television show from the early 1960s followed two young men driving across America on Route 66?
AHave Gun – Will TravelBMaverickCRoute 66DThe Fugitive - 9.
Which musician and songwriter wrote the 1946 hit song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66"?
ANat King ColeBBobby TroupCChuck BerryDBing Crosby - 10.
The Meramec Caverns in Missouri became famous along Route 66 partly because of an unusual advertising trick. What was it?
ABillboards painted on the sides of barns across several statesBA blimp that flew over the highwayCFree bumper stickers given to every passing carDA radio jingle played on every station in the Midwest - 11.
What did most classic Route 66 roadside diners serve that became a beloved family road-trip tradition?
ALobster rollsBGreen chile stewCHand-dipped milkshakesDClam chowder - 12.
In which year did the U.S. government officially decertify Route 66, removing it from the highway system?
A1977B1985C1991D1999 - 13.
The colorful neon signs that lit up Route 66 motels at night were made possible by a gas inside glass tubes. What gas gave neon signs their classic red-orange glow?
AArgonBHeliumCNeonDKrypton - 14.
The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest can be seen by travelers along which state's stretch of Route 66?
ANew MexicoBCaliforniaCArizonaDColorado - 15.
The "Two Guns" ghost town in Arizona became a popular Route 66 stop. What had it famously housed in the 1920s before falling into ruin?
AA small zoo with mountain lionsBThe largest gas station in the SouthwestCA stagecoach museumDAn open-air drive-in theater
Answer Key
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bobby Troup wrote the song in 1946 during a cross-country road trip with his wife. Nat King Cole made the first recording a hit that same year, and many artists — including Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones — have covered it since.
Meramec Caverns owner Lester Dill became famous for painting "Meramec Caverns, Route 66" on hundreds of barn roofs across Missouri, Illinois, and other states. Travelers could spot the ads for miles and they drew curious visitors by the thousands.
Hand-dipped milkshakes were a signature treat at the classic diners and drive-ins along Route 66. Kids would beg their parents to stop, and chrome stools at a lunch counter with a frosty shake became a defining memory of the great American road trip.
Route 66 was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System on June 27, 1985, as the Interstate Highway System had made it obsolete. Dedicated fans immediately began working to preserve and celebrate the historic road.
Neon gas produces the classic red-orange glow that made Route 66 motel signs so magical against the night sky. Other colors — like blue and green — were made using different gases such as argon, but "neon signs" became the catch-all name for them all.
The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park are both found in northeastern Arizona, right along the Route 66 corridor. Families would stop to marvel at the colorful badlands and logs of stone that had once been ancient trees.
Two Guns was home to a makeshift zoo where entrepreneur Harry Miller kept mountain lions and other animals in the ruins of an old canyon dwelling, charging travelers to view them. After a series of violent disputes and fires, the town was abandoned and became one of Route 66's most eerie ghost town stops.