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11 unusual facts about U.S. Route 66


Aubrey Cliffs

The Aubrey Cliffs begin near Route 66 about five miles west of Seligman and run generally north to the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon (coordinates ranging from 35.35,-112.95 to 36.19, -113.02).

Canyon Diablo, Arizona

Later on in the 20th century, when Route 66 passed within several miles of the town, a gas station and roadhouse called Two Guns sprang up, but it too was short-lived.

Chicken Boy

Chicken Boy is a landmark statue on the historic U.S. Route 66 (North Figueroa Street) in the Highland Park, California area of Los Angeles.

David King Dunaway

He is a national radio producer/podcaster, the biographer of Pete Seeger, and a national expert in American studies specializing in oral history, folk music, and Route 66.

Havasupai people

It is home to around 500 of the tribe members and is one of the most remote cities in the contiguous United States, as it can only be accessed by taking old U.S. Route 66 and traveling about 60 miles (96 km) along BIA Road 18 to the trailhead.

Mater and the Ghostlight

This sequence culminates with Mater teasing Lightning as if he had seen "the Ghostlight," a Route 66 legend recounted to Pixar by Dean Walker of the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association.

North American Solar Challenge

In 2001, the race changed its name to the American Solar Challenge and followed a new route from Chicago, Illinois to Claremont, California along much of the old U.S. Route 66.

Old Angel

The songs were composed by the band while traveling down Route 66 in 2009, and recorded in Nashville.

Sandia Mountains

The two ranges are separated by Tijeras Canyon, which leads to a historically important pass; the canyon is traversed by Interstate 40, following the route of historic U.S. Route 66.

Tulsa 66ers

The 66ers are named for the famous US Highway 66 ("Route 66"), which ran through Tulsa and once played a pivotal role in its economy.

Wake the Union

The album cover features an acoustic guitar (with cotton strings) with various English and North American symbols, such as roads (the signs for Route 66 and the A303) and flags (United Kingdom, United States).


Ambler's Texaco Gas Station

Located at the intersection of U.S. Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in Dwight, Illinois, United States, Ambler's Texaco Station was built in 1933 by Jack Schore on property originally owned by Otto Strufe.

Ambler's Texaco Gas Station, also known as Becker's Marathon Gas Station, is a historic filling station located at the intersection of Old U.S. Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in the village of Dwight, Illinois, United States.

Ash Fork, Arizona

Ash Fork's convenient location along the railway and later famous U.S. Route 66 made it recognizable to many cross-country travelers, as evidenced by its fleeting mention in several films from the era of Classical Hollywood cinema, such as 1947's Dark Passage starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Calum Best

In September 2006, Best appeared in the ITV2 series Calum, Fran and Dangerous Danan, in which he was seen traveling with Paul Danan and Fran Cosgrave from Texas to Los Angeles on America's U.S. Route 66.

Music for the Masses

All songs are written by Martin Gore except "Route 66", which is a cover of the rock classic "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" written by Robert W. Troup Jr in 1946, and "Moonlight Sonata", a Beethoven piano piece performed here by Alan Wilder.

Riverton, Kansas

The famous Rainbow Bridge, about two miles (3 km) west of town, was the site where in the year 2000, musician Brad Paisley performed the song (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 for the TLC (TV channel) special "Route 66: Main Street America".

U.S. Route 66 in Kansas

U.S. Route 66, the historic US highway between Chicago, Illinois and Santa Monica, California, passed through one brief segment in the southeastern corner of Kansas.

U.S. Route 85

What is now US 85 from El Paso, Texas to then-U.S. Route 66 (now SR 6) in Los Lunas, New Mexico (south of Albuquerque) was shown as U.S. Route 466 in an early 1925 plan for the U.S. Highway System.

Williams, Arizona

Williams was the last town to have its section of Route 66 bypassed, due to lawsuits that kept the last section of Interstate 40 in Arizona from being built around the town.