Route 66 Must-See Abandoned Places and Ghost Towns (Five Day Road Trip in a 1962 Chevy) 

After my first year of teaching high school math in Minnesota (1968-1969), I got my TripTik from AAA and took off for California in my 1968 SS396 Chevelle. I spent about 5 weeks going to Orange County International Raceway, Lions Dragstrip and Irwindale Raceway to see the cars that I had been reading about in Hot Rod and CarCraft. I rented a room at 1290 Ocean Blvd in Long Beach that looked out over the water. Of course, the rooming house is long gone (along with all 3 of the drag strips), but my memories of that summer have not been diminished at all.

I’m old. I remember when a cross country trip felt like a tour through different countries. Each state had unique stores,restaurants,h/motels,dialects,styles all bound by the American flag . The Interstates have allowed for the homogenization of the country . Thanks for a tiny peek at what was once a magical trip “out west” my first look at Rte.66 was as a wide eyed 10 year old in the backseat of a ‘58 Chevy in 1959.

the old dude in the overalls was awesome...... what a character....luv the way he burnt tom... was all in good jest and was well done...

Thanks Tom! Nobody does a drag and drive event like you do. Driving it before it happens is awesome!

Back in the 50s my family lived in Culver City, Ca and our relatives were in Kansas. Every year we would vacation by visiting them and Route 66 was the road we took until turning north in Texas. It was two lanes then and ran through all the small towns and you had to wait for the trains that would cross. Kids played games in our 46 Buick and we would count train cars and read the "Burma Shave" signs that would pop up at one mile intervals. My dad was a member of the Mobil Gas Economy Run which would test the mileage of the new cars and it began in Los Angeles and ended in Chicago using Route 66. That's how the new cars established their published MPG. Lots of memories about the old road.

What a time gassing along route 66. Tom Bailey & Luke Nieuwhoff thank you for this fabulous movie.

Tom and Luke's best video yet.

What a Classic Chevrolet Nova or II . Mechanical cable tach. Have not see that for years. 66 is a look back to a different time. Thanks for sharing. 👍

Tom you did a great job capturing the spirit of Route 66. Love Archie Lewis " they all souped up". ...awesome.

Once again Tom that was a great video that I truly enjoyed. Your right people need to take the time and see the great country they live in. A lot of history there!

Thank you Tom for that amazing testimonial near the end of the video. I'm 77,, I bet there are others more elder than I who appreciates what you said about life passing you by. We're always in such a hurry we miss some things we should STOP and experience. Rt 66 IS Americana and I hope it can be kept for our kids and grandkids to experience. Some of us really did travel on Rt 66 because in it's day it was - "something else". GOD Bless

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Nice Tom.🇺🇸

Sante Fe was bypassed by Route 66 in 1937. The route was only about 10 years old, so it isn't a real surprise there are few if any markings of 66. I drove the Sante Fe alignment back in the early 2000's but don't remember much of it. What would have been fun in Sante Fe was to look for filming locations for 2 Lane Blacktop in the area. They still exist.

I've seen this car for years. BADASS piece of tucson history. I know the feeling when you let an old race car go. I let mine go after 30 years. Good to see it go to a old gearhead like us. Thanx for sharing.

Sad so many will not get why you're driving the old Route 66. They don't care where we have been. They only care about their own little world's. Thank you for taking the time to share you memorable drive.

I love the change of pace for the videos to one of driving around an antique racecar while touring route 66's part of the country. I enjoyed every minute of this video. The old man jamming that swished the swig of Jack and then light a spliff is an absolute legend. I have a customer that is talkative like the Museum guy was and she was just not doing well and was gone from her home a couple weeks. They may be hard to talk to for extended periods of time but once you get used to them coming around every so often and talking to you you pretty much become friends whether you want to or not. They'll all be missed when they're gone for good not enough friendly people like them anymore.

Nice to see America back when it was American. Great vid I must say. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks Tom.

Thanks Tom, that is a great journey! When I moved across country 4+ years ago we stayed in a few motels on 66.

In 1998 I drove it in it's entirety in my 95 Kenworth (that wasn't easy pulling a 40 foot trailer) and a few years later did Texas to Illinois on my Harley (that was shortly after the Movie Cars came out) It wasn't as dead the second time around, and lastly we drove from Texas to Illinois with my youngest son along for the trip in a rental car shortly before the pandemic. Many of the towns were boarded up and just dead, some were still dying, some were revived. I've actually stopped in some of the same places you did. It does change your way of thinking... Thanks for taking us along.

IM FROM JACKSON MICHIGAN BORN RAISED BUT LIVE IN MINNEAPOLIS ABOUT 5 YEARS NOW..CAN'T BELIEVE I NEVER HEARD OF YOU GUYS..MUCH LOVE GOD BLESS ❤❤

Tom " the video doesn't do it justice", while producing probably the best / most inspiring route 66 video on RU-vid!

Tom is spot on. When the interstates came through it put a hurting on these small towns and businesses. We just finished a 8,000 mile cross country road trip over the last six months and we chose to take all State Roads to see the small towns and what they had to offer. It was sad seeing those towns fading away. Thank you Tom & Luke.

Tom is spot on. When the interstates came through it put a hurting on these small towns and businesses. We just finished a 8,000 mile cross country road trip over the last six months and we chose to take all State Roads to see the small towns and what they had to offer. It was sad seeing those towns fading away.

Best video you have ever done a love all the rest.I've been watching you since the beginning.But this is the best one you've ever done

Awesome production!

The world has gotten in such a hurry that we not only have abandoned small towns but ourselves as well.

That's my dad's car! Thanks for the video, good for the memories. The incessant cabin noise, the blower whine, the locker clicking away in parking lots, the janky shifter and switch pitch converter... That car has done its job and I love it.

Haha that old guy playing guitar was the exact same way when me and my wife stopped. It was in the afternoon, Jack Daniels flowing and joints burning 🤣

Thanks from across the pond.

Great video!👍According to Google Route 66 was decommissioned in 1970. I-40 took the place of Route 66. The ole boy at that Erick Okla antique shop is a hoot.👍 My Grand Dad ran a small Phillips 66 gas station in Canute Oklahoma on old 66. I was there in 1962. Those 10 cent ice cold Nehi out that old icebox were a memory all their own.

Badass 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 quite the journey 🎬📽️😎

THANKS TOM ,,, FOR ALL YOU DO ,,, FOR CAR PEOPLE >👍

They were called triptics and were like a cronological and mileage indicated map that allowed you to turn the pages based on the landmarks of the area.

My Grandfather owned a Gas Station in Tulsa OK back in 40s early 50s. My Dad told me stories of working the oil wells as a kid.

Thanks for taking us along on your journey kind sir

That man lives his whole life in "wind down period," and I support it 100%!

This is the coolest video I've seen in a while. Thanks Tom for making it feel like we are along for the ride.

Great trip Tom brings back the memories of the family trips in my youths. Thanks!

Way cool Tom, you've got a Great Vision.

Thanks Tom, I've never been in the US so far, and I always try to find the true spirit of it in such road trips. Well done, it was a pleasure.

Tom,god bless you.I reallt appreciate the content

Tom your are a amazing human being Godbless you and Thankyou Godbless

Man you are the man about reuse of parts that's so freaking awesome

What a Iconic adventure. Thank you for the experience. You have a new fan. Great car.

Thanks for bringing us along on this journey. We have kids in the Tulsa area so we've been on Route 66 a time or two. Also, when I was about 10 y/o, dad had a 59 Chevy station wagon. We used to pull over on the side of the road on our outings, and eat sandwiches mom had made ahead. Basically flat meat and cheese! :) Dad would buy ice at our local drive in that they crushed from blocks for our metal cooler. Thanks for the memories.

Thanks for taking us along 😊

I love it > Thanks Tom

God Bless the guy at the museum. You can tell he's an original hot rodder.

Tom, this might be my most favorite video you've done! Thanks for showing off some of Route 66 - haven't come across many vids of the section you've covered. Best wishes to you and your family. Go fast, stay safe.

GREAT ADVENTURE, now that is something that really looks like it could be fun with a group of people. Good Job

This is awesome, I love it!

Thanks for the trip ❤❤❤❤😊😊

This is awesome, thanks Tom from Aotearoa NZ

I've got a 64 Nova SS I would love to do a trip down Route 66 with, thanks for taking me along your trip. I'm inspired! LOL!...

Really enjoyed the video. There are some real 'characters' along Route 66.....which makes the trip more enjoyable. Can't wait to follow along for "Sick 66 Week" in October.

Done '66' twice, once in each direction. 30 years ago East to West & 10 years ago West to East. On the 30 trip we Paddy Whacked a Route 66 sign that now hangs proudly in the garage.☮ 39:30...That Vintage Telecaster is worth a few $$$ Kool dude. Reminds us of General Bob at the Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs CA. in 1994. Brought back some great memories...thanks.👍👍

Having gown up on Rte 66 in small town Ok with a long history before and after the highway came and went. I still love to run the old road every few years. I know parts that are not accessible from the current road. The town still thrives today.

I loved this video. I traveled pieces of rt66 back in 2017 with my father. I’d like to go back and see more. Great job, Mr Bailey.

Route 66 where i learned to drive while sitting on Dads lap.

This is a fantastic video. Very well done Tom. Route 66 is a great piece of America. Saw Derek Bieri and his son travel it on a VCG video. Hope your event in the fall goes well. Truly enjoyed this one and all the folks you met on the trip

Really enjoyed this video Brought back some memories when our family did a road trip

I love all of the cool art deco buildings of the era. I would like my shop to be of the designs of that era. The buildings and furniture were special to me. It was so elegant in the ways they were built. Everything we have today is so harsh and sterile, not inviting at all.

MANY props , SO much of my US travels via my parents thru timez . bologna sammis in one of those rest stops. True traveling old skool

I can take you to my great grandfathers general store and his home in southern Virginia. I am blessed to go near there a few times a month. My father, his parents and he is buried near where he grew up. I am blessed to be near there often and it allows me to be connected to them.

Great trip Mr.Bailey, that trip has been on my list to do for a looooong time.

I had no idea Bob could sing and play the guitar. Thanks, Tom, for your videos

Enjoyed trip , squirrel said goodbye to plan b & you ended it on our home dragstrip !

Well phucking done guys! Thank you all for the time, effort and$ required to bring this stuff to us!👍👊 Some of your footage had a familiarity to it that brought back memories of Charles Kuralt stuff from better days in this country... BTW, I thought the sign museum guy was cool af

Fun fact. Route 66 was part of the American automobile traveling movement. the motel business and the motel was designed for travelers who just stay overnight vs hotels that are designed for longer stays.

I just finished RMRW with my buddy in a 2016 Challenger. It's not the same as 62 Nova but to be on 66 for the section I was in, made me feel connected to the past. I can't wait to go back and do RMRW with my car and create more memories.

this is awesome Tom i love gassers i wish i could go to america and drive that route

Spencer is cool, look at all of the stomes that built the facia on the building. It is beautiful!

You guys did such an amazing job with this video. Seriously. Killer footage & storytelling. 👏

I grew up in Rialto, CA, and Route 66 went through town. One of the cool stops was the TeePee motel.

Best feature length doco Ive seen in many years. Loved the journey, loved the stories, loved the places visited. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Tom as old man I too have a dream Sick Summer The Crazy Old Man In The Yucatan TCOMITY

Thank you

What a cool way to show the old Route 66. Thanks for sharing! Btw, its Amarillo by morning! 😂

Tom, this is a cool journey. I love the history of route 66. It is so cool!

I'm glad to see we're not the only people who find people like that wondering if you're going to make it out alive we're like a magnit to them sometimes 😅

Wow that was a great video and thanks for all you do keep on rocking my friend😎🏁🍕🍻🇺🇸👍👍👍

I really wanna do this! It’s so iconic! And doing it in classic is peak Americana

Nice work Tom and team. Epic road trip, badass car, wish you weren’t so far from Australia, id be there in a heartbeat!

Excellent video guys. Keep bringing us great content.

That old guy with the guitar looks like an older Bob.

Great video! Thanks guys

I remember going on road trips using an atlas to get places. Was like maps on an iPhone but in paper form. Them things were huge.

Thanks for this Tom, big dream for a guy from The Netherlands doing this some day. What's better then driving it in that car and what a beautiful country. Thanks man, your a good guy!

Loved this video. Thanks Tom. His opening comments,, "What could be better than to drive Rt (we pronounce it "root") 66 in a classic gasser." Not much. Taking that trip in a blown gasser was/is AWESUM! My Step-Dad was stationed at Castle AFB in 1956 thru 1961. He was the flight line fire chief. We, my brother and sister (3 kids, 2 parents) traveled Rt 66 two or three times in my parents 4 door '55 Chev BelAir and yes, it was cramped but we didn't know any other way to get from Merced, Ca to Willow Springs, Mo where my Grandparents had a small farm than by car. Taking the train for the 5 of us cost too much money so we drove straight thru. Parents would fill their thermos with coffee, buy a loaf of bread, some baloney and cheese and head out. The last time we traveled Rt 66 (parts of it) was 1965. My step-dad was stationed at Dover AFB, Delaware when he retired after 26 years. We headed across the country bound for Portland, Oregon. We did the trip in a 1964 Mercury Monterey pulling a 14 ft Nomad RV trailer and it was even more cramped because my brother, sister and myself were full grown AND we now had a little sister so the family was 6. We did not stay at motels and we did not stop at restaurants. We slept in the cramped trailer (my brother and I stretched out in the car) and as usual ate baloney and cheese sandwiches. Rt 66 was our friend as well as the friend of millions back in the day. We loved that highway because it was all we had to get across America's states as quickly as possible.

I crossed old 66 to and from elementary school. Oakhurst Oklahoma. Just west of tulsa. An old 2 lane concrete hwy. Tulsa to oakhurst to Sapulpa. Sapulpa to Bristow. Bristow to Oklahoma city. Narrow n slow but cool

The good old fashioned AAA trip tik. Remember it well

Great Vlog! Drove Route66 returning home from the Navy in the late 70's. Re-driving it sooner than later is on my bucket list! Love the ChevyII....I owned a BBC '65 Chevy II back some years ago! Safe travels!

It was too cool that you guys took the time to hang out with the elder gent in bib overalls and a guitar strapped around his neck. He was quite colorful and not to bad a musician.

In Iowa, the state highways were concrete with curbs. The semi trucks were wider than the lane.

Great video. I am looking forward to October!

THAT'S SO COOL

Awesome car...keep living the dream ✨️

The 5-6 second cars are cool, but sometimes something like this that is just simple, and classy is way more fun. When I was in highschool,(2001ish) my friend had a 62 nova 4 door. 6 cylinder, power glide, and we drove it thousands of miles going to concerts through Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas. Not nearly as cool as a 2 door gasser, but it was definitely good times.

When I was a kid every summer we went from where we lived right outside of New Orleans to Gatesville Texas this was before the interstates were built we took airline hwy which was hwy 90 we had a 63 impala wagon no air conditioning and we would stop at roadside parks anðĥave a picnic and there was one spot we stopped at every year that someone owned the property right in back of the roadside park and there was a big tree with a barbwire fence that was behind the tree the owners had a collie dog that would come see us each year my dad would take a bottle cap off of a soft drink and push it into the bark of the tree and each year my dad would add one also they had a few places named Stuckey that was a souvenir shop with bathrooms and snacks ì love going there the last one I remember was at the Alabama state line it closed around 1990 I miss the good old days

So much of America's social history, certainly since the introduction of the Model T Ford revolves around the automobile and road routes. It deserves to be remembered as it has made the country what it is and continues to do so. Great idea for drag and drive.