black85vette

I corrected the name of the park. Thanks. I have a question about 66 going through Adamana. I don't see it on any 66 map all the way back to 26 when it may have been labeled 60. I see Adamana and the tracks south of 60/66. I do have a 1913 map with the only road going along the tracks and right through Adamana. The note on that map said "extremely rough and no bridges". I will have to dig through some of the USGS topo maps from that time and see if they have any details. Most of the road maps of the time don't have enough detail to them. Just a quick check of the "Historic 66 Forum" and Stefan Joppich's site - www.stjo66.de, both show the 26 alignment to the north. I am always looking for new information. I know of at least one alignment in Illinois that was designated T-66 for "temporary" while they paved 66. It went through the town of Lemont which was never shown as a town on 66. Do you have any maps for the route in 26-27

Tnx. I got most of them posted and then added GPS coordinates as well as a link that will open Google Maps and take you directly to the location on the map. So finding these bridges should be easy

I have started putting photos of the bridges on RT 66 that I have photographed. Many of them are not all that spectacular but they are still interesting. I started in Oklahoma and have put most of the bridges between here and Chicago in a web page. I will keep adding them to the west where most of my real favorites are. I may go back and add another page showing where the remains of even older bridges were at one time. I have quite a few shots of "missing" bridges. Anyway have a look at what I have so far: http://route66images.publishpath.com

Thanks for the link. Interesting to know about who is keeping it up. We heard about it from the clerk at the motel who just gave us a general idea of where it was and then we had to search around a bit on the map to locate it. Yes we did tour both the factory and museum. We had been wanting to do that for a number of years and this was a good opportunity. I recently shot some pictures of another bridge. The RT 66 bridge at Lake Overholser just finished a 2 yr renovation and reopened to traffic. We were so pleased that they saved this historic bridge and did such a good job with it. Here is the link to those shots: Lake Overholser I ought to complile and post my RT 66 bridge photos. I have some that are well off the main road and one that dates to about 1914.

Here are a few of the bridges we encountered on our fall trip; Bridges The bridge at Catoosa was on RT 66 but the west bound side was recently removed. Molly's Landing, a nearby restaurant bought the main span and had it relocated to their entrance. Two smaller spans have been moved to a park on the opposite side of the Vertgris River, but have not been placed into their final positions yet. Bowling Green, KY north 185 to Old Richardsville Rd / a single lane, wooden planked bridge built in 1889 Mud River covered bridge Milton, WV near James River Turnpike and Mud River Rd / nice covered bridge from 1875 Only, TN off I-40 at Hwy 50 / no idea as to the date. It was abandoned with no road bed and no ramps. When we went through Cairo, IL we found that the Hwy 60 bridge from MO to IL was closed for repair, so we took 57 north across the Misissippi then south through Cairo and then crossed into KY over the Ohio River. Found a park at the point where the Ohio and Misissippi join and got shots of the two bridges there.

Here is a link to some of the fall colors; http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwyUjsZ Only took about 550 pictures this trip. Colors were fantastic but think we were about 2 weeks past the peak. North of Asheville some of the trees were already dropping a lot of leaves. South of Ashville all the way to Chattanooga was awesome but we also had some clouds and fog. Really enjoyed the Blue Ridge Parkway. Great road conditions, somewhat narrow, 45 mph speed limit, and trees right up to the road. Only issue was that we missed tons of great shots because you can't just pull over anywhere you want. Enjoyable drive and very scenic. Since there are few facilities on the parkway you have to plan your fuel and lodging a little better. We opted to enter between Roanoake and Asheville and spend the night in Ashville. Then traveled south until we left the parkway and headed for Highlands where we spent the night.

Intense and overwhelming. I have seen pretty fall colors before but never so much and so bright. The amount of color was just awesome. I will put some in my flickr account and post a link. The colors started in West Virginia and did not stop until we got past Memphis coming back. This was a very memorable trip.

Just got in tonight from a 3,000 mile road trip. 66 from OKC to Miami OK, then parts of 60 to Charleston WV with a side trip to the Corvette factory in Bowling Green, KY. Then down the Blue Ridge Parkway for some fall colors to parts of 64 back to Oklahoma. Great trip with some other detours. This covered much of what I wanted to see on 60 to the east. Now planning a trip on 60 to the west.

Love neon. We plan our Rt 66 trips around where we want to be at night to see neon. We were just in Memphis last year but not at night. Didn't know they had so much to see. We will have to stop by again. Thanks for the pictures.

Decided to throw together a quick web site with the map in a Google gadget pane. Also put the .kml on the second page of the site so you can download it if you want it. Map is here: http://us60.publishpath.com/

I have my first rough version of a highway 60 .kml file. I have it pretty close but not down to the street level yet. The current route is in blue and red marks early or abandoned alignments. I tried to upload it here, but it didn't work. So if anyone wants the .kml to use in Google Earth just send me a note and I will email it to you. Edit; this file has too many segments to view in Google Maps. It does not display the entire file.

That section is labeled in Google maps and on my DeLorme Topo map as old 60. Looks like it goes right through the middle of the VLA facility.

Thanks to mga707 for the tip on Temporary 60 from Globe to Show Low following 73. I found some good Arizona maps here: http://www.aaroads.com/west/maps/index.php Got that alignment on the map now

Yes, very helpful. You can only assume I know about what I have posted here since I am just starting the planning. I will include the other alignments you mentioned on my map also. At some point I will put it out there in a .kml format for Googlemaps. I would like to compile this information since there is not a lot out there on US 60. Having lived on or near it in Riverside CA and in Oklahoma I have some interest in exploring and documenting it. I have downloaded some USGS topo maps from the 40's and will start with those. I have found them to very pretty accurate sources of information for old roads. I have already located the original alignments through Beaumont, Banning and Blythe on them. The USGS map project will wrap up next year and they will have every map they ever produced on line for download. They have a lot done now but CA and AZ are in the works to be complete by spring 2012. Thanks for the additional tips. Send anything else you think of my way. Regards, Rick

I found this reference to two abandonded sections in Arizona: http://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=u0060abaz Both sections are clear in satellite images. Shaping up to be a great trip with plenty to explore.

Thanks for the additional info. I am interested in the other alignments as well so I will add both of those to my plans. We love to explore old original alignments. We have traveled every accessible alignment of US 66. Here is a link to my map project for 66: http://route66map.publishpath.com/google-map I am putting the US 60 map into my laptop now for a fall trip to the east from Oklahoma and then next spring to the west. I was starting with California since it wiped out 60 with I-10. Any other original alignments you know about would be very helpful. Rick

Just the type of info I am needing. 60 does not have nearly the amount of information that 66 has making it more difficult to find old alignments. Thanks!

I am planning a trip to the east on parts of Hwy 60. I mapped out all of it on my laptop except where I-10 in California replaced it. I know it did not follow I-10 when it went from Indio to Mecca and then east to Chiriaco. But I was wondering if there are any other sections of old road alignments out there. Could be some through the towns and along some access roads. Anyone know of any vintage bridges or road beds in California on what was US 60?

I have had several positive interactions with Garmin about my handheld units. In one case they replaced my cracked screen under warranty even though it was my fault. Good to hear you are making progress in your quest.

Tom; I think any honest opinion posted without a personal attack is appropriate. I assume the GPS you used was one of the in car, dash mounted types. I have zero experience with those. Several of us use a GPS feeding a laptop with mapping programs on them to navigate and document our travels. I also use an iPhone that has a GPS. I like it for navigating around town because it can use triangulation on cell towers when it can't get a GPS lock. Also, like the iPad, it always has a map available even when you are not using the GPS so I don't need to carry and unfold a paper map. Mostly I use a GPS when driving to confirm where I am or where I am going. I never use one to tell me where or when to turn. I like to preview my route and memorize key intersections and turns on the route and the GPS is just a security blanket and not a necessity. BTW; I am also a network geek. I work for a large hospital system in Network Services.

Exactly. Then you can put your "now" photos and "then" photos in separate layers so you can turn them off and on as you need them. Makes the screen less cluttered. Rather than waypoints I use map notes. They show up as a text box with a pointer. I don't have to open them to see what the photo is. The note has a description in it so I can click on the one I want. Experiment with it and see what you think.

Here is part of a project I have been working on. First I made an overlay from a 1946 USGS Topo map so I could line up the old RT 66 alignment to the East of town. Most of it was covered over by I-40. To the South of I-40 is an access road. This road was moved 30 feet South when I-40 was built so it is not an original Rt 66 road bed. Along this road were several businesses that we were along the road. On the map A=Martin's Motel, B=Sleepy Hollow Motel, and C=Whiting Brothers Gas Station. Martin's Motel is still standing but both of the others have been cleared away. I have included pictures of the two motels but so far have been unable to locate a picture of the Whiting Brothers. So if anyone has any information about this area I would love to hear from you.

Denny; I have not found a single device that suits all my needs so I use several more specialized devices. 1. For motels, food, Starbucks, and other essential travel info I have used Streets & Trips and DeLorme but as you pointed out you end up having to buy new versions to get current information so I prefer my iPhone for that with DeLorme as backup. I like using Google because I can search for something like Walmart and it will use the GPS to find the one closest to my current location and then plot a route to it. 2. The way I travel I have not found in-car voice guidance systems useful. A lot of Rt 66 is chopped up and I end up back tracking and following dirt trails to get to isolated sections. I don't seem to be able to drive from point A to point B on a single route. When I do need voice guidance it comes from my wife looking at DeLorme on the laptop. It works out well. She says; "Honey, you need to turn left in 3 blocks" but never says "You are off the route, re-calculating". :-) I use the LT 40 with the laptop for general navigation. 3. For my handheld I use either the GPS 60 or PN 40. The PN 40 has basemaps for the US and then I download the Topo maps for the states I will be in. I can also set waypoints for key locations to help navigate. I find the screen too small to be really useful for general car navigation. Dave; I ended up with DeLorme mostly because I wanted a Topo based software and the DeLorme Topo USA was the cheapest package I could find. I wanted Topo because we not only follow old 2 lane roads but also dirt one lane mining trails and old wagon roads in the Rockies. After using it I found that it had a lot of advanced features. The layers and drawing features are great. That was why I started using it to document my travels. DeLorme has the ability to attach a local URL to a note or pushpin. That means I can have a push pin marking a location that pulls up a picture, a note, a word document or web page associated with it. I can type a quick note and just hit enter and that is placed at my current GPS location. This keeps a record of my observations on the map exactly at the location I am at the time. I have drawn in Google and find it clumsy to draw and edit. DeLorme has features like dragging around an area and changing properties of all elements at one time. It also has many more line attributes than Google like dotted or dashed lines. So on my laptop my lines show paved, dirt, or undrivable by the type of line. I don't use routes or tracks to mark my travels. Partly because some of the places I go do not show up as roads on the map. Instead I use colored lines set to be transparent and simply draw over the road. This makes them easy to work with in other formats such as .gpx or .kml since they are simple lines and not routes. The other reason is that 66 may have as many as 4 or 5 alignments over its lifetime through an area. St Louis is very complicated and does not lend itself to routes or voice guidance. The 66 map on my website reflects this method. As far as roads not being on the map, I have a subscription to the DeLorme aerial image library and download the sections I will be driving. Then I just draw my lines over the trails and dirt roads by eye. This gives me an accurate line to follow when I drive. Finally I like the integration that DeLorme has with the PN40. It is so easy to upload maps, waypoints, aerial images and keep the GPS synced with the software. That integration alone was worth moving from my GPS 60 over to the PN40. I have found GPSBabel to be essential in working with map formats. It can convert from almost any map / gps format to just about any other. It can read and write in the DeLorme .an1 format so it is very useful to me. Regards, Rick

Thanks Dave. BTW; it was your map website that got me here. Found it researching some early 66 sections in Illinois and then found the link over here.

I did a couple of searches and read past posts on the use of GPS and map software. Thought I would throw in some of what I have been doing. I primarily use DeLorme Topo software because the drawing interface is so good and the layers make it great for storing lots of information. I currently have layers for; 1. all the alignments of Rt 66. 2. My field notes for roads, bridges, sites, and information. 3. Photos to show each location. 4. Because I like to find very early, non-paved and sometimes abandoned sections. I have recently added a layer with aerial images of places I am exploring that are off road or abandoned. So I now have the ability to have all my tools with me in the field without the need for Internet connections. Just recently I figured out a way to use GPSBabel to export the DeLorme format to .kml which is used by Google Maps. After that I learned how to embed a Google Maps app in a website. That made it possible to share maps with anyone without the need for DeLorme Software in a web interface. I currently have a DeLorme PN-40 & LT-40, 2 Garmin Etrex, a Garmin GPS-60 and an iPhone with GPS for backup. So if anyone has any interest in DeLorme, GPS, Google Maps or other geek related topics I would love to hear from you.