Known as the Main Street of America and the Mother Road, U.S. Route 66 is the nation’s best known highway. Once the microcosm of a culture increasingly connected by automobiles, its sights and attractions are now a fascinating reflection of a nation on the move. Travel this iconic highway through the heart of America with Route 66 Backroads as your guide. This lavishly illustrated book steers you from Chicago to Los Angeles, traveling through the lowlands of the American Plains and the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.
Branch away from the Mother Road, and you encounter gems hidden beyond today’s standard motels and tourist traps---the quaint frontier communities that date back to the nation’s westward expansion; the legacy of ancient native cultures; and the awe-inspiring natural wonders that have graced these lands since time immemorial. State parks, wildlife refuges, museums, historic sites, literary landmarks, and much more are there to be explored within a few hours’ drive from the path of Route 66. The fifty trips included here offer new travel opportunities for the thousands of road-trippers who follow this legendary route, looking for something more.
Jim Hinckley is the author of twenty books and hundreds of feature articles on Route 66, the American Southwest, and the American auto industry. He has been a featured speaker at European Route 66 festivals in Germany and the Czech Republic, and at events in the United States and Canada. Hinckley is a former associate editor for Cars & Parts, and currently writes a monthly feature for New Zealand-based MotoringNZ. He also assists with the creation of visitor guides for communities such as Tucumcari, New Mexico, and the development of historic district walking tours. Jim is the creator of the Jim Hinckley’s America network that includes a website (jimhinckleysamerica.com), social media, the weekly livestream Coffee with Jim program, a YouTube channel, and the Wake Up with Jim podcast. Linked with this are community education programs developed to foster an increased awareness of an area’s history and its role in the development of tourism as a component in economic development.
Kerrick James has been a professional photographer for more than twenty years. He specializes in travel imagery, and he is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways, Sunset, National Geographic Adventure, and Alaska Airlines Magazine. He lives in Mesa, Arizona.
Jim Hinckley's passion for the open road has translated into regular contributions to a wide variety of periodicals, including Route 66, American Road, and others. He is the author of The Big Book of American Car Culture and Backroads of Arizona. He lives in Kingman, Arizona. Kerrick James has been a professional photographer for more than twenty years. His images have appeared in such publications as Arizona Highways, Sunset, and National Geographic Adventure. He provided the photography for Backroads of Arizona and is the author of Our Arizona. He lives in Mesa, Arizona. Rick and Nora Bowers are professional travel and nature photographers with more than forty years of photography experience between them. Their work has been featured in numerous books and magazines. The Bowers are on the road often, but make their home in Tucson, Arizona.Nora Bowers and her husband Rick Bowers are professional travel and nature photographers with more than forty years of photography experience between them. Their work has been featured in numerous books and magazines. The Bowers are on the road often, but make their home in Tucson, Arizona.
