Get Your Kicks on Route 66 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lake Michigan

Chicago is situated next to Lake Michigan. It was founded in 1833 between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed region. "Chicago" is from a French interpretation of the Native American word "shikaakwa", meaning wild onion.

At the eastern end of Adams Street is the Art Institute of Chicago. Most of the original sections of Route 66 in the area have given way to development. As we head west we pass through Joliet, home of the first Dairy Queen. There are still some remnants of the old highway roadside stops in small towns such as Mclean, Lincoln and Broadwell.

Answer: Springfield

Springfield became the capital in 1857 when it was relocated from the original town of Vandalia. Abraham Lincoln was part of the relocation effort. Many historical sites regarding Lincoln's life in Springfield can be seen by taking the Springfield Trolley Tours.

Other interesting attractions for Route 66 travelers are the Illinois State Military Museum, The Route 66 Drive-In Theater and The old state capital building. Look for an original "Sunrise Donut" sign while you are driving around.

Answer: St. Louis, Missouri

The St. Louis Arch is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, marking where the city was founded. Construction began in February 1963, and concluded in October of 1965. It was finally opened to the public two years later. While famous for hosting the Olympics and the World's Fair in 1904, St. Louis was also known as the first city to record an auto theft. The 1904 fair was at Forest Park, a downtown area of approximately 1,300 acres. Some of the culinary innovations that resulted from the fair were ice cream, hamburgers and iced tea, refreshments enjoyed by many travelers throughout the century along Route 66.

Other Missouri attractions included Meramec Caverns and Fantastic Caverns. If you drive through Springfield on Secretary's Day you can witness the annual typewriter toss.

Answer: Kansas

If a straight line were drawn from Chicago to the Texas panhandle it would go through Kansas. The old Route 66 only went through some small towns in the southwest section of Kansas; Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs. This area is known primarily for mineral mining and not scenery.

In Riverton, Kansas, is an eatery called Eisler's which has been feeding customers on the old road since the twenties. There is also a restored arch bridge from the original highway south of Riverton, Kansas.

Baxter Springs, Kansas, is the site of a Civil War battle and houses museums honoring the battle, the Little League as well as Bilke's Western Museum.

Answer: True

Oklahoma did not gain statehood status until 1907. It was considered a lawless Indian territory and was only a state for a little over 20 years when Route 66 was conceived by connected various existing US roadways. This patchwork approach resulted in the roadway taking several different minor deviations throughout the next 40 years as improvements were made and cities and towns grew.

Mr. Cy Avery championed for the roadway to go through Oklahoma with the premise that American families would appreciate seeing some of the country's history and the Old West as they traveled.

The first major city on the route is Tulsa. A product of the oil boom, Tulsa still has several Route 66 historical locations such as original diners and classic car museums.

Answer: Amarillo

Amarillo is situated in the middle of the Texas panhandle. The old Route 66 passed through various sections of the old downtown, featuring such landmarks as the Big Texan Steak Ranch restaurant and the Cadillac Ranch. Many of the small towns east and west of Amarillo feature roadside memorabilia and unique signs from the era of the old roadway.

Landergin, Texas has displays in memorial to the movie "The grapes of Wrath" (1940) which featured sections of the old highway in the film. In 1938 film crews spent three weeks at a section of Route 66 in Glenrio, Texas shooting scenes.
Abilene, Midland and Lubbock are all in the lower section of Texas.

Answer: False

We would have to travel due north of Albuquerque about 100 miles to reach Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico.

Albuquerque features a significant amount of Route 66 history, as do many of the towns through New Mexico. The historic 66 Diner in Albuquerque is also the headquarters for the New Mexico Route 66 Association. New Mexico also features several preserved or renovated theme motels such as tepee motif and adobe style buildings.

As we travel west in New Mexico we pass through Gallup, mentioned in the lyrics of the song, "Route 66". Stops at The El Rancho Hotel and Mr. Wilson's Red Rock Trading Post are nostalgic reminders of the glory days of the mother road.

Answer: Arizona

We continue on Route 66 across the entire state of Arizona on our way west. The old highway doesn't pass through such geographic wonders as Grand Canyon National Park and Marble Canyon, but does pass through the Petrified Forest National Park between the New Mexico/Arizona border and Winslow, Arizona. The largest town on our journey is Flagstaff. While there we could stop and check out the Lowell Observatory, Walnut Canyon National Monument and The Pioneer Museum.

Continuing west towards California we check out the old Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, a small town called Valentine (where a scene from "Easy Rider (1969)" was filmed) or the Supai Hotel in Seligman.

To get to Nevada we would have to detour north. Colorado is north of New Mexico.

Answer: Needles

Needles must have been an interesting stop for vacationers traveling westward in the middle of the century. Needles is also considered the border of the Mojave National Preserve. The town was founded in 1883 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was being built. Needles has maintained several roadside attractions such as hotels and diners that were established from the forties through the sixties.

Several classic films including "Two-Lane Blacktop" (1971) and "Convoy" (1978) had key scenes filmed in Needles. The river bath scene from "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) was shot in Needles as well as an episode of the television show, "Route 66" (1960), titled "The Strengthening Angels".

San Bernardino, Barstow and Amboy are towns west of Needles that we pass through en route to our final stop on Route 66.

Answer: Santa Monica

The Santa Monica Pier is the symbolic end of our journey, although the highway ends a few blocks away. Santa Monica Boulevard was originally part of old Route 66. When reaching Centinela Boulevard we have officially ended our journey through eight states.

We pass through Pasadena on our way to Los Angeles. In 1924 chef Lionel Sternberger is reputed to have created the first cheeseburger at the Rite Spot restaurant in Pasadena, no doubt a favorite stop for hungry travelers on old Route 66.

Arcadia boasts being the home of Santa Anita Racetrack. "A Day at the Races"(1937) featuring the Marx brothers was filmed at the track. Route 66 travelers may have enjoyed a movie at the Azusa Foothills Drive-in. The theater was razed by The Azusa Pacific University when it expanded.