And the spirit of Route 66 -- the Mother Road in The Grapes of Wrath -- lives on even in places where its pavement has disappeared.
Sounds like as good a reason as any for an old-fashioned road trip now the price of gas has eased a bit.
Today's digital two-lane is full of information you can mine to plan a trip on the highway that stretched roughly 3,862 km from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif.
Even the Federal Highway Administration gets into the act with a little bit of history.
And for nostalgia, the lyrics to Bobby Troup's classic Get Your Kicks, On Route 66 are widely available on the web.
Thinking of following the whole road, or just a section?
Start your planning by clicking on the states on the map from Historic Route 66 -- http://www.historic66.com/description/map.html -- which promises turn-by-turn directions, plus brief town descriptions.
If you're wondering what people do for kicks on Route 66, click the "Events" tab at the top of the page, a year-round list of happenings such as Illinois' Red Carpet Corridor Festival extending from Joliet to Towanda in May, or the Route 66 Blowout at Sapulpa, Okla., in June, along with a host of car and motorcycle shows.
The biggest asset at Historic Route 66 is "Links," a collection of connections to websites that could fill several hours of your research for a great American road trip.
Looking for unique spots for lunch?
Try the 66 Diner in Albuquerque, N.M., or the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, Ill.
Personal travel accounts? Look for the link to Mom & Dad's Route 66 Adventure or the Route 66 Honeymoon, a day-by-day account told in pictures and commentary.
And you should definitely search those links for the word "association" to locate links to Route 66 associations for the individual states along the way.
Some say there are ghosts along the way, especially in communities that dwindled or dried up entirely after they were bypassed by the four-lane.
Stop by Legendary Route 66 and look for "Ghosts" and "Ghost Towns" for spots such as Newkirk, N.M., or the one-time gold mining town of Oatman, Ariz.
