Route 66

More than three decades after Route 66 went by the wayside, so to speak, it remains a nostalgic signifier of a 50-year period when cross-country travel was synonomous with meeting interesting characters, absorbing marvelous new sights, and stopping to check the oil along the way. In this colorful biopic of the Mother Road, author Tim Steil retraces the wandering path of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, returning home with a scrapbook of new color photography and evocative period imagery profiling businesses and attractions that continue to operate alongside Route 66 despite the demise of the legendary two-lane. The result is a unique look at motels, service stations, restaurants, truck stops, and museums, and the colorful folks who continue to whittle out a livelihood along Route 66 despite the death of the road trip as spelled out by the vapor trails overhead.