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driving route 66 is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience along the road you'll get to see almost a century's worth of history while tracing the route that many used to migrate west my dad and I took 14 days and drove the route from Santa Monica all the way to Chicago of course there are more than 20 amazing things to see on this drive but we gathered up a few of our favorites and took turns sharing them in this video recommendation number one is the blue whale of Catoosa Oklahoma east of the town of Catoosa sits this cement whale which is one of the most recognizable attractions on route 66 I was really excited to see it and it lived up to my expectations as the will was a lot bigger than I thought it would be and you could walk through its mouth and climb up on its tail you can't swim there anymore but it's still a great stop on route 66 for the entire family our second recommendation is Seligman Arizona it's probably most famous as the home of the Delgadillo brothers they are arguably the leaders in getting route 66 back on the map after being decommissioned back in 1985 they run a barber shop and a burger shop and you could still meet them and talk to them about the history of the route for those of you who are Cars movie fans it's probably the closest city to Radiator Springs you will find on the route also if you're looking for a bite to eat the snow-capped drive-in is the place to go recommendation number three is Elmer's bottle tree range in between Victorville and Barstow California I've been to the bottle tree ranch many times but there was something different about exploring it as part of our route 66 Drive the bottle trees are basically pieces of metal welded together with bottles stuck on the end and everything from shovels to guns welded to the top there are hundreds on the property and this art installation is a fun place to explore in the middle of the California desert recommendation number four is Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo Texas it's the home of the ten Cadillacs buried nose-down right by the freeway they're surrounded by hundreds of empty spray-paint cans from innumerable graffiti artists who have visited so bring your paint can and make your mark but be sure to take your trash with you and you leave recommendation number five is open in Arizona after crossing over to Arizona from California one of the first places we stopped was a small town of Oatman it was instantly a favorite of mine as it felt like an Old West town and there were donkeys roaming the streets the town in a small mine you could explore a jail and an old hotel and restaurant the hotel is especially notable because it's where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent the first night of their honeymoon I really enjoyed open because the town just had a lot of charm and it was one of my favorite stops on the entire Drive recommendation number six is the route 66 Museum in Pontiac Illinois this is one of the very best museums on the route especially because of memorabilia related to Bob wold Meyer the iconic artist of route 66 his maps and drawings and art are on display as well as his famous converted school bus and the VW van in which he traversed the route many times this is a stop for which you need to plan a good 30 minutes to an hour recommendation number seven is the Meramec caverns in Missouri Missouri is known for its caves and Merrimac is one of the most famous on route 66 there are signs for it hundreds of miles before you get to it and luckily the cave tour easily lives up to the hype the tour walks you over a mile through the cave which was once a hideout for the Jesse James gang and has amazing formations with lots of underground water plus at the end of the tour they have a patriotic show that they display on the cave wall as well and that's not something I've ever seen in a cave tour before recommendation number 8 are the Black Mountains of Western Arizona after leaving California you cross the stunning Colorado River and the surrounding mountains they're known as the needles you then arrive at the ruggedly beautiful and vertiginous Black Mountains as you travel the winding roads you can only imagine the difficulty travelers must have had in the past moving west to start a new life in California it was easily one of the most beautiful natural sights of the route recommendation number nine is Petrified Forest National Park as the only National Park that route 66 runs through Petrified Forest is certainly worth the stop I would recommend spending an entire day in this park if you have the time and I have a whole video on it in the description even if you just go in to see the route 66 history you'll still drive past the Painted Desert and can visit the old Painted Desert Inn before arriving at the exhibit the route 66 exhibit marks where the road used to run through the park and it has an old rusted car on display as well definitely spend a half-day Explorer in the park if you can but even if you can't come in and see the route 66 exhibits you get a better understanding of the history of the route through this part of Arizona recommendation number 10 is the city of Tulsa when you go to Tulsa it's obvious that they are making every effort to bring back route 66 starting with the amazing route 66 risings statue which is like a symbol of what is happening right now on the route some of the highlights to be sure to see are the east-meets-west statue the buck Adams space cowboy the mother road market the huge oil driller statue and the beautiful meadow gold sign recommendation number 11 is standing on the corner park in Winslow Arizona this roadside stop was especially fun for me as I remember growing up listening to the famous Eagle song about standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona the fact that the town has adopted this line and dedicated a park in the middle of the downtown area to it is a lot of fun if there were dozens of people checking it out and taking photos and there are two statues of Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey as well as a flatbed Ford from the song parked right on the corner recommendation number 12 is Devil's root Museum in McLean Texas as we are planning the route it looked just like an interesting stop but when we got there it was fascinating every kind of barbed wire for every purpose was there including art how the wire was manufactured strung and spliced were all displayed and you can even buy pieces of barbed wire from the 1800s it's also connected to an interesting route 66 museum which has one attraction from an old reptile ranch which is a huge snake you may think that a museum about barbed wire is not an interesting place to stop but you'll be glad that you did recommendation number 13 is the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa New Mexico located in a relatively small town on the east side of the state this geological wonder has been a popular tourist stop ever since the route was developed the water here is a cool 62 degrees year-round and it's a fun place to stop especially if you're driving the road in this summer it's basically just a swimming hole but it's crazy how clear the water is and they have a cool cliff jumping spot making it a fun stop for the entire family on route 66 recommendation number 14 is twin arrows east of Flagstaff Arizona it's lost its former glory as a trading post but you can still go and see the two huge arrows stuck into the ground plus there are a few buildings that you can explore that are in disrepair it's a quick stop but it's worth getting off the freeway to take a few pictures of this iconic spot recommendation number 15 is pop soda in Arcadia Oklahoma on the outskirts of Oklahoma City pop soda Ranch is one of the newest attractions to route 66 and it's quickly becoming a really popular tour stop this attraction is over 700 sodas for sale a small restaurant and a gas station plus it has a large LED soda bottle outside which is lit up in crazy colors at night we made a late night drive from Oklahoma City to see it lit up and it was definitely worth it as it's a great stop for photos especially at night recommendation 16 is just to stop and talk to people we had some great conversations with passionate site owners of the various spots along the way who will be delighted to tell you about how they came to route 66 and how they developed the spot that they are now running you'll also find knowledgeable locals many of whom lived during the early days of route 66 it's also fun to chat with fellow travelers who have found unique discoveries of their own along the way so plan to take a little extra time be brave and talk to some folks because for me it was one of the best highlights of the entire route for recommendation number 17 I just want to throw all the old signs and motels into one during our drive we stopped it over 300 spots and one of the most fun things was just to keep your eyes peeled for the old signs and motels along the way both the old history and the new are fun to see while driving this famous road and every single day you'll see reminders of days past on route 66 also be sure to head out at night when you're in some of the more famous talents like Seligman and Tucumcari since these towns often have some great neon science to see at night as well for our last three spots we wanted to share some of the food we liked recommendation number 18 is Cattlemen's steakhouse in Oklahoma City Oklahoma it is nationally known as one of the top steak restaurants in the country but as you get inside the setting feels like you've stepped back into a high-class restaurant back in the 1950s at Cattlemen's whatever steak you choose you can't go wrong but be brave and try the lamb fries recommendation number 19 is cozy dog in Springfield Illinois cozy dog was a highlight for me since it's the birthplace of the corn dog I've always enjoyed corn dogs so I love being able to try the original plus the small restaurant has a large connection to route 66 through the wild Meijer family Edie Wald Meijer created the cozy dog and it's remained unchanged since 1946 his son Bob waltemeyer is one of the most well known artists who spent most of his life on route 66 you'll see his art and murals all over the drive but you can actually bribe prints of his mini maps and designs in the cozy dog as well our last recommendation is the doghouse restaurant in Albuquerque New Mexico we actually stumbled upon this place but when we were inside we realized that this was voted the best chili dog in America when you think about how pervasive chili dogs are that is a huge claim but we both agreed this small unassuming restaurant produced the best chili dogs we had ever had thanks so much for exploring route 66 with us hopefully this encouraged you to take the drive as well if you want to read more about all these spots go to through my lens calm and we'll see you on the next video