Route 66, (also known as U.S. Route 66, The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the Will Rogers Highway[1]) was a highway in the U.S. Highway system. One of the original federal routes, US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, though signs did not go up until the following year.[2] It originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles for a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km)

Route 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime that changed its overall length. One of these realignments moved the western endpoint from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. Contrary to common belief, Route 66 never ran to the coast; it terminated onto what was at the time US-101 ALT, at what is today the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard (a segment of State Route 1). It never went to the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard, even though there is a plaque dedicating Route 66 as the Will Rogers Highway there.

Route 66 was a major path of the migrants who went west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed. People became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive even with the growing threat of the new Interstate Highway System.

US 66 was officially decommissioned (that is, officially removed from the United States Highway System) on June 27, 1985[5] after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66". It has begun to return to maps in this form.

if your going to visit Texas, Stop and Discover El Paso!

El Paso is located at the western tip of Texas, where Texas, New Mexico and Old Mexico meet. It is the largest international metroplex in the world and seamlessly blends cultures and traditions: from the historic Old West to the colors of Mexico, from the heritage of Native Americans to the beauty of our desert sun.

El Paso has long been discovered. Since the early days when Spanish Conquistadors arrived at the banks of the Rio Grande in 1598, to today, with the millions of visitors who come here on a yearly basis.
Birthplace of America's Southwest

El Paso treasures its old ways. We still attend church in our old Spanish missions on the historic Mission Trail – eight of the most historic miles in the United States – built by Native Americans in the late seventeenth century. The area was also home to famous outlaws including Pancho Villa, John Wesley Hardin and Billy the Kid. And don't forget your boots; after all, this is the Boot Capital of the World, and boots are still made by hand here.
Mountains To Do

The high mountains, which cut through the middle of the city, offer a dramatic setting for El Paso. Visitors can ride the Wyler Aerial Tramway to Ranger Peak to get a panoramic view of the city, or drive along Transmountain Road which cuts right through the Franklin Mountains. You can enjoy a picnic in the largest urban park in the U.S.: Franklin Mountains State Park, or for outdoor explorers, there's also mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing virtually any time of the year.
Bridges to Mexico

With our sister city, Juarez, Mexico, just across the border, a visit to El Paso is like getting two destinations in one. You can easily have breakfast in El Paso and lunch in Mexico. It's easy to catch a trolley from Downtown El Paso and tour Juarez's shopping hot spots. Enjoy an ice cold cerveza or a Margarita – which was invented in one of Juarez's bars – or dine in one of many of the city's elaborately upscale restaurants or dance clubs. And many of Mexico's rich traditions are still alive and can be experienced: bullfights, greyhound racing, mariachis and colorful dances.

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