1926 to 2026
Route 66 Desert Passport
Historic Route 66 near Amboy, California, 2012. Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
Stamp the road from Chicago to Santa Monica.
A new passport. The old flipbook is gone, and a fresh design was approved for this site. Collect a stamp, a signature, or a note at each stop. Stay on public property. Tag photos #MrsOrcuttsDriveway.
Print the booklet (PDF) Print this page
28 stops from Chicago to Santa Monica, plus a featured page for Mrs. Orcutt. Checked boxes stay in this browser only.
This passport belongs to
Name _______________________________
Trip dates ______________ · Car or party ______________
Her original driveway reached old Route 66. An I-40 survey crossed that track. Stay on public roads. Do not enter the property.
STOP 1
Begin Route 66 sign
Chicago, Illinois
The traditional eastern end of U.S. 66 is marked in downtown Chicago, where the highway was designated with the rest of the first federal numbered system in 1926.
Source: National Park Service
Date visited ______________ · Mileage ______________
What I saw ________________________________
STOP 2
Gemini Giant
Wilmington, Illinois
The Gemini Giant is a giant astronaut figure long associated with the Launching Pad drive-in on Route 66 in Wilmington. Confirm where the statue is standing before you detour; roadside giants are sometimes moved.
Source: Wikipedia
STOP 3
Chain of Rocks Bridge
Madison, Illinois
This former Route 66 crossing of the Mississippi River is known for a sharp bend in the deck. It is now used by people on foot and on bicycles.
STOP 4
Meramec Caverns
Stanton, Missouri
Meramec Caverns is a show cave in Stanton that advertised heavily to families driving Route 66.
STOP 5
Gay Parita
Paris Springs, Missouri
Paris Springs Junction is a tiny community on U.S. 66 in southwest Missouri, known for the recreated 1930s Gay Parita Sinclair station and a Route 66 store.
Source: TheRoute-66.com
STOP 6
Galena and Baxter Springs
Kansas
Route 66's path through Kansas is only about 13 miles, passing Galena and Baxter Springs in the southeast corner of the state.
STOP 7
Blue Whale of Catoosa
Catoosa, Oklahoma
Hugh Davis built the Blue Whale beside a swimming hole as a gift for his wife. The whale was completed in 1972.
STOP 8
Arcadia Round Barn
Arcadia, Oklahoma
The Arcadia Round Barn was built in 1898 and now welcomes Route 66 travelers as a landmark on the road through Arcadia.
STOP 9
U-Drop Inn
Shamrock, Texas
The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn, opened in 1936, is an Art Deco gas station and café that has been restored on Route 66 in Shamrock.
STOP 10
Cadillac Ranch
Amarillo, Texas
In 1974 the art group Ant Farm buried ten Cadillacs nose-down in a field west of Amarillo. Visitors are expected to leave the art, not the trash, and to respect the working ranch around it.
STOP 11
Midpoint Cafe
Adrian, Texas
Adrian is widely marked as the midpoint of historic Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica. The Midpoint Cafe sits on that claim.
STOP 12
Blue Swallow Motel
Tucumcari, New Mexico
The Blue Swallow Motel is a long-running Route 66 court in Tucumcari, known for its swallow neon and the slogan “100% Refrigerated Air.”
STOP 13
Central Avenue neon
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Central Avenue carried Route 66 through Albuquerque, and a string of neon motel signs still marks that path across the city.
STOP 14
Blue Hole
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
The Blue Hole is an artesian pool more than 80 feet deep that stays near 62°F. An early alignment of Route 66 passed beside it.
STOP 15
Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona
Historic Route 66 crossed Petrified Forest National Park. The National Park Service keeps a page on that crossing, often described as the highway's only national-park passage.
STOP 16
Wigwam Village No. 6
Holbrook, Arizona
Finished in 1950, Wigwam Village No. 6 offers concrete teepee rooms on old Route 66 in Holbrook and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
STOP 17
Standin' on the Corner Park
Winslow, Arizona
Standin' on the Corner Park, dedicated in 1999, celebrates the Eagles line about standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.
STOP 18
Seligman
Seligman, Arizona
In 1987 barber Angel Delgadillo helped found the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona in Seligman, a spark for the road's comeback after decommissioning.
STOP 19
Hackberry General Store
Hackberry, Arizona
The Hackberry General Store is a long-running Route 66 stop between Seligman and Kingman, piled with signs, pumps, and travelers' photos.
STOP 20
Cool Springs Station
Near Kingman, Arizona
On the pre-1952 mountain alignment, U.S. 66 left the Black Mountains at Cool Springs Station, between Oatman and Kingman. Confirm the station is open before you stop.
STOP 21
Oatman
Oatman, Arizona
Oatman is a former gold-mining town on the mountain alignment of Route 66, where free-roaming burros walk the main street.
STOP 22
Needles
Needles, California
Needles sits on the Colorado River where Route 66 entered California. El Garces, beside the railroad, was a Harvey House hotel.
STOP 23
Roy's Motel and Café
Amboy, California
Roy Crowl opened Roy's in Amboy in the late 1930s. The boomerang sign still marks the desert alignment of Route 66. Amboy Crater, a nearby cinder cone on public land, is a separate stop: check current Bureau of Land Management access before you hike.
STOP 24
Bagdad Cafe
Newberry Springs, California
The café, once the Sidewinder Café, became famous as the setting of Percy Adlon's Bagdad Café, filmed here in 1987, and later took the film's name. The motel from the film is gone; the café and its sign remain.
STOP 25
Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch
Oro Grande, California
Elmer Long built a roadside forest of bottle trees along National Trails Highway in Oro Grande. Confirm that the ranch is open before you plan a stop.
STOP 26
Harvey House and Mother Road Museum
Barstow, California
Casa del Desierto, the 1911 Harvey House by the Barstow rail yard, houses the Route 66 Mother Road Museum and the Western America Railroad Museum. Hours change: check before you go.
STOP 27
Wigwam Village No. 7
San Bernardino / Rialto, California
Frank Redford built Wigwam Village No. 7 in the late 1940s on historic Route 66 at the San Bernardino to Rialto line. The mailing address is Rialto; the motel sits on the city boundary.
STOP 28
End of the Trail sign
Santa Monica Pier, California
The End of the Trail sign at Santa Monica Pier marks the western end of Route 66 at the Pacific Ocean.
FEATURED PAGE
Mrs. Orcutt's Driveway
Margaret “Bonnie” Orcutt's original driveway reached old Route 66. An I-40 survey crossed that track. Stamp this page for the Bagdad Cafe, and stay on public roads. Do not enter the property. What she did next is in the book.
Source: Mrs. Orcutt's Driveway
Stamp ideas: the Bagdad Cafe sign, from the public road. Do not enter the property.
Before you go near the driveway
The stretch where Margaret “Bonnie” Orcutt made her stand still exists. It is not preserved or protected. The author does not own it and does not invite you there. The property is decaying: unstable ground, debris, wildlife, and extreme heat. Anyone who goes does so at their own risk.
This is not a tourist destination. Full disclaimer
Trip log
Miles this trip ______ · Favorite stop ______ · A name I want to remember ______
Buy the book · Bonus stamps and stickers
advertisement
EnglishFrançaisEspañolMore from C. V. Wooster → cvwooster.com
More desert history from C. V. Wooster: The King of Quacks (Zzyzx) · When the Birds Go Silent (the Mojave War)
Substack
The parchment, postmarks, stamps, gilt corners, and desert sketches come from C. V. Wooster's presentation for the book. Photographs are credited where they appear. The award seals and the signed manual page are from the author's materials.