1

122 S. Michigan Ave.

Image: Allen Boguslavsky

Why not start the trip at the place where it all began? For Route 66, the beginning is right in the heart of Chicago , at 122 S. Michigan Ave. Look for the iconic pylon near the intersection of South Michigan Avenue and East Adams Street.

Fun fact: the Mother Road didn’t always start there. Back in 1926, Jackson Boulevard at Michigan Avenue was the official launch point for travelers!

2

Gateway Arch

Image: Intricate Explorer

Follow your adventure in St. Louis with the Gateway Arch, a towering 630-foot tribute to westward expansion. This stainless-steel beauty isn’t just a landmark, it’s an experience in itself.

Ride the tram to the top for jaw-dropping views of the Mississippi River and the city skyline. It’s the perfect way to set the tone for the rest of your journey.

3

Route 66 Drive-In Theater

Image: Tim Mossholder

Ready for some vintage vibes? Swing by the Route 66 Drive-In Theater in Carthage, Missouri. This blast from the past offers double features under the stars , just like in the good old days.

Opened in 1949, closed in 1985, and re-opened in 1998, this drive-in theatre has functioned ever since and plays two movies from Friday to Sunday every single week. Bring your lawn chairs and a cooler, or cozy up in your car for the full retro experience.

4

The Golden Driller

Image: Jametlene Reskp

Now it’s time to meet the Golden Driller, a 76-foot-tall oil worker who’s been standing proud in Tulsa, Oklahoma, since the 1960s.

It’s one of the largest freestanding statues in the country and a nod to Oklahoma’s rich oil history. At the base, there’s a sign that reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who, by their vision and daring, have created from God’s abundance a better life for mankind." Strike a pose with this gentle giant, and you’ll feel downright tiny.

5

Route 66 Museum

Image: Carol Highsmith's America

For the following stop, you can take a break to explore the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton. In it, you’ll be able to see artifacts, photos, and exhibits celebrating the history of the Mother Road.

Wander through rooms themed by decade, and you’ll feel like you’re traveling through time. From the Dust Bowl to the heyday of diners, this museum paints quite a vivid picture of Route 66’s golden era. And, of course, you can go by the gift shop to get a road trip memento.

6

Cadillac Ranch

Image: Heidi Kaden

If you’ve ever wanted to graffiti a Cadillac, this is your chance. Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, features 10 half-buried cars sticking nose-first out of the ground. It’s an open-air art installation that’s as weird as it is wonderful.

Grab a can of spray paint (provided by friendly locals or your fellow travelers) and leave your mark. Just be warned, it might only last a day before someone else paints over it!

7

Route 66 Halfway Point

Image: Vicky McLain

Welcome to Adrian, Texas, the official halfway point of Route 66! You’re 1,139 miles from both Chicago and Los Angeles, so take a breath and celebrate!

The MidPoint Café is famous for its "ugly crust" pies. Don’t trust the name; they are actually delicious! It’s a perfect pit stop to recharge and think about the fact that you’ve conquered half of the Mother Road. Only halfway to go!

8

Meteor Crater

Image: John Ballem - a collection of personal photos

Arizona is home to some magical attractions, and Meteor Crater is no exception. This massive impact site, located near Meteor City, was created by a meteorite over 50,000 years ago . Standing on the rim and peering into the 560-foot-deep crater, you’ll feel like a tiny speck in the universe. The visitor center has some cool exhibits on space and meteors, which is perfect for science lovers or anyone who likes their roadside stops with a side of awe.

9

Old Trails Bridge

Image: Jimmy Whitson

Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, the Old Trails Bridge in Topock is a picturesque reminder of Route 66’s early days. Though it’s no longer open to traffic , it’s a popular photo spot for travelers.

The rusted steel beams and sweeping desert views will give you a beautiful moment. Pause here, take in the history, and imagine the countless cars that once went across its span.

10

Burger Hut

Image: Haseeb Jamil

Needless, California, may be small, but it’s big on charm, especially at Burger Hut. This unassuming little eatery is beloved for its old-school burgers, fries, and milkshakes. It’s the kind of place where the food is made with love , and the portions are hearty. Don’t take our word for it; just go try it!

After hours on the road, there’s nothing better than a juicy burger and a chance to stretch your legs. This spot is a gem along Route 66!

11

Hollywood sign

Image: Scott Greer

As you approach the end of Route 66, why not take a detour to see the world-famous Hollywood Sign? Perched on the hills overlooking Los Angeles, it’s a symbol of dreams and stardom .

Take a hike to the best viewpoints for some exercise (and epic photos, of course). Sure, it’s a bit off the beaten path, but what’s a road trip without a side quest?

12

Santa Monica Pier

Image: Joel Mott

You’ve made it! The Santa Monica Pier marks the official end of Route 66 . With its iconic Ferris wheel, arcade games, and ocean views, it’s the perfect spot to celebrate completing your journey.

Now you’re done, dip your toes in the Pacific, grab a cone of soft-serve, and reflect on all the memories you’ve made along the way. The Mother Road may end here, but the stories you’ve collected will last a lifetime.

1

The original plan included full-body figures

Image: Thomas Shockey

Mount Rushmore was supposed to be even more colossal than it already is. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum envisioned the four presidents carved from the waist up .

He even made plaster models showing Abraham Lincoln's coat folds and Teddy Roosevelt’s hand clutching his lapel. But as costs went up, Congress said: "heads only, please."

2

Charles Rushmore was just a curious New Yorker

Image: Maarten van den Heuvel

Back in 1925, when the mount was about to be carved into a monument, Charles Rushmore wrote a letter explaining why the peak bore his name. He recalled that in the 1880s he was a young New Yorker working in the area, and fell fond of that particular granite peak .

When he asked the locals about it, they informed him that it had no name, but that if he wished so, they would just start calling it Rushmore Peak, or Mount Rushmore, or the likes. Years later, that very name had been inscribed in the public domain to designate the peak.

3

Yes, there’s a hidden room behind Lincoln’s head

Image: Laura Nyhuis

Behind Abraham Lincoln’s hairline lies a hidden chamber, part of Borglum’s lofty idea for a "Hall of Records." This room was meant to house foundational American documents like the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.

Instead of that, in 1998, a titanium box was placed inside, filled with copies of important documents and biographies, as a time capsule to preserve the treasure of knowledge for future generations.

4

Thomas Jefferson was moved

Image: Dave Baraloto

Jefferson was originally supposed to go to Washington’s right, but after 18 months of chiseling , the granite betrayed them. Cracks and flaws made the site unworkable.

Borglum made the painful decision to blast Jefferson’s half-formed face clean off and start anew on Washington’s left.

5

The mountain was almost a monument to western heroes

Image: Timberly Hawkins

Before presidents took over, the mountain was pitched as a giant tribute to the Wild West . South Dakota historian Doane Robinson wanted to see frontier legends like Lewis & Clark carved into the Black Hills.

But when Borglum came aboard, he had a grander (and more politically bankable) idea: four presidents to symbolize national unity and expansion.

6

A woman’s face was almost added

Image: Tom Fournier

In the 1930s, there was serious talk of honoring Susan B. Anthony alongside the Founding Fathers, as a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.

Borglum wasn’t opposed to the idea, but Congress quickly nixed it, stating that only U.S. presidents could be included.

7

The workers were mostly local miners and loggers

Image: Pixabay

They were neither sculptors nor artists. Most of the workforce came from nearby Keystone, South Dakota: miners, loggers, and hard-up laborers looking for work during the Great Depression.

Borglum trained them himself. There were no safety harnesses, and yet, remarkably, no one died on the job.

8

Dynamite did 90% of the work

Image: Alexander Paramonov

To carve the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, workers used carefully timed dynamite blasts to remove over 450,000 tons of rock. They got so precise, they could blast within inches of where the final surface would be.

The last details, like wrinkles, pupils, or Roosevelt’s glasses, were done with jackhammers and chisels.

9

The noses are disproportionate

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Standing in front of the mountain, the faces seem alright. But that’s a trick of perspective. Each presidential nose is a whopping 20 feet long .

If the sculptures had included full bodies as planned, each figure would have stood 465 feet tall. That’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and most downtown skyscrapers.

10

Teddy Roosevelt was the most controversial pick

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Washington, of course. Jefferson, made sense. Lincoln, sure. And Teddy? Some critics raised their eyebrows at Borglum’s fourth choice. Roosevelt had only recently passed away in 1919, and many questioned whether he'd stood the test of time.

But Borglum defended the decision Roosevelt’s role in breaking up monopolies, conserving national parks, and engineering the Panama Canal. Plus, Borglum had met him personally and was a fan.

11

It was supposed to have inscriptions

Image: Dan Pick

Borglum had grander plans than just four giant heads. He wanted to carve a massive inscription next to them, a timeline of America’s most important milestones , chiseled straight into the mountain. In time, the idea was scrapped for practical and aesthetic reasons.

12

The visionary died before completion

Image: Lisa Reichenstein

Gutzon Borglum, the visionary behind it all, didn’t live to see his masterpiece finished. He died in March 1941, just as the construction was reaching its end. His son, Lincoln Borglum (yes, named after that Lincoln), took over the project.

Still, with WWII drawing resources elsewhere, funding was slashed, and Lincoln had to wrap things up quickly . Some features, like Lincoln’s ear, were never fully detailed.

1

Fire tornado, California

Image: Zoltan Tasi

A tornado is bad enough, but imagine a fire tornado—you’re entering a whole new level of catastrophe. This is exactly what occurred in 2018 near Redding, California, during the infamous Carr Fire event.

Intense wildfires almost always produce fire devils, fire whirls, and occasionally stronger vortexes resembling the tornadoes associated with severe thunderstorms. Fire tornadoes typically range from 100 to 1,000 feet in diameter , with rotational velocities of up to 90 mph. However, the Redding fire tornado was fueled by winds reaching an astonishing 143 mph .

2

Freak March heat wave, Midwest region

Image: Nadiia Ploshchenko 🇺🇦

High temperatures can be expected in the Midwest region but never for such an extended period during the winter season as occurred from March 14 to March 22, 2012 . Over these eight days, some areas experienced average daily temperatures that were 40°F above normal. Remarkably, even the daily low temperatures in certain locations exceeded the record highs for those dates.

On March 21, the temperature reached 90°F in Lapeer, Michigan—a stark contrast to the subzero temperatures that have often occurred in these same locations at this time of year, when snowpack is typically at its deepest.

3

Two F5 tornadoes at the same place on the same day

Image: Greg Johnson

F5 tornadoes are exceedingly rare. Only a handful of tornadoes of this intensity have been documented outside of the United States. Since 1900, just 104 of these monsters have been recorded anywhere on Earth.

This rarity makes the event on April 3, 1974 , near the town of Tanner, Alabama , even more astounding. Located about 20 miles west of Huntsville, Tanner was struck by two F5 tornadoes within just 30 minutes of each other.

4

The Dust Bowl

Image: Samantha Sheppard

The Dust Bowl, one of the most devastating weather events in American history, has a shared responsibility between nature and human interaction . In the 1930s, poor land management practices and unsustainable farming methods led to prolonged drought and massive dust storms in the Great Plains.

This ecological disaster forced thousands of families to abandon their homes, triggering a mass migration to find better opportunities elsewhere. As the Great Depression intensified, drought and decades of overfarming dried out the topsoil, leading to a series of dust storms from 1933 to 1939 that carried the soil eastward.

5

The Galveston Hurricane

Image: NASA

In 1900 a category 4 hurricane struck the city of Galveston, Texas , with devastating force, claiming an estimated 8,000 lives and causing widespread destruction. This tragedy prompted the construction of a seawall and the implementation of hurricane preparedness measures that continue to shape coastal planning and response strategies that are still in place today.

6

A summer-less year

Image: Todd Diemer

The combination of a tepid spring with late snows and an exceptionally cold summer, featuring frosts in July and August made 1816 a year without a proper summer . On July 4th, the high temperature in Savannah, Georgia, was only 46°F. Finally, there was a drought during early fall that culminated in a killing frost well before the end of September.

The apparent cause of this unusually cold summer was the eruption of the Tambora Volcano, half a world away in Indonesia, in 1815. A tremendous cloud of fine ash and dust was ejected into the stratosphere, where it remained for an extended period, significantly reducing the sun's heat and light and causing a cooldown throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

7

The darkest day

Image: Ganapathy Kumar

On May 19th, 1780, an extremely dark overcast mixed with thick smoke from nearby forest fires made the day feel like night for the people of New England. The mysterious event was first reported at dawn over southwest Vermont, and it slowly traveled southeastward during the day. The last place to report this strange weather was Barnstable, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, in the late afternoon.

In Boston, the atmosphere darkened noticeably after 9 a.m., to the point where reading newsprint outdoors became difficult. Many New Englanders believed that Judgment Day was at hand.

8

Animal rain

Image: Sanket Rajurkar

It should come as no surprise that the number of people who have heard of raining animals is much higher than the number of those who have actually experienced this phenomenon. After all, these types of rain are highly unusual.

The first documented instance of raining frogs was in Kansas City in 1873. In Texarkana, Texas, another strange form of precipitation occurred—this time in the form of fish falling from the sky. According to science, animal rain occurs when small aquatic animals like frogs, crabs, and small fish are swept up in waterspouts or drafts that occur on the surface of the earth. They are then rained down along with the rain.

9

Technicolor solar storm

Image: Luke Tanis

Unlike the northern lights, which usually appear as blue and green swirls in the sky, solar storms are so intense that they create a kaleidoscope of colors and can also be seen in regions where people have never witnessed them before.

In 2012, one of these events produced a stunning aurora over Crater Lake in Oregon. Scientists believed that two clouds of glowing particles were flung toward Earth by sunspots larger than our planet.

10

Super refraction

Image: Matthijs van Schuppen

Imagine waking up and being able to see much farther than you ever could before. That is exactly what happened in 2013 to the people of northern Ohio. They were stunned to find that they could see the Canadian shoreline, which is not at all possible under normal circumstances.

Locals were able to see Canada because of a rare natural phenomenon known as super refraction, where rays of light are bent downward toward the surface of the Earth. This bending occurs because of changes in air density. During this light-bending, distant objects that are usually hidden from view become visible, as they are reflected in the rays of light.