We Followed Route 66… And Discovered What Everyone Drives Past

We followed Route 66 through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma—and discovered the stories most people drive right past. What started as an RV road trip home became something completely different when we stopped asking, “How fast can we get there?” and started asking, “What’s the story here?” After already putting more than 1,100 miles on the brand-new axles under our full-time RV just getting to Colorado, we still had to make our way back toward Memphis. But this time, instead of taking the fastest route, we started following the old roads. That took us through Taos, New Mexico, where we found an incredible dispersed camping spot, and eventually into Tucumcari, where our Route 66 road trip really began. From there, we followed historic Route 66 through Glenrio ghost town and the Route 66 Midpoint in Adrian, Texas. But the farther we traveled, the more interested we became in the stories hiding beyond the highway signs. At Caprock Canyons State Park, the Texas State Bison Herd led us into the story of Charles and Molly Goodnight. In Turkey, Texas, we learned about Bob Wills and the roots of Western Swing. We passed through Estelline, followed a Bonnie and Clyde story across the Texas Panhandle, and crossed into Oklahoma through tiny Texola. Then came Roger Miller, Dust Bowl history, The Grapes of Wrath and the families who traveled Route 66 looking for a different life. Suddenly this wasn't just an old highway anymore. It was a road filled with stories. Our Oklahoma Route 66 journey continued through Elk City and Weatherford, including the Stafford Air & Space Museum, before taking us to Lucille's historic Route 66 gas station, Pony Bridge, Fort Reno, the Arcadia Round Barn and Pops 66. And somewhere along all those miles, something changed. We weren't simply trying to get our RV home anymore. The stories we were finding started changing where we stopped, which roads we took and what we noticed along the way. Maybe that's the real reason roads like Route 66 still matter 100 years later. The adventure doesn't have to begin when you reach the destination. Sometimes it's already happening in the little towns, forgotten buildings, old roads and stories you're passing every day—you just have to slow down enough to notice them. By the time we made it back toward Memphis, we'd put 2,945 miles on our new RV axles. And we'd found a different way to travel. If you enjoy story-driven RV travel, historic roads, small towns and finding the adventure hiding along the way, subscribe to Chase Your Adventure and come explore with us. #Route66 #Route66RoadTrip #RVTravel #HistoricRoute66 #ChaseYourAdventure HISTORICAL PHOTO / SOURCE CREDITS Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division — FSA/OWI Collection — for the historical Dust Bowl imagery. Texas State Historical Association / Handbook of Texas — Molly & Charles Goodnight image/source in the bison story. Texan by Nature / Caprock Canyons State Park — for the Goodnight herd history/1909 buffalo postcard The Bridge – A Piece of Collingsworth County History — used stills from that documentary in the Bonnie & Clyde section.