Road trips figure prominently in my personal story. For fans of Jim Hinckley’s America that statement doesn’t come as a surprise. Still, road trips of the past, the present, and the future have been dominating thoughts this past few weeks.

The Great American Road Trip

Over the years I have shared snippets of my connection to the great American road trip in books, presentations, and interviews. But persistent inquiries from a publisher wanting me to write an autobiography have transformed the morning walkabout into trips down Memory Lane.

When a statue of me that was created b sculptress J. Anne Butler was unveiled during National Road Trip Day it felt like I was attending my own funeral. Now I am having to consider writing the obituary.

But that only explains one reason for the recent obsession with road trips. Or should I say the increasing obsession with road trips?

Route 66 Kids

Bob Boze Bell, author, artist and editor of True West magazine recently kicked off Route 66 Kids, a multi-faceted sequel to his book The 66 Kid: Raised on the Mother Road: Growing Up on Route 66, the World’s Most Famous Two-Lane Blacktop that was published in 2014. The project includes a podcast, website, new book, and a road show. 

Well, the road show kicks off on the evening of May 24 in the historic heart of Prescott, Arizona. As I am considered one of the 66 kids, I have been a guest on the podcast. And now I will be taking to the stage with Bob.

So, that has sparked thoughts of road trips of the past. And it will require a road trip, albeit a short one.

As has happened for at least sixty years the trip east from Kingman will begin with a drive along Route 66. At Seligman we turn south, and that is a drive down Memory Lane as well. After all, more years ago than I care to count, I worked ranches near Prescott. And as I was to broke to pay attention when my dearest friend and I married, a trip to Prescott was all that the budget would allow.

Oklahoma Bound

In June we set out for Tulsa where I will be a featured speaker at this year’s AAA Route 66 Road Fest. Linked with that will be a program at the New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants, New Mexico. Would you care to guess what the program is about? Yep, the great American road trip.

Then at the end of October we again head east on Route 66 to Edwardsville, Illinois. The destination is the annual Miles of Possibility Conference where I will be speaking on how Route 66 was transformed from highway to icon with an international fan club through some clever marketing campaign’s.

So, I am giving thought to developing programs about road trips. And I am making plans for road trips.

One More

And if all of this wasn’t enough to have road trips dominate my thoughts, there is the Route 66 anthology project. This is a rather exciting endeavor as it not only chronicles the evolution of Route 66 from 1926 into the highways centennial, it is also about its prehistory and its future.

So, more road trips. There is research, conversations, and writing about road trips on the most famous highway in America.

But this project is a team effort. And for me that adds an exciting new dimension as I working with some good friends who are passionate about Route 66 and the American story it represents.

Gregg Hasman is a gifted photographer and a journalist. Cheryl Eichar Jett is the author of numerous books and feature articles. Joe Sonderman is the author of several books, and editor for the magazine published by the Missouri Route 66 Association. Rhys Martin is a talented photographer, writer and the president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. Dries Bessels is a founding member of the Dutch Route 66 Association. He is also an author.

So, it looks like that for the foreseeable future, road trips will be a focal point of my world.