Celebrate the adventure that is Route 66. This storied old highway turns 100 in 2026. And we will also have another momentous anniversary to celebrate next year. It’s the United States Semiquincentennial!
Personally, I can’t think of a better place to celebrate the inspiring and diverse history of this amazing country than on the Main Street of America! As with Jim Hinckley’s America, an odyssey along this almost magical highway is a shared adventure in any season. But in 2026 that grand adventure will be epic.
Passionate storytellers, bold artists, entrepreneurs, and creative tourism innovators are doing more than chronicling this highway’s past. They are writing its next chapters. And when you celebrate that adventure with a road trip on legendary Route 66, you are sharing that adventure and helping write those chapters.
With that as introduction, I would like to stir the excitment. And I want to provide a dose of road trip inspiration by introducing you to some of the projects and people that ensure anniversary celebrations will be historic.
John Paget’s Centennial Documentary: Route 66: The Main Street of America
When you talk about capturing the spirit of Route 66 in motion, few names resonate like John Paget. He’s long been a prominent documentary filmmaker. His Route 66 projects that include Route 66: An American Odyssey and Route 66: Return to the Road with Martin Milner dates back to 1994.
Paget has embarked on a bold new venture: a feature-length film titled Route 66: The Main Street of America. This film is designated an official project of the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission. It is intended to be a centennial celebration, a call to keep the road’s legacy alive, and a time capsule for future generations.
What makes this film special
- It doesn’t just show Route 66 as it is. It is a rich tapestry that blends the story of towns, people, and places. It blurs the line between past, present and future.
- Paget has deep roots with the highway. He first strapped a TV camera to a Cadillac hood in 1994 and working with personalities such as Martin Milner began filming an adventure along Route 66.
- The film is in a final fundraising stage via a Kickstarter campaign. Backers are invited to help complete editing, post-production, and distribution.
- To promote and celebrate the film, the Main Street of America Roadshow is being planned. This will be a cross-country screening tour along Route 66 that is being linked to community events, live performances, and interactive involvement.
Connection to Jim Hinckley’s America / Coffee With Jim
Paget has appeared as a guest on the acclaimed Coffee With Jim podcast. He shared his insights, experiences, and thoughts about Route 66’s future. If you haven’t listened to this episode, I strongly encourage you to cue it up. It’s a rich personal window into the life of someone who literally filmed his way into the heart of Route 66.
As his film nears completion, the Jim Hinckley’s America network is proud to amplify that work. We will also be assisting screening hosts. And we will lend support for cross-promotional momentum via the podcast, blog, social media, and local Route 66 groups. This is another example of the shared adventure that is Jim Hinckley’s America.
If you want to be a part of this exciting project, check out the Kickstarter page “Route 66: The Main Street of America.” Learn about rewards tied to credits, swag, exclusive screenings, and behind-the-scenes access.
Donald Gialanella’s Running Hare & Kingman Tours’ QR-Enabled Walkabout
With the Kingman Main Street Kingman Tours project art and tourism converge beautifully in Kingman, Arizona. This project embraced public sculpture, tech-enhanced history, and Route 66 storytelling. One of the crown jewels in this effort is sculptor Donald Gialanella’s Running Hare.
Who is Donald Gialanella?
- Originally from Maplewood, NJ, Gialanella studied at the Cooper Union and apprenticed with Louise Bourgeois.
- Over decades, he’s built a reputation for public art, with installations across the U.S. in cities, on campuses, and as the centerpice in public spaces.
- He has a deep affinity for found-metal, reclaimed materials, and expressive forms that resonate with place and that spark the imagination.
- A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for the production of a full length documentary film about Gialanella’s journey as an artist and sculptor.
Running Hare and its route-side presence
- Commissioned in 2015, Running Hare is a 12-foot-tall anthropomorphic hare constructed from steel, stainless steel, and auto parts sourced locally.
- The work stands at the northwest corner of Andy Devine Avenue (Route 66) and 4th Street in Kingman. It serves as a symbol of speed, travel, and motion, the spirit of legendary Route 66.
- It was created during Gialanella’s tenure as artist-in-residence in Kingman, using scrap from a local wrecking yard and support from the Kingman Route 66 Association.
Kingman Tours & the Walkabout with Jim Hinckley
Kingman Main Street, partnering with Talisman Magic Marketing and the city of Kingman, launched an innovative initiative in 2022. This self-guided, narrated historic district walking tour is promoted as “A Walkabout with Jim Hinckley.”
- The Kingman Tours website provides visitors with a virtual tour, a comprehensive regional calendar powered by Yodel, a fascinating blog, and Route 66 centennial gift shop.
- A physical tour linked to the website relies on QR code plaques at each point of interest. Visitors scan the QR code and receive audio narration, typically voiced by author, historian and humorist Jim Hinckley. This adds depth and local flavor to each stop.
- The Running Hare is one such stop. The audio narration shares Gialanella’s vision and the inspiration behind the sculpture.
- There are plans to expand the scope of KIngman Tours with the addition of new points of interest. The project is a living, evolving map of discovery It is also a template for other communities that are looking for ways to increase foot traffic in historic business districts. Kingman Tours
- A statue of Jim Hinckley himself (a bronze at Depot Plaza created by J. Anne Butler) serves as the tour anchor.
Route 66 Programs, Tours, and the Ecosystem of Road Travel
Your journey along Route 66 isn’t just about pavement and postcards. It’s about the people. And it is a blending of entrepreneurial spirit, preservation, culture, and memory making experiences.
Official Route 66 Programs & Events
- The U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission has certified projects like Paget’s documentary and is lending support to national events, road festivals, stamp programs, and more.
- For more than a decade the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership has provided business resources, marketing support, and promotional tools for communities along the highway. Those endeavros have been ramped up for the centennial.
- On the centennial events front, regional “Route 66 Festivals,” car cruises, and historic downtown celebrations that keep local energy strong are being organized with an eye on the future.
One flagship gathering is the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference. This is a gathering of business owners, planners, preservationists, and tourism developers who share best practices, network, and envision Route 66’s future. As an event focused on the business of Route 66 it is unique.
- In 2025, the conference is slated for Joliet, Illinois. (Detailed agenda, speakers, and registration is available via the official Miles of Possibility site.)
- Past conferences have hosted sessions on marketing, placemaking, public art, fundraising, digital storytelling, and cross-state collaboration.
Tour Operators & Road-Trip Curators
RouteTrip USA (UK-based)
Though based in the U.K., RouteTrip USA is a specialist operator of bespoke Route 66, American, and Canadian holidays. Their offerings include rail tours, self-drive itineraries, and themed packages.
- The company has garnered accolades for authenticity, local partnerships, and an attention to detail.
- In creating custom itineraries, they consult regional experts, historians, and sometimes voices like Jim Hinckley to infuse historical narrative and hidden gems.
- Their reviews often highlight how they avoid “tourist traps” and instead take guests into small towns, use untold stories to add depth, and immerse travelers in the local community.
Austin Coop’s Two Lane America
Austin is a luminary in the modern road-trip world. Two Lane America is his hands-on, curated tour company that has as a goal “making the great American road trip easier than ever.”
- What sets them apart is that each tour blends driving with storytelling, live narration, local meals, and author/host interaction. For example, one of their standout features on the Route 66 tour is a lunch program with guest author and historian Jim HInckley.
- Reviews often note the “insider access,” small-group feel, and seamless logistics (lodging, meals, side trips) that make the trip feel more like a curated journey than a cookie-cutter tour.
Gilligan’s Route 66 Tours
Gilligan’s Route 66 Tours offers both caravan tours (where participants travel in convoy) and self-guided Route 66 tours with packet support, maps, detailed guide book filled with history and trivia, and a custom app. These tours also provide an opportunity to meet with Jim Hinckley. Also offered is a specialty caravan tour along the Mississippi River.
- Their self-guided option allows flexibility while still giving participants maps, route notes, and recommended stops.
- Caravan tours offer camaraderie, an on-the-ground guide, and local support This is ideal for those who want both freedom and structure.
These tour operators not only bring travelers, they bring revenue, awareness, and support to the local businesses. And this support is what keeps the vintage motels, diners, and curio shops open.
Passport & Incentive Programs: Touch Media’s Route 66 Passport
An elegant addition to the Route 66 travelers toolkit is the Route 66 Passport. Pioneered by Touch Media, this is a physical booklet in which travelers collect stamps and souvenirs at participating businesses, museums, and attractions along the route.
- The passport encourages travelers to explore more stops, and engage more deeply with communities.
- For the centennial, a special Route 66 Centennial Passport is in development. Most likely this will be an upgraded version with commemorative stamps, bonus destinations, and possibly digital tie-ins.
- Touch Media also offers a free planning guide to Route 66 travel, available in eight languages, making the road accessible to global audiences. This works hand in glove with Route 66 Navigation.
The passport initiative dovetails beautifully with local tours (like Kingman’s QR walking tour), because it rewards exploration, supports local partners, and builds a narrative of discovery.
Iconic Motels for Sale: Opportunity Meets Preservation
As much as Route 66 is about motion, it’s also about place. And a few iconic motels today stand at the crossroads of nostalgia and entrepreneurial possibility.
Wagon Wheel Motel, Cuba, Missouri
Counted among the rare pre-World War II motels, the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri, is a living relic of the early days of roadside lodging. It’s famed for its neon sign, vintage rooms, and strong Route 66 credibility earned through hospitality.
- This revered gem is still a welcoming oasis for guests as it has been since 1936
- Opportunty is knocking. The iconic Wagon Wheel Motel is for sale! This is an opportunity for someone who wants to preserve history, and write a new chapter in the Route 66 story while running a hospitality business.
Roadrunner Lodge Motel, Tucumcari, New Mexico
Another gem is the Roadrunner Lodge Motel in Tucumcari, a destination for Route 66 travelers known for neon, charm, a palpable sense of community, and desert skies.
- This property, too, has been listed for sale. The savvy investor could hit the ground running as this award winning renovated property is well known in the Route 66 community.
- An entrepreneur with vision can easily do more than make money. They will be stewards of a cultural landmark, preserving authenticity while generating sustainable income.
Either property could integrate with tour companies, or become nodes in a centennial Route 66 visitor network.
Connect66: A Vision for Coherence Along the Mother Road
An innovative new multi-faceted initiative is being introduced just in time for the dawn of Route 66’s second century. The vision of Connect66 developers is to knit events, history, shared adventures, storytelling and travel planning information all together. It has the potential to link the international Route 66 community into a more integrated, supportive network.
What Connect66 could become
- A digital backbone—a shared platform where travelers can map routes, get information about events, find lodging and business discounts, share adventures, and immerse themselves in the history of legendary Route 66.
- A community of practice—a network for chambers, tourism offices, and preservation nonprofits to share data, best practices, and collaborative events.
- A branding umbrella—a unifying network for Route 66 businesses.
- A conduit—pooled resources for a network of cooperative partnerships to develop infrastructure, preservation projects, public art, and more.
- A centennial legacy tool—ensuring that the energy and momentum of the centennial doesn’t fade, but gets codified into sustainable systems, public archives, and community capacity.
If Connect66 can bridge local projects (like Kingman’s QR tours, passport initiatives, or motel sales) with national storytelling (like the Paget film or the podcast), it will be a powerful engine for long-term preservation, development, and visitor impact along the Route 66 corridor.
Pulling It All Together: Your Invitation to Participate
As you can see, Route 66 in 2025 is not a static relic. This is a dynamic, evolving narrative shaped by filmmakers, artists, historians, entrepreneurs, and travelers who care. Each of the projects discussed today is a thread in a large and diverse tapestry. Here’s how you—yes, you—can plug in:
- Be a backer
Support John Paget’s Kickstarter for Route 66: The Main Street of America. It’s often late-stage funding that makes the difference between completion and obstruction. - Promote local art + storytelling
If you’re in Kingman (or passing through), experience the Running Hare and Kingman Tours’ QR walk. Encourage similar projects in other towns—public art tied to narrative is a magnet for curiosity. - Engage with tours
Consider booking with RouteTrip USA, Two Lane America, or Gilligan’s caravans. Your shared adventure would be a vote for sustainable Route 66 tourism. - Monitor motel opportunities
Keep an eye on the sale of Wagon Wheel Motel and Roadrunner Lodge Motel. Acquire not just for profit, but for placekeeping and community pride. - Adopt Connect66 thinking
Whether you’re a community leader, business owner, or traveler, imagine how your stretch of Route 66 might plug into a wider network. Through co-branding, shared apps, joint promotion, or event cooperation you can ensure Route 66 remains relevant long after the centenial. - Attend, speak, or sponsor
Make plans to attend the 2025 Miles of Possibility Conference in Joliet. And for the 2026 conference, propose session topics, and make plans ti network with peers.
Final Word: Join Us for the Next celebration
If you’ve made it this far, I hope you feel the hum of possibility. Route 66 may be 100 years old but its legacy is still being written. And you can help write it.
- Subscribe to Jim Hinckley’s America blog to get regular stories, discoveries, and calls to action.
- Subscribe to the Coffee With Jim podcast on Podbean, where we host guests like John Paget, share behind-the-scenes Route 66 tales, and keep you plugged into the road’s network.
- Follow Jim Hinckley’s America on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We’ll drop tour announcements, highlight community projects like Connect66 and the Route 66 centennial passport. And we will help amplify voices up and down the highway.
The Mother Road is calling. Let’s answer together!
Thank you. Shared adventures are the best adventures.