Despite its charm, the zig-zagging path of Route 66 did not have the military efficiency former WWII commander Dwight Eisenhower required. Ike had seen how well Germany’s Autobahn worked first hand during the war and hoped to recreate it in the U.S. In 1956, he signed the Interstate Highway Act, which would begin the piecemeal decommissioning of “the Mother Road.”

Route 66 is notable for its quirky stores, diners, museums and art installations. Just west of Amarillo, drivers can find the Cadillac Ranch. A group of artists from San Francisco who called themselves the Ant Farm worked with a local millionaire Stanley Marsh III to create the quirky installation, which has 21 colorfully painted Cadillacs half-buried, headlights down in the dirt.

For motorists who can’t get enough of the Mother Road, head to Albuquerque to stand on the unique intersection of Route 66 and Route 66. Due to changing traffic patterns, cities would occasionally shift the path of Route 66 through their town, and Albuquerque is the only place where “old 66” crosses “new 66.”

Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the first city to be settled by Europeans west of the Mississippi River. The National Historic District of Barrio de Analco is home to the San Miguel Chapel, which was built in the 17th century. It was partially destroyed in 1680 during the Pueblo Revolt, but most of the current building has been in place since 1710 — making it the oldest church in the continental U.S.

While Grand Canyon National Park is a popular detour only an hour off Route 66, the historic road runs straight through Arizona’s 230-square-mile Petrified Forest National Park, named for its colorful petrified wood throughout. It was established as a national park in 1962.

Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1955. Capitalizing on the car culture that Route 66 embodied, the duo later converted their restaurant to a speedy drive-in that focused on fast, inexpensive burgers. The building still stands, one of the many kitsch icons on Route 66, as a privately owned, unofficial McDonald’s museum.

While most of Texas’ portion of Route 66 was paved by the early 1930s, an 18-mile stretch outside of the tiny town of Jericho remained stubbornly muddy. Drivers traveling in poor weather conditions would get stuck in the heavy wax-like soil nicknamed “black gumbo,” often depending on local farmers to pull them out.

If drivers exactly follow the 45 mph speed limit on a stretch of Route 66 just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a series of rumble strips will play sounds at a pitch to replicate the song “America the Beautiful.” The musical stretch of highway was put in place by the New Mexico Department of Transportation in 2014. A similar stretch of musical highway can be found in Lancaster, California.

By far the shortest section of any state, Kansas claims just over 13 miles of Route 66. The Sunflower State makes the most of it, however, with a retro Kan-O-Tex gas station and the Galena Mining and Historical Museum transporting travelers back to the route’s 1920s heyday.

The creation of Route 66 was supported by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs for work relief and economic recovery after the Great Depression. The New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Project Administration programs put thousands of unemployed young men to work on the highway beginning in 1933. By 1938, the entire highway from Chicago to Los Angeles was paved.

The First Annual International Trans-Continental Foot Race, commonly known as the Bunion Derby, was held before Route 66 had even been fully paved. Racers had to endure the scorching heat of the Mojave Desert as well as blizzard-like conditions in other parts of the country. Cherokee Oklahoman Andy Payne won the race after 84 days of running and took home the top prize of $25,000.

In much of the southwestern United States, I-40 has functionally replaced Route 66. However, parts of the historic Mother Road remain running parallel to the interstate as a frontage road. New Mexico and Arizona both feature long stretches of I-40 interweaving with the former Route 66.

The National Park Service originally gave Route 66 the name “Main Street of America.” Route 66 has also been referred to in print and on signage as “America’s Main Street” and a number of variations of the phrase. The original Route 66 was different from the interstates we have today, with lower speed limits that varied from town to town, and it passed along the actual main streets of many towns between Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Route 66 Hall of Fame in Pontiac, Illinois, features a collection of Route 66 memorabilia and a floor dedicated to artist Bob Waldmire, whose work focused on the Mother Road. The museum features Waldmire’s renovated school bus he referred to as his “Road Yacht,” which he used to travel Route 66. Waldmire was born in Illinois, and traveled west on Route 66 to finally settle in Hackberry, Arizona.

As soon as Route 66 crosses from Illinois to Missouri, visitors drive past the 630-foot-high Gateway Arch, America’s tallest monument. Construction on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis began in 1963 and finished in 1965, about 40 years after the opening of Route 66. On the way out of town, the western edge of St. Louis also features Route 66 State Park.

The U.S. Highway 66 Association dubbed the route the “Will Rogers Highway” in 1952, but his history with the road goes back much further. From 1892 to 1895, young Rogers drove cattle along a 40-mile path that would become part of Route 66, and in the 1920s, he used his star status to promote the route.

“The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck’s classic novel of Okies making their way to California via Route 66, reflects the real-life trek many took during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Route 66’s terminus in California and the promise of new jobs offered hope for the downtrodden Joad family and sharecroppers like them.

Musician and actor Bobby Troup wrote “Route 66” while driving to Los Angeles from the Midwest to begin his career in entertainment. He eventually gained fame as an actor, playing Dr. Joe Early on the show “Emergency!” But Troup’s original song “Route 66” became a major hit when the Nat King Cole Trio recorded it in 1946. It was later recorded by Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, and Depeche Mode, among others.

Since Route 66 runs both east-to-west and west-to-east, there are two potential starting points for road trippers: the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in Chicago or the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. However, the route is commonly traversed east-to-west, with an “End of the Trail” sign marking the road’s terminus on the Santa Monica Pier.

Heading west to get your kicks on Route 66? Your final destination will be Santa Monica Pier in Southern California. Perhaps America’s most iconic roadway, U.S. Route 66 gained fame during the Dust Bowl era in the 1930s, when thousands traveled west to find work. Its original terminus was actually in downtown L.A., but as most travelers continued to the Pacific Ocean, the highway was later extended to Santa Monica.