Virtual cruising

I’m not sure who’s doing this, but it’s pretty cool.

Someone has mounted a dashboard video camera and cruised Route 66 from its eastern starting point in Chicago. Some stoplight stops are edited, but it’s mostly real-time footage of driving west on the Mother Road. It’s darned near like being there.

Both videos are about an hour apiece. Part 1 starts in Chicago. Part 2 starts in Romeoville.

I have no idea whether the individual is planning on posting videos of his drive of the entire 2,200 miles. I’m eager to see.

UPDATE 6/1/07: Part 3, as the driver goes through Livingston County, Ill., has been posted. It’s about eight minutes.

2 thoughts on “Virtual cruising

  1. This is cool. So many people have never seen the true history of
    the original road..to see all the forgotten stops along the way. I wonder
    if they found the town in the movie “Cars” ! seriously. the history is
    to be preserved. Some day my Vette will roll down that way..
    I would like it on DVD to play on my big screen during parties!

  2. Just having taken a trip from Chicago through Oklahoma this past August, this was a wonderful way to document the trip. My one problem with this video is that if you didn’t know it was taken on Route 66 there is nothing in the video , other than the Gemini Giant at the Launching Pad in Wilmington and the Dot Drive-In in Braidwood that would let the viewer know you were on Route 66. So many icons were passed as the camera was focused straight ahead. At different points I can remember where there was a famous icon, but it was not in the cameras range and was passed by. You can see the posted Route 66 signs briefly in passing, but the whole deal about Route 66 is the icons that make it The Mother Road. While the video was titled and subtitled every once in a while as to where you were, the road looked like any other road. To me, the video was very tiring as it didn’t acknowledge the icons while passing them on the road. These icons have made Route 66 the most famous road in America and why people travel it, to see them and the people. What you saw was alot of traffic lights and taillights. The stopping and talking to these people and acknowledging the places still in business as well as the ghosts of the road. While the concept was excellent, to me someone wanting to travel Route 66 would look at this video and think…..is this all there is to The Mother Road.

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