About seven years ago (goodness, has it been that long?), writer Tim Steil and photographer Jim Luning drove the Mother Road to research and gather material for their terrific book, "Route 66."
Along the way, Steil e-mailed his musings and experiences every night to friends and the Route 66 e-group, now part of Yahoo! I'm sure it's still in the archives somewhere, but it's a private group, and searching for anything in the archives can be a bear.
Fortunately, Luning has posted the whole series of journals on his Web site here. Those at work who fret over the occasionally coarse language on Web site are advised to peruse it at home. And for some reason that's so trivial that I can't remember, some were offended by what they read. But I thought it was the best and truest writing about Route 66 at the time.
Here's an excerpt:
This trip is changing me. I am learning to appreciate things I thought I didn't give a shit about. I am seeing parts of America I have never thought about going to, I am meeting people I thought I had nothing in common with, but feel an incredible closeness to after just a few minutes. It has everything to do with staying on this old road. I've done the interstate, it's fast and its easy, but it doesn't compare.
Re-reading it again today hasn't changed my opinion one bit.