Adam the Woo travels Route 66

Popular video blogger Adam the Woo and colleague Jacob the Carpetbagger recently completed a west-to-east trip on Route 66.

Adam uploaded a dozen videos from his journey, totaling more than 2 1/2 hours of footage from the Mother Road. Video blogs are a dime a dozen on YouTube, but Adam logs tens of thousands of views each time he uploads a clip. His best work probably was finding all the shooting locations for the 1983 comedy film “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

Adam is a friend of fellow Route 66 enthusiast and video blogger Justin Scarred, and it shows with plenty of whimsy. But, like Scarred, Adam appreciates roadside kitsch and oddball attractions.

Adam begins his journey from the Santa Monica Pier, visits the Wigwam Motel and the original McDonald’s in San Bernardino, California; goes into the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville; walks through the Bottletree Ranch in Oro Grande, California; checks out Barstow Station in Barstow, California; and visits Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs, California.

Day 2 sees Adam and Jacob feed a few wild burros and see gunfights in Oatman, Arizona; stop at Cool Springs Camp; visit the Powerhouse Museum, El Travatore Motel and other sites in Kingman, Arizona; see Giganticus Headicus; stop at the Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona; and dine at the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, Arizona.

The third day begins with visits to more sites in Seligman; checking out Ash Fork and Williams, Arizona; visiting the ruins of Twin Arrows Two Guns and Meteor City, Arizona; stops at the Jackrabbit Trading Post near Joseph City, Arizona; and eating supper at the Butterfield Steakhouse in Holbrook, Arizona.

Adam and Jacob check out more sites in Holbrook; visit Chief Yellowhorse’s Trading Post at the New Mexico border; dine inside El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico; and walk across the Rio Puerco Bridge.

The duo visit the bizarre and intricate Tinker Town Museum near Albuquerque; roll through the ghost town of Cuervo, New Mexico; and check out the neon signs and roadside architecture of Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Adam and Jacob stop at Russell’s Travel Center near Endee, New Mexico; reach the middle of Route 66 at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas; visit Dot’s Mini-Museum in Vega, Texas; spray-paint cars at Cadillac Ranch; Jacob tackles the 72-ounce steak dinner at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo; visit Slugbug Ranch near Groom, Texas; and kiss the two Blarney Stones and gaze at the U-Drop Inn’s neon in Shamrock, Texas.

They visit U-Drop Inn in Shamrock while it’s open as a tourism center; check out the ghost town of Texola, Oklahoma; visit the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma; dine at Gayla’s at the Market in Clinton, Oklahoma; see Lucille’s in Hydro, Oklahoma; drive across the Pony Bridge in Bridgeport and the Lake Overholser Bridge in Oklahoma City.

Adam and Jacob try to cope with snow and ice in Oklahoma City; buy soda at POPs and visit the Round Barn and John Hargrove’s place in Arcadia, Oklahoma; go to the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler, Oklahoma; visit the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma; check out the Golden Driller in Tulsa; visit the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma; dine at Waylan’s Ku-Ku in Miami, Oklahoma; and chat with the owner of the Dairy King in Commerce, Oklahoma.

They venture into the evacuated town of Picher, Oklahoma; bump into Dean Walker at the Route 66 Visitors Center in Baxter Springs, Kansas; check out the Marsh Arch Bridge; meet the original inspiration to Mater in “Cars” in Galena, Kansas; stroll through the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri; get shakes at a vintage Steak ‘n’ Shake in Springfield, Missouri; and try to refrain from cracking cheap jokes at Uranus, Missouri.

Adam and Jacob visit Devil’s Elbow, Missouri; see the front of the Trail of Tears Memorial near Jerome, Missouri; go to the Vacuum Museum and Bob’s Gasoline Alley in Cuba, Missouri; and ride in a pod to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

The two visit Rich Henry at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Illinois; investigate the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and dine at the Cozy Dog Drive-In, both in Springfield, Illinois.

The last installment in Illinois,includes visiting the artifacts of Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire at the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, meeting the new owners of the Launching Pad Drive-In in Wilmington, and seeing the end of the road in Chicago.

Adam said in one of the videos that although this is the first trip on Route 66 from end to end, he plans to do it again in the future to cover other attractions that were missed.

Jacob the Carpetbagger also uploaded videos during the Route 66 trip, which can be found here.

(Screen-capture image from video of Adam the Woo at the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois)