In the mail Monday, we received a copy of the 15th edition of the “Route 66 Dining & Lodging Guide,” published by the National Historic Route 66 Federation.
According to federation Executive Director David Knudson, the newest edition contains 48 additional pages (for a total of 166), is printed on better-quality paper, and boasts 200 more photographs inside. The guidebook is updated every two years.
The spiral-bound book lists for $15.95 on the federation’s website store, with $6.95 for handling and Priority Mail shipping. Knudson says it’ll be another month before the book is available on Amazon.com. So if you need one now, you’d better go to the federation’s site.
According to the book description:
It lists well over 500 dining and lodging establishments objectively reviewed by Federation Adopt-A-Hundred members. (No advertising is allowed.)
It concentrates on the vintage properties that made the Route famous. Price ranges, amenities, credit cards accepted, must stops and other specialty features are included.
Emily (aka Redforkhippie) and I have served as Adopt-a-Hundred volunteers for the past few editions, where we check out motels and restaurants along specific 100-mile sections of the Mother Road. So perhaps we’re biased in favor of the book.
But we used one of the early guidebooks on our first Route 66 trip even before we became involved as federation volunteers. Even when the book was a mere 60 pages or so, we found it was indispensable for finding cool restaurants or comfortable motels.
And it still is.