Best Campgrounds Along Route 66 Revealed

Best campgrounds along Route 66 revealed video by KOAT.

Summary:

Best campgrounds along Route 66 revealed

The video features my favorite Albuquerque RV park, the Route 66 RV Resort. 

KOA Invites RVers To Experience Route 66’s 100-Year Legacy

Above, Elk City, Oklahoma KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As 2026 is the centennial of Historic Route 66, Kampgrounds of America is focusing their marketing to those KOA Kampgrounds along the historic route for the celebration.

According to RV Business:

BILLINGS, Mont. — As Route 66 marks its 100th anniversary, the historic “Mother Road” is once again at the center of American travel. New data from Kampgrounds of America (KOA) shows the centennial is helping fuel a resurgence in road trips driven by a desire for slower, more intentional exploration.

In a special preview of research soon-to-be released as part of KOA’s annual Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report, 43% of campers say they plan to take a heritage or Americana-focused road trip, with growing interest in longer, multi-stop journeys that prioritize small towns, historic landmarks and roadside attractions.

“The Route 66 centennial is the perfect moment to finally take that iconic road trip you’ve been dreaming about,” said Diane Eichler, senior vice president of marketing at KOA. “This year, we’re seeing a real shift toward slower, more intentional road trips. People aren’t just driving Route 66, they’re stopping, exploring and spending time in the small towns along the way. Camping makes that kind of immersive travel easy.”

Also, according to the article:

Nearly 30 KOA campgrounds are located within an hour of Historic Route 66, stretching from Illinois to California.

The nearest KOA along the route is in Grants, New Mexico.

To read more, go here. 

"Ultimate Time" For RVs On Route 66

Above, burros strolling on Route 66 in Oatman, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since 2026 is the centennial year of Historic Route 66, celebrations will be held along its route. This provide a great opportunity for travelers, especially RVers, to explore "The Mother Road".

RV Lifestyle posted an article that this is the "ultimate time" for an RV adventure on Route 66.

It begins with:

In 2026, America’s most legendary highway turns 100 years old, and Route 66 is preparing for a celebration unlike anything travelers have seen before. Stretching more than 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, this historic roadway, known as America’s Mother Road, has captured the spirit of freedom, exploration, and adventure for generations.

For RV travelers especially, the Route 66 Centennial is more than a milestone. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the road at its most vibrant, restored, and alive.

To read more, go here. 

Route 66: What To Avoid and How To Plan

Where I live in New Mexico, there are several segments of Route 66 with easy access nearby. If there is a traffic jam on Interstate 40, I'll drive on Route 66. If I have to bring my 1952 Jeep to Gallup, I take Route 66.

Much of Route 66 was obliterated by Interstate 40, but there are some segments still drivable. 

For the average automobile, Route 66 is safe to drive. But it is a different story for big rigs. 

RV Life posted an article on what to avoid and how to plan a drive on Route 66 during the 2026 Centennial Celebration.

They begin with:

America’s most famous highway turns 100 in 2026, and towns from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, are planning cruises, parades, rallies, museum events, and neon-lit celebrations.

For travelers in larger motorhomes, fifth-wheels, or travel trailers, exploring Route 66 is both a bucket-list dream and a logistical challenge. Much of the “Mother Road” is a two-lane patchwork of state highways, city streets, preserved alignments, and sections that have been absorbed by interstates. Most of it is manageable in a modern RV if you approach it as you would a a big-rig trip, not as a “follow every Historic 66 sign” scavenger hunt.

The safest way to do it: use interstates for the long hauls, drop onto Route 66 only for wide, easy segments, and treat tight towns as park-and-play stops, which means drop the RV elsewhere and explore in your tow vehicle or dinghy.

Above, the gateway to the former Fort Wingate Army Depot is 100 yards from Route 66. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

New Mexico Marks Route 66 Centennial With Passport Program

Celebrating the centennial of Route 66 this year will spur people to head out in their vehicles to explore (what's left of) the fabled road.

New Mexico has come up with an incentive for doing so: a passport sticker program.

MSN reported:

New Mexico is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66 with a new passport program that allows travelers to collect stickers from participating businesses along the iconic route. Known as the "Mother Road," Route 66 has a long and varied history, and New Mexico is the only state in the country that hosts one of the original crossroads.

Many road warriors take photos or buy gifts to remember their scenic drive, and now, for the centennial year, the state and main districts of iconic Route 66 communities in New Mexico are teaming up. Travelers can pick up a passport at a business in one of the participating districts throughout the state and collect stickers from each location.

To read more, go here. 

National Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Event Schedule Announced

Back in 2016, I took a cross-country trip to Metropolis, Illinois to attend Noel Neill's memorial service.

Along the way, I stayed at several RV parks and campgrounds, one of which was the KOA Kampground in Springfield, Missouri.

Little did I know at the time was that Springfield is considered to be the birthplace of Route 66. RV Travel has posted an article on the city's kick-off Route 66 centennial event schedule.

Above, the Springfield, MO KOA Kampground in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

They begin it with:

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission, in partnership with The Road Ahead Partnership, has announced the full schedule for the National Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Celebration, presented by Vital Farms. Springfield is internationally recognized as the Birthplace of Route 66 and will host the three-day national event April 30–May 2, 2026.

Created by the Missouri General Assembly, the Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission leads the state’s planning, coordination, and preservation efforts for the upcoming 100th anniversary of historic U.S. Route 66.

To read more, go here. 

2026: Route 66 Centennial Year

Did you know that 2026 is the centennial year for the "Mother Road", Route 66?

Celebrations are going to take place along the historic route. It was established on November 11, 1926 and decommissioned on June 26, 1985. 

Route 66 is about two miles away from home to the west. One can drive it from Iyanbito to Gallup. It is now just a frontage road running parallel to Interstate 40.

Above, a Jeep drive on Route 66 in September. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I drive it on occasion whenever there are traffie tie-ups on Interstate 40. Resurfacing and widening is taking place near Fire Rock Navajo Casino in Gallup. 

For more information on the Route 66 centennial, go here.

Route 66 Centennial In 2026

Above, Route 66 in Williams, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Did you know that the centennial of Route 66, "The Mother Road", will take place in 2026?

Yes, the centennial of Route 66 will be taking place and plans are being formulated on the most fitting ways to celebrate it.

A Route 66 Centennial Commission is seeking ideas from people on how to celebrate. 

Above, the Route 66 sign near Gallup, New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Route 66 still is in the Gallup, New Mexico vicinity. For the most part, it is a frontage road from the I-40 Iyanbito interchange on through into Gallup. It also goes from Continental Divide on through into Albuquerque with some breaks along the route. Route 66 is still the main east-west highway through Gallup.

Above, eastbound on Route 66 outside of Gallup. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To access the Route 66 Centennial Commission's website, go here.

Monster Centennials 8 Years From Now

Above, Boris Karloff as the Monster in a publicity still. Photo by Universal Pictures.

For tonight's New Year's Eve dinner movie, I watched the 1931 Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan.  It had been a while since I last viewed it.

Since tomorrow will be 2023, it occurred to me that the movie will be 92 years old as well as Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Edward Van Sloan, David Manners and Dwight Frye. 

Above, Edward Van Sloan and Bela Lugosi in a publicity still. Photo by Universal Pictures.

Eight years from next year, both films will be celebrating their centennials. Will Universal Pictures have any whoop-de-doos to celebrate? I'd imagine they will (well, there's money to be made). 

I guess I'll have to hang on for eight more years to find out.

Coins Have Arrived

Above, the 2021 Morgan Centennial Silver Dollar and 2022 American Silver Eagle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

NOTICE: These coins are counterfeits! I checked them tonight (12/29/22) with a magnet and they stuck. I also compared them to other Morgans and American Eagles and there are differences. Go here.

The 2021 Morgan Silver Dollar 100th anniversary coin and the 2022 American Silver Eagle coin have arrived.

The 2021 Morgan was issued to honor the 100th anniversary of the original Morgan dollar series, which ran from 1878-1904 and 1921.

I was able to get both for $24.99 each, which is a bargain as the current spot price for silver is $24.24/ounce. 

I noticed one difference between the 2021 Morgan silver dollar the old ones. There is a pronounced line at the jawline. The old Morgans did not have this. See the photo below.

Above, the jawline is smooth on this 1921 Morgan in AU* grade. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

*AU = Almost Uncirculated

Numismatic News: Morgan and Peace Dollars, Old and New

Above, a 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar, a key date coin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Earlier this month, I ordered a 2021 Morgan Silver dollar and an American Silver Eagle.

The 2021 Morgan silver dollar is a centennial commemorate coin. I just checked and my coins are en route from Gallup.

Numismatic News has an article on this and the old Morgan and Peace dollars. Regular readers of this blog know that I have a big fondness for the Morgan silver dollar.

They begin it with:

In the year 2021, the United States Mint got just about every collector to sit up and take notice when they unveiled the 2021 Morgan and Peace dollars as centennial versions of the two classic series. The ever-present interest in the Morgan and Peace dollars went up a further notch and stayed there as the new versions were unveiled. To the chagrin of many in the collector community, the very next year the official word was that silver from suppliers to the Mint had been disrupted by the COVID pandemic, and there would be no Morgan and Peace dollars dated 2022. That announcement got many of us thinking that the 2021’s were going to be a one-hit wonder or the proverbial flash in the pan, and thus the dust settled a bit. But right now, the Mint is planning to release a set of 2023 Morgan and Peace dollars – probably with the same wealth of mint marks or privy marks as before – and this means we might be at the beginning of a new series. Whether this will grow over time to something as established and respected as the silver Eagles is still a mystery. But the time may indeed be ripe to look at collecting the classic Morgan and Peace dollars, or if we have already done so, at examining just what might still qualify as a good deal.

 To read more, go here.

U.S. Congress Passes Bill To Commemorate Route 66 Centennial In 2026

Above, Mitch Geriminsky and Armand at Cool Springs, Arizona. 

Incredible as it may seem, U.S. Route 66 will be 100 years old in five years.

The U.S. Congress passed a bill to commemorate the centennial of the "Mother Road".

According to Hagerty.com:

Big celebrations require plenty of planning—sometimes years of it. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed SEMA-supported legislation to create a commission “that would recommend ways to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66” in 2026. The historic 2448-mile stretch of road was commissioned in 1926 as the first all-paved U.S. highway.

According to SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association), the “Route 66 Centennial Commission Act,” S. 1014, creates a 15-person commission with representatives appointed by the President of the United States. The appointments are based on recommendations from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders, and the Governors of Route 66 states Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

The bill was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate last August. It now heads to the President for signature.

Route 66 is only a couple of miles away from my home.

To read more, go here. 

100 Facts About The Grand Canyon

Above, a view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since this year marks the centennial of the formation of Grand Canyon National Park, the Las Cruces Sun News has an article on the park that includes 50 photographs.

They begin with:

Grand Canyon may be the most recognizable landmark on the planet. And it's large enough to hold countless facts, figures and historical details you probably never knew. 

As Grand Canyon National Park celebrates its centennial during 2019, here are 100 things you should know about Arizona's natural wonder.

To read more, go here. 

Happy 100th Birthday, Grand Canyon National Park

Above, the Colorado River continues to carve the Grand Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Grand Canyon has been around for millions of years, but it has been only 100 years since it first became a national park.

Today marks the park's centennial.

From UPI.com:

On Feb. 26, 1919, 37 years after the first bill to establish the Grand Canyon as a national park was introduced, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Grand Canyon National Park Act, bringing the landmark under the protection of the National Park Service, preserving it for future generations.

I have been to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park many times and once to the North Rim. My most recent visit was a little over a year ago.

Above, the South Rim's Grand Canyon Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One does not get tired of visiting national parks as there are new things to discover on each visit. This is especially true of Grand Canyon National Park. If one has never visited it, they should include it in their "bucket list" of places to see.

Grand Canyon and Tribes Mark Centennial

Above, the Desert View Watchtower at the eastern part of the South Rim. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This year, Grand Canyon National Park is celebrating its centennial. Prior to the park's formation, it was home to Native Americans. It still is, and while relations between the park and tribes have improved, there is still some tension.

MPR News posted an article on the complicated relationship between Native Americans and the park.

They begin with:

Over the last century the geologic wonder of the Grand Canyon has inspired poets, painters, archaeologists and biologists. This week — on Tuesday, Feb. 26 — the Grand Canyon celebrates its 100 years as a National Park. But long before it became a national park, the Grand Canyon was a place many Native Americans called home. 

That's what Carletta Tilousi still calls it. 

"Most Americans think Native Americans are gone but we're still here," Tilousi says. Tilousi is a Havasupai council member and grew up in the Grand Canyon. 

"This is the home of Native Americans and our stories need to be told," Tilousi says. "I think Havasupai we've been ignored for a long time." 

In the late 1800s the federal government sequestered the Havasupai to a side canyon. It wasn't until 1975 that the tribe was given back some of their ancestral land.

To read more, go here. 

Visit Grand Canyon National Park In Winter

Above, the Colorado River continues to carve the Grand Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although right now is not the prime vacation season, Grand Canyon National Park South Rim is open for winter visits.

MultiBrief has an article on visiting Grand Canyon National Park during the winter.

They begin it with:

Grand Canyon National Park celebrates its centennial season this year, and the nation’s second most popular national park is expected to draw a record number of visitors — a figure that could top 6.5 million. So, if you’d like to join the 100th birthday celebration for the majestic canyon’s national park, we’d strongly suggest you beat the crowds with a winter visit. 

While the canyon’s North Rim closes to the public during the winter, the South Rim remains open, and the park’s scenic drives, viewpoints, trails, lodgings and RV campgrounds are delightfully uncongested. 

At an average elevation of 7,000 feet, the South Rim’s winter daytime temperatures can, of course, can be on the chilly side (typically 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit) but conditions are usually ideal for canyon gazing; hiking; biking; and mule, horse and helicopter rides.

Above, The Beast at Grand Canyon's Trailer Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

Grand Canyon: Becoming America's National Treasure

Above, the Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although the Colorado River has been carving it for eons, it has been only 100 years this month since the Grand Canyon in Arizona became a national park.

In commemoration of the centennial of Grand Canyon National Park, the Washington Post has an article on our national treasure.

They begin it with:

Native peoples knew it by several names, but it’s the one that explorer John Wesley Powell gave it in 1869 that stuck: the Grand Canyon. 

Though not the world’s longest or deepest canyon, it is grand. Some 6 million tourists descend on northern Arizona each year for the stunning views from its north and south rims, 18 miles apart at the widest point. More adventurous visitors hike or ride mules to the canyon floor a mile below, or raft down the Colorado River, whose currents carved the canyon millions of years ago. Humans arrived in the area 12,000 years ago, and some native tribes live there today. 

In February 1919 the Grand Canyon became one of our earliest national parks. It’s also one of the largest, about the size of Delaware. The Colorado River winds through it for 277 miles, longer than the distance between Washington, D.C., and New York City. 

As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the canyon is a huge outdoor lab for geologists (who study rocks) and others interested in studying its past and protecting its future.

To read more, go here. 

Grand Canyon National Park Centennial In 2019

Above, a view of the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Although the Grand Canyon has been around for eons, with the Colorado River carving it, the park has only been a national park for 100 years.

This year Grand Canyon National Park will be celebrating that milestone.

According to the Sentinel-Tribune:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The first European American who reached the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon marveled at what was before him: an astounding system of canyons, profound fissures and slender spires that seemingly tottered from their bases. 

The scenery wasn't enough to convince Lt. Joseph Christmas Ives that anyone would visit after his group that set out in a steamboat wrapped up an expedition in 1858. 

"Ours has been the first and, doubtless, will be the last party of whites to visit this profitless locality," he wrote. "It seems intended by nature that the Colorado River along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed." 

That clearly wasn't the way things worked out, and the Grand Canyon in 2019 will celebrate its 100th anniversary as a national park. 

Despite a federal government shutdown that has closed some other U.S. national parks, the Grand Canyon has remained open because Arizona decided to supply money needed to keep trails, shuttles and restrooms open.

To read more, go here. 

Yosemite's August Visitation Numbers Down

Above, the entrance road to North Pines Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The numbers are in for August's visitors and they are down in comparison to the previous year. Consider also that 2016 was the centennial of the National Park Service and that drew more visitors.

According to the Sierra Sun Times:

October 2, 2017 –  After last year's record setting number of visitors to Yosemite National Park, August 2017 stats has the number of recreation visitors down by 12.0% year over year. 

The Arch Rock Entrance Station (Mariposa -Highway 140) had an increase of visitors by auto of 5.1% compared to August 2016. Year to date numbers show an increase of visitors by auto of 15.9%.
 
The Big Oak Flat Entrance Station (Groveland - Highway 120) had a decrease of visitors by auto of 3.5% compared to August 2016. Year to date numbers show a decrease of visitors by auto of 22.4%.
 
The South Entrance (Oakhurst - Highway 41) had a decrease of visitors by auto of 42.0% compared to August 2016. Year to date numbers show a decrease of visitors by auto of 17.5%.

To read more (including stats for two more entrances), go here. 

July Was Yellowstone's Third Busiest On Record

Above, Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

July 2017 was Yellowstone National Park's third busiest July on record.

According to the Wyoming Business Report:

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park hosted 962,404 visits in July 2017. This was the third busiest July on record, down 3.4 percent from July 2016, which saw 995,917 visits. The second busiest July was in 2015 and saw 980,702 visits.

The July attendance numbers were probably due to the centennial of the National Park Service. The celebration garnered the national parks more awareness than usual.

To read more, go here.