2.5 million people fled the Plains States between 1930-1940. Route 66 was the primary route for these climate refugees seeking work in California and a break from the dust storms.

John Steinbeck famously christened Route 66 as “the Mother Road, the road of flight” in The Grapes of Wrath, capturing its role as a desperate escape route for Dust Bowl refugees heading west. Over time, the term was shortened to just “the Mother Road,” subtly shifting its legacy from a path of climate-induced migration to an emblem of nostalgic Americana.

2021 Holbrook, AZ

Most of the original Route 66 runs parallel to I-40 as frontage road. A 10 mile strip of the original dirt road exists between Glenrio, TX and San Jon, NM