An Ode to the Mother Road

Hello readers!

I bet you’ve been wondering where I disappeared to over the last several weeks. Well, I’ve been a little bit of everywhere, if you want the honest truth. Sometimes, we all just have to refill the old well – both the spiritual well and the writing well. As for my husband and me, one of our favorite ways to do that is with a road trip. Usually, it’s just a short jaunt to somewhere close, like Solvang or Santa Barbra. Maybe if we have some extra time, we’ll do Big Bear or Yosemite. For this road trip, well… we went a little grander in scale.

Both of us have had long-time dreams to do Route 66. Not just a state or two. We wanted to do the whole dang thing. I had wanted to try it ever since I first read the Grapes of Wrath (which was much longer ago than I will admit here!) My husband’s parents went several years ago, and he had always wanted to follow in their footsteps.

So, with 66 sparkles in both of our eyes, my husband and I decided it was time! We grabbed our camping gear, flew into the Midwest, rented a car, and started the long haul back to California on the same old trail that thousands upon thousands of others have taken since the 1920s.

For a history buff like me, it was quite an experience. It is an experience that is hard to put into words, really, even for a writer! It’s more of a feeling. You can feel so much when you drive that old road – in both the good parts and the bad. I will be writing a great deal about this trip in the weeks and months to come. But for now, I will leave you with this poem I wrote to try and capture that feeling – the feeling of driving the entirety of old Route 66 (where, yes, we did indeed get many kicks).

I hope you enjoy it!

AN ODE TO THE MOTHER ROAD

 It was when I read about the family Joad

That I first learned of the old Mother Road

The grand old route across the whole nation

But most who took it weren’t on vacation

Not in the 30s, it was more of a must

Because their farms had turned to dust

Families like the Joads gave it their all

“California or bust,” we don’t want to fall

The route found pavement and fun in later days

With neon and pump stations, wigwam hotel stays

Family diners were packed to the gills

Where families and children got their thrills

Route 66, the road stretched to the skies

How I longed to see it with my own eyes

I made a promise to myself as a child

One day I will drive the whole stretch in the wild

I wanted to bask in those neon lights

I wanted to see all the incredible sights

I would go all the way, the whole thing I would do

It would be like a time portal I could just drive through

A portal indeed to a different time

Although it’s hard to see underneath the grime

The pump stations are silent and coated with rust

The road is cracked and surrounded by dust

Weeds sprout through the pavement on that old highway

On modern maps, you can’t really find the way

The cafes are quiet, there’s no one around

The motels are decrepit, the bridges closed down

The old neon lights have all gone dark

Picnic tables are empty all through the park

No laughing children, no cars, no trail mark

The shops are closed, main street has no spark

But it’s not really gone, I’m here to say

The old route’s spirit lingers, it won’t go away

And for those who are willing to look up close

There are gems buried deep on that old mother road

A town where burros run wild and free

You can pet them and feed them for a one-dollar fee

Quirky cafes with the best food around

Cadillacs and slug bugs stuck out of the ground

Giant things loom across the whole way

With good people who remind you how to laugh and play

The old Burma shave ads that still make you smile

And old-fashioned cars that drove many a mile

I felt a new energy on that road

I somehow felt I could really unload

I yearn for it now as I sit here alone

A grand old road that made me feel more at home

I’ll never forget my time on that trail

What an adventure, I’ll weave many a tale

Of all the gems thrown into the mix

On the old mother road – Route 66

M.B. Henry

If you ever plan to motor west, you may not be able to take the highway that’s the best. So, I took many pictures for you! Take a photographic journey on the Mother Road by clicking here.