Electric Route 66

After a very lengthy hiatus, the Electric Route 66 Dashcam is back with our longest video ever!   Endee, New Mexico, 2022 Back in 2022, we traveled Route 66 westbound from Glenrio at the Texas/New Mexico border, through Endee, NM and into San Jon, NM. Two years ago, the dispensary at Glenrio had not yet been built, and the 1931 wooden bridge west of Endee was still open, with construction underway on a new bridge next to it. Then about 7 months later in 2023, a flash flood destroyed the almost-complete new bridge and damaged the old one as well, leading to its closure.     Glenrio, Texas, 2023   Recently, a new path next to the old bridge has been graded and opened so that drivers can travel this section of Route 66 as a through route once again. The bridge bypass goes down into the wash, making it passable but only during good weather. The old bridge will likely remain closed to drivers forever, and a new replacement bridge will be constructed in the future. To capt...

It's May 2023, and I have once again assembled and posted another edition of Electric Route 66 Dashcam. This video comes to us from the eastern edge of California, south of Needles near the Colorado River.   The Blue Spirit has a little bit of suspension lift, for better clearance when it goes off-pavement.   We visited Needles in February 2023 to attend and assist with their annual Route 66 info fair. We had enough time to check out a couple new things in the area before we headed out to abandoned 66 south of town. In addition to two new Tesla Supercharger stations, Needles also boasts a new business named The Filter Change , which serves up helpful liquids for both cars and people. While our EV doesn't need oil changes, we loved their menu of coffee, tea, and smoothies for ourselves!   The Filter Change on Route 66 in Needles - oil & lube: not needed. Tea & smoothie: yes, please!   The rarely-traveled section of Route 66 in our video is a dead-end road in ...

To celebrate the upcoming Drive Electric Week , I have uploaded a super short special edition of Electric Route 66 Dashcam. This one is just 30 seconds and features the Musical Highway in New Mexico! But first, I need to tell you about National Drive Electric Week. This nationwide effort by the Electric Vehicle Association , Plug In America , the Sierra Club , and EV Hybrid Noire spans two weekends and the weekdays in between, and includes hundreds of events where attendees can learn about EVs from actual owners, and see many models of EVs in person. Below is a listing of Drive Electric Week events that will be happening on or near Route 66! We will be attending two events in person: in Las Vegas, NV we will have both of our EVs, The Blue Spirit and Sparky Sparky Boom Car; and we'll be in Kingman, AZ in The Blue Spirit. Stop by and say hello! Wilmette, Illinois: St. John's Lutheran Church, 1235 Wilmette Avenue Saturday, September 24   Aurora, Illinois: Fox Valley Mall, 195 Fox...

Electric Route 66 Dashcam is revisiting California for this edition. This video comes from the same day as my previous post. In this instance, we begin our trip from Antique Station in Oro Grande, and then proceed south to Victorville on Route 66. Scroll to the bottom for the embedded video, or take your time with some photos first!   We visited Oro Grande during their yearly festival, Oro Grande Days Oro Grande Days includes a car show with some amazing vintage vehicles. Antique Station is in a very large building containing many antique vendors.     Along this stretch of 66, one of the interesting sights is Rockfield Bridge , a historic road bridge dating to 1930 that has an interesting offset truss structure. We always love to drive across neat bridges like this one. The Rockfield Bridge, north of Victorville Another notable part of this drive that I've included in the dashcam footage is Turner Road. A very short piece of this road was originally used as Route 66 in i...

This edition of Electric Route 66 Dashcam brings us back to southern California from our trip there in April 2022. We took a drive all the way through downtown Victorville headed eastbound. The video begins on Mariposa Road, a tiny bit of which was actually Route 66 before the I-15 freeway came through. This has been configured to an intersection in modern times, so we take a right turn to get onto 7th Street to head for downtown. The lovely horse-topped sign for the New Corral Motel is visible in the rear-facing passenger-side camera at 3:12, and at about 3:52 in the video after we pass Victor St., we get a brief glimpse of Apollo Restaurant , a great local burger joint.   At the heart of Victorville we pass under a wonderful overhead 'arch' for Old Town, complete with Route 66 shields. 7th Street then comes to a quick end, and we take a left turn onto D Street just as Route 66 did. Shortly after our turn you may spot the California Route 66 Museum on the left. It's a gr...

In April 2022, We were given the opportunity to visit Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow along with a small group from the California Historic Route 66 Association . MCLB Barstow has long been off-limits to the general public, but it is accessible by special arrangement. The base is home to a small section of Route 66 now known as Joseph L. Boll Avenue, and in 2021 the road's Route 66 history was highlighted with unique signage and Route 66/Marine Corps road stencils, and a wonderful new monument.      The entrance sign at MCLB Barstow, with new Route 66 USMC logo and historical plaque.   Our host and escort for the day was Rob Jackson of the Public Affairs office, who was extremely gracious and patient with our car caravan of Route 66 enthusiasts, showing us around to several sites within the base, and leading a cruise off the main road through some other areas, including base housing.   Rob Jackson of the Public Affairs office explains the itinerary to ou...

Today's dashcam video upload comes from the lovely Route 66 state of Oklahoma. We traveled here in October 2021, and several times we forgot to record our car's dashcam as we went! But we did remember to catch a section featuring the William H. Murray Bridge. Crossing the William H. Murray Bridge, also known as Pony Bridge, westbound This famous Route 66 bridge crosses the Canadian River a few miles west of El Reno, OK. It's often called the Pony Bridge, because it boasts a whopping 38 pairs of camelback pony trusses. Now part of US Highway 281, it was completed in 1933 and opened the following year as part of a new alignment of US 66, bypassing the towns of Calumet and Geary on the original, unpaved, 1926 alignment of Route 66. The 1933 alignment of Route 66 west of El Reno, OK     A view from the west end of Pony Bridge This bridge was Oklahoma Federal Aid Project No. 164-H We didn't have a ton of time to get back home from Oklahoma on this trip, so we stayed on the 1...

Once again it's been a long time since I have posted! But I have another dashcam video up, this time from Kingman, Arizona. Kingman is the home of the Powerhouse Visitor Center , which houses the Arizona Route 66 Museum , as well as a Kingman Route 66 gift shop and tourist information center, and the gift shop for the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona . Lastly, the Powerhouse is also the home of the Route 66 EV Museum , the world's first dedicated electric vehicle museum!  The Powerhouse is a must-stop for any visit to Kingman, Arizona The Route 66 EV Museum opened in summer 2014 during that year's International Route 66 Festival. The Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation , which runs the museum, has so many historic EVs that they only have room to display a fraction of them. The Buckeye Bullet land speed record EV is on display at the Route 66 EV Museum Outside the Powerhouse, a J1772 EV charger is available for use, and that's where today's dashcam video beg...

Hello! It has been two months since my last blog post; I hope everyone has been holding up well under the continued pandemic conditions. I thought it was high time I put up another Dashcam video. Even though we haven't been traveling, I still have a few videos taken last fall that I haven't put up yet. Today's dashcam video comes from the Mojave Desert in California, on Route 66 east of Amboy. The Road Runner's Retreat is a long-closed desert business with a huge neon sign. It sits on a section of Route 66 that is closed to through traffic, but it can be visited if you are ok with doing just a little bit back-tracking east of Kelbaker Road. It is located past a set of road barriers which say, "Road Closed to Thru Traffic". But the important part is "Thru Traffic". A visit to the Road Runner and back would not be considered thru traffic. The barriers are easy to drive around, and the road is in good condition and safe to drive for the few miles to the...

 Happy New Year!   With covid still raging, we continue to stay home and have not taken any recent road trips in The Blue Spirit. But that doesn't mean that I can't bring you another Route 66 dashcam video from our last trip to Arizona in October 2020.   This Google Maps aerial photo view shows the section of old Route 66 covered by the dashcam video. This time, we're traveling a very short section at low speed. This segment of Route 66 is west of Twin Arrows, and east of Winona. It was bypassed by a newer alignment of the road almost 70 years ago, around 1952. This is a dead-end section of 66 which was cut off by the construction of I-40. To proceed further east on the dirt access road (which was not 66), a high-clearance vehicle is required, which our Tesla is definitely not! It may have to wait until we get a Cybertruck to make it further east, where old 66 takes up again from the dirt road and crosses the abandoned Canyon Padre Bridge.   The Blue Spirit, pointed ...

It is time once again for a new Electric Route 66 Dashcam video! This time we are driving The Blue Spirit in Joseph City, Arizona. In the video I have uploaded, we drive from the overpass at I-40 exit 274, eastbound on Route 66 into Joseph City, then proceed south away from Route 66. On this day there was a bad traffic backup on I-40 heading into Holbrook. So, we took the 'back way' to Holbrook, south out of Joseph City on Westover St., Obed Road, and eventually McLaws Road to enter Holbrook from the south. This video ends after a short distance on Obed Road, after we cross the long, one-lane, 1912 St. Joseph Bridge over the Little Colorado River. It was Tony at the world famous Jack Rabbit Trading Post who confirmed for us that this was a good way to get to Holbrook when there's trouble on I-40. Thanks, Tony! It's always worth it to stop at the Jack Rabbit, which we did just before we took the video. You can view the video embedded be...

I recently uploaded the second video of the new Electric Route 66 Dashcam series. This one lasts under 5 minutes, and covers a short stretch of Route 66 leading to Grand Canyon Caverns in Arizona. Parked at the restaurant and caverns entrance   EV charging is available at the adjacent RV park for restaurant and motel guests! Grand Canyon Caverns is a long time Route 66 attraction 12 miles east of Peach Springs, Arizona. It features tours of a large cavern system, after an elevator ride over 200 feet below the surface. A store and the Cavern Inn motel is located at the Route 66 entrance to the property, while the caverns entrance, restaurant and RV park are located about 1 mile away from 66 via private road. This dashcam video starts on eastbound Route 66, enters the Grand Canyon Caverns property at the motel and store, and then travels to the cafe and caverns entrance. I hope you enjoy this short Sunday drive! You can view the video embedded below, or follow this link directly to ...

I am happy to announce the premiere of a new feature for Electric Route 66: real-time dashcam videos! Like all Teslas, The Blue Spirit has many cameras that are used for self-driving, safety, and security features. Our car can record 4 of its 6 camera views onto a USB drive in a continuous loop. A feature called Sentry Mode records when the car is parked for security, and a dashcam feature allows drivers to save the previous 10 minutes of footage at the press of an icon on the screen, to be viewed later in the car or copied from the USB drive. We decided to start recording some of our driving on Route 66 to share with everyone, thanks to the wonderful suggestion from Ruben at Valentine Station . Cheers, Ruben!  Visit Ruben at Valentine Station, Arizona if you get the chance! Cameras Overview Here is a brief explanation of what you will see in the Electric Route 66 dashcam videos.   Currently, four cameras are recordable by the Tesla dashcam software Top row center: front came...