Route 66, America’s most iconic highway, is celebrating its 100th anniversary, with revved-up parties and events stretching across the eight states it traverses. But be aware: There are tricks to getting your kicks on Route 66.

Opened in 1926 and immortalized by numerous covers of Bobby Troup’s 1946 hit song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” the highway runs from Chicago to Santa Monica (roughly 2,448 miles; farther than Oslo to Cairo as the crow flies), and driving it is no longer as easy as following the shield-shaped signs. It hasn’t been since 1985, when Route 66 was officially removed from the United States Highway System and partly replaced by the interstate system.

More confusing, the alignment of the road — which often followed Native American trails and stagecoach paths — was altered at various times and places. Today, following the “Main Street of America” all the way to Californ-eye-a is a create-your-own-adventure road trip that draws a higgledy-piggledy path through dozens of small towns and cities.

Many enjoy plotting a historic Route 66 drive on an old-school road map, but the most popular and foolproof option is to purchase the Route 66 Navigation app.

“Route 66 was initially the gateway to the West, and it shaped a lot of things,” said Mark Hecquet, president and CEO of Springfield, Mo., Convention and Visitors Bureau and board member of the Route 66 Centennial Commission. He noted that each year, motorheads stop in Springfield to burn rubber on the road. “From movies to music, it’s been ingrained in society, and it’s where true Americana is at the end of the day. We’re squarely at the epicenter of that.”

That’s because on April 30, 1926, a telegram was sent from the Colonial Hotel in Springfield to federal officials asking to adopt catchy No. 66 for the new highway. The secretary of agriculture gave it the OK on Nov. 11, 1926 — the official birth date of US Highway 66.

Consequently, Springfield is the kickoff celebration city, with the big party happening from April 30 to May 3 with additional events throughout the year. Every state the route touches — Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California — is getting in on the fun.

Here’s how to keep your motor running all the way to the shores of Santa Monica.

You won’t spend too long in Illinois, with just 300 miles of Route 66 between the Windy City and St. Louis. But you’ll want to dally.

Your first stop is Joliet, home of the Route 66 Raceway, before you arrive in Wilmington, home to your first roadside attraction, the Gemini Giant — a 30-foot-tall Space Age “muffler man,” now part of the free Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame, just an hour away in Pontiac.

Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos