Traveling to California and Nevada via Route 66

Illinois Missouri Oklahoma Kansas Texas New Mexico Arizona California Nevada

U.S. Route 66 also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America and the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the United States. Established on November 11, 1926, it became one of the most famous roads in America, running from Chicago to Santa Monica California and covering 2448 miles – 3940 Km.

This Road served as a major path for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and was instrumental in the growth of the communities through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due its growing popularity.

US Route 66 Begins Here

Chicago Springfield and the Mississippi River 301 miles - 484 km. Chicago is the Gateway to the Midwest and the start of your Route 66 journey. From this great American city’s magnificent architecture, excellent cuisine, the shops on Michigan Avenue and beaches along Lakeshore, you go to Springfield, the Illinois State Capitol and President Lincoln’s home and National Historic Site.

Cozy Dog Drive In this Route 66 diner became a part of the history of the Road when inventor Ed Waldmire introduced the famous "hot dog on a stick" in 1946. Inside, find an amusing selection of Route 66 memorabilia, souvenirs, and tasty treats.

An Architectural Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Springfield

Shea’s Gas Station Museum is a collection of gas station memorabilia spanning over 66 years.

The Brick Road this 1.4 stretch of historic brick road is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We have developed anchor locations from which you can best base your travel movements, mindful that you are likely to visit three to four places in a compressed period of time, typically 7 to 10 days, and experience multiple interests that range from cultural to culinary, wellness and the environment.

Smart Trip Planning Logistics Locations Costs Time and Personalized Solutions

Missouri US 66 covered 292 mile  - 470 km - in this state, passing through Joplin, Carthage, Springfield, home of the first drive-thru, and St Louis.

Oklahoma and Kansas the highway covered 267 miles - 430 km - in Oklahoma. Today, it is marked by I-40 west of Oklahoma City; after entering at Texola, US 66 passed through Sayre and Elk City on the way to Tulsa. Past there, US 66 passed through northeastern Oklahoma before entering Kansas where it covered only 13.2 miles - 21.2 km - passing only three towns: Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs.

Texas the Midpoint Café’ in Adrian Texas is the midpoint of the route. US 66 covered 178 miles - 286 km - in the Texas Panhandle, travelling in a west-east line, passing through Amarillo.

New Mexico US 66 covered 380 miles - 610 km - and passed through many Indian reservations in the western half of New Mexico. East of those reservations, the highway passed through Albuquerque and Sante Fe.

Arizona the highway originally covered 401 miles - 645 km – paralleling I-40, passing through the ghost town of Oatman. Between Kingman and Seligman, the route is still signed as SR 66.

California US 66 had its western terminus at the Pacific Coast Highway in California, covering 315 miles - 507 km - in the state running through San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Santa Monica and intersecting with US 101, in Hollywood.

Pacific Coast Beaches Culture and Entertainment Shopping and an Endless Supply of Sunshine

Los Angeles is a metropolis with an extraordinary history and a rich cultural heritage. An entertainment capital that is also home to renowned museums, a flourishing downtown, 75 miles of sunny coastline and internationally flavored neighborhoods.

The nine cities that comprise Greater Palm Springs offer an endless supply of sunshine and a local culture ranging from art and air museums, tours of midcentury modern homes, a living desert - a unique zoo and botanical garden that specializes in the deserts of the world - hiking, biking at the Indian Canyon, with its numerous natural springs, Tahquitz Canyon, the Coachella Valley Preserve and the Joshua Tree National Park, 794,000 acres with two diverse desert ecosystems: the Colorado and Mojave Deserts. Read More

Natural Beauty History Cultural Attractions Cutting Edge Cuisine and Wineries

Sacramento sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, and is an ideal destination for a Northern California itinerary and getaways to visit the Wine Country, Gold Country, the Redwoods, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno, Yosemite, Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Central Valley. Sacramento has a colorful history filled with humor, steam trains, ghosts, heroes and villains, the California Gold Rush and other tales of the Wild West. Read More

Wineries Rugged Coastlines and Redwood Forests

Sonoma is home to over 425 wineries, miles of rugged Pacific coastline, towering redwood forests, and proximity to San Francisco. Also, more than 50 nature parks that offer travelers miles of hiking and cycling trails through towering redwoods or oak-studded hills, and rivers for kayaking and canoeing. Sonoma County is home to sculpture gardens tucked into hills, quaint small towns and high-end galleries as well as performing arts centers like the Green Music Center, thousands of local artists and 120 performing arts companies. Read More

Travel Logistics Move in one direction. Anchor your stays in strategic locations conveniently located near points of interest. Take in sites, meals and other planned events in a hub and spoke fashion and enjoy the places and the people you are visiting. Tema develops and manages personalized travel itineraries, an in-depth knowledge of your destinations and superior client service throughout your trip.

Native People Gold and Silver Discoveries Ski Resorts Museums and Mansions

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine freshwater lake and second deepest in North America. Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Nevada and California, it is home to ski resorts and other year round tourism and recreation activities. Formed about 2 million years ago, it is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides.

Native People the area around Lake Tahoe was previously inhabited by the Washoe tribe whose territory, included the upper valleys of the Walker, Carson and Truckee Rivers. The word Tahoe derives from a Washo word meaning The Lake.

The Mining Era with the discovery of gold in 1848, thousands of gold seekers passed near the basin on their way to the gold fields. Europeans arrived in the Lake Tahoe basin with the discovery of the Comstock Lode silver deposit 15 miles - 24 km – in Virginia City, Nevada. From 1858 until about 1890, logging in the basin supplied large timbers to shore up the mines’ underground workings Read More

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USA Coast to Coast Travel Destinations

Pennsylvania Kentucky Minnesota South Dakota and Seattle Washington

Historical Tourism in Pennsylvania

Bucks County is one of the three original counties created by William Penn in 1682. Pennsbury Manor stands on the point of land formed by the Delaware River between Morrisville and Bristol. Painstaking research went into restoring the prim-fronted, three-storied, brick manor-house, rebuilt on the original foundations. Read More

Lehigh Valley Allentown was a rural village founded in 1762 by William Allen, Chief Justice of Colonial Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court. By 1829 Allentown expanded from a small Pennsylvania Dutch village of farmers and tradesmen to a center of commerce. With the opening of the Lehigh Canal, many canal workers made their homes here. Read More

The Lehigh Valley Gave Birth to America’s Industrial Revolution

The Brandywine Valley, facing an industrial development that would impact a largely rural community, focused on Development & Conservancy Issues, including floodplain areas that threatened to devastate water supplies in parts of the Delaware River Valley. Local residents bought endangered land and initiated conservation easements that now protect five and one-half miles along the Brandywine River. 

Hudson Delaware and Susquehanna River Trails

In Philadelphia, the waterfront is now a 6 mile walking and biking destination. Trail features include streetscape improvements along the entire waterfront trail, a bi-directional bikeway, pedestrian walkway and rain gardens that collect the first inch of storm water, relieving the city sewer system during major weather events, as well as benches, bike racks, decorative street pavers and innovative solar trail lighting. Center City offers a thriving culture and entertainment scene as well as contemporary arts museum with training programs and study tours for students, aspiring artists and family traveling. 

Summer Sustainable Nutrition Events

Smart Trip Planning

Logistics Locations Costs Time and Personalized Travel Solutions

All Inclusive from US$ 149/person/day for groups consisting of 4 up to 20 persons: accommodations in double occupancy, sightseeing, transfers, meals and taxes. Minimum Itinerary: 7 nights/8 days.

Does not include tips and international air travel, where applicable.

Louisville Kentucky

Derbies Diversity Sluggers Bourbon Food Historic Architecture and Parks

Louisville is centrally located along the Ohio River and is one America’s most accessible cities within a day’s drive of more than half the nation’s population.

History this city has a colorful past, from its frontier founding at the time of the American Revolution, to early 19^th century steamboats and as a Union base during the Civil War. Named for King Louis XVI of France in appreciation for his assistance during the Revolutionary War, Louisville was founded by George Rogers Clark in 1778 becoming Kentucky’s largest city by 1830. Strategically located at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville was a major commercial center with river transportation supplemented by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, chartered in 1850 and operating 1,800 miles by 1920. Read More

Minnesota

River Towns Lakes State Parks Performing Arts and Local Brew Traditions

Minnesota means clear blue water from the Dakota language. Nearly 60 percent of the population lives in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the center of transportation, business, industry, education, government and an internationally renowned arts community. The remainder of the Land of 10,000 Lakes consists of western prairies, forests in the southeast and mining, forestry, and recreation in the North Woods.

The Twin Cities besides the Mississippi river, they are also connected by the Metro Green Line light rail, which runs between Minneapolis’ Target Field and St. Paul’s Union Depot, with more than 20 stops.

Performing Arts Minnesota is home to a number of older stages that have been recently restored Read More

River Towns Route 66 Chicago South Dakota Western and Native American Heritage

South Dakota

Aberdeen before the arrival of European settlers, the area was inhabited by the Sioux Indians. The first group of Euro-American settlers to reach the area in the 1820s was a party of four people, three horses, two mules, fifteen cattle, and two wagons. This group of settlers was later joined by another group the following spring, and eventually more settlers migrated toward this general area. Like many towns of the Midwest, Aberdeen was built around the newly developing railroads. Officially plotted as a town site on January 3, 1881 by the Milwaukee Road which was presided over by Alexander Mitchell, who was born in Scotland, hence the name Aberdeen. The town was officially founded on July 6, 1881, the date of the first arrival of a Milwaukee Railroad train.

Aberdeen the perfect family destination

The Dacotah Prairie Museum The idea for a community museum in Aberdeen dates back almost 70 years. In 1938, John Murphy, a Northern State College professor, and Marc Cleworth, a salesman, created the Northern South Dakota History Museum which was housed in the Central building on Northern's campus. The collection of this first museum grew rapidly through loans and donations until by 1941, it had amassed a collection of over 500 items. Read More

Rapid City is centrally located to visit the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park and the Badlands. Western and Native American Heritage throughout the city you will find Native American history exhibits, fine arts displays, and interactive museums like the Journey Museum that takes you from the formation of the Black Hills over 2.5 billion years ago to the continuing saga of the Western frontier. Read More

Seattle Washington

Seattle is surrounded by water, mountains and evergreen forests, and encompasses thousands of acres of parkland. Located between the saltwater Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east, the city's chief harbor is Elliott Bay. North of the city center, Lake Washington Ship Canal connects Puget Sound to Lake Washington, incorporating four natural bodies of water: Lake Union, Salmon Bay, Portage Bay and Union Bay.

A Major Gateway for Trade with Asia and the Third Largest Port in North America

From Logging to High Tech logging was Seattle's first major industry, and by the late 19^th century the city also became a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. In the 1940s, Boeing established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing and, beginning in the 1980s, the area developed as a technology center with companies like Microsoft and Amazon. Read More

US West Destinations and Travel Itineraries

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