{"id":371916,"date":"2026-06-23T20:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/371916\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T20:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:25:12","slug":"just-beyond-your-backyard-aspens-tie-to-californias-route-66-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/371916\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Just Beyond Your Backyard\u2019: Aspen\u2019s tie to California\u2019s\u00a0Route 66 sites\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s\u00a0a big year for travel in terms of destinations\u00a0highlighting\u00a0a number of\u00a0milestones: America\u2019s 250th, Colorado\u2019s 150th and Route 66\u2019s 100th.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it started with visions of driving my dad\u2019s 1969 GTO down at least a portion of Route 66, or maybe it\u2019s my general obsession with the decade of flappers, but when I heard about Route 66\u2019s anniversary, I started planning \u2014 long before many of the key-city\u00a0players listed\u00a0celebratory\u00a0events.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having grown up in Chicago,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0already explored the beginning of the Mother Road\u202f \u2014 though\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0hoping to return this year.\u00a0And\u00a0although\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been to Santa Monica, I had to\u00a0revisit it in 2026 as a tribute to Route 66.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve\u00a0always joked with my California-native husband about how California seems, let\u2019s\u00a0just say,\u00a0a little more carefree\u00a0when it comes to\u00a0lasting\u00a0commitments\u202f \u2014 \u202fthe opposite of my\u00a0loyal,\u00a0Midwestern-rooted family. Take, for instance,\u00a0California\u2019s approach to naming the official endpoint of Route 66.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Chicago has always\u00a0maintained\u00a0its claim to the\u00a0place\u00a0Route 66\u00a0begins,\u00a0the famous\u00a0road\u2019s\u00a0ending point in California has shifted\u00a0fairly significantly\u00a0throughout history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It originally officially ended at the intersection of 7th\u00a0Street and Broadway in Los Angeles, but in 1936, the route extended 13 miles west into Santa Monica to connect with Route 101 and the Pacific\u00a0Coast\u00a0Highway. In 1964, they somehow shortened the route, naming Pasadena as\u00a0the Mother\u00a0Road\u2019s formal ending.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As if that\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0enough\u00a0change, Route 66 was once again truncated in Needles. These days, Santa Monica Pier has reasserted its station as the official end of Route 66, with\u00a0numerous\u00a0signs. Though I wanted to hit every historic\u00a0end-point\u00a0of Route 66 in California,\u00a0logistics\u00a0of dealing with traffic in L.A. at 5 p.m. on a Friday and time involved driving to Needles led\u00a0us\u00a0to focus on the Pasadena and Santa Monica endings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you like the idea of Aspen\u2019s carnival games and rides that\u00a0are\u00a0coming\u00a0this Fourth of July weekend to Rio Grande Park (complete with a 65-foot Ferris Wheel and carousel), then\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0love Santa Monica Pier\u2019s permanent amusement park. An unlimited-ride wristband is just $45 \u2014 $35 for kids 7 and under \u2014 and includes all kinds of rides,\u00a0like\u00a0the Pacific Plunge,\u00a0the\u00a0Shark Frenzy Tilt-a-Whirl, a Scrambler\u00a0and\u00a0a roller coaster. It features\u00a0a\u00a0130-foot high\u00a0Ferris Wheel, which happens to be the world\u2019s first and only solar-powered wheel, complete\u00a0with 174,000 LED lights displaying custom animations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While plenty of fine dining establishments\u00a0exist\u00a0in Santa Monica, from Michelin-starred restaurants to classic steakhouses and seafood, if you want a quick bite\u00a0at the last place to grab a burger on land, Pier Burger\u00a0offers a\u00a0fresh\u00a0ono burger for under $12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking of burgers, remember when Aspen had a McDonald\u2019s? Well, if you care to visit\u00a0the original McDonald\u2019s, which Dick and Mac McDonald opened in 1937 in Monrovia, Calif., and then moved to San Bernadino in 1940,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0part of the Route 66 tour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The original McDonald\u2019s emblem at the museum.Kimberly Nicoletti\/Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

They focused on their \u201cspeedy service system\u201d as McDonald Hamburgers in 1948, and the building still stands, hosting a free museum\u00a0showcasing\u00a0all things big and small related to the now-huge franchise (in 1955, Ray Kroc visited the brothers and convinced them to let him franchise the fast-food joint).\u00a0Outdoor mascot statues and Play Place relics offer plenty of fun photo\u00a0opps, and you can spend\u00a0a lot of time\u00a0studying all the tiny toys that span various countries indoors.\u00a0Colorful murals\u00a0on the building\u00a0highlight Route 66 history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Puttering down the streets of Route 66 from San Bernadino to Santa Monica will take hours\u00a0upon\u00a0hours, so I recommend stopping at the Wigwam Motel Village in Rialto\/San Bernadino after the McDonald\u2019s\u00a0museum, and then hopping back on the highway to Pasadena. The Wigwam Motel is a classic;\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0one of only three remaining Wigwam motels of the original seven, and the old cars\u00a0make for\u00a0great photos.\u00a0A\u00a0gift shop\u00a0offers\u00a0all kinds of Route 66\u00a0souvenirs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Wigwam Motel on California\u2019s Route 66.Kimberly Nicoletti\/Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

One\u00a0of Pasadena\u2019s Route 66 claims-to-fame comes in the form of\u00a0the Saga Motor Hotel. Architect Harold Zook designed the mid-century hotel to catch motorists\u2019 eyes, complete with a neon sign in\u00a0Moorish-inspired script and adorned concrete blocks. It has been featured in television series,\u00a0commercials and films, including\u00a0Apple TV\u2019s\u00a0\u201cPalm Royale,\u201d\u00a0ABC\u2019s\u00a0\u201cFresh Off the Boat\u201d\u00a0and Showtime\u2019s\u00a0\u201cRay Donovan.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

On June 22, Aspen Ideas: Health featured\u00a0Ezekiel Emanuel, author of \u201cEat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life\u201d who talked\u00a0about longevity habits. Of course, indulging in ice cream followed. That said, if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a fan of old-time ice cream shops, plan a stop at The Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain on Route 66, just outside of Pasadena (across from\u00a0another historic Route 66 restaurant, Gus\u2019s BBQ).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0order\u00a0a\u00a0softball-size\u00a0ice-cream\u00a0scoop,\u00a0all of\u00a0the memorabilia\u00a0makes\u00a0it worth\u00a0the jaunt.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0been serving sweets since 1915 and\u00a0features\u00a0plenty of old-time candy, from\u00a0retro-wrapped\u00a0Hershey\u2019s bars to Pop Rocks and more.\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0miss the adjoining room, stocked\u00a0full of games and other\u00a0goodies\u00a0organized by\u00a0decade. For example, in the 1960\u2019s section,\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0find everything from 60sOPOLY to high-wheel robot toys, Fly\u2019s Eyes, lava lamps and TEEN magazine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"My dog, Hani, on the Snoopy star.Kimberly Nicoletti\/Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Finally,\u00a0the route\u00a0to Santa Monica\u00a0provides\u00a0plenty of boutiques on Sunset Boulevard,\u00a0as well as\u00a0legendary rock \u2018n\u2019 roll bars like The Rainbow Bar & Grill and\u00a0Whisky\u00a0a Go\u00a0Go\u00a0(prepare to stand in line to see a band) and, of course, the Hollywood Walk of Fame.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Happy historic\u00a0travels!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kimberly Nicoletti is a freelance writer and editor whose trips usually\u00a0revolve around\u00a0anywhere she can take her terrier-mix rescue.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s\u00a0a big year for travel in terms of destinations\u00a0highlighting\u00a0a number of\u00a0milestones: America\u2019s 250th, Colorado\u2019s 150th and Route 66\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-371916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}