R is for Route 66 Museum: A Free to See #AtoZChallenge Post

 

Sign at the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville, California states it is a Route 66 Roadside Attraction

I'm living in southern California this year, and decided to use my exploration of the area as my focus for the #AtoZChallenge. I'm concentrating on free to see places, though I will include locations that require a parking fee. This is the eighteenth post in the series. 

I drove to Victorville, California for the express purpose of checking out the California Route 66 Museum. I had a brief moment of panic when I checked Apple Maps navigation, as it listed the museum closed for the day, but a quick phone call assured me that the museum was indeed open. (And I was able to submit an edit to the app, which has since updated the business hours.) Anyway, word to the wise: always check with the location you are attempting to visit to verify that it is open. 

The museum and parking are free, and the staff is friendly and welcoming. Route 66 came into being in 1926, when the US created the federal highway system using roads that were already in existence. Route 66 became a road of hope during the Great Depression, and a road for vacationers in the post-WWII era. My own grandma made the journey from Arkansas to California in the fall of 1929 with her parents and siblings, so I have a personal interest in learning more about this famous highway. 

The California Route 66 Museum is packed with items from the last 100 years or so. 

An early-model car parked near an old gas pump

The front end of a flower-covered VW bus

Burma Shave signs hang on a wall above telephone switchboards 

A teardrop trailer sits in the middle of a room, while displays fill the walls

Local history books and photos fill this entire room

Everything from an outhouse to old-time wringer washing machines are on display

The number of items on display is a bit overwhelming, but given the fact that the museum covers 100 years of social history, it makes sense that there would be so much. The California Route 66 Museum is an interesting stop just off of I-15 in Victorville, California. (And don't worry; they have regular restrooms, not just the outhouse that is on display!)