Page 4 Museum of Route 66 Lincoln Daily News June/July 2026 The (Mother) Road to a Museum in Lincoln There are a few pearls of wisdom that are related to travel. One such favorite is “every journey begins with just one step,” and another “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” That second pearl is especially true when we look at the long and winding trail known as Route 66. From Chicago to L.A. the journey is truly fascinating. Route 66 expert Scott McCoy, addressing the LLCEO Class of 2025 in Atlanta, said that the Mother Road is popular with international travelers because it gives them the full view of America and Americana. It’s true. The journey includes lakes, rivers, and an ocean. There is flat prairie land, a well-marked path through dense forestry, mountains, and deserts. And let’s not forget Meramec Caverns in our neighboring state of Missouri. The views included magnificent works of architecture in tall buildings of some of our mega-cities, small agricultural communities where the largest structures in a town belong to the local grain elevator, rich green pastures dotted with cattle and horses, field after field of tall green corn stalks that change with the season along with the vast variety of trees on the landscapes, vast acreages where the only thing that grows is cacti and sage brush, and deep rivers dotted with tug boats and barges carrying goods from north to south and south to north on the mighty Mississippi. While it may not have been the original intent of the Mother Road, Route 66 over the years has become a Meca for man-made quirkiness. From giants dotting the landscape to a catsup bottle water tower, the gateway arch, Cars (the movie) on the Route, a totem pole park, blue whale, and cowboy museum, a Cadillac Ranch, Standin’ on the corner in Winslow Arizona (Take it Easy by the Eagles), to Elmer Longs Bottle Forest and the Santa Monica Pier, the landscape offers more quirky, kitchie “stuff” than any other road. Locally, that first pearl of wisdom might best apply to what has happened in Lincoln. “Every journey begins with just one step.” Some of us relate that first step to actions taken in 2025 by the city of Lincoln to secure tourism dollars in larger quantities via the hotel/motel tax. However, that is not entirely correct. The first step in the journey occurred about four years ago. Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch felt a need to expand Route 66 tourism in Lincoln, and why not. The June 1926 installation of the Mother Road runs right into the heart of the city. Yet for decades, there has been very little to taut that fact by way of Route 66 tourist attractions. Scott McCoy was literally putting the tiny town of Atlanta on the map. He was
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