ABC Armchair Adventures: RT 66

Summer’s heat is waning, school has started, and hints of Fall’s crispness and color tempt one toward thoughts of adventure. It’s time to shake things up, see new sites and meet new faces – all without leaving the comfort of your favorite armchair! Come along with us as we take a different route down a familiar road. From September 1 – November 21, you’ll find us taking a virtual road trip along historic Route 66.

Hitting the Highway
We’ll motor west along “America’s Main Street” through eight states in 12 weeks. No need to worry about schedules, weather, the cost of gas or finding a room for the night. We’re fueling our virtual trip with the library’s resources – traveling through place and time with books, videos and audiobooks set in the states traversed by Route 66. The library’s array of stories and information is as vast as an expansive ribbon of highway. Let’s travel the road in our imaginations – and see how far we can go!

Rules of the road
Our trip along the “Mother Road” begins September 1 in Chicago, IL – and ends November 21 in Santa Monica, CA. We’ll visit a state each week, spending two weeks in New Mexico. Feel free to drive west with us, or start in California and motor east if you prefer. For briefer excursions, explore specific portions of the road as you’d like.

Trip Planning
1. Begin your Armchair Adventure by picking up a Route 66 Road Map at the Juan Tabo Library. The map will help you to plot your adventure, and provide mileage markers to track your progress along the virtual roadway.

2. Read a book, listen to an audiobook, or view a video that takes place in one of the eight states originally covered by Route 66: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

We’ll provide resource lists (fiction titles) featuring each of the Route 66 states to get you started.

3. Beginning September 8, you can enter weekly “souvenir” drawings at the Juan Tabo Library. You’ll be eligible to submit an entry form each week as you finish a book, audiobook or video, or by completing a weekly trivia test.

Dispatches from the Road
We’ll keep in touch along the way, and hope that you’ll share your Route 66 discoveries, memories and experiences with us.

Be sure to follow our blog, “ABC Armchair Adventures”. On it you’ll find:
• Postcards from the virtual road
• Trivia to keep everyone engaged over the long stretches and late days
• Links and resources to make your journey informed and memorable
• And… your posts – comments, memories, travel tips and more!