The historic ‘Mother Road’ of America is Route 66. It has connected Chicago and Los Angeles across eight states and four time zones since it was opened almost 80 years ago. It now provides a nostalgic and entertaining journey through a dramatic and exciting period of American history.

From Chicago in the east to Los Angeles in the west, there is only one direction in songs, novels, and for Route 66 lovers. This fabled route snakes its way through the gorges of the city at Lake Michigan before becoming a rural road for about 4000 kilometres across “Small-town America.” In many parts, Route 66 still looks like a museum from the 1930s and 1950s. This three-part series delves into the rich and historic route that has come to resemble a piece of American history, geography, and faded American ambitions from the past.