Before carpool lanes and freeway interchanges, there was Route 66.

I love Route 66! I think I fell in love with it when I read the Grapes of Wrath. It was known as the Mother Road running from Chicago to Los Angeles that led to millions coming to the “Promised Land” of California. In fact, my dad and grandparents made that journey back in the 1940’s. I’ve traveled sections of Route 66 Victorville to Barstow, Flagstaff to Kingman, Oatman to Needles, but I’ve never really explored the portions closer to home which eventually ends at the Santa Monica Pier.

The famed road, opened in 1926, stretched for 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles, the first to link main streets of small-town America.

In the San Gabriel Valley, "the Mother Road" followed several routes over the years, wending its way along Foothill Boulevard, Alosta Avenue, Huntington Drive, Colorado Boulevard, Fair Oaks Avenue and Arroyo Seco Parkway.

During the 1930s, thousands of families took to the road, fleeing the despair of the Dust Bowl for California. As cars continued to crowd the route, scores of roadside businesses sprang up, sporting flashy signs to catch the eyes of passing motorists.

This weeks trip of the week covered several different aspects. Since it’s Spring its nice to be outdoors so I wanted to explore two parks nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains and then drive along the old Historic Route 66 by the San Gabriel Mountain Foothills passing through cities of Pasadena, Monrovia, Arcadia, Duarte, Azuza, LaVerne and all the way out to San Bernardino.

My driving/hiking trip started in Pasadena…home to the Rose Parade. My first stop was the Fair Oaks Pharmacy, Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street, 1 1/2 miles south of Colorado Boulevard a fixture on this corner since 1915. If you're in the mood for a treat, try an authentic ice-cream soda, a sparkling phosphate, a "Route 66" sundae, or an old-fashioned malt (complete with the frosty mixing can), all served by fresh-faced soda jerks from behind the marble counter. They also serve soup, sandwiches, and snacks. The Fair Oaks is still a pharmacy and offers a variety of gifts, including an abundance of Route 66-themed items. It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from 9am to 2pm.

I then continued down Colorado Boulevard taking in the old architecture and saw numerous vintage motels like the Saga Motor Hotel, Vagabond, Astro (fabulous Jetsons-style architecture), and Hi-Way Host.

At the end of Pasadena is Alta Dena Blvd where I made a left off of route 66 up to Eaton Canyon Park for some hiking.

Eaton Canyon Natural Area, supervised and maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, is a 190-acre zoological, botanical, and geological wonderland situated at the base of the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains.  With its hiking trails, wildlife, rocks and minerals, and plants, there is something for everyone to enjoy.  It is also the gateway to Henninger Flats, Idlehour Campground, and Mount Wilson.

There was also a nature center where there is information, displays, a gift shop, and offices.  There is no charge for admission to the park, which is open from sunrise to sunset daily.  The hiking trails head up into the San Gabriel Mountains which have a rugged, steep southern ridge and a taller northern ridge, the two being separated from one another by a series of east-west canyons. They run along the San Gabriel Fault, once a main part of the San Andreas Fault, and contain the east and west forks of the San Gabriel River. Although Mount Wilson is over 5,700 feet high, there is a large group of mountain peaks which rise to more than 9,000 feet, including Mount Baldy and Mount Baden-Powell.

After a rather short hike and admiring the cactus and chaperal, I returned to Route 66 into the city of Arcadia. The tree-lined streets of Arcadia, home to the Santa Anita Racetrack and the Los Angeles Arboretum, the picturesque former estate of "Lucky" Baldwin, whose Queen Anne cottage has been the setting for many movies and TV shows. In Arcadia I came across a huge windmill like on a Van De Kamps Package. Turns out…It used to be the Van De Kamps Bakery but has no been converted into a Denny’s Diner.

Passing into Monrovia, there was life-size plastic cow on the southeast corner of Mayflower. It marks the drive-thru called Mike's Dairy -- a splendid example of this auto-age phenomenon. If you're observant, you'll see many drive-thru dairies along my route (mostly Alta-Dena brand). Mike's has all the typical features, including the refrigerated island display case still bearing a vintage DRIFTWOOD DAIRY PRODUCTS price sign. Much of Route 66 is now built up with Starbucks, Strip malls and fast food, but if you look hard you can find these sorts of treasures scattered and spotted about.

In Monravia I stopped at the Monrovia Canyon Park for another quick hike and to eat my picnic lunch. This award-winning park operated by the City of Monrovia Community Services Department is situated in the San Gabriel Mountains, and year-round springs feed a 3- foot waterfall and help provide a home for deer, bear, mountain lion and a myriad of other mammals, reptiles, birds and insects.

On my hike I came upon three headstone and asked the park ranger what was the story behind these headstones so far off the beaten path. He explained that the gravestone which marks the burial place of three of the four children of Hibbard and Polly Rankins. The members of this family were the first non-native settlers in Monrovia Canyon. The oldest son, Albert, age 19, worked in the Los Angeles area as a blacksmith's apprentice. While home in the canyon in 1877, he was stricken ill with typhoid fever. Despite the efforts of a young doctor residing in the foothills somewhere near Duarte, Albert and his two younger sisters, Polly, 16, and Estelle, 13, were claimed by death within a few weeks. He also gave me a rather lengthy history lesson on how the city of Monrovia was named after William Monroe who came to California in 1875, but I will spare you the details.

After my hike, lunch and history lesson I returned to Foothill Boulevard (AKA Route 66) and Magnolia to see the famous Aztec Hotel. Opened in 1925, the Aztec was a local showplace, awing guests with its overscale, dark, Native American-themed lobby, Mayan murals, and exotic Brass Elephant bar. The arcade of shops once held the city's most prominent barbershop, beauty salon, and pharmacy. Little has changed about the interior, and a glance behind the front desk reveals the original cord-and-plug telephone switchboard still in use.

Leaving the Aztec, I passed splendid Craftsman bungalows and other historic homes. After Monrovia I was now in Duarte, where Huntington Drive takes over as Route 66 and is lit by graceful and ornate double street lamps on the center median. This stretch also has many fabulous old motor courts; see if you can spot the Ranch Inn, Evergreen, Oak Park, Duarte Inn, and Capri.

As I crossed over the wide but nearly dry San Gabriel River, I glanced right from the bridge to see cars streaming along the interstate that supplanted Route 66. I was now in Irwindale and continue east to Azusa with its elegant 1932 Azusa City Hall and Auditorium, with vintage lampposts and a Moorish fountain enhancing a charming courtyard.

Our route swerves right onto Alosta Avenue at the Foothill Drive-In Theater, Southern California's last single-screen drive-in. As you cruise by, think of the days when our cars were an extension of our living rooms (with the great snacks Mom wouldn't allow at home), and the outdoor theaters were filled every summer evening by dusk. Alas, the drive-in awaits is gone and all that stands is the retro vintage marquee.

Continuing on Alosta, I entered Glendora, named in 1887 by founder George Whitcomb for his wife, Ledora. The first retro motel to catch my eye was Palm Tropics, one of the best-maintained old motels along the route. Farther along on the left-hand side is the Golden Spur, which began 70 years ago as a ride-up hamburger stand for the equestrian crowd. Unfortunately, the restaurant has been remodeled in boring stucco, leaving only the original sign, with its neon cowboy boot, as a reminder of its colorful past. At the corner of Cataract Avenue, a covered wagon announces the Pinnacle Peak restaurant, guarded by a giant steer atop the roof. A mile or two later I was in San Dimas and all I saw there was a sign pointing me to “Raging Waters”

I drove through LaVern which was “suburbia central”. Any remnants of an era gone by was demolished and replace with Target, Vons, and CVS.

At Benson Avenue in Upland, a classic 1950s-style McDonald's stands on the southeast corner, its golden arches flanking a low, white, walk-up counter with outdoor stools. The fast-food chain has its roots in this region: Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first burger joint in San Bernardino in 1939. The brothers expanded their business, opening locations throughout Southern California, until entrepreneur Ray Kroc purchased the chain in 1955 and franchised McDonald's nationwide. Farther along, at the intersection of Euclid Avenue for the regal monument to pioneer women.

Time was running out and I journeyed no further east. I will still have to do that last segment to San Bernardino at some time. It really was an exploration of a part of Los Angeles County that I had never been to. While other parts of Route 66 contain much more history and nostalgia, this section of the road had its own nostalgia though harder to find and hidden amongst the urban sprawl. But route 66 always conjures up a memory of a time gone by when people flooded into California in search of hopes and dreams. So until next week……