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Route 66 does not end along 6th Street in Amarillo, Texas,
Kathy Weiser, November, 2005. (The sign is no longer there)
The federal government pledged to link small towns in the U.S.A. with metropolitan capitals in the summer of 1926, and the American Association of State Highways designated the road as U.S. Highway 66 on November 11. The “super-highway,” as it was thought of in 1926, represented unprecedented freedom to travel across the American West. Spawned by the rapidly changing demands of America, entrepreneurs Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri, conceived of the grand idea of linking Chicago to Los Angeles and began lobbying efforts to promote the new highway. Read more Route 66 Information & History.
Brick Road Route 66 north of Auburn, Illinois by Kathy Weiser-Alexander.
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Did You Know?
The wreckage of United Flight 629 was carefully laid out in a Denver warehouse after its bombing. Photo courtesy of the FBI
On November 1, 1955, a routine two-hour flight from Denver, Colorado, to Portland, Oregon, would take off as usual, only to mysteriously crash 11 minutes later, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members. Continue reading…
Memorial in Guthrie, Oklahoma remembers veterans of several wars where Americans have fought and died. Photo by David Fisk.
It was on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 that fighting ended on the western front of the war through an armistice; A day which would eventually be remembered and recognized in the U.S. as Veterans Day. Learn more…
From Legends’ General Store!
Need a postcard for each state? This postcard set is for you. Even includes a postcard for Washington, D.C. All 51 postcards in this special set have been designed by Legends of America.
Free Shipping in the USA!
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Route 66 Photo Prints from All Eight States.
From Chicago, Illinois, to the Santa Monica Pier in California, and everything in between, you’ll find dozens of Route 66 photographs from all eight states! Small to large print sizes, canvas, and more!
Begin Browsing Our Mother Road Galleries Here
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Happy Birthday!
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Death Valley Scotty
Walter Edward Perry Scott, better known as Death Valley Scotty, was a prospector, performer, and con man made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, California, known as Scotty’s Castle. Continue Reading…
Miners in the Greenwater Mining District of California
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Town view of Sego, Utah, 1920. Touch of color by LOA.
Located north of Thompson Springs, Utah, is Sego Canyon, also known as Book Cliffs and Thompson Wash. This side trip off of I-70 west of the Utah/Colorado line provides not only a peek at prehistoric rock-art, but also the remains of the old coal town of Sego, a once-thriving coal mining camp. Adventure Here…
Colfax, New Mexico Ghost Town, photo by Kathy Alexander around 2004.
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John Peter Gabriel
Born on November 17, 1838, John Peter Gabriel was a prominent lawman in Pinal County, Arizona, in the 1880s. Gabriel pursued the Red Jack Gang and numerous other bandits. More about Gabriel here...
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Frontier Slang, Lingo & Phrases by Legends of America
Frontier Slang, Lingo & Phrases by Legends of America
From the wild and woolly mining camps, to the rampages of the Civil War, to the many cowboys riding on the range, those frontier folks often used terms and phrases that are no longer used in everyday language today. Yet other words and sayings were often specific to certain regions and never used across the states. These terms, as in the past, are still sometimes heard in specific areas, but are “foreign” to the rest of us.
From the pages of period newspapers, books, and century old dictionaries comes the slang, lingo, and phrases of the American Frontier. Even if you’re not looking for a definition, you’ll get a peek into the charm and character of a historic era.
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Hey, Y’all!
Dave & Kathy Alexander, somewhere in America, 2026.
Legends of America is comprised of just the two of us — Dave & Kathy, who have a love of history, travel, and a desire to share it with the world! Several others have contributed along the way, and we always welcome more.
Though we are a small Mom & Pop “shop,” we have decades of customer service & business experience between the two of us—in both large and small organizations. With an entrepreneurial dream, we launched Legends of America in 2003.
We are Midwest-born and bred with great values. With just an email, phone call, or order, you’ll find that our customer service is Over the Top!!
Legends’ General Store, our Photo Print Shop, and our great advertisers are the primary means for providing volumes of information to our readers at no cost.
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