This 2,400-mile stretch of Americana, dubbed "The Mother Road" by John Steinbeck, is dotted with iconic saloons, motels, and kitschy pit stops. In the early 1920s, when the national highway system was in its infancy, Oklahoma highway commissioner Cyrus Stevens Avery envisioned a superhighway linking Chicago and Los Angeles by way of small, rural towns.

Route 66 opened in 1927, although the entire road wasn't paved until 1938. But the Federal Highway Act of 1956 led to its demise with the creation of several new interstates, and, by 1985, Route 66 had been formally decommissioned, although most of the winding route through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California can still be traveled today. Ready for a road trip? Here are some places you may want to stop.

© ­­Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau Route 66 starts at Chicago's Buckingham Fountain.

1. Buckingham Fountain (Chicago, Illinois)

Located in Chicago's Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain is where Route 66 began. The fountain, which represents Lake Michigan, is adorned with sculptures of four sea horses that symbolize the states bordering the lake -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The fountain's 134 jets shoot 14,000 gallons of water (per minute) 150 feet into the air for a magnificent display, which incorporates music and a light show in the evening.

2. The Cozy Dog Drive-In (Springfield, Illinois)

Anyone who's ever been to a county fair has probably had a corn dog -- a breaded hot dog on a stick. While working at an army base in the early 1940s, Illinois native Ed Waldmire was toying with the idea of wrapping hot dogs in corn bread. Following the advice of a friend that the key was frying the meat in the batter, Waldmire started experimenting at the USO in Amarillo, Texas. Originally called crusty curs, Waldmire changed the name to cozy dogs and opened up his first stand in Springfield in 1946, after being discharged from the army. The Cozy Dog Drive-In continues to be a popular family-run business.

On the next page, you'll find out about more highlights of historic Route 66, including Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Foyil, Oklahoma.