U.S. Route 66, the Mother Road of novels, songs and movies and the highway that ran parallel with America’s postwar boom years, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Driving it in 2026, you wouldn’t necessarily know that festivities were in order.

无数小说、歌曲与电影中的“母亲之路”——美国66号公路是一条与美国战后繁荣岁月并行的公路，如今它正迎来100周年纪念。如果你在2026年驱车行驶在这条路上，未必能意识到这里正举行庆祝活动。

The arrival of jet travel and the birth of the federal interstate program in 1956 led to a marked decline in traffic, followed by decades of neglect. Though it has long since lost its former luster, Route 66 remains a monument to its past and to the freedom and opportunity it once stood for in a nation migrating westward.

喷气式飞机旅行的到来以及1956年联邦州际公路计划的诞生导致公路沿线交通流量显著下降，随后便是数十年的沉寂与忽视。尽管它早已失去了往日的光彩，但66号公路依然是一座丰碑，铭刻着它的过去，也铭刻着它在一个一路向西迁徙的国家中曾代表的自由与机遇。

Today, Route 66 is a dusty museum that wends its way lazily through eight states, from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. Along the way is a gallery of idiosyncratic Americana highlighting the nation’s first motorized century.

如今，66号公路就像一座落满尘土的博物馆，慵懒地在八个州蜿蜒而过，从芝加哥一直延伸到加利福尼亚州的圣莫尼卡。沿途如同一条画廊，展现着风情独特的美式风物，生动展现了这个国家首个汽车世纪的风貌。

Though completists might wish to traverse every one of its 2,448 miles, I set out for four days and three nights to explore part of it with some fellow road-tripping history buffs: David Brancaccio, a former host and now a correspondent for “Marketplace” on public radio, and John Krafcik, a former chief of Hyundai North America and of Waymo, the robotaxi venture.

尽管完美主义者可能希望走完它全部的2448英里（约合3940公里），但我还是计划用四天三夜的时间，与几位热爱公路旅行的历史爱好者一起探索其中的一部分。他们是：公共广播电台《市场》节目的前主持人、现任记者戴维·布兰卡乔，以及现代汽车北美公司和无人驾驶出租车初创公司Waymo的前首席执行官约翰·科拉夫奇克。

The tarmac trail on which Dust Bowl farmers and hundreds of thousands of others emigrated to California from points East serves now as a captivating trip through time.

这条柏油路曾见证了“尘暴”(Dust Bowl)时期的农民以及其他数十万人从东部迁徙到加利福尼亚州，如今已成为一条引人入胜的时光隧道。

We started from the road’s western terminus at the Santa Monica Pier, aiming for Albuquerque. For our nearly 900-mile journey east, we chose four vehicles, each representing a moment in automotive history.

我们从公路位于圣莫尼卡码头的西端终点出发，目的地是阿尔伯克基。在这段近1400公里的向东旅程中，我们选择了四辆车，每辆车都代表了汽车历史上的一个特定时刻。

Our larger mission was clear: assessing the health of the old road while comparing the technologies that have powered our mobile society for over 100 years.

我们更宏大的使命非常明确：评估这条老路的健康状况，同时对比100多年来驱动我们社会汽车交通发展的各项技术。

Day 1

第一天

We kicked things off in a Waymo, an autonomous electric Jaguar I-Pace. This is the future, we are told, and we don’t doubt it.

我们首先体验的是Waymo的自动驾驶电动捷豹I-Pace。人们说这就是未来，我们对此深信不疑。

Our first destination is close, Mr. Krafcik’s home, to swap rides and venture back into the past, picking up his mint-green 1966 Oldsmobile 4-4-2, a two-door muscle car with a full-throated V8. This long, handsome coupe was considered midsize in its day.

我们的第一个目的地很近——科拉夫奇克的家。我们要在那里换乘车辆，驶回过去。我们换上了他那辆薄荷绿色的1966年款奥兹莫比尔4-4-2。这是一辆拥有低沉轰鸣 V8发动机的双门肌肉车。这款修长俊朗的双门轿跑车当年被归类为中型车。

Next up is a bold step into the future with Mr. Brancaccio’s hybrid 2017 Chevrolet Volt, an early EREV (extended range electric vehicle), which uses a “stationary” gas engine to charge its batteries, rather than to power the driven front wheels. Though the Volt has sadly gone out of production, its technology is lately being revisited.

接下来，我们将驾驶布兰卡乔的2017款雪佛兰沃蓝达混合动力车，大胆地迈向未来。这是一款早期的增程式电动车(EREV)，它的“固定式”燃油发动机为电池充电，而不是直接驱动前轮。尽管沃蓝达已遗憾停产，但它的技术最近正重新受到关注。

旅程的第一段由汽车自动驾驶：加利福尼亚州圣莫尼卡的Waymo出租车。此次自驾游的主力座驾是一辆Rivian电动SUV。

Finally, for the bulk of our driving, was Mr. Krafcik’s all-electric Rivian R1S sport utility vehicle.

最后，承担我们大部分路程驾驶的是科拉夫奇克的纯电动Rivian R1S运动型多用途汽车。

A New World miracle in its heyday, Route 66 is undoubtedly older and sadder, but possibly wiser; a crossroad of history, where intense isolation was (and remains) tempered by a slow but steady influx of strangers passing through.

在其鼎盛时期曾被称为新世界奇迹的66号公路如今无疑变得更苍老、更落寞，但也或许变得更睿智；它是历史的十字路口，在这里，曾经且至今依然极为强烈的孤立感被源源不断通过的缓缓陌生人流所冲淡。

Day 2

第二天

We rise early, emerging from the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, where each room is its own concrete tepee. Erected in 1949, it reminds us that gaudy nostalgia has been drawing people to the highway for decades.

我们早早起床，走出位于圣贝纳迪诺的威格瓦姆汽车旅馆，这里的每个房间都是一个独立的混凝土印第安帐篷。这座建于1949年的旅馆提醒着我们，几十年来，这种花哨的怀旧风情一直吸引着人们来到这条公路。

After charging the Rivian at a nearby station, we stop for a good breakfast at Peggy Sue’s ’50s Diner in Yermo. Built along the roadside in 1954, it fell on hard times only to reopen in 1987 as a ’50s-themed restaurant.

在附近的一个充电站给Rivian充好电后，我们在耶尔莫的“佩吉·苏50年代美式餐厅”停下来吃了一顿丰盛的早餐。该餐厅于1954年建在路边，曾一度陷入困境，直到1987年才以50年代主题餐厅的名义重新开业。

Filled today with its owner’s collection of memorabilia from old television programs and films, the place exudes a double layer of nostalgia — for the highway’s buoyant days (which no one can remember) and the public’s fascination with the 1950s.

如今，店内摆满了老板收藏的老电视节目和电影纪念品，散发着双重怀旧气息——既是对这条公路曾经充满活力时期的怀念（尽管现在已无人记得），也是对公众对20世纪50年代迷恋的写照。

Onward. In Newberry Springs, deep in the Mojave Desert, sits the Sidewinder Cafe, which Matt Parker bought in 2023. Some will know it as the setting for the 1987 film “Bagdad Cafe.”

继续前行。莫哈韦沙漠深处的纽伯里斯普林斯坐落着响尾蛇咖啡馆，马特·帕克于 2023 年买下了它。有些人可能知道，这里是1987年电影《巴格达咖啡馆》(Bagdad Café)的取景地。

It is no surprise that the interstate, with its busier traffic, is more flush with charge points. Rivian’s branded charging network — the Rivian Adventure Network, which numbers among its sites over 21,000 Tesla Superchargers that can be used with an adapter — proved refreshingly usable.

毫无疑问，交通更繁忙的州际公路拥有更密集的充电桩。Rivian的品牌充电网络——“Rivian冒险网络”站点中拥有超过21000个可通过适配器使用的特斯拉超级充电桩，便捷性令人耳目一新。

We also found ourselves impressed by the new charging stations set up by Ionna, a joint venture among numerous automakers.

我们也对由众多汽车制造商成立的合资企业Ionna建立的新充电站印象深刻。

位于加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺市66号公路旁的威格瓦姆汽车旅馆。几十年来，这条古老的公路一直唤起人们对往昔时光的怀念。威格瓦姆汽车旅馆出售的纪念品。通车100周年之际，驾车行驶在这条公路上的司机未必会意识到正在举行庆祝活动。

We arrive in Amboy, Calif., and Roy’s Motel and Café — built in the 1940s as a garage to fix travelers’ cars at a spot where its founder, Roy Crowl, once broke down. It’s a historic site on the National Trails Highway of U.S. Route 66, but the motel is not open, though it may return, said Nicole Rachel, who was working behind the counter the day we passed by and was happy to chat.

我们抵达了加利福尼亚州安博伊的罗伊汽车旅馆与咖啡馆——它建于20世纪40年代，最初是一家修理游客车辆的汽车修理厂，其创始人罗伊·克劳尔曾在这个地方抛锚过。这是美国66号公路国家步道公路上的一个历史遗迹，但旅馆目前并未营业。不过，在我们经过那天，正在柜台后工作、并且很乐意聊天的妮可·蕾切尔说，它可能会重新开张。

Ms. Rachel, who once lived on Route 66 in Missouri, said Amboy was the “coolest part of Route 66, and not because I work here.” She added: “I think that we’re finally on the upswing. It’s finally gotten to the point. Generationally, things come back. Like bell bottoms come back every decade.”

蕾切尔女士曾在密苏里州的66号公路沿线生活，她说安博伊是“66号公路上最酷的地方，这可不是因为我在这里工作”。她还说：“我认为我们终于在走上坡路了。终于到了这个节点。从世代更替的角度来看，风潮总会轮回。就像喇叭裤每十年就会流行回来一样。”

Day 3

第三天

After a long trip to Williams, Ariz., we awaken early at the Historic Grand Canyon Hotel. Opened in 1891 and billed as “Arizona’s Oldest Hotel,” it feels old but boutique-y, though it is nowhere near the famous canyon.

经过漫长的旅程抵达亚利桑那州威廉姆斯后，我们在历史大峡谷酒店早早醒来。这家酒店于1891年开业，被誉为“亚利桑那州最古老的酒店”，感觉很有年代感，又带有些许精品酒店的格调，尽管它其实离著名的大峡谷还很远。

Vicki Conklin, working the front desk, explained that the quaint, vaguely upscale town of Williams, with little of the hardscrabble feel we’d grown accustomed to, plays host to a railroad that takes travelers on a roughly two-hour ride up to the canyon in vintage rail cars pulled by steam locomotives. Once again, tourism and nostalgia play a big role helping support what appears to be a more prosperous community than most we’d see.

在前台工作的维基·康克林解释说，威廉姆斯这座古朴而隐约透露出高档气息的小镇几乎没有我们已经习惯的那种艰苦破败感。这里运营着一条铁路，用蒸汽机车牵引着复古车厢，载着游客行驶大约两个小时，直达大峡谷。在这里，旅游业和怀旧情结再次发挥了巨大作用，支撑起这个看起来比我们沿途见的绝大多数社区都要繁荣的城镇。

“Europeans, especially, they’re so interested in the West, it is amazing,” Ms. Conklin said. “Some travel all the way to Santa Monica from Chicago, all the way. They’re so interested. And then the Grand Canyon just is awe-inspiring. The American tourists love it just as much.”

“尤其是欧洲人，他们对美国西部太感兴趣了，这简直太神奇了，”康克林说。“有些人一路从芝加哥原道而来，直奔圣莫尼卡。他们真的太有兴趣了。而且大峡谷本身也令人赞叹。美国游客也同样热爱它。”

During our last night — in Gallup, N.M., at the El Rancho Hotel — we get our final blast of nostalgia as the lodging celebrates its Hollywood ties. Among the many films shot or set nearby: “The Grapes of Wrath,” from the John Steinbeck novel that first identified the highway as the Mother Road, along with “Touch of Evil,” “Easy Rider,” “Natural Born Killers,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Cars.”

我们的最后一晚在新墨西哥州盖洛普的埃尔兰乔酒店度过，在这家以同好莱坞的渊源为荣的旅馆，我们感受到了最后一波怀旧狂潮。在附近拍摄或以此地为背景的众多电影包括：改编自约翰·斯坦贝克小说的《愤怒的葡萄》（The Grapes of Wrath，该小说首次将这条公路称为“母亲之路”），以及《历劫佳人》(Touch of Evil)、《逍遥骑士》(Easy Rider)、《天生杀人狂》(Natural Born Killers)、《阳光小美女》(Little Miss Sunshine)和《赛车总动员》(Cars)。

Exciting us even more was a carnitas dinner at Jerry’s Café, a bit off the highway in downtown Gallup, surely the road trip’s best meal.

更让我们兴奋的是在杰里咖啡馆吃的墨西哥卡尼塔斯晚餐，它位于盖洛普市中心，稍微偏离了公路，这绝对是这次公路旅行中最棒的一餐。

Day 4

第四天

66号公路是一座布满尘埃的美国风情画廊，展现了这个国家汽车世纪初期的独特风貌。奥兹莫比尔的仪表盘。这条高速公路曾象征着一个向西迁徙的民族所拥有的自由与机遇。旅游业和怀旧情怀在支撑66号公路沿线的商业活动中发挥着重要作用。

We head out early for Albuquerque, to the Ancora Cafe. After breakfast burritos, Mr. Brancaccio and I spoke with Daniel Sullivan, who moved from Illinois and volunteers at the cafe, which provides job training to people in recovery and others.

我们一早出发前往阿尔伯克基，前往安可拉咖啡馆。吃过早餐卷饼后，布兰卡乔和我与丹尼尔·沙利文聊了聊。他从伊利诺伊州搬来，目前在这家咖啡馆做志愿者，该咖啡馆为康复期人员及其他群体提供工作技能培训。

Mr. Sullivan, who also coaches a football team for at-risk youths, has strong feelings about the road we’ve spent the last few days traveling, as it was the route he took to escape an alcoholic parent back in the Midwest.

沙利文还担任一支针对问题青少年的橄榄球队教练，他对我们过去几天走过的这条路有着强烈的感情，因为当年他正是沿着这条路线逃离了中西部那个酗酒的亲人。

“I think if more of today’s generation knew about Route 66 and the culture of how it got built before the I-40, seeing that small-town culture, seeing all those businesses that were booming at one time, the unique architecture — which are basically just abandoned buildings now — if we could bring them back to life, bring that culture and happiness back, that will bring more tourists here,” he said. He ticked off states along the route: “Oklahoma, Missouri, into Texas, that’s a beautiful sight,” he added, “a beautiful drive.”

“我认为，如果现在更多年轻一代了解66号公路，了解它在40号州际公路建成之前的建造文化，看到那种小镇文化，看到曾经繁荣的商铺，还有如今基本都已废弃的独特建筑——如果我们能让它们重焕生机，带回那种文化和快乐，那将会吸引更多的游客来到这里，”他说。他一一数出沿途的几个州：“俄克拉荷马州、密苏里州，再到得克萨斯州，那是极其美丽的风光，”他说。“一段美丽的自驾之旅。”