And, in the middle of Amarillo, you can experience Route 66 as it was intended, with a mix that runs from biker pubs and upscale eateries to classic clothing boutiques and antique furniture shops.

You can get out and stretch your legs on what is known as Sixth Street on Route 66 in Amarillo.

But, OK, to be fair, Route 66 through Amarillo includes more than Sixth Street. To the east, you can still find hot coffee and pie at a few cafes where people like Paul Newman hung out during the making of the early 1960s movie "Hud" -- and you can find the skeletons of the flat-style motels where the crew probably stayed.

To the west, you can view a few art galleries and the famous Cadillac Ranch. The site consists of 10 of the American behemoth boat cars sunk into the ground, in a row, at a slant, in the middle of a field.

Further west, past the Ranch, the familiar gift shop-restaurants appear: roadside stops which may still have those burl-wood clocks, with the dominoes for numbers, but definitely have pecan logs to snack on.

If you can't find the wood clock there, though, it's likely you'll find a close relative back in Amarillo, inside one of the Sixth Street's eclectic antique shops, perhaps next to a richly carved mahogany wardrobe from the mid-1800s.

Sixth Street has an ample combination of styles. The art-deco shops sit next to nondescript burger joints. A Santa Fe style facade on a gallery attraction is countered down the street with a small barber shop where the owner will give you an electric shoulder massage with each cut. And a warmly lit martini bar with leopard-print tablecloths is angled across from a thrift store that believes you should be able to see merchandise from the street.

You can spend hours looking through a stock of rustic fishing gear, sports equipment, and original magazines and books from a bygone era. In the next stop, you can find original Fiesta ware next to metal cowboy camp ware. In yet another shop, you can find Jacobean dining chairs, an 18th-century pine corner cupboard and a set of French Christople silver.

The more adventurous you are, the more you will find.

These permanent attractions combine with various festivals during the warmer months on Sixth Street. The events feature live music, car shows, gatherings of Harley-Davidson riders and other activities geared toward a true Texas-style block party.

In 1999, a federal bill earmarked $10 million over 10 years to support efforts to preserve Route 66. Amarillo's Sixth Street has been active with a variety of stores since the beginning. But the new bill will certainly help preserve more of the original architecture and make it easier to get your kicks on Route 66.

The thoroughfare, referred to as the "Main Street of America" or "the mother road" in Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," became the first completely paved highway across the western United States in 1938, rolling through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Sixth Street runs between Western and McMasters streets in Amarillo. The exact center of Route 66 is claimed by a small town west of Amarillo called Adrian. And the mother road actually ends in Santa Monica, Calif.