All right, so this motel chain is reminiscent of the days when silly on-screen portrayals of Native Americans that “smoke’m peace pipes” were rampant, but the business was established in 1933 after all. Today, tourists and curious locals can still retreat to the Rialto Wigwam Motel on historic Route 66—a fun, campy “campground” that hearkens back to simpler times when li’l Jonny brought a cowboy hat on family trips instead of a handheld game console.

This odd “museum” is not officially owned by McDonald’s corp, but by another restaurant called Juan Pollo, purveyors of rotisserie chicken. Although this is the site of the first McDonald’s restaurant owned by the McDonald brothers, it was the business’s new owner, Illinois-bred Ray Kroc, who made it what it is today. Today, the fast food giant disavows this as the location of the “first McDonald’s” in favor of a restaurant in Illinois. All very confusing.

This interactive museum, housed in a nondescript boxy building, covers about 4,500 square feet of space. When you step inside, you understand why the museum needs so much space - to showcase a '50s diner, a Model-T Ford, and plenty of memorabilia from the mid 1900s. If you're looking for the perfect Insta shot, you can dress up in '50s costumes and pose in the VW Love Bus!

Oro Grande Shops: A string of antique stores on Route 66 housed in an Old-West style building is frequently cited as one of the best shopping stops in the area. There are all kinds of antiques to be found here - from shabby chic to vintage elegance. Naturally, you'll find the traditional Route 66 memorabilia and kitsch here too.

In 2000, Elmer Long welded a metal tree bedecked with colored class bottles to catch the California sunlight on Route 66. That tree turned into an enchanted forest made, not only of metal pipes and soda bottles, but an airplane propeller, a parking meter, a old cash register, and other everyday objects turned magical by Elmer’s welding wizardry.

Life imitates art! This cafe was once known as the Sidewinder Cafe but to capitalize on its fame as the setting for the 1987 movie starring CCH Pounder, the name was changed to its namesake. Plenty of memorabilia and flags from seemingly every country decorate the walls. By all accounts the restaurant is charming, the service friendly, and the food tasty. Definitely a must if you happen to travel through Newberry!

Off historic Route 66 is this extinct volcano believed to be about 80,000 years old. Located in the midst of a plain that was once the bottom of a prehistoric sea, the crater measures about 1,508 feet in diameter - just over a quarter of a mile. Hikers can walk to the center of the crater via a breach in the surrounding walls. The breach was created by flowing lava but now makes a nice entry way into this pock-mark on the Earth's surface.

Amboy Ghost Town: Located in the heart of the Mojave, Amboy is a legit abandoned town that was made obsolete once our U.S. highways were fully developed from coast to coast. A few films have been shot here and the cafe has opened/closed repeatedly. The town itself was once for sale on eBay! Latest population puts the count at 4 townsfolk. Spooky at night!

This Old West-style building has walls and ceilings covered in dollar bills signed by tourists. If you get there at the right time, you might find yourself dining next to an outlaw and witness a Wild West shootout. Call ahead of time or check the website to get a calendar of events.

The gift shop with a funny sign is in the town known for its adorable burros roaming around untethered. Inside you'll find all kinds of goodies - from vintage signs to Native American pottery. Prices here are lower than other tourist shops.

Near the Oatman Post Office on Main Street, you're likely to spot the cutest attraction in town: Oatman's wild burrows. Perhaps these are the happiest donkeys in the world. They only roam about and are hand fed pellets and carrots by the tourists who come around. Their descendants were not as fortunate - they came here as pack animals of the miners who then abandoned them. These burros are wild but they are taken care of by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Cool Springs belies the dry landscape of Kingman. This stone station built in the 1920s serviced motorists making their way across Route 66. For them Cool Springs was definitely an oasis on a long stretch of barren landscape. Today the station is a privately owned gift shop and museum.

Located in Kingman's Historic Powerhouse this museum is one of the more noteworthy Route 66 stops. Everything from the beginning of this culturally significant thoroughfare to its current status is found on the second floor of the building. It's not your typical curios shop or roadside stops; the collection has been carefully curated and is tastefully displayed.

Bubblegum-pink seating and a black-and-white checkered floor make the perfect setting for a retro diner. The fare is what you'd expect - hamburgers and milkshakes - but it's good. Some famous faces have stopped here such as Oprah Winfrey and Angus T. Jones.

Reminiscent of the giant sculptures on Easter Island this green larger-than-life head was fashioned out of metal, wood, Styrofoam, and chicken wire. It was created in 2004 by New Jersey-native, Gregg Arnold who is also the owner of the A-frame house standing nearby that has ants crawling up the side.

Doing business on Route 66, this mercantile is a throwback to the days when a gas station attendant pumped your gas for you and a glass bottle of soda cost whatever change you had hiding between your seats. Still in business, the store now caters to tourists. It's a great place to take pictures - the building looks pretty much the way it did when it was established at the end of the 19th century, albeit much, much older.

As the name suggests the people who would have the best time here are hearty meat-eaters. Enjoy your catfish or charbroiled burger while gazing upon the taxidermized bodies of various animals. The fare is typical Southern comfort food served up fast and greasy, to be washed down with beer and cocktails. Make sure you bring your sense of humor along - you'll need it when you read the menu items which include Chunk of Skunk and Canine Cuisines.

Full of miscellaneous collectibles and located in one of Seligman's oldest structures built in 1905, this is the town's only gift shop and coffee bar. Even though many towns along Route 66 were abandoned Seligman still brings in tourists with its quaint Main Street and independently-owned businesses.

A stop here is kind of like stepping into the "Twilight Zone"; at any moment you expect to hear Rod Serling do a voiceover. Around 20 strangely dressed showroom dummies are relaxing around this little souvenir shop. This is what Route 66 is all about- the quirky, weirdly extravagant roadside attractions. Linda, the owner, sells Route 66 memorabilia inside the shop.

The owners are local activists - they led a movement to save the historic and culturally significant Route 66. As a testament of their love for the "Main Street of America" this diamond in the rough shop is well-stocked and reasonably priced. Call ahead if you'd like to visit while the owners are there; they are a treasure-trove of information.

Built on the legendary Route 66 in the 1950s, this highway stop has been largely decorated by the travelers who have stopped here. It has been a landmark for people traveling the longest stretch of this road where they can grab homemade onion rings and a cream soda.

You don't have to be a car buff to enjoy this gas station, you only need an interest in the history of Route 66. While most gas stations from this era are abandoned this one has started a second life as a souvenir shop and museum. You don't have to pay anything to check it out, but leaving a small tip might be a nice gesture.

The Canyon Motel offers you some adventure by having you sleep in one of two 1929 Sante Fe Train Cabooses, a rail car from the 1950s, or you can go conventional and sleep in one of their motel rooms - the choice is yours. What makes the Caboose Motel even more interesting is that one caboose suite has been certified by a team of "paranormal specialists" as being 100% haunted - boo!

This drive-thru animal park houses around a dozen bears wandering around and doing what bears do, so keep those cars a movin' if they get too close! Open 7 days a week, Bearizona opens at 8:30 am and closes when the daylight fades. There's also a walk-thru exhibit and a petting zoo (not with bears but with goats and chickens).

Not a typical petting zoo but surely an interesting one! First purchase a cup of food and proceed past the parrot which may be a hit or miss - sometimes you see him, other times not. Then, enter the enclosure and small deer will approach you without fear. The many curious and hungry deer may nibble at you and knock the cup out of your hand but if you're an animal lover this will be of no consequence as you pet them.

The self-styled "Home of Pluto" is a well-deserved name. This is where the dwarf planet/not-a-planet was discovered on February 18, 1930. Since then the debate is ongoing about Pluto and how to classify it. But this observatory will always be known where the controversial rocky sphere in the Kuiper Belt was first spotted.