Would You Drive On A Highway Numbered 666?

A trip down the Devil’s Highway

Variations of the US 666 route signs over time. The “US” and the state names began being dropped in the 1960s. Instead, the shape of the sign (the shield) was meant to tell drivers it was a national highway. “Former 666” signs were posted alongside the new designation (US 491) for years due to the public’s use of older road maps. All photos: Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons.

Your first time at anything is always memorable, hopefully for the right reasons.

Do you remember your first day of school? Your first pet? How about your first train ride? I bet you remember the first time you had sex!

OK, if you must. I was 17.

My first train ride was aboard “The Super Chief,” which traveled between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Southwest. Back then, it was operated by The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF), known as the Santa Fe for short. I was 12 years old in 1969, and Amtrak, which nationalized passenger rail service, did not take over the railways until 1971.

My sister, cousins, and I spent most of our summers at my Grandpa’s ranch near Durango, Colorado. We assembled from throughout the West, where we’d stay at “Pop’s” ranch, my paternal grandfather, where “Pop” would become a parent again. The aunts and uncles never stayed as long as the cousins — they’d go galavanting around the country and come back and collect us — eventually!

Poor Pop. Most of my cousins were teenage girls at the time with raging hormones, anxious to get out and meet the local boys, so they’d sneak out the windows every night. The only obstacle was me! As long as they did what I…