# Illinois' Route 66 Hidden Gems

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/enjoy-illinois-let-s-go-7852334/illinois-route-66-hidden-gems
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/enjoy-illinois-let-s-go-7852334/illinois-route-66-hidden-gems.md
Podcast: [Enjoy Illinois: Let's Go!](https://stenobird.com/podcast/enjoy-illinois-let-s-go-7852334)
Published: 2026-05-18T18:12:41+00:00
Episode link: https://www.cohostpodcasting.com
Audio file: https://audio-delivery.cohostpodcasting.com/audio/e26f4ffa-12eb-4589-b972-9ac4f4369e58/episodes/c4994dd1-49c9-43a6-b7af-4b72f2f4d06d/episode.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/enjoy-illinois-let-s-go-7852334/episodes/illinois-route-66-hidden-gems
Duration seconds: 1678

## Resource

On this special episode, host Catie Sheehan celebrates the Route 66 Centennial with two guests who know the Mother Road inside and out. The show opens with a word from Governor JB Pritzker on what this milestone year means for Illinois. First up is Amanda Bryden, Registrar of History at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield. Bryden co-led "Miles of Memories," the Route 66 Oral History Project, a remarkable collection of 100 video-recorded interviews with the people who lived, worked, and traveled the road during the pre-interstate era. She shares stories from the archive, including a striking account of what travel looked like for Black families navigating segregation-era Route 66, and offers her picks for must-see stops along Illinois' stretch of the highway. Next, Sheehan sits down with Josh Waldmire, third-generation owner of the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield. Waldmire shares the full story behind his grandfather Ed's invention of the Cozy Dog in the 1940s, what keeps the restaurant feeling like a trip back in time, and what's on the horizon for the centennial year, including a Major League Eating contest at the Mother Road Festival this September.

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## Transcript

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