SPRINFIELD, Ill. (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Two weeks after the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival – commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Mother Road – you would think Springfield has exhausted all Route 66 conversation for a while.

You would be wrong.

The Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is going on this weekend. Jerry McClanahan, author of the EZ 66 Guide for Travelers, keynotes the event. What’s his advice for someone, perhaps a foreigner, about to experience Route 66 for the first time?

“Find some type of reputable guide, whether it be mine or somebody else’s, there are good apps, there’s maps, there’s guides, there’s histories, there’s books by friends of mine that talk about the history and the local color,” said McClanahan. “All of this will give you an idea of what you want to see. And then, throw your intricate planning out the window and just enjoy it, because your trip is going to happen the way it wants to. 66 can’t be locked into an itinerary you’re going to talk for an hour or two to some person you never even thought of before.”

McClanahan, an Oklahoman who says he lives just a block off of Route 66, says his home state probably is the best 66 state — other than Illinois, of course. He has been studying the Mother Road since 1981.