The new Google Doodle celebrates the legendary Route 66

The new Google Doodle celebrates the legendary Route 66

(CNN) – Google knows where it gets its kicks…

The search engine’s latest Google Doodle celebrates historic Route 66.

The artwork is an animated video composed of over 100 paintings and sketches by Google Art Director Matthew Cruickshank during a road trip.

Route 66 was built in 1926 and “made overland travel affordable for the first time,” says Google in a press release. The highway connecting Chicago to Santa Monica, California, allowed displaced families to move west during the Dust Bowl and served as the inspiration for John Steinbeck’s The Grapes. Experience the “ultimate road trip” and explore American history. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, but several portions survive as state or national scenic byways, Google says the Golden Driller statue in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“I set out to create an animated sketchbook of my journey, complete with U-turns and artistic meanders,” Cruickshank said in Google’s press release.

Cruickshank said he hopes his Doodle will show viewers “that life on the slow lane can be incredibly rewarding at times!”