Lindsey Wilson University New Student Takes a Well-Traveled Road to Campus
Landon Wagner and parents drive part of historic Route 66 to reach Columbia.
COLUMBIA, Ky. (08/23/2026) — Lindsey Wilson University student Landon Wagner not only took the scenic route to arrive this month on campus, but he and his parents also took a historic one.
Wagner, who is a junior transfer student from California, drove to Lindsey Wilson on part of Route 66, the famous American highway that turns 100 years old later this year. The 2,448-mile highway that stretches from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, was once known as the Main Street of America, and it was one of the original highways in the U.S. Numbered Highway System.
Route 66 has been immortalized in American culture by popular songs and in literature by John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac -- and in mid-August it was how Wagner and his parents traveled much of the way to reach Lindsey Wilson.
Wagner transferred to Lindsey Wilson from Pierce College in Los Angeles, where he played on the baseball team. Wagner expects to play first base and designated hitter for the Blue Raiders, while majoring in business administration.
The drive to Columbia
The six-day drive to Columbia that Wagner and his parents, Barry and Debi, made from Simi Valley in Southern California to Southcentral Kentucky included traveling on Route 66 to Oklahoma before departing the famous highway to head through Arkansas to make a stop in Memphis. But while on Route 66, the highway took them through some of its legendary towns and stops in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
"It definitely was a scenic adventure off the beaten path," said Wagner. "It was very easy-going. It was a slower way to go, so we definitely took our time on the way here and saw things along the way."
One of the things the Wagners saw along the way was the Grand Canyon. Although they had to stray about 60 miles from Route 66 in Arizona to see it, Wagner said it was worth it to check it off a bucket list.
"My mom has wanted to see the Grand Canyon and also ride on Route 66 since she was younger. My dad wanted to do it as well," said Wagner. "It was a cool experience, and it was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to do Route 66. It even made me think of the times when people traveled that same path with covered wagons (before Route 66)."
After the Wagners departed from Route 66, they drove through Arkansas so they could visit two other American cultural landmarks on their way to campus -- Beale Street and Graceland, the mansion owned by the late Elvis Presley. Then it was across the Volunteer State to Columbia, where Wagner settled in a rented house near campus.
The Wagners made their six-day trek that covered more than 2,100 miles in Landon's GMC Canyon truck. But when his parents returned to California, they opted to fly from Nashville, Tennessee.
"That was a lot faster for them," he said, even if they didn't see as much.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
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Lindsey Wilson University student Landon Wagner pictured at the Grand Canyon. Wagner and his parents, Barry and Debi, drove more than 2,100 to reach Columbia. A good part of the trip was made on the historic Route 66.
Lindsey Wilson University student Landon Wagner and his father, Barry, pictured at the Grand Canyon. Along with Wagner’s mother, Debi, the Wagners drove more than 2,100 miles to reach Columbia. A good part of the trip was made on the historic Route 66.