Volunteers repaint Paul Bunyan statue in Illinois May 20, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation, Towns.add a comment
Volunteers from the Illinois Route 66 Association this weekend repainted the 19-foot-tall Paul Bunyan fiberglass statue on Route 66 in downtown Atlanta, Ill., reported the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The newspaper reported that help came from Michigan and Iowa, as well as the Land of Lincoln.
“I’m impressed by what people want to do to help,” said John Weiss, chair of the preservation committee of the Route 66 Association of Illinois and organizer of the work day. Those who are interested in getting involved can visit www.il66assoc.org for more information.
“It’s my wife’s birthday and it’s what she wanted,” said Joe Foster, who traveled from Urbandale, Iowa, with wife, Kara, and daughter, Ella Hendricks, 8.
“Route 66 is my passion, and he’s grown to like it,” said Kara, who painted one of the statue’s arms and the mustard on the hot dog.
Bill Kelley, who grew up hearing stories of Route 66 from his parents, came from Eastpointe, Mich., to help.
“Disneyworld and Vegas aren’t for everybody,” said Kelley of his passion for Route 66.
While the reporter and a film crew was talking to a local businessman about the statue’s tourism impact, two carloads of people stopped to have their photographs taken in front of it. And a German couple also stopped on Saturday.
The statue once graced a restaurant — also on Route 66 — in Cicero, Ill., for nearly 40 years. When the restaurant changed hands, preservationists moved the statue to downtown Atlanta.
The Bunyan statue is an example of “Muffler Men” fiberglass statues that were all over the country from the 1940s to the ’60s. RoadsideAmerica.com boasts a map of all of these statues.
The Pantagraph’s story features photos from the repainting project. A reader also emailed a few pictures.
(Photos courtesy of Mike Cummings)
One from the BBC vault May 20, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Television.add a comment
This is a version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ by an apparently long-gone band called Freak UK. The video was broadcast by the BBC in 1991.
I suspect this was influenced by Depeche Mode’s version from 1987.
Freak UK’s frontman was Mik Scarlet, who found later fame as a TV and radio broadcaster, journalist, and actor.
He also serves as an adviser to companies that want to improve access for the disabled. That explains why the video’s lyrics were close-captioned and in sign language. He’s a really interesting guy, as this article from 2010 indicates.
Scarlet said on his blog the “Route 66″ video was among those recently found in a pile of VHS tapes at his mother’s home. The videos were once considered lost, and Scarlet is uploading them to the Internet.
High rider May 19, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, Magazines, Road trips.add a comment
A woman from Los Angeles wants to ride her double-high bicycle (like the one seen above) down Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica later in the summer, with the help of a national magazine.
Melissa Rougeaux yesterday applied for a $10,000 Adventure Grant from Outside magazine. The magazine explained:
In celebration of our 35th anniversary, Outside magazine is seeking proposals for its first annual Adventure Grant, a $10,000 endowment to help fund a smart, creative, and (perhaps) slightly foolhardy project that we’ll feature in an upcoming issue. Examples of the kinds of audacious missions we’re looking for—taken from Outside stories—include sailing a homemade raft down the Hudson River, walking a perfectly straight line across Canada’s Prince Edward Island, and paddling a canoe from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine.
Outside will announce finalists on June 2, and the winner will be chosen by the public through the magazine’s Facebook page.
Here’s Rougeaux’s video application:
In an email, Rougeaux says the bicycle she’s riding in the clip isn’t the one she would use:
The bike I’m riding in the video is actually an electric bike I own. I have built a double high bicycle before but left it in Boulder, CO when I moved out here, so I would have to build another one if I won the contest. Essentially it is one bike welded on top of another bike so its a “double high” bike. They can be a little tricky to get up on when first learning but are fun to ride. It would be challenging though to ride that far, but that’s all part of the adventure, I guess.
(Photo courtesy of Melissa Rougeaux)
Media get a sneak preview of Cars Land May 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Movies.1 comment so far
A small group of journalists toured Cars Land at Disney California Adventure before it officially opens on June 15. The Orange County Register was one of them.
Cars Land is patterned after the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs, as depicted in the Disney-Pixar animated films “Cars” and “Cars 2.”
According to the newspaper:
“When you walk into Route 66, you feel like you’ve stepped into this movie, but it’s real,” said Mary Niven, vice president of Disney California Adventure. [...]
The Mater and Lightning McQueen characters will move and talk, unlike the static cars that now are staged in Disney California Adventure. Mater and Lightning McQueen mostly will be based at the Cozy Cone Motel, but also will travel down Route 66. [...]
A neon lighting, including the illumination of the mountain range, will be held each night.
A popcorn bucket shaped like Lightning McQueen and a drink cup shaped like a Cozy Cone Motel will be sold at the motel food stands.
Flo’s V8 Cafe is based on MidPoint Cafe in Texas, famous for its “ugly crust” pies.
Flo’s has retro light fixtures, 1950s music and juke boxes by the cash registers. Checkered flags line the windows. Artwork includes mechanic licenses and a diagram of a healthy combustion chamber.
Alas, the newspaper didn’t post many photos with the report. However, a fellow with a video camera captured images of Cars Land last week:
“We’re Going West” May 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.3 comments
Here’s a new video from the good folks at The Road Crew, a country-rock band that’s served as boosters of Route 66 for the past few years:
The song comes from “Songs from the Mother Road” album, which you can download from Amazon here. It’s also on iTunes.
Learning about Route 66 on a zip line May 17, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions.2 comments
Here’s a novel new way for tourists to learn about the Mother Road — Pirate Cove Resort & Marina in Needles, Calif., soon will use zip lines to educate groups about the Colorado River and Route 66.
According to news release:
The adventures continue with a guided “Pirates Quest” zip line tour that will run diagonally across the peninsula. The tour consists of five zip lines, ranging from 312 feet to 1,300 feet, two towers and one 80 ft suspension bridge. The tour accommodates groups of 10 guests at one time and lasts approximately two hours. Guests will learn about the great Colorado River basin and the historic Route 66, while zipping in style.
The zip lines will be operational in June.
Pirate Cove also is adding another zip line called the Rum Runner that can go as fast as 55 mph. Other additions include an 80-foot “Plank Walk” Powerfan Freefall and an 80-foot ”Bosun Swing.”
Romeoville seeking grant to beautify its portion of Route 66 May 17, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, Towns.add a comment
The village of Romeoville, Ill., is applying for a state grant to spruce up its section of Illinois Highway 53, aka Route 66, according to the Joliet Herald-News.
The newspaper reported:
Renovations will include landscaping upgrades to islands along the roadway along with new signage that will include a Route 66 theme.
Landscaping within the village’s TIF district will be made along Joliet Road to 135th and landscape island improvements will be completed from McKool Avenue south to Renwick Road, said assistant village manager Dawn Caldwell.
The project is expected to cost an estimated $1.4 million.
The city should know by October whether it will win the grant. Funds would come from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program.