Cookbook author gives her Tulsa-area food choices February 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Restaurants.add a comment
In the Tulsa World’s Spot entertainment section, Marian Clark, author of several Route 66-themed cookbooks, gives her favorite Mother Road-related restaurants in the area.
Her favorites on Route 66 in Tulsa are Ollie’s Station, Billy Ray’s Bar-B-Q & Catfish, El Rancho Grande and Molly’s Landing.
She also mentioned Weber’s, which isn’t on Route 66 in Tulsa but started there.
I’ve eaten at all of them, and they’re all excellent choices.
New plans for Waynesville bridge proceed February 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Preservation.add a comment
The Daily Guide of Waynesville, Mo., reports that improvements to the 1923 Roubidoux Bridge, which carries historic Route 66, will proceed after fits and starts.
Originally, vintage-looking lights were planned on the bridge. But preservationists were concerned that drilling holes into the structure to install them would compromise the bridge’s integrity. There also were concerns about the bridge’s appearance if the lights were simply hung over the bridge’s edge.
So a compromise was hatched:
Lights are still planned with the project, only they’ll be placed along the north side of Benton Street down to the bridge. The bridge itself won’t have any lights installed on it. However, the proposal includes placing four larger lights — two at each end — on both sides of the bridge. [...]
Now, funding set aside for the parking area will be used to help refurbish the bridge. Hardman said the parking project was removed from the grant’s scope because MoDOT doesn’t build city streets.
“What we’re really doing is keeping the Route 66 bridge in its original form, cleaning it up a bit and refurbishing it,” she said.
The extensive work to the bridge encompasses sandblasting and repairing the curbing and sidewalk.
New sidewalks along Historical Route 66 will connect a walking path to the Roubidoux Walking Trail and lights will also be installed at certain parts along the trail in the main park.
Here’s a good batch of photos of the Roubidoux Bridge, from the excellent Bridge Hunter site.
A meditation on the road February 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles, Web sites.add a comment
This new YouTube video is essentially an advertisement for a blog, … drive through my mind …, which details Jake’s journey on Route 66 in September 2007 in a red 1966 Ford Mustang.
The “About the author” piece explains the tone of site well:
I’m curious what captures our attention, piques our interest, informs our opinions, and provokes our judgment. And I love love love cars, particularly the muscle-era American classics where backyard grease monkeys could make horses to the back axle and cruise for chicks any given Saturday on any main street drag. Living in Chicago it would be a sin not to take the advice of fellow enthusiasts and drive old Route 66 to see it once before it’s gone. If you decide to come along you’ll see some neat sites from the trip. Mostly this is a meditation, a chance for me to lay out in words some of the things that have been kicking around in my mental junk drawer for the past few decades. (Am I dating myself? Judge me…bring it.) Thanks for your interest. Enjoy the ride.
I’ve read a good chunk of the lengthy blog. It’s thoughtful, self-indulgent, idiosyncratic, entertaining and occasionally maddening.
In short, it’s one of the best Route 66 blogs I’ve read out there.
Hand cyclist begins trek on April 28 February 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, People, Road trips.add a comment
Norberto de Angelis, a disabled former football player from Italy who plans to go down all of Route 66 in a hand bicycle, has firmed up his schedule.
His trek begins April 28 in Chicago, according to a press release.
One of his sponsors is Route 66 Association Italy. For more about de Angelis and his upcoming “Project 6six,” go here.
Snow in the desert February 11, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Weather.1 comment so far
Well, this quote from the Kingman (Ariz.) Daily Miner is impressive:
“This is the worst snowstorm that DPS has ever had to deal with in Northern Arizona,” said Commander Dean Nyhart, DPS Northern Bureau Highway Division.
According to a report in the Arizona Republic, the northern part of the state received between 29 and 32 inches of snow in five days.
Route 66 had quite an interesting role in this. On Monday, traffic on westbound Interstate 40 was diverted to the Mother Road at Seligman because of big trucks stuck in the snow. On Tuesday, Route 66 was closed between Peach Springs and Seligman because of the snow problems.
And it’s not over. More snow is forecast in the region on the weekend.
At least the ski lodges near Flagstaff will be happy.
A few states over, the Route 66 towns of Yukon, Edmond and Bethany in Oklahoma reported damage from severe storms on Tuesday. Tornadoes in other part of the state that day killed at least eight people.
UPDATE: Jim Hinckley sent me this snowy image from Kingman of the Hill Top Motel last week:
Jamie Jensen to publish Route 66 guidebook February 10, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Road trips.1 comment so far
Jamie Jensen, the author of several well-regarded road-trip guidebooks including “Road Trip USA,” is set to publish a new volume devoted exclusively to Route 66.
“Road Trip USA Route 66″ is slated to come out in April. It’s 100 pages, sells for the budget price of $9.95, and is being published by Avalon Travel.
Here’s the publisher’s description:
Professional traveler Jamie Jensen traveled more than 400,000 miles to bring you the best-selling guide Road Trip USA. In this expanded tour of Route 66, Jamie covers the kitschy “Main Street of America”, one of the country’s first transcontinental highways. From the Meramac Caverns to the wild creatures on display in roadside menageries, this historic route survives, despite being replaced by a high-speed Interstate. From the Golden Sands and Sunshine of Los Angeles to the gritty streets of St. Louis and Chicago, Road Trip USA Route 66 highlights major cities, obscure towns, popular attractions, roadside curiosities, local lore, and oddball trivia on this unforgettable journey into America, then and now.
The book can be preordered here and other online retailers.
(Hat tip: Publishers Weekly)
Owner may restore Boots Motel February 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.2 comments
In a Carthage (Mo.) Press feature, Savannah’s Restaurant owner Vince Scott talks about, among other things, his ownership of the Boots Motel on Route 66:
Scott also owns one of the historic landmarks in Carthage, the Boots Motel. Again his intention was to buy the property and sell it quickly at a profit, which might have meant the destruction of this landmark, but things didn’t work out as planned.
The Walgreen’s pharmacy chain looked at the corner of Central and Garrison to build a store for several months but the deal couldn’t be made and Walgreen’s built its store at Grand Avenue and Fir Road.
Since then, however, the Route 66 icon has produced a steady income for Scott and his family, but it hasn’t been immune to the economic slowdown.
“It’s always been a good income producer, but it’s been a little bit slow even there,” Scott said. “The people who rent weekly, for whatever reason, whether they are transitioning from one place to another or they’ve lost their job, whatever the reason, they’ll stay there because they don’t have to get the utilities turned on or anything like that because I’m paying all that.
“There must be a lot less people moving around because I’ve got a couple of units open and I’m always full, and there are a lot less people calling.”
Scott said he hasn’t ruled out restoring the Boots himself and capitalizing on its unique place as one of the few operating roadside motels left over from the mid-20th century heyday of the Mother Road.
“If I was to be able to make this restaurant work and stand on it’s own, I may do that,” Scott said. “Then I could set people up in the Boots and send them down here to eat.”
The article is significant in that it’s the first time Scott has shown any inkling of wanting to restore the property. As recently as 18 months ago, Scott showed no interest in doing so.
Second, I believe this is the first time it’s been confirmed that Scott bought the Boots Motel in an effort to flip the property to Walgreens. A lot of well-placed sources said Walgreens was trying to get involved. But now the proof is apparent.
(Photo by Jim Ross)