Just for Fun Run April 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
Here’s a slide show (with a bit of video) from the Historic Route 66 Fun Run in western Arizona in 2007. You’ll see plenty of Arizona sights along the Mother Road, along with plenty of sweet-looking rides.
This year’s Fun Run is May 1-3.
New dining option in Tulsa April 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants.add a comment
A new restaurant, the Dilly Deli, has opened in the downtown Route 66 area of the Blue Dome District of Tulsa. Tulsa World restaurant critic Scott Cherry has more information.
The Dilly Deli is owned by Scott Nelson, who also helms El Guapo’s Mexican Cantina and McNellie’s Public House (a highly praised Irish pub) in that area.
“Cattleman’s Cafe” April 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Restaurants.add a comment
Erik Holien of Norway spent time in the legendary Cattleman’s Cafe on Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas, and was inspired to write a song about it. The video contains footage from the restaurant and other Panhandle scenes, including the Route 66 ghost town of Glenrio.
Racing to the rocker April 8, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Events, Sports.add a comment
The inaugural Race to the Rocker, a four-mile footrace on Route 66 from Cuba, Mo., to the world’s largest rocking chair at the Fanning 66 Outpost and General Store, drew 155 participants on Saturday under nearly perfect weather conditions.
The race, organized by local running club JOG Inc., raised $7,500 to help Cuba’s high school build a new running track.
The top runner was Kyle Gibbs, 31, of Rolla, Mo., in a time of 24:06.5. The top female runner was Cristy Kruse of Cuba in 29:25.7. Complete results can be seen here.
The second annual Race to the Rocker is already being planned, with a March 27, 2010, date.
(Photos courtesy of Jane Reed)
Michael Martin Murphey playing benefit for Route 66 center April 8, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Museums, Music.add a comment
Veteran country-music star Michael Martin Murphey is performing another benefit concert for the Route 66 Interpretive Center of Chandler, Okla., on April 16.
Murphey played a benefit for the center last year about this time. Apparently he is scheduled to be in Oklahoma City that week for an annual awards presentation at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum, and decided to add the Chandler gig.
The April 16 show in will be at the Chandler High School’s performing arts center. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7. Tickets are $30 each, with children and students admitted free. For more information, call Angie Maynor at the Interpretive Center at 405-258-1300.
Murphey has been a fan of Route 66 all his life. He likely will perform his cover of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66,” which Murphey recorded in his 1989 album “Land of Enchantment.” Murphey also was quoted in Michael Wallis’ best-selling book, “Route 66: The Mother Road.”
Here’s Murphey in 1986 performing his most famous song:
New museum opens next month in Santa Fe April 7, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Museums.add a comment
Artist's rendering of the New Mexico History Museum.
The new New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., that is slated to open May 24 should be of interest to roadies.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune:
The museum explores how the West’s various cultures clashed and blended over 400 years of written and spoken memory. It starts with new Mexico’s native inhabitants including the tribal Pueblos, Navajos and Apaches and then examines a history that includes the Spanish conquistadors, Santa Fe Trail riders, outlaws, railroad builders, Route 66 sightseers, artists, nuclear scientists and counter-culture revolutionaries.
The museum’s site includes several nice touches, including a search engine of its extensive photo archives and other collections. For instance, here are several photos of Route 66 in the cities of Albuquerque, Tucumcari and Grants. And, as a bonus, here’s a vintage photo of the infamous La Bajada Hill, which was a primitive early alignment of Route 66 south of Santa Fe.
The museum is right behind the Palace of the Governors in downtown Santa Fe.
And so it begins … April 6, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation, Signs.add a comment
Workers from Claude Neon Federal began re-erecting the historic Meadow Gold neon sign at 11th Street and Quaker Avenue in Tulsa on Monday afternoon.
The “Beatrice Foods Co.” was the only part they had attached to the framework, and that was to only one side, as of about 2:30 p.m. The “Milk, Ice Cream” part was going to be erected next.
It was windy and cold. The City of Tulsa hopes to have the Meadow Gold sign done by the end of the week. But one Claude worker said it would probably be closer to two weeks “if the weather doesn’t improve.” He said reattaching the neon tubing would by far be the most difficult part of the project.
Two weeks or not, it’s great to see that the Meadow Gold sign, which dates to the late 1930s or early 1940s, is going to live again. It’s been nearly five years in coming.
Sneak preview of I-44 Welcome Center April 6, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, Signs.5 comments
The Missouri Department of Transportation will open a new Route 66-themed Welcome Center on Interstate 44 west of Conway.
The welcome center isn’t quite finished and therefore isn’t open. But it’s far enough along that these photos from Angela Eden of MoDOT will give you a good idea what the Route 66 welcome center will look like.
The dedication won’t be until 11 a.m. May 4. After that, the welcome center will be fully functional.
The Tourist Information Center at the Conway Welcome Center.
The neon welcome sign is inspired by the Munger Moss Motel's sign.
The picnic shelter on the left looks like an old gas station.
This is a neon sign over the vending machines area.
An old-fashioned wall clock.
More about the Conway Welcome Center can be read here.
This is the third rest area that I know of that takes some inspiration from Route 66. The others are near Funks Grove on Interstate 55 in Illinois in the middle of the Texas Panhandle on Interstate 40.
(Photos courtesy of Angela Eden of MoDOT.)
Neil Young’s recession blues April 5, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Vehicles.add a comment
Cruising down the road and the economic recession seem to be on Neil Young‘s mind during his new album, “Fork in the Road.”
Lyrics to each of the 10 songs and four videos from the album are on Young’s site here. On most of the songs I heard, 
Young straps on his trusty Old Black electric guitar and rips some distorted riffs.
Many of the songs deal with his Lincvolt project — an alternative-fuels engine in a classic car — and behind the wheel of it during cross-country jaunts. In the opener “When Worlds Collide,” Young provides a Mother Road reference: “Cruising down route 66 where the guys and gals used to get their kicks in the old days.”
Used?
The current recession seems to be troubling Young, too. In “Cough Up the Bucks,” he sings, “Where did all the money go? Where did the cash flow?” On the title song, Young sings “There’s a bailout coming but it’s not for you” and moans about the bank repossessing his flat-screen television.
I’ve followed Young’s career for about 20 years and have been a frequent admirer of the Rock Hall of Famer. However, I have to concur with Chicago Tribune music writer Greg Kot‘s assessment of the album:
Many of the songs feel half-finished, little more than vamps, rarely venturing beyond a couple of chords and a few repeated phrases. [...] this is the musical equivalent of a quickie oil change for one of Young’s vintage cars. Only Young die-hards will want to peer under its hood.
The album can be pre-purchased here. It’s available Tuesday as a CD or a DVD/CD combo on Amazon.com.
A road trip by the Numbers April 5, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion, Road trips.add a comment
The latest chapter of “Route 66: A Road Trip through the Bible” is Numbers, which apparently involves a lot of wandering and a lot of manna.
I’m not sure that Zorro was in the Bible, though. 