Roadie opening art gallery in Amarillo

Longtime Texas Route 66 enthusiast Bob "Crocodile" Lile is holding a grand opening of his new Lile Art Gallery in Amarillo on Aug. 7. The event is being held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk. Lile Art Gallery is at 3701 Plains Blvd. (map here) in the Sunset Shopping Mall, the first mall … Continue reading Roadie opening art gallery in Amarillo

Tulsa restaurant refurbishing neon sign

Tulsa roadie Brad Nickson dropped me an e-mail about El Rancho Grande, the longest-surviving restaurant on 11th Street, aka Route 66, in Tulsa. Nickson said the owner is giving a face-lift to its distinctive and vintage neon sign. The neon is off and the re-painting is almost complete.  Owner (John) said it should have the … Continue reading Tulsa restaurant refurbishing neon sign

Running the route with a twist

Each summer, a few athletes try to run old Route 66 to raise money for charity or to simply challenge themselves. Two stories came over Friday of runners trying to trudge down all 2,400 miles of the Mother Road. Both featured unusual twists. First, there's Internet mogul Tellman Knudson, who is training for a run … Continue reading Running the route with a twist

Don’t bypass me by

The towns of Holbrook and Winslow, Ariz., like a lot of towns on Route 66, saw a big decrease in traffic when they were bypassed by Interstate 40. Now, according to AzJournal.com, there is a transportation plan afoot that would bypass even more traffic from those towns onto I-40. In Holbrook, a proposal has been … Continue reading Don’t bypass me by

Well, blow me down

The Green Roadway, a project to generate "green" energy along highways that is endorsed by the Route 66 Alliance, is auctioning patents to states starting today. What's interesting is how the Green Roadway aims to generate that electricity. I thought it'd be a mix of standard solar panels and wind turbines to do so. But … Continue reading Well, blow me down

Break-ins migrate across Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

Car burglaries at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in north St. Louis got so numerous that Trailnet closed the parking lot on the bridge's west side. KTVI-TV in St. Louis now reports that car burglaries at the bridge that once carried Route 66 now have migrated to the parking lot on the east side, … Continue reading Break-ins migrate across Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

Money needed, stat

The Southwest Tulsa Chamber of Commerce needs $26,000 by mid-August to pay for a 154-foot-tall oil derrick replica at a Route 66 Station park under construction on Southwest Boulevard, reports the Tulsa World. The newspaper reported that some pledged donations for the project have been pulled back because of the weak economy, hence the hastily … Continue reading Money needed, stat

New Mexico woman earns prestigious preservation honor

Patty Guggino of Los Lunas, N.M., on Monday earned the prestigious Historic Preservation Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is the first resident of New Mexico to win the honor, and only the 16th in the United States, according to a report in the Valencia County News-Bulletin. The DAR Historic Preservation Medal … Continue reading New Mexico woman earns prestigious preservation honor

Greatest American Road Side Trip

The third episode of NBC's reality series "The Great American Road Trip" turned out to be slightly better than its predecessor -- namely because it didn't have a repeat of the dreadful talent show in Branson. However, the show found other ways to dismay and irritate. Namely ... --- For all the ballyhoo about it … Continue reading Greatest American Road Side Trip

Marker near Rock Creek Bridge stolen

A historical marker that explains the origins of the Rock Creek Bridge that once carried old Route 66 near Sapulpa, Okla., was stolen about a month ago, reports the Sapulpa Daily Herald. Fortunately, the marker that was pilfered is not the original. The original marker is at the Sapulpa Historical Society Museum. The bridge was … Continue reading Marker near Rock Creek Bridge stolen