County OKs pact for Route 66 bikeway

The McLean County Board in Illinois approved a $170,000 engineering contract in an effort to build a 3-mile bicycle path next to Route 66 from west Bloomington to Shirley, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. The county hopes to eventually attract federal stimulus money to help pay for the $1.75 million project. Getting the bikeway "shovel ready" … Continue reading County OKs pact for Route 66 bikeway

Notes from the road

--- The bad news in Oklahoma is that the state's turnpike authority will raise toll-road prices an average of 16 percent. The good news is that this probably means more traffic on old Route 66 in the Sooner State. --- On Monday we briefly visited with Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, … Continue reading Notes from the road

Cadillac Ranch takes on unintended meaning

Mitch Potter of the Toronto Star talks to Stanley Marsh 3, the Amarillo tycoon who created the art landmark that is Cadillac Ranch just off Route 66 on the west side of town. But in the summer of 2009, this iconic row of classic Cadillacs jutting skyward from a farm field in the Texas Panhandle … Continue reading Cadillac Ranch takes on unintended meaning

Early heartbreaking

Here's an early clip of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing Bobby Troup's most famous song. This 1977 video predates the band's breakout "Damn the Torpedos" album.

A little too touchy-feely

Here’s another chapter of “Route 66: A Road Trip on the Bible,” this one covering the first book of Chronicles. King David should have invested in a pair of handcuffs and a large burlap sack.

A view from the passenger side

Los Angeles artist and photographer Jason Paul Bennett embarked on a Route 66 trip from Chicago to L.A. last year, and shot more than 5,400 images to document it. Bennett has a dedicated site, Passenger Side, to those photos. For a donation, yYou can download all 5,40o or so high-definition photos. You also can see … Continue reading A view from the passenger side

Hello from Austin

Here are the Jazz Pharaohs, doing a Dixieland number on Bobby Troup's most famous song.

Notes from the road

A few things to move off my plate: --- One of the beneficiaries of federal stimulus package passed earlier this year is a Route 66 bicycle trail in Illinois. According to an Associated Press report, $25,000 in such funds will be used to build a four-way stop signal at an intersection for the Route 66 … Continue reading Notes from the road

Route 66 guidebook in the works

Tucked into this story from the Carthage (Mo.) Press about a Jasper County board meeting was this: In other business, Gerry “Ringo” Meyer, Shawnee, Kan., spoke with the commissioners about the county buying advertising space and getting involved in a travelogue his company was putting together about Route 66. He described “Keeping You on the … Continue reading Route 66 guidebook in the works

Another critic of “Great American Road Trip”

I got this e-mail today from Kathleen Miller, a longtime member of the Illinois Route 66 Association and co-editor of the association's The 66 News magazine: Is the Great American Road Trip on Route 66 really that great?  Over the past two weeks NBC broadcast a television show called “The Great American Road Trip.” They … Continue reading Another critic of “Great American Road Trip”