Portrait of a Route 66 advocate July 15, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Books, Events, People, Route 66 Associations, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
The Kingman (Ariz.) Daily Miner has a good story about Route 66 aficionado Jim Hinckley and his efforts to kick-start more Route 66 tourism in Kingman — efforts which seem to be finally bearing fruit.
The Kingman Route 66 Association recently reformed, and Kingman’s historic downtown is being revitalized.
He’s been doing his part by converting his Penske truck rental office at 2620 E. Andy Devine Ave. into an unofficial visitors’ center, complete with brochures, books and a display case filled with automotive memorabilia, some dating back to the turn of the century.
“Basically, I just found a refuge for my eclectic collection of odds and ends,” he said. “I change it out about every six weeks.” [...]
By trading information on upcoming local events with places like the Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow, Calif., and the Afton Station in Afton, Okla., Hinckley said he can increase the chances of someone actually stopping to take a look around town, rather than just driving through it.
“There’re a lot of people traveling Route 66 who just don’t know about these events when they get here,” he said.
“(I want them to) look at it in a different light, to slow down, don’t just gas and go.”
The association’s second Chillin’ on Beale Street event is Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Hinckley runs at least two Web sites, Route 66 Chronicles and Route 66 Info Center. Hinckley also published “Route 66 Backroads,” and is working on a book about Route 66 ghost towns.
“Oklahoma Hills” July 15, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.4 comments
Here’s the late, great Hank Thompson performing a song that warms the hearts of Okies everywhere.
Great American Road Tripe July 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Road trips, Television, Theaters.2 comments
Following a premiere episode that showed potential, the second episode of NBC’s “The Great American Road Trip” nosedived sharply in quality on Monday and probably will be this summer’s television version of “Dead Man Walking” — if it doesn’t get canceled first.
The first installment of the reality series that takes place on Route 66 managed to maintain my interest because of the physical challenges that combined family teamwork amid competitive tension. But the producers of Monday night’s episode made the ill-advised decision to subject the families to performing at a talent show in Branson, Mo. The result was awful in every way — awful singing, awful rapping and awful skits. The whole segment was embarrassing and tedious. Longtime Branson entertainer Andy Williams, who was a judge, looked horrified or pained by the performances. I can relate.
The good news is that Monday’s show prominently featured three Route 66 landmarks — Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis, Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Mo., and 66 Drive-In Theatre in Carthage, Mo. The bad news was the rest of the show seemed dreary and bereft of ideas — not a good sign when you have six weeks left.
In most TV series, you had better catch your stride by the second episode, or your audience likely will leave in droves. “The Great American Road Trip” failed miserably in this.
The series’ first episode on Tuesday, July 7, saw such bad ratings that NBC moved it to Monday night to keep it from being an albatross around the neck of “America’s Got Talent.” “Road Trip’s” ratings dropped further Monday night, to 3.3 million viewers for a distant fourth place among the major networks. It’s apparent the show is in imminent danger of getting the axe.
The producers should have gone another direction to juice up the series. Perhaps a few segments featuring the colorful characters of the Mother Road would have helped. Maybe the producers could have appealed to the families’ altruistic side and helped a down-on-his-luck Route 66 business owner, a la “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
I’ll probably continue to watch “Road Trip” until it slogs to Santa Monica Pier. But unless it rejiggers itself dramatically, there won’t be any joy in this journey down the Mother Road. That’s what I call a big missed opportunity.
Motorist drives off edge of Grand Canyo July 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Uncategorized.add a comment
Needless to say, this did not end well.
A man drove a blue car off the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon about 6 a.m. Monday and died, according to the Arizona Republic. This occurred behind Thunderbird Lodge near El Tovar Hotel.
Rescuers climbed 600 feet down into the canyon, where they found the wreckage of the car. The motorist’s body was found in that area shortly after. No other details were available as of Monday night.
The Grand Canyon isn’t on Route 66. But because it is a common side trip from the Route 66 towns of Williams and Flagstaff, the canyon is inextricably linked to the Mother Road.
Route 66 News usually doesn’t give much coverage to accidents, except for unusual ones such as this. I’ll post more updates as they become available.
UPDATE: One of the wire services, AFP, is all but pointing to suicide as the cause.
The incident appeared to be the latest in a series of suicides reminiscent of the 1991 film Thelma and Louise, which ends with the central characters played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon driving into the Grand Canyon.
Three people committed suicide by driving off the rim in 1993, the year the movie came out on home video, according to ‘Over The Edge: Death In Grand Canyon,’ a reference book about deaths in the national park.
Prior to the movie’s release, only three parties committed suicide by driving off the rim between 1967 and 1986.
The victim still hasn’t been identified to the media until authorities notify next of kin.
UPDATE 7/17/09: The Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff reports that the person who drove the car off the cliff was Gheorghe Chiriac of Apple Valley, Calif., a Romania native who immigrated to the U.S. about 30 years ago. The accident was ruled a suicide.
Infinity Entertainment Group (IEG) has issued a recall advisory to any consumer experiencing playback issues with the Route 66: Complete Season Three DVD collector’s set.
The recall – which does not affect any other Route 66 DVD collection in the marketplace – is due to a manufacturer’s defect that affects playability on some of the eight discs.
Consumers may return Route 66: Complete Season Three to the original point of purchase for a full refund. Currently, the only retail outlets offering the complete season three collection are Best Buy and Critic’s Choice (www.criticschoice.com). A corrected complete season three collection will be available through these retailers within a few weeks.
The catalog and UPC numbers of the affected merchandise are:
BEST BUY: Catalog #IEG2145 and UPC #617742214598.
CRITIC’S CHOICE: Catalog #IEG2149 and UPC #617742214994.
Commented Rick Buehler, VP, Sales & Acquisitions, IEG, “We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused to our customers and to consumers. The issue does not affect the majority of Route 66 DVD inventory in the marketplace, only a season three collection currently being offered exclusively at Best Buy and online through Critic’s Choice. We are correcting the issue as quickly as possible. Full refunds are available to anyone experiencing difficulties with this product.”
‘Man v. Food’ host takes on Springfield eateries July 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, Restaurants, Television.1 comment so far
Adam Richman, host of the Food Network’s “Man v. Food” series, will film an episode at three Route 66 restaurants in Springfield, Ill., starting Friday, reports the Springfield Journal-Register.
Richman’s big task is to eat a record five bowls of Firebrand chili in one sitting from Joe Rogers’ Original Recipe Chili Parlor.
Richman and his crew first will record a segment about Springfield’s classic horseshoe sandwich Friday at D’Arcy’s Pint. On Saturday, they will cruise over to Cozy Dog Drive In, where Richman will bite into the eatery’s famed deep-fried battered dog on a stick. And on Monday, July 20, the production team will go to Joe Rogers’, where the do-or-die Firebrand challenge will start about 1:30 p.m., said owner Rose Hamilton.
Richman and his crew first will record a segment about Springfield’s classic horseshoe sandwich Friday at D’Arcy’s Pint. On Saturday, they will cruise over to Cozy Dog Drive In, where Richman will bite into the eatery’s famed deep-fried battered dog on a stick. And on Monday, July 20, the production team will go to Joe Rogers’, where the do-or-die Firebrand challenge will start about 1:30 p.m., said owner Rose Hamilton. [...]
Hallie Pierceall of D’Arcy’s Pint, 661 W. Stanford Ave., said she was told the crew would be there Friday from about 1:30 to 6:45 p.m. Josh Waldmire from Cozy Dog, 2935 S. Sixth St., said the team would arrive about 10 a.m. Saturday and stay all day. Hamilton from Joe Rogers’, 820 S. Ninth St., is expecting the cameras at 7 a.m. Monday and was told they would remain there about eight hours.
All three eateries will remain open during the “Man v. Food” visits.
I hope Richman has a good supply of Tums after gulping down that chili.
The story says the episode will air about eight weeks after taping.
Gull wing gathering July 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Restaurants, Vehicles.1 comment so far
A group of DeLorean car owners from Oklahoma recently went to POPS on Route 66 in Arcadia, Okla.
One of them even had his DeLorean decked out to resemble the time-traveling car from the “Back to the Future” films. Awesome.
Thumbing tumbleweed July 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Religion, Road trips.add a comment
Here’s another chapter of “Route 66: A Road Trip on the Bible.” This entry covers the second book of Kings. It’s not very interesting, for reasons that will be apparent.