Profile of a roadie July 3, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, People, Preservation.add a comment
The Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News has a story about Mark Potter of Vernon, Texas, who’s been a longtime aficionado of Route 66.
His credits include stories written for the Route 66 Pulse and the Route 66 Federation News and an appearance in the History Channel’s “Modern Marvels.”
But what I’ve found most interesting about Potter is his collection of guidebooks, maps, phone and business directories, and other historical artifacts from U.S. 66. If you ask Potter about a long-gone business in a town on the Mother Road, he’ll have the archives to look it up if he doesn’t already know off the top of his head. If you wanted the phone number of a certain motel in Gallup, N.M., in 1963, chances are good he’ll have that information.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Potter’s collection eventually ends up in the research center of a museum or university library.
Return to the road July 3, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Road trips, Web sites.2 comments
Ten years ago, Tim Steil and Jim Luning traveled and shot photos for their “Route 66″ book. This month, they decided to return to Route 66 to see how the road has changed and meet with aficionados of the old highway.
The Luning-Steil blog is here.
Today, Luning started posting his Route 66 videos of the last month on YouTube. Here they are. I’ll update if more are uploaded.
Nintendo comic takes place on Route 66 July 2, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Computer games, Magazines.add a comment
If you’re a user of Nintendo DSi, you may be interested to know that a comic book that has been specifically designed for the console that takes place at least partially on Route 66, reports Newsarama.com.
The comic is titled “Thunder Road #1,” and it has this description:
A high-action, wide-sweeping episodic pulp adventure by writer Sean Demory and illustrator Steven Sanders (Five Fists of Science).
SYNOPSIS: The bomb-ravaged American Heartland has been largely left out of the equation, falling prey to unchecked corporate land-barons and motorcycle-riding, nazidope-smoking MEF veterans ravaging the wastes. Some small towns have become fortresses, while others have followed the Soviet model and taken to the road, with clans roaming from one corp-compound to the next. Route 66, Interstate 70 and a dozen other superhighways have become the new frontier, where fortunes can be made with grit, cunning and a steady hand.
Welcome to the Thunder Road.
Sounds like an American version of “The Road Warrior.”
That comic and two others are launched by DSComics.com. The service is free. Users only need to open the Nintendo DSi browser and go to dscomics.com to to read the comics. The comics are Creative Commons licensed, which allows users to share and remix the comics.
Here’s a video that demonstrates “Thunder Road”:
“Great American Road Trip” premieres Tuesday July 2, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants, Road trips, Television.15 comments
Comedian Reno Collier is the host of "The Great American Road Trip." (Courtesy of NBC)
NBC’s newest reality-television show, “The Great American Road Trip,” which reportedly takes place on Route 66, is ginning up publicity for the series that begins at 8 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
In case you haven’t heard, the premise is that seven families are given an RV in which to travel. During their journeys, they have to go through physical challenges. One family each week will be eliminated. Eventually, one family will win an unnamed “ultimate” prize to complement their summer vacation.
I had last checked on the show’s Web site about a month ago, when it was just bare-bones. Now, “The Great American Road Trip” site has photos, video, bios about host Reno Collier and the families, games and other goodies. Roadies probably would like the Happy Trails section — between the goofy stuff such as suggested songs to “drive parents nuts,” it contains sound advice for enhancing your dining experiences and a good list of strange roadside attractions, including Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo.
Looking over the still photographs and videos from the show, I spied the Round Barn in Arcadia, Okla.; Meramec Caverns in Stanton, Mo.; and downtown Atlanta, Ill.
Also, this Reality Wanted interview of host Collier was interesting in this exchange:
Q. Where did you stop on Route 66?
A. Reno: We’d stop at a lot of iconic landmarks, like the Great Archway in St. Louis and the Grand Canyon. We also stopped at this really cool place called the Midpoint Cafe. It was what the movie “Cars” was apparently modeled after. We met a couple people that had characters modeled after them in the movie, too, and they were really interesting. I think stopping at these places and meeting the people was just as great as seeing the landmarks themselves.
Collier also noted that the families, even when they were eliminated, wanted to continue their trip — which is a good sign.
UPDATE: This story from Zap2It has a few more details about the show. This part stuck out:
The first challenge is being deprived of iPods, portable DVD players and cell phones. For most teens, this is akin to cutting off oxygen. [...]
As magnificent as the sights are, Pollard says the trip made her realize “how much your day-to-day reaction with each other is limited because of technology. When all of that is taken away, there is so much for your family. We would lie in bed at night and tell jokes, and we would be laughing out loud in the dark in the RV. As adults, we get so wrapped up in careers and our jobs and all the things that don’t matter.”
This is becoming quite intriguing.
Notes from the road July 1, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Events, Food, People, Photographs, Restaurants.1 comment so far
A few things to clear off my plate:
– Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., told me today that her restaurant would be closed for the July 4 holiday. Roadies who wish to go to their favorite Route 66 hangout on that day are advised to call ahead to make sure it’s open.
– Here are good articles from the Colorado River Weekender about the Route 66 town of Oatman, Ariz., and its annual July 4 festivities, including a contest to fry an egg using the power of the sun.
– Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn of the Huffington Post tells how he would map out a road trip around great hot-dog restaurants. His list includes the Cozy Dog Drive-In on Route 66 in Springfield, Ill.
– Rory Schepisi, owner of Boot Hill Saloon and Grill in Vega, Texas, won the recent Celebrity Chef Smackdown against Tre Wilcox at the Southwest Food Service Expo in Dallas. Schepisi said on a Facebook posting that her winning dish was a “Cajun Campfire, which is a 16 oz ribeye cooked on a cedar shingle topped with crawfish etoufee, served with a 3 herb pancko crusted corn and smoked gouda maple bacon mac n cheese.” Schepisi also has just opened another offshoot business at Boot Hill, called Rorsch Catering.
– The Grill has been resurrected in Groom, Texas, according to the latest newsletter of the Texas Old Route 66 Association. Karen Brown is the new owner of the longtime Route 66 restaurant. A previous owner was Ruby Denton, who ran The Grill for 44 years.
– David J. Schwartz is holding an exhibit of his “Pics on Route 66: A Photographic Journey Down the Mother Road” at the Michael Stefan Salon in Willoughby, Ohio, through Aug. 1. If you’d like to meet Schwartz, there will be an artist’s reception there from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 11. Many of the photos from the exhibit can be seen here.
– Finally, the Sears Tower in Chicago is set to open its newest, gut-churning attraction on Thursday: The Ledge, which allows you to look straight down 1,353 feet to the street below via an enclosed glass box that juts out a few feet from the skyscraper. The Sears Tower is near the official eastern terminus of Route 66.
The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune both have good stories and photos. And here’s a video by the Tribune, which made me actually gasp a couple of times:
Move over, Grand Canyon Skywalk.