Buried treasure September 16, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Maps, Road trips.add a comment
This is a pretty good idea. Joshua Noble, director of tourism at the Kingman (Ariz.) Chamber of Commerce, has created dozens of geocaches around the city to help attract visitors, reported the Kingman Daily Miner.
And it sounds like the project will expand well beyond Kingman’s borders …
Over the last several weeks, Noble said he’s been working with Shannon Rossiter at the Mohave Museum of History and Arts to obtain historic photographs of the city. His plan is to find the modern-day locations featured in those photographs, then place the historic photo inside a small tin geocache box at the site and upload the coordinates.
“If you think about when you drive on Route 66, it’s a lot like driving through a museum,” Noble said.
“This allows you to be interactive. It allows you to get out of the car, walk down an old roadbed or walk up to an old gas station, or some other area that used to be vibrant and full of life, and then you’re interacting with our museum displays.”
Noble also hopes to work with the local business community in promoting a downtown walking tour for geocachers. Additionally, he wants to start placing geocaches highlighting various hiking sites in the Cerbat Recreation Area and Hualapai Mountains.
“But aside from that, this is bigger than just Kingman,” Noble said. “We can work with other communities on Route 66 to increase the number of caches that are all along the route. Peach Springs is interested already, as well as Keepers of the Wild, Grand Canyon Caverns and Seligman.”
A quick search of Kingman’s ZIP code on the geocaching.com site reveals at least 150 geocaches there. A geocaching map shows that you could spend weeks tracking everything down. Noble’s stuff is listed as NobleRT66.
(Hat tip: Jim Hinckley)
Route 66 rivalry September 16, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Towns.4 comments
Urban Tulsa, an alternative weekly newspaper, published an interesting article about the longstanding rivalry between the Route 66 communities of Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
Among the people interviewed was Michael Wallis, author of “Route 66: The Mother Road” and a longtime Tulsa resident.
The story is long, but worth your time.
Freeway project may improve Route 66 access September 16, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Highways, Restaurants.add a comment
Improvements to Interstate 215 in San Bernardino, Calif., may ease travelers’ access to Mount Vernon Avenue, an old alignment of Route 66, reports the San Bernardino County Sun.
The improvements include several new exit ramps off the freeway by 2013 for Second, Third and Fifth streets as well as Base Line. Currently, drivers sometimes have to take complicated routes to access the city’s west side.
One of those hoping for more business from the improvements is a historic Route 66 restaurant:
Also on Mount Vernon Avenue, Mitla Cafe has been in business since 1937. The eatery has survived not only the shift in transportation patterns that came with the birth of the freeway system, but also economic shocks like the closure of Norton Air Force Base in the mid-1990s.
Mitla manager Steven Oquendo said freeway improvements could help Westside businesses but the project won’t be an economic cure-all.
“I know it will bring more traffic. I’m hoping it will pick up. People still need the feeling they can spend,” he said.
Governor opposes Mojave monument plan September 16, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Preservation.1 comment so far
A proposal to create a Mother Road National Monument across California’s Mojave Desert has encountered opposition from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office, reported the Inland Press-Enterprise.
The article says the governor opposes the project because it would halt solar-energy projects there. However, it’s reported that Sen. Diane Feinstein is working on a scaled-down compromise.
At issue is some of the 600,000 acres purchased by the The Wildlands Conservancy that was turned over to the government for conservation. Many of the solar-energy companies, but not all, said they’re willing to develop outside of the conservation area.
The article makes it clear that a compromise will probably be reached:
Keely Wachs, a spokesman for BrightSource, said the company plans to build there and has been working with Feinstein’s office on legislation that would balance conservation needs and energy development.
Elden Hughes, a member of the Sierra Club California/Nevada Desert Committee and a Joshua Tree resident, said Feinstein is crafting legislation for a smaller monument than envisioned earlier by conservationists.
A smaller monument means that the solar companies can develop the land outside of it. As pressure increases for alternate forms of energy, it behooves the nation to use the humongous solar capabilities of the Mojave Desert.
My take on the controversy is here.
UPDATE: AHN reports that one 5,000-acre solar project slated for that area has been canceled.
Critter along the road September 15, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals.1 comment so far
We spotted this tarantula crossing gravel-road Route 66 between Glenrio and San Jon, N.M., a few days ago. With its legs spread out, it was bigger than your fist. It was about an hour before sundown, so it probably was early in its hunting session.
Mike Callens at TeePee Curios in nearby Tucumcari said that after the first frost, usually in October, the old road becomes nearly covered with tarantulas migrating. At that time, tarantulas are looking for a place to hibernate for the winter.
Route 66 Alliance lays out its goals September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Route 66 Associations.add a comment
This was mostly reported a few days ago at the Route 66 Festival in Flagstaff, Ariz., but I’m printing this news release that came today verbatim, with minor editing:
Route 66 Alliance
Tulsa, OklahomaWe are pleased to officially announce the Route 66 Alliance has been established as a 501(c)3 corporation. Our nonprofit status is founded under the Tulsa Community Foundation and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As of today September 12, 2009, we are active and open for business.
The Route 66 Alliance was formed to give the route one unified voice. Although there are eight state associations who are concerned with preserving and promoting Route 66, none of the individual associations can speak for the entire road.
The Alliance plans to work closely with each of the eight state associations and include all eight presidents on the Alliance advisory council. Through the Alliance, all eight associations can work in unison to address state specific projects and local needs in coordination for the betterment of all.
The Mission of the Alliance is to be the national and international voice for the entire road and its communities. We are dedicated to preserve and restore the Route 66 of the past and promote and provide for the future of the route.
The Goal of the Alliance is to promote Route 66 by developing, supporting and coordinating projects and programs that protect the past and look forward to its future. The first three projects have been designed with this in mind and they will be developed over the next six months with contributions from “Founding Members.”
They Are as Follows:
The legacy Fund: The mission of the Legacy fund is to collect capital from private donations, government grants and our profit-producing programs that support and promote commerce along Route 66. The fund will generate financial support to the route and its people through interest earned on capital deposits. A constant underlying goal of the fund will be public goodwill by serving our people and moving The Mother Road towards the status of a national monument.
The Passport Program: The Passport Program is a self- sustaining promotional program designed around tourism. Its primary goal is connectivity of travelers and places along Route 66. It will introduce new users to the history of the route. It will identify icons, businesses and places of interest for the traveler using the most current electronic technology. While promoting business along the route, the Passport Program will also identify the demographic makeup of our current and future users. It will identify markets along the route as well as coordinate product distribution. It will track and define those products and services with the highest demand.The Electric Highway: Certainly the most aggressive program proposed! The Electric Highway proposes 18 to 26 recharging stations connecting L.A to Chicago. The “SLAB LAB,” as we call it, will be the first of its kind in the nation. Each of the 18 to 26 “Green Choice “66” recharging stations will make the semi-transcontinental trip available to those vehicles wanting to use alternative forms of renewable and nonrenewable energy. “The Route 66 laboratory” will be open to all companies, corporations and individuals worldwide who would like to showcase, test, prove or display their inventions by “Running the Rechargeable Route” from Chicago to L.A. The Alliance will be there to help support their efforts by using the media and the Mother Road (the most famous roadway in the world) to focus attention on their results towards the greening of our nation’s highway system.
Individual renewable sites will be sponsored by private donations, companies and corporations specifically seeking to promote technology or vehicles development that reduce the carbon footprint and use alternative forms of energy.
As we move into the future, the Mother Road, through our Alliance staff, will become the first clearinghouse of ideas, systems and information. We will reach out nation wide to disseminate the best ideas to help cities, counties and state governments co-ordinate an intelligent-grid system of renewable energy stations to our Main Street of America.
The “Electric Highway Program” will re-energize the nation’s attention toward the Mother Road. Increased traffic and exposure will in turn generate dollars and achieve a common-sense approach towards restoration and establishing new businesses along the route.
We ask for your support and contributions towards our “Founders Donations.” Initial donations are important, as they will be used as seed capital to develop The Passport Program and the Electric Highway Programs. These programs are designed to be self-sustaining and provide continual funding to the legacy foundation and the route for the foreseeable future.
Initial donations can be set up by contacting Jim Conkle at 760-617-3991 or Rick Freeland at 301-908-8369. We will keep all eight associations and the general populace current of our progress through direct and public press releases.
We are only as strong as our donations so please keep us in your hearts and minds.
James Conkle
Chair
Route 66 Alliance
P O Box 290066
Phelan, CA 92329-0066
www.rt66.org
More POPS psychedelia September 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses.add a comment
Here’s another video of the landmark 66-foot-tall pop bottle at POPS in Arcadia, Okla. The music soundtrack certainly helps convey a groovy sensibility.
I have little doubt that scientists a million years from now will think the bottle had some sort of religious significance, instead of it being a roadside gimmick.