Only in America October 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Restaurants.add a comment
Only in a place like America would you have a cowboy-themed restaurant that serves Italian gourmet ice cream.
In this case, it’s taking place on Route 66 in Amarillo. It’s called Cowboy Gelato, on the historic Sixth Street district. According to the restaurant’s Web site:
Cowboy Gelato will bring a new form of excitement to the Old Historic Route 66 track through Amarillo. Offering stuffed hamburgers, pork loin sandwiches, BBQ pork sandwiches and other Cowboy favorites along side a wide variety of Gelato and Sorbet all made fresh daily. The Cinematic decor of the Spaghetti Westerns top off the experience that is soon to be a family favorite.
On Thursday at the restaurant, you could hear local singer Carmen Espinoza-Rodriquez belt out Patsy Cline’s “Walking After Midnight” with Michael Martin Murphey accompanying on guitar. Yes, that Michael Martin Murphey of “Wildfire” fame.
So if you have a sweet tooth while traveling though the Texas Panhandle, you have another dining option.
Photographer’s journey gets attention October 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Photographs, Road trips, Television, Web sites.add a comment
For nearly three weeks, I’ve been following Sandi Wheaton’s blog about her photographic trip down Route 66 at PictureRoute66.com (her post about her colorful time at the Elbow Inn in Devil’s Elbow, Mo., was particularly memorable).
It looks like the local media in Oklahoma City caught up with her in a big way this week. Not only did The Oklahoman devote its front page to her, but KFOR-TV aired an nicely done feature on her as well (video should automatically play with the link).
The most exciting part about her photo project is she’s shooting time-lapse photography of the entire Mother Road. Once her project is edited and made available, people would then be able to travel Route 66 vicariously at home. But her blog does that pretty well right now.
Baxter Springs trades cowtown heritage for Route 66 October 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Towns.1 comment so far
The town of Baxter Springs, Kan., is holding a downtown Route 66 Fall Festival on Saturday night.
According to the Joplin Globe, the festival is going to be a sort of dress rehearsal for the 2010 Mother Road Marathon. What I didn’t know, however, is that Baxter Springs is phasing out its longtime Cowtown Days in favor of an annual Route 66 festival. Considering the town’s famed history as a cattle-drive stop, that’s a significant change.
More about the festival:
Activities include a car cruise, food vendors, a petting zoo, a beer garden and cash prizes. Live Wire will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. Registration for the car cruise will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. at 10th Street and Military Avenue.
The event also will include the Mother Road Chili Cook-off, open to Baxter Springs civic clubs, churches and chamber businesses. The winner will receive a traveling trophy. The cook-off will be held in front of the Route 66 Visitor Center, which also is the chamber office.
A Web site for the festival can be found here.
Blue highways turning green October 9, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, Vehicles.add a comment
Time magazine takes a look at the idea of having “green” highways in America — historic roads that would cater to electric vehicles, cyclists and even runners.
The article mentions the Mother Road in a paragraph:
If other, more famous heritage routes are any indication, a green-corridor network just might work. Route 66, the classic American road that runs 2,400 miles coast-to-coast is having a banner year in 2009 in terms of traffic, according to David Knudson, director of the National Route 66 Federation in Lake Arrowhead, Calif.: “[Route 66] is more interesting than flying down the interstate, it’s more scenic and it’s low cost,” he says; seeing a different side of America and “traveling slow is what Route 66 is all about.”
The Route 66 Alliance is on board with this idea. We’ll see where it goes.
Hello from England October 8, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Here’s a swinging big-band version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ by the group with the great name: Back to Basie Orchestra. Jacqui Hicks does the singing.
The end and the beginning October 8, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History.2 comments
I found this item in the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph in the How Time Flies section:
25 years ago
Oct. 8, 1984: Route 66 is now officially gone. A six mile stretch of Interstate 40 replaced the last of the “Mother Road” near Wilcox, Arizona. I-55 replaced Route 66 in Illinois. Along the Chicago-Los Angeles route, three other Interstate highways also follow its route.
And with its “death,” so began Route 66′s rebirth. (The story is in error, though. It was Williams, Ariz., that was the last town bypassed by I-40.)
Route 66 had been in its death throes since the 1960s, when construction of the interstate highway system began in earnest. It’s my recollection from a video that the city of Williams flew in “Route 66″ songwriter Bobby Troup to perform the song as I-40 was opened in 1984. Troup said he was mystified by a celebration for what he called “a passing of an era.” But I suppose Williams, which fought hard to keep I-40 from bypassing the town, thought it was appropriate to give the Mother Road a big sendoff.
The rebirth effort came a few years after Williams’ goodbye party. Route 66 associations were formed in Arizona, Illinois and Missouri during the late 1980s. Interest in the Mother Road began to soar after the publication of Michael Wallis’ best-selling “Route 66: The Mother Road” in 1992. Towns started putting up signs and throwing festivals to pay tribute to the old road. All the while, longtime business owners along old Route 66 hung in there and welcomed a steadily growing number of tourists.
A few years ago, there was a misguided attempt by a few individuals to recertify U.S. 66. (Such a bid wouldn’t have made it past first base because many parts of the old road do not meet AASHTO certification for a U.S. highway; bringing it up to code would have destroyed much of its character.) And talking to veteran roadies over the years, they agree it’s highly doubtful that Route 66 would have this huge mystique if it hadn’t been decertified in the first place. Instead, the route of U.S. 66 probably would have been overlaid with Interstate 40, I-44 or I-55 on maps, and the old alignments would have been forgotten.
So what’s next for the old road? The efforts to continue to sign the route as a National Scenic Byway continue, although that will be fitful as long as a few states remain holdouts. Eventually, I suspect the National Park Service will eventually designate a contiguous old path of Route 66 as a national parkway, much like the Natchez Trace or the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Whatever happens, Route 66 isn’t going away anytime soon. Businesses and beloved characters of the road may grow old and die, but Route 66′s intrigue remains ever-enduring.
Take a ride on “Route 66″ computer game October 7, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Computer games.1 comment so far
A screen shot of the Museum Club in "Route 66" from Big Fish Games.
Big Fish Games has released a “Route 66″ game that you can download and play on your PC.
Here’s the summary:
Travel down the world famous Route 66 with ‘Mad’ Madeleine Mayflower, as she takes a much needed vacation from motorcycle racing. Explore hilarious and well-known tourist attractions as you travel all over the country in this Hidden Object game! Start off in California and find funny knickknacks as you make your way across Route 66 and through the very heart of America! Enjoy quirky minigames and have a great trip!
- Hilarious locations
- Magnificent minigames
- Travel down Route 66!
The screen shot above shows a real-life Route 66 landmark — the Museum Club in Flagstaff, Ariz. Here’s a video that shows more of what the game can do.
An unlimited version of “Route 66″ can be downloaded here for $6.99.
Or if you want to test-drive it, you can play it for free for one hour. We tried it, and among the things we saw were Odell Station, the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Summit Inn, 4 Women on the Route, Baxter Springs Visitors Center, Lincoln’s Tomb, Glenrio, U-Drop Inn, Cadillac Ranch, Wrink’s Market and Devil’s Elbow Bridge. The hidden objects are often very well concealed, but it pays to use your hints sparingly. It’s family-friendly, and certainly suitable for children.
“Route 66″ is compatible only with Windows XP and Vista operating systems.
Albuquerque mayor loses re-election October 6, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, People, Preservation.add a comment
It appears incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez has lost his bid for an unprecedented fourth term on Tuesday night in a close race against Rep. Richard Berry.
I don’t get too wound up about local election campaigns, and confess to knowing little about the mayoral candidates’ platforms.
But I confess to a tinge of sadness that Chavez lost. More than any single person, he was the man who probably kept El Vado Motel from being bulldozed by a misguided property developer and kept up the pressure until the matter was essentially resolved in early 2008. It was Chavez who very publicly stated early in the controversy that El Vado was “too important to be demolished,” and it was Chavez who induced the city to seize the property when negotiations with the owner reached an impasse.
Without Chavez, I doubt El Vado would be standing today. True, the historic Route 66 motel’s future purpose remains uncertain, but that’s certainly better than it becoming a pile of rubble.
So, on behalf of roadies across the globe, I’ll send this message to Mr. Chavez:
Thank you, and Godspeed in your future endeavors.
Road Crew’s show in Afton October 6, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Events, Music, People, Web sites.3 comments
I wasn’t able to attend the Road Crew‘s show in Afton Station in Afton, Okla., over the weekend, but I’m pleased to see that Tulsa roadie Ron McCoy brought his video camera to capture excerpts of the gig. The video is nicely done.
You can read Afton Station co-owner Laurel Kane’s musings about the show on her blog, Thoughts from a Route 66 Business Owner.
UPDATE: You can also see photos from the Road Crew’s mini-tour.
Archie comic book features Route 66 October 6, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Magazines, Publications, Road trips.add a comment
A current Archie comic book, “Betty and Veronica Digest” issue No. 197, features the Route 66 Rendezvous and the Mother Road.
According to the Archie Comics site, here is the synopsis for the Route 66-related story:
“Route 66 Here We Come”: It’s both fast and furious… furiously funny and entertaining that is – this pavement pounding tale of eco-friendly cars … libraries promoting literacy through comic reading … suitcase cars… famous sites like the Cadillac Ranch … and more as the teens rev up for a Route 66 rendezvous! Special guest appearance by Phil Yeh of “Cartoonists Across America!”
At left is an image of the cover.
According to an article about the comic in the San Bernardino County Sun, Yeh is friends with longtime Archie writer George Gladir, who wrote the script for “Route 66 Here We Come.” Yeh has run a much-praised literacy program and even printed his own comic book paying tribute to Route 66.
According to Archie Comics, this particular issue hit newstands on Sept. 15. It costs $2.69 an issue, and probably is available at your local comics shop.