Bringing help to Haiti February 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, People, Road trips.add a comment
Two high-school seniors from Memphis, Tenn., will be bicycling on portions of Route 66 starting next month to raise infrastructure funds for earthquake-stricken Haiti, according to WPTY-TV in Memphis.
Eighteen-year-old Christian Kauffman and his friend Cort Gatliff have been training to bike across 10 states hoping to raise money to help people in Haiti get access to clean water.
Kauffman says, “I would say about 300 (miles) per week and we’ll have to do 700 (miles) during the ride, so we’re ramping it up a good bit.” [...]
They’ll fly to California and follow the famous Route 66 through several cities until they reach Memphis.
Their parents will follow them in cars. [...]
They’re trying to raise $50,000, so they can get 10 water wells built for Haiti survivors.
According to their The Water Cycle Web site, Kauffman and Gatliff will go through the Route 66 towns of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ludlow in California; Kingman and Seligman in Arizona; and Gallup, Grants and Los Lunas in New Mexico before taking a more southerly route through the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma. They’ll be going through their hometown, and finish their journey in Savannah, Ga., in April.
Here’s a promotional video of the two boys:
In case you’re wondering, the boys are getting much of their schoolwork done ahead of time before the trip.
Waynesville is hopping February 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Businesses, Restaurants, Towns.add a comment
This story in the Pulaski County Daily contains several interesting items that indicate the Route 66 town of Wayneville, Mo., is on the verge of an economic revival, if it isn’t already.
- The city’s sales-tax revenue rose 7 percent last year — a big contrast to many area towns that are seeing double-digit decreases. And city fathers anticipate sales-tax receipts to go higher when a planned hotel and national military museum open near Interstate 44.
- Improvements to the historic Roubidoux Creek Bridge, which once carried Route 66, are reportedly edging closer to fruition.
- The city council is considering mixed zoning in portions of downtown so it would allow people to rent apartments on the second floor of historic buildings.
- The old Brown’s shoe store on the Square will be replaced by a boutique and an Irish pub called Hoppers, named in honor of the Waynesville frog mascot. Local developer Tom Campbell bought an abandoned three-story building on the southeast side of Benton Street and Route 66. New downtown developments also include the Paradise Deli and The Drynk restaurant and lounge.
I’ve always found downtown Waynesville to contain a lot of rustic charm. Now it appears that others are discovering this as well.
Mr. Food heads southwest February 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, Television.add a comment
Mr. Food takes a brief culinary cruise down the Mother Road in New Mexico, and gives out the ingredients for the Southwestern Breakfast Bake.
This link takes you to a video, along with the text.
From one toke to one take February 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, People, Road trips, Television, Vehicles.1 comment so far
Jim Motavalli, a columnist for The Daily Green alternative-energy magazine, tells about the fascinating background of Tom Shipley.
Shipley works as a video producer at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. According to the article, among Shipley’s favorite work is documenting students’ efforts at building vehicles for the North American Solar Car Challenge, which has taken place on Route 66 several times in its history and will return to the road this summer.
The races cover routes such as Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, or Dallas to Calgary, and Shipley goes along with his high-def cameras. The films help the school find sponsors to get the teams on the road. “By the time the students graduate, they’re in demand,” Shipley said. “I feel really blessed,” he added. “I’ve won tons of awards, and I’ve had two really good careers.”
Here is some of Shipley’s camera and editing work:
But Shipley is a lot more well-known for being one-half of Brewer & Shipley, whose biggest hit was “One Toke Over the Line” in 1971.
The sly pro-marijuana song reached No. 10 on the singles chart, and landed them on President Nixon’s notorious enemies list.
“When we wrote ‘One Toke Over the Line,’ I think we were one toke over the line,” said Shipley told Motavalli.
Still, it had to be a kick for the duo when they saw their song being performed on “The Lawrence Welk Show” — and the host being seemingly oblivious to its meaning.
Notes from the road February 10, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, bicycling, Magazines, Motels, People, Road trips, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
It looks like planning on the proposed Route 66 bicycle trail in Logan County, Ill., is proceeding again after a hiatus.
The county board this week discussed the possibility of leasing a gravel road parallel to the railroad tracks from AmerenCILCO to use as part of Logan County’s portion in the statewide, north-south bike route, reported the Lincoln Courier. The towns of Williamsville and Springfield entered into similar agreements.
The trail’s organizers seek to link the Logan County trail to Williamsville’s.
Organizers hope the road would be converted into a concrete trail, but an oil-and-chip surface may have to suffice for a few years. Sen. Dick Durbin has offered to help make the trail a reality, if possible.
— Campingroadtrip.com recently posted an interview with Sandi Wheaton, the Canadian woman who lost her Detroit job and decided to use the down time to photographically document Route 66. Wheaton’s excellent blog is here.
— The upcoming March issue of Texas Highways magazine will feature Route 66 on the cover and focuses on Texas tourism, according to KAMR in Amarillo. The content isn’t online yet, so be on the lookout for the magazine at bookstores in the Lone Star State.
— McClatchy News Service has posted another story about Marshall Lee and his dog, Antigone. Lee, after losing his job, contemplated suicide but stopped his self-destructive thoughts when he considered that he would be leaving his dog alone. Lee and Antigone have been bicycling from Chicago to San Francisco — much of it on Route 66 — to raise awareness for suicide prevention and Basset hound rescue.
— We’re pleased to add the Three Roses Bed and Breakfast of Pontiac, Ill., to the list on the Lodging Page. A number of roadies have stayed there, and the B&B is just a short walk from the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown.
One from the road February 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Photographs.5 comments
Here’s a photo taken at 10 a.m. today at John’s Modern Cabins, off old Route 66 near Arlington, Mo. The area had been covered by a snowstorm the day before.
(Photo courtesy of Shades of Grey Photography)
The First Lady and The Genius February 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
This performance by Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles probably will brighten your day. It looks like it sure brightened Ray’s.