Albuquerque touts Route 66 for ultra high-speed broadband March 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Towns, Web sites.1 comment so far
Albuquerque is making a strong pitch to be one of Google’s test markets for ultra high-speed broadband, and the Duke City is citing Route 66 in its efforts, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly.
Google promises the networks will offer speeds of one gigabit per second, which is 100 times faster than what most homes and businesses can now achieve. Cities have until March 26 to apply for the service. [...]
City officials are discussing the term “Google 66,” an homage to Route 66, which runs through Albuquerque. But this would be an information superhighway, said John Garcia, director of economic development for the city.
“We feel Albuquerque’s Route 66 corridor will be a perfect fit for Google’s trial phase,” he said. “In a 10-mile stretch of road, it includes government, educational, entrepreneurial, military, scientific research and cultural organizations, a diversity that mirrors America and will demonstrate Google’s future impact on telecommunications.”
Among the other cities vying for the super-speed network are Topeka, Kan.; Fresno, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Washington, D.C.; and Farmington, N.M.
UPDATE: According to the Northern Arizona University School of Communication, Flagstaff also is vying to be one of the test cities.
Fire destroys St. Louis riverboat March 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Restaurants.1 comment so far
The Lt. Robert E. Lee riverboat, a fixture as a floating restaurant on the St. Louis riverfront for decades, was destroyed by fire Sunday afternoon, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
First-arriving fire crews found the vessel engulfed in flames. They were delayed by two inoperable hydrants nearby. The blaze sent up a plume of gray-black smoke that could be seen for miles.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Fire officials said they expected the boat to smolder at least through the evening because its hull contained a foam substance that is highly flammable.
As the flames died down around 4 p.m., the three-decked boat had completely collapsed onto itself and was distinguishable only by its massive red paddle wheel.
That part of the riverfront in St. Louis is not on Route 66. But with the riverboat’s proximity to the Gateway Arch and other attractions, it was visited by scores of Route 66 travelers over the years.
The Lee was built in 1969 on top of the hull of a 1930s-era vessel and opened as a restaurant shortly thereafter. The Lee closed and reopened several times in the 1990s before being moved to Kimmswick, Mo., in 2004. It closed there and was towed back to St. Louis in 2006. The riverboat was going to become an attraction in St. Charles, Mo., after undergoing renovations.
Here’s a photo gallery of the Robert E. Lee.
Record number of runners at L.A. Marathon March 21, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, Sports.add a comment
A Kenyan who was running only her second marathon won the women’s division overall and earned a $100,000 bonus for being the first to cross the finish line Sunday during the 25th annual L.A. Marathon.
The 26.2-mile race charted its course through several alignments of Route 66 and finished at the Mother Road’s western endpoint at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. Racers also were funneled to Santa Monica Pier, about a block away from the finish line; the pier is the symbolic end of Route 66.
This video, posted one day before the race, shows all of the course’s visual attractions for runners:
According to one media account, the marathon drew more than 20,000 entrants, a record for the event. Race organizers had hoped to boost attendance by charting the course through numerous Los Angeles landmarks, including Route 66.
Here’s a time-lapse video of the marathon passing through Silver Lake. It doesn’t look like much in the beginning, but watch the number of runners swell:
Edna Kiplagat of Kenya earned a total of $145,000 and a Honda Insight hybrid car by winning the women’s race in 2:25:38. She had run only one marathon previously, 25 minutes slower than her effort on Sunday. She earned a $100,000 bonus by finishing the race first; female runners had an 18-minute head start.
Here’s a video showing how Kiplagat did it. She took control on a hill at the 20-mile mark:
Wesley Korir of Kenya won his second consecutive L.A. Marathon in 2:09:19.
Korir told the Los Angeles Times that the course probably could produce world-record times (it’s downhill the final five miles). However, because the men’s field of top was bunched, he said that he and the others had to remain conservative in their pacing.
In this video, you can see how tightly grouped the runners were at the 40-second mark. The rest of the clip shows Korir pulling away:
Amanda McGrory of Savoy, Ill., a Paralympics gold medalist in 2008, won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:56:35. Krige Schabort of Cedartown, Ga., a silver medalist at the 2004 Paralympics, won the men’s wheelchair race in 1:31:51.
Race organizers were still in the process of posting race results Sunday night. They should be found here.
“There Is No Arizona” March 21, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.1 comment so far
Actually, there is an Arizona. But a sad tale in this Jamie O’Neal song explains the title.
Honest, it’s the biggest March 20, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Motels.1 comment so far
The gigantic covered wagon in front of the Best Western Lincoln Inn in Lincoln, Ill., that features an equally large figure of Abraham Lincoln in the driver’s seat was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, said Geoff Ladd of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau on Friday.
According to the Lincoln Daily News:
Paresh Patel, the owner of the Best Western says he has had international travelers driving Route 66 stop and ask about the wagon. Patel said a pair of Japanese men recently stopped as they made the drive from California to Chicago in the car they had shipped over for the journey.
Bill Kelly, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway told those gathered that this summer the new Route 66 signs would be finished and one of the new signs would be added at the site. The signs, in chrome, relate to the cars of the fabulous fifties when Route 66 was the ‘Mother Road’.
Larry Van Bibber, who donated the funds to purchase the wagon in 2007, said he decided to purchase the wagon for the city to help attract tourists.
The entry for world’s largest covered wagon hadn’t been listed on Guinness’ Web site as of Saturday morning. According to a news item in my archives, the fiberglass Abe is 12 foot long (seated) and weighs 350 pounds. The wagon is 24 feet tall, 12 feet wide, 40 feet long, and weighs five tons. The front wheels stand 10 feet tall, and the back wheels are 12 feet tall.
Grocery in Needles will remain open March 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Towns.2 comments
The endangered Bashas’ store, the only remaining grocery still operating in the Route 66 town of Needles, Calif., will remain open for the foreseeable future, reported the Needles Desert Star this week.
The Bashas’ chain had filed for bankruptcy months ago, and the closure of the Needles location and nine other stores was part of an initial reorganization plan.
The city agreed to offset part of the store’s costs, totaling $350,000, for a four-year period. In exchange, Bashas will work to replace old equipment to lower the store’s utility costs. The landlord also renegotiated the lease.
I know some would blanch at a municipality offering financial incentives to keep a private business open. However, Bashas is the only grocery store in Needles. Its closure would have been catastrophic to the town’s senior citizens (many whom don’t drive) and its poor because the nearest grocery is more than 20 miles away.
Notes from the road March 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, bicycling, Books, Events, History, Music, People, Photographs, Preservation, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
A final meeting for public comment will be Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Clinton Middle School in west Tulsa about the Route 66 Master Plan: Red Fork Streetscape Improvements, according to Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers.
The project area includes Southwest Boulevard between 25th West Avenue and 27th West Avenue. [...]
Citizens are welcome to comment on features such as enhanced sidewalks, trees, street lights, and crosswalks. [...] The project is scheduled to bid this summer, with construction to begin in the fall.
Downtown Red Fork businesses are emerging in restored old buildings. This Route 66 project will continue to encourage historic preservation-based commercial revitalization.
— Alan Dunn, aka Mr. Zip66, saw his blog post about tracing the path taken in the classic 1969 motorcycle movie “Easy Rider” touted by About.com. Dunn deserves prominence for his post; his research was exemplary. The path seen in the movie included portions of Route 66 in California and Arizona.
— Read Claudia Heller’s latest in her ongoing series about Route 66 in California’s Mojave Desert. This one is about the town of Newberry Springs.
— Christian Chensvold, a writer for The Huffington Post, writes about “Route 66″ composer Bobby Troup. The story includes a video of Troup performing his signature song.
— Warren Keating writes for Gather.com about his family’s experience at Meteor Crater off Route 66 in Arizona.
— Here’s an excerpt of the new book “Appetite for America” by Stephen Fried, published by the Wall Street Journal. The book details how Fred Harvey built his famed Harvey Houses and changed the West and United States transportation forever. Harvey’s railroad stops also inadvertently paved the way for Route 66.
— Steve Anchell is exhibiting his black-and-white photographs shot on Route 66 from 1981 to 1989 at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, Ore., through March 27. Many of Anchell’s Route 66 photos can be seen here.
— Edwardsville, Ill., this week scheduled its Route 66 Festival for June 11-12. The festival took a one-year hiatus in favor of a Fall Fest in the city, but the latter event was poorly attended.
— Gordo at Handcolored66.com has just posted his first in a series of color photographs from the Mother Road on his site. They’re available as postcards, prints, etc.
— Here’s a brief update about the two Memphis teens who are bicycling east on a chunk of Route 66 to help raise funds to build wells in earthquake-stricken Haiti. The two were going through the Texas Panhandle this week. The boys’ Water Cycle site is here.
— A family of four is blogging nearly daily on One Journey At a Time about their trip to the West, including Route 66.
— Read about Jeff Burton, who plans on bicycling Route 66 in May from Santa Monica to his hometown of Stroud, Okla., to attend his 50th high-school reunion. He wants to raise money on the 1,500-mile trip to benefit Stroud High School girls athletics.