The Mother Road yo-yo April 12, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Toys.add a comment
The Chico Yo-Yo Company, a firm dedicated to “precision-machined yo-yos,” has just introduced its latest model, called the Route 66.
This is the feel of the classic American car – a car with power, weight, and style.
The Route 66 is our testament to this feel. A yo-yo that you will enjoy for hours on end, pushing through the strings, stable, powerful, imminently familiar, and smooth.
And the specs of the yo-yo look as complex as any car, too.
According to the company, the first run of these Route 66 yo-yos will come in red and gold, and just 45 pieces will be produced. According to a company spokesman, each yo-yo will run at $100, and will be in shops in a matter of days (a list of sellers is on the home page).
Notes from the road April 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Bridges, Events, Preservation, Sports, Towns.add a comment
A public hearing has been scheduled regarding the future of the Bird Creek Bridge on Oklahoma 66 near Catoosa. The westbound Bird Creek Bridge, which dates to 1936, is part of the so-called Twin Bridges part of Route 66 there.
The meeting by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is set for 6 p.m. April 20 at the Catoosa Indian Activity Center at 2000 S. Cherokee, Catoosa, Okla. (map here).
According to a news release and an e-mail I received from Robert B. Bartlett from the state:
The alternatives will be presented and discussed at the public meeting and the public will have an opportunity to ask questions. At the meeting, handouts which will include aerials showing the alternatives under consideration will be available for anyone interested to take home. In addition, the entire presentation will also become available on the Department’s web site the day of the meeting (web link will be provided at the meeting). Comment forms will be available at the meeting and public comments can also be submitted through the Department’s web site for at least 2 weeks (might be extended to 4 weeks) following the meeting. So anyone that can’t attend the meeting can access the same information that will be presented and have an opportunity to comment as well.
Bartlett told me that data from the public hearing would eventually be listed here. I’m hopeful that I can acquire information on what the state has in mind before the meeting.
The fact the state is discussing the possibility of “alternatives” and not just advocating replacing the bridge outright gives me cautious hope. But if repairing the bridge isn’t possible, I’m up for replacing the bridge with a design that resembles the old one.
— Roadside Wonders reports that the famed Amboy Shoe Tree near Amboy, Calif., where Route 66 travelers tossed their old footwear into its branches, has collapsed, and has the photos to prove it. However, another 1.5 miles east, a Lingerie Tree is quickly forming. A new tradition is born, apparently.
— Dr. Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London, takes a closer look at Meteor Crater in Arizona for the The Independent newspaper.
— The Route 66 town of Glendora, Calif., seeks to create zoning areas for fortune-tellers. Apparently Glendora has too much time on its hands.
– The Race to the Rocker on Route 66 in Cuba, Mo., a couple of weeks ago raised $12,800 for the track program for Cuba schools. Next year’s race will be March 26.
– Also in Cuba, the city is hosting Spyderfest for Spyder motorcycles is next weekend.
‘A John Hughes movie’ on Route 66 April 10, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Road trips.add a comment
Brad Hansen, a 26-year-old Iowa native, has just finished his first feature-length film, “Driver’s Ed Mutiny,” that takes place on Route 66.
Hansen told the Muscatine (Iowa) Journal that he sought to make a “Breakfast Club” movie on wheels.
“I set out to make a modern-day John Hughes movie,” Hansen said. “I was sad to see that no one was setting out to make those movies anymore, those funny and dramatic PG-13 movies about real kids with real problems.” [...]
On a budget of $40,000, Hansen and a cast and crew of more than 100 traveled over nine states and 51 locations to film “Driver’s Ed Mutiny.”
“It’s been a wonderful process, because filmmaking is not instant gratification,” he said. “I’ve been working on this film for 2 1/2 half years. It wasn’t until recently when we had screenings of it that you get to see if those years were worth, based on audience reaction.” [...]
“I’m pleased with how they’re reacting to it,” he said. “They’re laughing, gasping and sighing in all the right places.”
Here’s the plot for the movie:
Driver’s Ed Mutiny follows three teenagers who have to make their way from Chicago to Los Angeles, each for their own personal reasons. With no other options, they hijack their driver’s ed car and embark on a coming-of-age journey down the historic Route 66, with plenty of bumps along the way.
Hansen is trying to get a distributor for his film. In the meantime, you can see the trailer:
As you can see from the trailer and the production photos, the film included Cadillac Ranch, POPS, Oatman Road, Oatman, Galaxy Diner in Flagstaff, Cool Springs Camp, Wigwam Motel, and the wind farm near Weatherford, Okla., among many of its shoots.
Remaking the Nelson Tavern April 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Businesses, History, People.1 comment so far
Willem Bor of the Netherlands won’t be in Lebanon, Mo., until June to dedicate his painstakingly detailed diorama of the old Nelson Tavern in the Lebanon/Laclede County Route 66 Society’s museum.
However, Bor made a video that shows how the Nelson Tavern diorama was done.
Bor’s Web site about his upcoming Route 66 trip is here. More of Bor’s Route 66 miniatures can be seen here, here and here.
Roadkill Cafe sponsors motorcycle racers April 8, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motorcycles, Restaurants, Sports.add a comment
The Roadkill Cafe, a restaurant in Seligman, Ariz., that’s popular with Route 66 travelers, is sponsoring Road Kill Racers, a sidecar motorcycle racing team, according to a news release at Roadracingworld.com.
This sponsorship deal is an effort to promote the tourist industry in which racing is very much part of the travels required by all teams.
The Roadkill Cafe and its moniker “You kill it, we grill it” offers a unique dining experience with menu items of the likes of Deer Delectables, Bad Brake Steak, Fender Tenders along with the classics Swirl of Squirrel, Highway Hash and the Splatter Platter.
In case you haven’t figured it out, the Roadkill’s descriptions shouldn’t be taken literally. It’s just a gimmick to get people in the door.
In sidecar racing, one person drives, and the other person acts as a counterweight to keep better control of the motorcycle during turns. Those sidecar racers can go 170 mph, with the drivers just a couple of inches off the ground.
Something about that tells me the team won’t eat at the Roadkill right before a race, and it’s not because the food is bad.
More about the Road Kill Racers can be found here.
Time-lapse journey April 8, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Photographs, Road trips.add a comment
Sandi Wheaton, the Canadian woman who traveled Route 66 after losing her job in the Detroit auto industry, has posted a few short clips from her time-lapse photography project of the Mother Road.
The first is the start of Route 66 in Chicago:
The next is driving into a rain storm in New Mexico:
Last is driving into the sunshine in New Mexico:
Wheaton told me she’s still deciding whether to package the Route 66 time-lapse photography in book or DVD form. She’s also being encouraged to write a book about her adventures.
Cruising with Link Wray April 7, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Music, Signs.add a comment
Here’s a slide show of motel-sign images, accompanied by Link Wray‘s version of “Begin the Beguine.”
Not all of the signs are on Route 66, but the signs are cool anyway.
Referendum for Joplin museum expansion fails April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums.1 comment so far
A one-sixth sales-tax referendum that would have financed the conversion of Memorial Hall into expanded digs for the Joplin Museum Complex failed by a 4-to-1 margin, according to unofficial results tabulated Tuesday night by the Joplin Globe.
According to the Globe shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday, the referendum gained just 928 “yes” votes against 3,882 “no” votes.
Memorial Hall would have included displays about the town’s Route 66 history. The Joplin Museum Complex has long been looking for ways to expand because it has as much artifacts in storage as it does on display. Memorial Hall also is underused as a performance venue.
The Joplin City Council voted in January to put the proposal on the ballot. But I said at the time that a tax increase, no matter well-intentioned, would be a tough sell during a severe economic recession. Indeed, few voters were buying.
Cross-country in a $1,000 car April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Music, Road trips, Vehicles.1 comment so far
Two guys aim to drive Route 66 to Los Angeles in a car they’re going to purchase in Chicago for $1,000 or less.
And, no, they aren’t hopping into a time machine and going back 40 years.
This is the rather ingenious publicity stunt by Cars for a Grand, a site that lists cars for sale across the country priced at less than $1,000. According to the duo’s itinerary, they are heading out on the Mother Road from the Windy City tomorrow.
Lest you think this is a foolish endeavor, they bought a car for $899 a year ago and drove it from San Diego to Miami.
The Cars for a Grand Route 66 site is here. According to the Twitter account, they’ve got their eyes on an old Cadillac. Cars for a Grand is also on Facebook here.
I’m assuming the guys won’t be playing this well-known Bottle Rockets song on the car’s Mp3 player, cassette deck, or 8-track:
A fresh take on the Mother Road April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Road trips, Television.2 comments
Caroline Vandergriff, a broadcast journalism and political science major at the University of Southern California, posted this video segment about the Mother Road in the Los Angeles area.
On her YouTube profile, she says:
All of these stories are my own original ideas, reported in the Los Angeles area. I shoot, edit, write, and provide the voice track for all of them.
I think she did a good job. See whether you agree: