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:
Antique Greyhound buses to meet in Adrian April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Preservation, Restaurants, Vehicles.add a comment
A group of 1950s Greyhound Scenicruiser buses will meet later this week at the “Hounds of the Mother Road Reunion” in Adrian, Texas.
A small convoy of these buses met at a motel on 11th Street (aka Route 66) in Tulsa on Tuesday night. The event in the Texas Panhandle is set for Thursday and Friday — first in Adrian at the famed midpoint of Route 66 for photographs (and presumably pie at the Midpoint Cafe), then at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in nearby Amarillo, where the buses will be on display.
An interesting tidbit about those Greyhounds:
Of the 1,001 General Motors model PD-4501 Scenicruiser buses made, only 200 are accounted for today. Of those 200, about 20 are still in their original seated configuration. [...]
The Scenicruiser is an American icon of transportation. When it was introduced by Greyhound it was only expected to be in service for ten years. But Greyhound retired the buses in mid-70′s, after they’d been in service for twice that long.
More about the reunion can be found here.
UPDATE: Here’s an updated story on the caravan’s Tulsa stop.
UPDATE2: Here’s a story about the caravan from its Cuba, Mo., stop.
UPDATE3: Here’s a video from the caravan’s stop on Route 66 in Adrian, Texas:
Call for help April 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.add a comment
Note: If you’re a struggling business owner on Route 66 in the Tucumari, N.M., area, you could do a lot worse than contacting the Small Business Development Center at the city’s Mesalands Community College.
The local KOA campground did, and it’s now thriving again. The Quay County Sun has the story.