Nice try, but … June 24, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Road trips.2 comments
Lisa Putnam at Helium put together “The Best Places to Stay on Route 66.”
It’s a decent list of historical motels, especially with the inclusion of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M.; the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, N.M., and both Wigwam Motels in Holbrook, Ariz.; and Rialto, Calif.
But notable exclusions include La Posada in Winslow, Ariz., and the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, Mo. Leaving out the former seems particularly negligent.
I gave Putnam a pass, however, for not including the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Mo., because it reopened less than a month ago.
In the past day, Helium also posted articles on planning a Route 66 trip, why Route 66 became famous, Route 66 attractions in Texas, and ghost towns on Route 66.
Preview of the CNG cross-country tour June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, People, Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
Mike Easterling, fresh off his Wallis Award a few days ago at the Will Rogers Awards Evening, filed an excellent story in Urban Tulsa about the two Alabama men who seek to drive a 1966 GTO the entire length of Route 66 — powered solely by compressed natural gas.
Mike McConville and Keith Barfield will embark from Santa Monica, Calif., on Saturday for their Drive to Inspire – an effort to encourage Americans to use alternative fuels and wean the country from foreign oil.
The duo will be in Tulsa for a news conference at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 2, at Elgin and Second streets in Tulsa. Route 66 author Michael Wallis, who also is co-director of the fledgling Route 66 Alliance, will be presiding. Other public appearances are listed here.
Also, a Tulsa firm will give the GTO a free fill-up before it leaves town.
The story details the logistical hurdles that Drive to Inspire faced (especially when the GTO’s range is only 150 miles) and the help that’s been offered:
It certainly hasn’t been an easy trip to put together, McConville said, likening the task to herding cats. Even last week, he said, there remained huge gaps in his map of CNG refueling stations along the trip — mostly between Flagstaff, Ariz., and Albuquerque, and again from Albuquerque to Elk City. The GTO will have a range of only about 150 miles before it needs to be refueled, meaning McConville and Barfield will have to have some help if they don’t want to find themselves stranded by the side of the road. [...]
A man from St. George, Utah, has agreed to meet the GTO in Kingman, Ariz., with a CNG refueling truck, while Tom Sewell, president of Tulsa Gas Technologies — a local firm that offers CNG dispensers, parts and service — has offered to do the same if the vehicle runs dry somewhere on this leg of the trip. [...]
Other companies have offered their help, as well. McConville said executives at Bridgestone tires saw the Wired.com article and offered to outfit his GTO with their new green-friendly EP100 tires, as well as the services of their retail establishments along the way, if needed.
Clean Energy Fuels, a Seal Beach, Calif.-based company founded by T. Boone Pickens that is North America’s largest provider of CNG and liquefied natural gas, has offered McConville and Barfield free CNG at its fueling stations in Santa Monica, Barstow, Calif., and Henderson, Nev.
And Oklahoma’s Chesapeake Energy is sponsoring a celebration of the trip at Arcadia’s Pops restaurant, a Route 66 landmark just outside Oklahoma City, at 6pm on Thursday, July 1.
A documentary crew will also be in tow to film the crew’s experiences along the way. A lot is at stake, but McConnville seems to have the right attitude:
“I have to be careful about my expectations,” he said. “Selfishly, I just want my family and I to have a great vacation.”
One thing’s for sure: No one will think this CNG-powered vehicle sounds wimpy:
Drive to Inspire also will post on its Twitter account and Facebook along the way.
Virtual road trip June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles, Video games.add a comment
The Desert Dispatch in Barstow, Calif., published a good article about the Cal State-Heyward students who developed a multimedia Route 66 experience.
As their masters thesis in multimedia design, the students have outfitted a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle that can take whoever sits in the driver’s seat to any spot on historic Route 66 via video screens with three-dimensional models of buildings and other landmarks along the route.
At stops along the way, the “driver” of the Beetle will also have the option of reading information and viewing pictures of Route 66 landmarks in their heyday, as well as see video footage of interviews with the people who had (and have) close ties to the landmark highway. [...]
Those who step in to the Volkswagen navigate through the virtual Route 66 by picking a destination on the map with the vehicle’s gearshift and steering down the road the road using the vehicle’s steering wheel.
“We hacked into a keyboard and connected the wires to the gearshift,” said Lai. “Wires and switches are hidden everywhere.”
The car also uses a Nintendo Wii tucked under the hood and connected to the steering column to sync the motion of the wheel to what the driver will see on the screen.
The students did finish the project and earned their master’s degrees for their efforts. Next, they hope to take the Route 66 simulator on a tour once the necessary funds are raised.
Here’s the team’s website.
Her and Bobby McGee June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, People, Vehicles.1 comment so far
KOTV in Tulsa aired a story Wednesday night about Emily Priddy’s Honda Fit, which has been transformed into a tribute to the late Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire.
Priddy’s car is named Bobby McGee, after the psychedelic Porsche that singer Janis Joplin once drove.
She’s got colorful curtains in the windows, dashboard cartoons, lots of peace signs and rainbows.
She’s hand lettered a Grateful Dead lyric and a quote from the book “Illusions” on each side, but a recognizable piece for Route 66 regulars is her painting of Bob Waldmire in his Microbus.
“He grew up on Route 66,” Priddy said. “His love affair started as a kid.”
Bob Waldmire cruised the road in his VW Bus creating posters and postcards. He was as much an icon as the places he drew and many of his postcards are available at Route 66 stops. When he died last year, Emily decided to put him on her car so he could cruise the road with her.
The video for the segment can be found here. Here’s Emily’s blog post about the car. (Disclosure: I’m married to her, but the work on the vehicle is all hers.)
The Mother Road’s can-do spirit June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History.add a comment
It’s really worth reading this op-ed piece by Beverly Kelley for the Ventura (Calif.) County Star.
A sample:
Willingness to tackle a job despite impossible odds is the operational definition of the American “can-do” spirit. It’s the same confident courage that a bride donning something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue exhibits, even though she is fully aware of the depressing statistics concerning divorce.
Route 66, these days, is that bride. Never mind the time-saving speed of the interstate and/or the comfort level provided by the predictable chain hotel or restaurant located on the next offramp, folks choose to travel Route 66 because they realize that a renaissance has come to the Mother Road and they want in on it.
Read it here.
Photographer’s prints will be displayed in Munger Moss room June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Motels, Photographs.add a comment
Eight images by photographer Shannon Richardson will be displayed in one of the rooms of the historic Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, Mo., he said in an e-mail.
The series of images above is what the Munger Moss ordered. Richardson said on his blog:
This selection of prints are from my upcoming book Route 66 American Icon. So if you happen to be planning a stay at the motel, ask for my room and check them out.
Richardson is based in Amarillo, Texas. According to his book’s website, the black-and-white images were taken over the past few years on Route 66. The book is slated for a fall release.
A few of Richardson’s Route 66 photos can be seen here.
The Munger Moss contains several themed rooms that display artwork from notable Route 66ers or are inspired by prominent roadies, such as Michael Wallis.
(Images courtesy of Shannon Richardson)
Visions of Arizona June 23, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Photographs.add a comment
Here is a video by photographer Michael Pancier of the many beautiful sights of Arizona, including several on Route 66.