Several Route 66 sites make Arizona magazine’s “best of” list July 20, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Magazines, Motels, Museums, Restaurants.1 comment so far
Several Route 66 establishments made the final cut in Arizona Highways magazine’s annual “Best of Arizona” feature, which is in the August issue that’s out now.
Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner in Kingman was mentioned in the Kingman Daily Miner for having the “Best Beer without a Buzz,” a reference to the restaurant’s acclaimed root beer.
The magazine story can’t be viewed online, but associate editor Kelly Kramer e-mailed a “Best of Arizona” list involving Route 66 towns:
- Best Opportunity for High-Altitude Peer Review: Flagstaff Photography Club, Flagstaff
- Best Opportunity to Dream in Black and White: Wigwam Motel, Holbrook
- Best Beer Without a Buzz: Mr D’z Route 66 Diner, Kingman
- Best Bet for Experiencing the Upper Crust: Miz Zip’s, Flagstaff
- Best Place to Stare at a Rock: Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Winona Meteorite)
- Best Place to Flip a Disc: McPherson Park, Flagstaff
- Best Opportunity to Be Blown Away: Wupatki National Monument, near Flagstaff
In case you’re wondering about the “upper crust” for Miz Zip’s, that refers to the restaurant’s pies.
Arizona Highways is sold at major bookstores, including Borders and Barnes & Noble, as well as grocery stores across the state.
More kicks with Leon July 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Leon Rausch, a longtime singer for Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, has collaborated with Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel on a new album, “It’s a Good Day,” that’s out tomorrow.
And since Asleep at the Wheel’s favorite song is “Route 66,” you’d think that the band would persuade Rausch to perform it with them. And you’d be right — “Route 66″ is on the new album.
Samples of all 12 of the songs, including “Route 66,” can be heard here.
The Dallas Morning News graded the album an A:
The musicianship is stellar, with horns, fiddle, guitars, drums, piano, mandolin and upright bass expertly produced by the Wheel’s unflappable leader, Ray Benson. Leon Rausch, 82, who sang with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, remains in fine crooning voice. He’s particularly smooth on “Snap Your Fingers.”
If you want to see Rausch and Asleep at the Wheel together in a genuine Route 66 town, you can on Sept. 9 in Claremore, Okla., during the annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival. That’s only about 30 miles from Tulsa, where he got his first big break when he was hired by Bob Wills during the 1950s.
Asleep at the Wheel’s drummer, David Sanger, also was a producer and/or drummer for the compilation albums “Songs of Route 66″ and “More Songs of Route 66,” of which the rest of his band also played a prominent role. Asleep at the Wheel also organized a music tour of Route 66 on the road’s 66th anniversary.
Man to drive classic car for asthma nonprofit July 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Road trips, Vehicles.1 comment so far
If you see a Marine blue 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe sedan on Route 66 in the coming days, chances are good it’s Scott Christenson behind the wheel.
Christenson, 56, of Champaign, Ill., plans to drive from Chicago to Los Angeles, starting later this week, in remembrance of his niece, Erin Dennington, who died at age 30 in May during a severe asthma attack, reported the News-Gazette of Champaign.
Christenson is raising money for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, a nonprofit group for those with asthma and allergies. The goal is to raise $100,000. The website to collect donations is here.
He said the Mother Road journey also was partially inspired during his own health issues:
Earlier this year, while Christenson was recovering from open-heart surgery and knee replacement at a rehab facility in Paxton, the Champaign man began to dream of completing historic Route 66, the “Mother Road” traveled by millions of Americans since the 1920s.
“I was inspired by seeing a TV special about two guys in a Corvette driving up and down Route 66,” he said. “I thought that maybe some day I would like to drive Route 66 myself.”
The Plymouth has just 76,000 miles on it.
He plans to get going from the Windy City on Saturday morning.
“I want to talk to people and meet with folks all along the journey to California,” he said. “The joy of Route 66 is not the destination; it’s the journey.”
Christianson said his trip is a way to show the world that people with asthma can go on with their lives.
“Erin made me realize that life is to be enjoyed each and every day,” he said.
Christenson also is owner of Memory Lane Photography of Champaign. Maybe he’ll use his cameras to document some of his trip.
RFD-TV buys Roy Rogers’ horse, dog at auction July 19, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Movies, Museums, Television.16 comments
RFD-TV's Patrick Gottsch with Trigger and Bullet. (Photo courtesy of RFD-TV)
Cable television channel RFD-TV gave thought about purchasing all of the memorabilia from the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans museum when its contents were put on the auction block a few days ago.
Instead, it bought the next-best thing. RFD-TV president Patrick Gottsch purchased the movie cowboy’s beloved horse, Trigger, for $266,500. After Trigger died at age 30, it was stuffed and put on display for many years at Rogers’ museum just off Route 66 in Victorville, Calif., then more recently at Branson, Mo., until the museum closed in late 2009.
Gottsch also bought for $35,000 Rogers’ dog, Bullet, which also was stuffed and displayed at the museum.
According to a story in the Omaha World-Herald, Gottsch plans to eventually display Trigger and Bullet at RFD-TV’s main offices in Omaha, Neb. Gottsch also had good news for Rogers fans:
Gottsch has spoken with Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle about the new headquarters and is in talks with the City Planning Department. He said he envisions the company being a visiting spot for tourists, given the acquisitions of Trigger and Bullet and memorabilia he would like to add.
“Now we’re going to have a museum wing,” he said. [...]
The mounted animals will be on an RFD-TV set weekly in November, when Rogers’ son and grandson will introduce 53-minute-long Rogers films. Gottsch said he’s seeking rights for the Rogers TV shows and has 35 of the Rogers movies.
In advertising spots on RFD-TV in recent days, the network has said it would eventually air Roy Rogers movies. RFD-TV is set to make more announcements about Roy Rogers-related programming at during its “RFD-TV Equine Live!” show at 9 p.m. Central on Thursday.
Gottsch said he considered buying all of the Rogers memorabilia when it went on the block at Christie’s in New York City, but was unable to secure funds in time.
If you’re unfamiliar with RFD-TV, it describes itself as “rural America’s most important network.” It airs a mix of shows about horses, agriculture, country and gospel music, and rural lifestyles. (Disclosure: I admit becoming quite fond of the network, especially “The Marty Stuart Show.”)
The Roy Rogers Museum sat just off Route 66 in Victorville for many years. After Rogers’ death in 1998, attendance at the museum plunged. The Rogers family moved the museum to Branson, but it closed barely six years later. Roy Rogers Jr. said at the announcement of the closing:
The decision to close the Museum has come after two years of steady decline in visitors to the Museum. A lot of factors have made our decision for us. The economy for one, people are just not traveling as much. Dad’s fans are getting older, and concerned about their retirement funds. Everyone is concerned about their future in this present economy. Secondly, with our high fiscal obligations we cannot continue to accumulate debt to keep the doors open.This situation is one I have not wanted to happen. Dad always said- “If the museum starts costing you money, then liquidate everything and move on.” Myself and my family have tried to hold together the Museum and collection for over 15 years, so it is very difficult to think that it will all be gone soon.
As for those who think Rogers’ decision to stuff Trigger after his death was weird and macabre, I could relate. However, after seeing this amazing clip, I can understand Rogers’ motive. Trigger appeared in more than 100 films and helped make Rogers a star. The Roy Rogers Museum enabled Roy to still share the spotlight with his loyal and talented steed.
Secluded Newberry Springs ranch used as movie set July 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies.2 comments
I didn’t know a ranch in the Route 66 town of Newberry Springs, Calif., has been often used as a movie set. I’ll bet you didn’t, either.
But, according to the Victorville Daily Press, Spike Lynch’s hidden Roughout Ranch (between Interstate 15 and I-40) has been used as a film-shoot location in each of the past 15 years.
The Newberry Springs area, with its unusual topography of unexpected lakes and desert-scapes that can easily welcome “lunar” landings, has a few spots that see frequent filming, including the Pisgah Crater. This particular dormant volcanic cinder cone is a popular one, Taylor said, because it’s one of the few not on protected federal land.
Still, Taylor said, “The Bureau of Land Management in Barstow is one of the best bureaus in the state if not the nation. They’re very film friendly and they understand a film crew’s needs.”
They also understand how important the film business can be to the local economy. Filming generated more than $23.8 million for San Bernardino County in 2009, and Taylor said a large portion of those earnings came from High Desert shoots.
“A film company will call and say, ‘Find me a restaurant in the middle of nowhere,’ ” Taylor said. “And options I’ll give them include the Bagdad Cafe,” the Newberry Springs site of the 1987 German cult film by the same name.
Taylor said Toyota recently filmed a commercial in the Newberry Springs area, some student films shot there and a BBC documentary on Route 66 filmed along National Trails Highway.
On a related note, it appears Roughout Ranch is for sale, for $395,000.
Fair-food restaurant to open in historic Springfield eatery July 18, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants, Signs.1 comment so far
Remember the Sonrise Donuts building and its distinctive neon sign on its roof on Route 66 in Springfield, Ill.? The long-closed business now will be the home Monday of a Gibby’s Orbits restaurant, reported the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Jack Gibbons had served mini-doughnuts, corn dogs, lemon shake-ups and other favorites at area county fairs since 1985. He’d been looking for a permanent location, and found it with the Sonrise building.
More from the article:
The new restaurant — named GIBBY’S ORBITS AT THE SONRISE DONUT SHOP — will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It may open some weekends for special events. Phone: 306-3454. Address: 1101 S. Ninth St., on historic Route 66.
The eatery, in a glass-walled building constructed in 1956, will be a diner in the style of the 1950s and ’60s. There’s a black-and-white checkerboard floor, the original Formica counter and red-and-chrome swivel stools and tables.
In keeping with the diner theme, the menu will include burgers, fries, grilled cheese, sloppy Joes, Polish sausage, Italian beef, Philly steaks, chilidogs and Chicago-style hot dogs.
Also available are mini doughnuts, corn dogs, deep-fried hot dogs, chili, nachos, taco salad, grilled chicken salad, coffee, tea and eight flavors of shakeups. Breakfast items include eggs, hash browns, toast, bacon and sausage. All prices include sales tax.
It’s good that the Sonrise building will be greeting customers again, and that the new owners are nodding to its history.
Is the depot suitable for Joplin museum? July 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums, Preservation, Railroad.3 comments
A story in the Joplin Globe this week shed light on why officials with the Joplin Museum Complex are hesitating to endorse an idea to renovate the city’s historic railroad depot and move the museum there.
[T]he existing interior space is less than the current museum’s, he said, based on his staff’s measurements of the interior. He said that the depot has 22,000 square feet of space, and not 41,000 square feet as has been cited.
Standing water in the basement indicates the building might not be watertight, as it would need to be for a museum environment.
An architect hired by the city to assess the space for use as a museum, Chad Greer of the Webb City architectural firm of Corner Greer & Associates, attended the meeting. He said he will begin work next week to investigate the cause and remedies of the water problem.
Those are legitimate concerns. A big reason the Joplin Museum Complex is looking for a new home is lack of space. Moving from one cramped space to an even smaller space would be counterproductive, to say the least. And moving into a space with moisture problems would lead to rapid deterioration of historic artifacts.
But after voters resoundingly rejected a proposal to move into Memorial Hall, the museum may be running out of options. Perhaps the Joplin Museum Complex should investigate splitting its collection according to various themes — for example, Route 66 in the depot; mining history in the current facility. That’s assuming, of course, that the moisture problems can be rectified.
The museum wants one, bigger spot for all of its artifacts. But it had better not dismiss a compromise proposal that would give them two smaller spots instead.
Not just pedal-pushing July 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, People, Road trips, Television.1 comment so far
This is a physical challenge that even Andy Payne would think twice about doing. British Olympic gold-medalist rower James Cracknell wants to cycle, swim, run or row all the way across America in just 18 days.
According to Road.cc:
His 3,600 mile trip will mostly be completed by bike and 2,500 miles of it will be along the famous Route 66 highway, but there’s an 80-mile run in Death Valley, 265 miles of rowing across Lake Erie and a final 15-mile swim to the Statue of Liberty thrown in for good measure.
James is sponsored by Merida and will be using a variety of bikes for the 2,500 mile long bike leg due to the varied terrain and road conditions of Route 66. The majority of the time will be spent on a TimeWarp time trail machine but he’ll be breaking out the Scultura Evo for the more mountainous sections. The crew will also be taking along a super light O.Nine mountainbike for a 30 mile section of Route 66 which is not rideable on a road bike.
The Road.cc link includes a photo of him at the “Route 66: End of the Trail” sign on the pier.
For every day he’s on a bicycle, he’s going to try to do 250 miles a day. The one day he’s running, it’s 80 miles, and it’s going to be in the aforementioned harsh climate of Death Valley today, where a high temperature of 122 degrees is forecast.
Cracknell started his journey from the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday. You can follow his progress here on Twitter.
Also, a film crew is in tow from the Discovery Channel to show how or what he did during the challenge (scheduled to air in October). I hope they have an ambulance on call.
Going for 3 million miles July 15, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
Irv Gordon already owns the world record for most miles on one car. But he’s aiming to drive his 1966 Volvo P1800 to the 3-million-mile mark sometime within the next three years, reports Auto123.com.
Here are the impressive numbers:
In 1998 he made the Guinness Book of World Records for most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle as his red Volvo reached 1.69 million miles. Then in March 2002, he drove the car’s two-millionth mile down Times Square to national and international media attention. A few days later, car enthusiast Jay Leno invited the Two Million Mile Man to his Tonight Show along with the record-breaking Volvo – in the studio in front of the audience!
In October 2007, Irv had driven his Volvo coupe over 2.6 million miles. Three years later, the mileage is well over 2.8 million miles. Mathematically reaching three million miles before his 73rd birthday makes sense! He could become the Three Million Mile Man!
Gordon has a 125-mile daily commute to rack up the miles, and keeps to the maintenance schedule religiously. He bought the car in June 1966 for $4,150. He now averages 80,000 miles a year, and that’s low for him.
And, yes, he’s driven the Volvo on Route 66 and just about every other scenic highway in the U.S.
Gordon has a Twitter account and is also on Facebook.
That’s re-certifiable July 15, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History, Preservation.add a comment
Kevin Klowden of the Milken Institute wrote in an opinion piece today on the Fox & Hounds Daily blog, proclaiming that one way to stimulate a flagging U.S. economy is to reinvest in Route 66 and thus boost tourism.
That sounds good at first glance. But then Klowden veers in this direction — he wants to recertify U.S. Highway 66.
The idea isn’t without precedent. Across the country are several effective pairings of an older U.S. highway with a newer interstate: Interstate 91 and U.S. Route 5 in New England; I-65 and U.S. 31 in much of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee; and from Washington D.C. to St. Louis, I-70 and U.S. 40 work in tandem along the route of the old National Road.
This idea to recertify U.S. 66 has been brought up before — and quickly shot down. The biggest reason cited is that original segments of Route 66 and businesses would be adversely affected by having to conform to U.S. highway regulations.
With recertification, narrow old highway made of original Portland cement would have to be widened, thus destroying its historic characteristics. That old 1930s bridge? It would have to be replaced with a modern bridge. That business that’s been next to the highway for 70 years? It would have to be moved.
And piggybacking Route 66 onto an interstate highway would be opposed by many roadies. Route 66ers do have to travel somewhat on the interstates simply because it’s unavoidable in some areas, especially in Arizona and New Mexico. But because the rise of the interstates signaled the decline of U.S. 66, having the superslab signed as such would prove distasteful indeed.
Roadies generally are supportive of government-backed support programs for the Mother Road. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is a good example.
But you’re never going to gain the support of an idea that would alter Route 66′s unique atmosphere. And that’s what Klowden’s idea would do.