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.
Notes from the road July 15, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Books, Events, Gas stations, Ghosts and Mysteries, Highways, History, People, Restaurants, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
The tombstone of May D. Knotts.
A few weeks ago, while geocaching near Route 66 in Riverton, Kan., we found out about the strange story of May D. Knotts.
According to a geocaching site, May D. Knotts was said to have been hanged from an old oak tree in 1904 after it was discovered that she was a witch. Knotts, who was 13 or 14 years old, is buried in Quaker Valley Cemetery on the northwest edge of Riverton, less than a mile from Route 66.
It’s a fascinating story about Knotts. However, it’s not true.
I contacted the Cherokee County Genealogical-Historical Society in Columbus, Kan. A spokeswoman there, after finding a death notice in the Galena (Kan.) Republic newspaper from 1904, assured me that Knotts didn’t die from hanging, but from pneumonia. The article said the ailing Knotts had lingered for days before succumbing.
So the story that May D. Knotts was a witch turned out to be nothing more than an urban legend.
I’d suspected the hanged-witch story was a tall tale. It’s doubtful the locals would have been that superstitious about a young teen during the 20th century. Also, it was difficult to fathom a court ordering the death penalty to a girl for a dubious charge such as witchcraft, barring some sort of lynching.
I asked the spokeswoman about the origins of such an unlikely story. She surmised that the poem on the tombstone — which was common at that time — sparked the overactive imaginations of locals years later.
The poem reads:
Remember friends as you pass by
as you are now so once was I.
As I am now so you will be
prepare for death and follow me.
It’s certainly cryptic enough to inspire ghost stories around a campfire.
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FREEBIE: Lonely Planet’s Facebook page is giving away free itineraries, including Route 66, in advance of its upcoming “USA’s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America” book. The book won’t be out until September, but you can download a Route 66 itinerary here (warning: 2.9 MG Acrobat file).
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NEW EATERY: Roadies have been praising a new restaurant in Shamrock, Texas, called Big Vern’s Steakhouse. It’s only about a block east of the famous U-Drop Inn landmark.
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CRUISIN’: The New Mexico Route 66 Motor Tour is slated for July 23-25. It starts in Tucumcari, and finishes in Gallup. The registration form is here. At least 150 cars are expected.
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INSOURCING: CNN-Money reports that instead of outsourcing jobs to foreign countries, corporations are looking to smaller towns in America such as Joplin, Mo. Big businesses are attracted by smaller towns’ lower cost of living and their greater need for jobs. I’m surprised it’s taken them this long to figure that out.
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SECOND HELPING: The Vermillion Players of Pontiac, Ill., are planning an abridged and encore performance of the musical “Route 66,” which was produced last summer, at 8 p.m. Sunday at the pavilion in Chautauqua Park, reports the Pontiac Daily Leader.
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ROAD CONSTRUCTION: A long-awaited widening of Foothill Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., begins this week, reports the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. It includes widening the road to six lanes and replacing an 81-year-old overpass. The project includes an art deco arch with a Route 66 logo east of Grove Avenue, with an identical one on the east side of town. Construction is expected to be finished in December 2011.
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NEARLY DONE: KSN-KODE-TV in Joplin reports that the Webb City Information Center along Route 66 in downtown Webb City, Mo., is nearly finished. The city is renovating an abandoned gas station. The center should be open by August.
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MYSTERY OBJECT: Finally, caretaker Blaine Davis at the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., found this metal object planted in the ground near its Roadside Attraction sign. It doesn’t appear to be mass-produced, and roadies surmise that it’s some sort of geocaching marker. Does anyone have a better idea what it might be or its origins?
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For noble reasons or narcissism? July 14, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Publications, Road trips.6 comments
Scott Shakford, editor of the Desert Dispatch newspaper in Barstow, Calif., wrote an interesting editorial today about folks coming through town on cross-country Route 66 stunts and the newspaper’s coverage of them (or lack thereof):
We do interview some of them, if we think Barstow residents will find their stories interesting. [...] In our efforts, though, to focus on stories directly connected to the Barstow community, our reporters are sometimes too engaged in local coverage to interview these passers-through. Some of them have gotten upset at us for declining to publicize their trip, which makes us question the real reason for the stunt.
Many of these travelers have connected their stunt to some charitable cause or other. [...] There are others though, who are taking this trek to “raise awareness” about some issue or other. These are the ones who give us pause, because they appear to be as much interested in self-promotion as education. They aren’t actually doing anything besides their trip. These are the ones who get the most upset when we don’t report on their visit.
Shakford later tells of someone who was walking Route 66 for cancer awareness. The individual, however, wasn’t raising money for any particular group, nor did he contact anyone at the newspaper before arriving. He stormed out when informed there would be no coverage. Ironically, he was passing through near the time of Barstow”s Relay for Life cancer fundraiser — a prime opportunity to get involved locally. However, that person apparently didn’t know about it.
As the grand poohbah of Route 66 News, I can relate to Shakford’s dilemma. I’m betting at least two dozen people drive, walk, run, cycle or whatever on Route 66 during any given year. It’s a bit wearying to learn of yet another well-meaning but naive person who claims to be “the first” in tackling some sort of Route 66 feat. The Mother Road is more than 80 years old; chances are high the stunt’s been done before.
With more than two decades in the media, I can provide advice for those wanting to tackle a Route 66 feat:
First, make sure your feat is unique. This spring, we had a fellow from France who was walking Route 66 on stilts. That struck me as truly novel. He must not have been concerned in media coverage, which is OK if he did it for fun. But that leads me to my second point …
In a high-tech era, there’s no reason a Route 66 stunt can’t scare up its own publicity. Newspapers and TV stations are dealing with declining audiences and slashed budgets, so you can’t count on them. But with blogs, Twitter, Facebook and the exceptional capabilities of smartphones and laptops, people on Route 66 can truly reach a worldwide audience. And in the chance a newspaper or TV reporter wants to reach you, make sure you have a readily accessible e-mail account or cellphone number.
Print, radio and television ruled the mass-media roost just a few decades ago. Now, many other avenues can reach an audience. If you aren’t getting a newspaper or station’s attention, there’s no sense in whining about it when you’ve got so many other alternatives.
CNG classic car rumbles to Capitol Hill July 14, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles.add a comment
The Alabama duo who drove Route 66 in a compressed natural gas-powered 1966 Pontiac GTO extended the journey to the nation’s capital today, according to the Birmingham (Ala.) News.
U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., got the treat of driving the car briefly to the U.S. Capitol.
The Detroit classic rumbled up Independence Avenue and rolled across the House side of the plaza at the foot of the Capitol steps, which made for a great photo opportunity, but there was also a purpose. [...]
The car emits 80 percent less carbon monoxide than it’s gasoline-powered counterparts, and it’s fuel is all-American, [Mark] McConville said.
“It’s about the cleanest muscle car out there,” he said.
According to the report, the car attracted quite a few gawkers, including a Capitol Police officer who exclaimed, “That is awesome!”
UPDATE: In a news release from Bachus’ office:
“Mark McConville and Keith Barfield left a lasting impression all along Route 66 with their car and their message about alternative fuels. It’s fascinating to see how an old ‘muscle car’ can be converted into a clean-burning, low emissions vehicle. This shows that we can solve our energy challenges using American technology and ingenuity. It brought great publicity to Alabama here at the Capitol and the only other thing we needed driving it around was an eight-track tape of Little GTO,” said Congressman Bachus. [...]
“We wanted to bring awareness about natural gas as a fuel and show there needs to be more refueling infrastructure in our country. Natural gas works as a fuel and the fact that we did it with an old car shows it’s relatively easy to convert,” McConville said.
Here’s a video from the day:
UPDATE2: The Associated Press on Thursday mentioned McConville and his Route 66 trip in a story Thursday about the Obama administrtion’s push for the use of alternative energy in cars.
Making tracks July 14, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, Highways, History.add a comment
Dave Bakke of the Springfield State Journal-Register takes a closer look at the set of turkey tracks that were left on a section of original Route 66 near Nilwood, Ill., between 1926 and 1930.
Those turkey tracks wouldn’t be the attraction they are if not for Bob Donaldson. Bob moved into his house right on Old 66 south of Nilwood in, appropriately enough, 1966. He was an avid bicyclist in those days. He took his children on family bike rides down that original stretch of 66. He pointed out the turkey tracks to his kids and made it a big story.
“He found them way back when our kids were little, and now they’re in their 40s,” says Bob’s wife, Ruth Ann. “He told the story kind of wild because it was just for our kids. At first, he told them the tracks were made in 1826, but they didn’t know the difference.”
“I had a ‘once upon a time’ deal going,” Bob says. Bob told his kids that the turkey was crossing the road and when it came back, that made it a “double crosser.” His kids thought that was just too funny.
Car clubs and tour guides have used the tracks as a quirky point of interest for years. A sign has been erected to show the spot where the bird danced merrily on that wet cement more than 80 years ago.
More about the tracks:
I took Bob to the turkey tracks for a picture and on the way he mentioned that there are 34 separate tracks there. He counted them. [...]
In the 1920s, there were virtually no wild turkeys in Illinois, so the tracks almost certainly had to be made by a domestic turkey that lived on a nearby farm.
Found: the Texola monument July 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, History, Preservation, Signs.5 comments
A few days ago, Corkey Mayberry of Park Hills, Mo., wondered what happened to a Texas-shaped monument that greeted Route 66 travelers in the border town of Texola, Okla.
Mayberry and his wife had their picture taken at the monument in 1955. On a Route 66 trip a few weeks ago, Mayberry tried to find the monument again in Texola, to no avail.
The folks at the Texas Old Route 66 Association didn’t know what happened to the monument. So, like the art deco monument that also once stood at Texola, its fate looked to stay shrouded in mystery.
However, an e-mail to the Texas Department of Transportation bore fruit. Barbara Seal, the agency’s public information officer, wrote today:
This monument is prominently displayed at the newly restored U-Drop Inn in the City of Shamrock on a portion of Old Route 66. It is located on the west side of the building; in fact, I drove through Shamrock yesterday and saw it there.
Sure enough, you can see the monument in the lower left of this photo, between the antique gas pumps. The original stone base is gone, but the Texas-shaped stone remains intact.
Because the U-Drop Inn is so striking and photogenic, folks tend to overlook the Lone Star stone nearby. Seal offered no explanation of when or why it was moved.
So Mr. Mayberry can still visit the monument on Route 66, albeit 15 miles to the west.
UPDATE: An important update to the story can be found here.