Notes from the road August 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Books, Events, Gas stations, Motels, Movies, Museums, Restaurants, Road trips, Television, Theaters, Vehicles, Web sites.add a comment
The documentary “Route 66: Ten Years Later” will have its debut at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Portage Theater in Chicago.
Writer Tim Steil and photographer Jim Luning collaborated on their “Route 66″ book during a Mother Road trip in 1999. A decade later, they decided to revisit the places they saw and see some new things. This time, Luning brought a video camera. The final cuts on the film have been made; it’s now a 55-minute movie.
Steil and Luning have rented out the entire theater for the event. According to their Facebook page, the event is open for everyone; ticket prices will be the same as in 1966. Here’s a trailer for the movie:
—
TUCUMCARI MUSEUM?: It’s in the very early stages, but a number of Tucumcari, N.M., leaders are exploring the idea of converting the long-abandoned Tucumcari Truck Terminal on the west end of town into a Route 66 and auto museum, welcome center, and a new home for the town’s chamber of commerce. A number of issues remain with the property, including environmental remediation. But since New Mexico remains the only state without a Route 66 museum, this is an idea that might have legs. Tucumcari may have to hurry, though — Albuquerque is considering the same thing with its El Vado Motel.
—
FROM DOWN UNDER: KOLR-TV in Springfield, Mo., caught up with a television crew from Australia following some Aussie road-trippers in the Ozarks. The link includes a video, which will show Gary Turner’s Gay Parita gas station near Halltown, Mo. The TV crew is shooting footage for Australia’s “Classic Restos” program.
—
FESTIVE TIME: It’s a rather eventual weekend for Route 66. The Vettes in the Midwest III event started Friday in Joplin, Mo., and the inaugural Route 66 Classic Car Cruise in the St. Louis suburbs of Crestwood and Sunset Hills begins Saturday. A story about the Corvette event is here; a preview of the Crestwood cruise is here.
—
MOTHER ROAD ENVOY: You’re advised to surf over to the blog of Matthew Comer, the British citizen who is the new Illinois Route 66 Ambassador. He’s barely been at his Mother Road duties for a month, and he logged nearly 30 entries on the website.
—
TV TIME: The Travel Channel and on-air personality Henry Cole came to Cuba, Mo., last week to shoot Route 66 footage, including at the newly refurbished Wagon Wheel Motel and the World’s Largest Rocker at the Fanning Outpost.
—
ROAD TO INSPIRE: Disney Imagineers who are working on the Cars Land complex traveled on the Mother Road in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma a few days ago to “get some inspiration,” reported several roadies in that vicinity. Cars Land, based on the 2006 hit movie “Cars,” is expected to be open in 2012.
—
“Cars” movie launches online community August 12, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Web sites.5 comments
Disney has started an online community, World of Cars Online, for fans of the hit 2006 Disney-Pixar animated movie “Cars,” reported the Los Angeles Times.
The reason for launching the site seems obvious. But in case you’re out of the loop:
The Burbank entertainment giant plans to begin revving its marketing engine for the virtual world this month, with promotions appearing on Disney Channel and elsewhere. World of Cars is Disney’s fifth online community — one that’s designed to keep children interacting with Lightning McQueen, Mater and other characters from the movie until “Cars 2″ is released in 2011.
Also, Disney is scheduled to debut its Cars Land complex at its resort in Anaheim, Calif., in 2012.
The article includes an interview with Rachel DiPaola, who is overseeing the World of Cars site and has developed dozens of games.
Above is a screen shot of the main page. The site contains a lot of cool stuff, including games, image downloads of “Cars” characters, a lot of interactive stuff, and site management tools for parents. You could spend an hour or two just exploring the site.
(Hat tip: Kevin Hansel)
Sooners football owes a debt to John Steinbeck August 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Sports.1 comment so far
A report by J. Robert Byrom at Bleacher Report makes a fairly compelling case of why John Steinbeck’s famous Depression-era novel “The Grapes of Wrath” paved the way to the University of Oklahoma becoming a college football powerhouse, even to this day.
The story is too long and multifaceted to summarize briefly here. Just go read it.
So the next time you cheer — or jeer — the Sooners when they score a touchdown or win a big game, it may be because of a certain book that takes place on Route 66.
County seeks grant to restore wooden Route 66 bridges August 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Highways, History, Preservation.8 comments
The Desert Dispatch reports that San Bernardino County in California is seeking a federal grant to restore old bridges on the National Old Trails Road — an early alignment of Route 66.
The county applied for a $52 million stimulus grant to replace 130 bridges that were built between 1929 and 1931 on the old highway between Daggett and Needles. The bridges would be replaced by wooden kits that are designed to look similar to the original.
The kits the county expects to use for to replace these bridges are approved by the California Department of Transportation, are easy to put together and are historically accurate.
“The attraction of Route 66 is its history,” he said. “You don’t want it to look like any other roadway.”
The county should know by September whether it will receive the grant.
Bridges tend to wear out eventually. San Bernardino County’s quest to replace the bridges with ones that look like the original should be commended — and imitated in other Route 66 states.
Long trip for little cars August 11, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips, Vehicles.5 comments
The 2010 Route 66 Microcar Rally departed from Santa Monica Pier a few days ago.
Here’s a video as the group of tiny-car enthusiasts makes its way through the Los Angeles metro area:
I noted that one of the itty-bitty cars bore a strong resemblance to Luigi in the movie “Cars.” Some of these cars have engines as small as 500 cc.
You can follow the Route 66 rally here on its Facebook page. At last check, they’d passed Kingman, Ariz., and had already experienced a breakdown or two. The desert’s gotta be tough on those cars.
The group is hoping to make the Microcar Minicar World Meet in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, Ill., on Aug. 21-22.
A blast from the past from England August 10, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Here’s a 1975 version of Bobby Troup’s cruising classic by the Count Bishops, a highly regarded R&B band from the U.K.
I approve.
A mile for every casualty August 10, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People.add a comment
This is very peripheral to Route 66, but it’s too moving to not share.
Mike Ehredt of Driggs, Idaho, is running east across the United States. He’s an ultramarathoner, cyclist, and an Army veteran. He’s running solo, and he has no sponsor.
He’s dedicating each mile to each soldier who has died in the Iraq War since it began in 2003. As of Monday night, the total stood at 4,414. He began his run on May 1 in Oregon at the Pacific Ocean. It’s called Project America Run. He’s currently in Iowa.
According to a release from the Pontiac (Ill.) Tourism Bureau:
At each mile, Ehredt is placing a small American Flag with each servicemember’s name, rank, hometown, age, and date of death as a memorial and silent symbol of thanks.
“It is my objective to create an invisible holding of hands from one servicemember to the next, flag to flag, ocean to ocean,” said Ehredt. “One Life. One Flag. One Mile.”
Here’s a video from Ehredt’s website:
According to the Pontiac bureau, he will be running through Livingston County, Ill., on Aug. 27, and will cross Route 66 in Dwight, Ill.
If you want to locate one of the flags Ehredt has planted, or sponsor a flag, go here.