Evicted dinosaur coming to Route 66 in Arizona April 25, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Art, Attractions, Businesses.3 comments
A huge dinosaur statue that was evicted from a Southern California neighborhood over a zoning dispute is being moved to Route 66 at Grand Canyon Caverns in Arizona.
The 40-foot-long apatosaurus was installed at the Zoomars petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. However, city officials nixed the statue. According to the Los Angeles Times:
The city sided with historical advocates who saw the dinosaur as an eyesore, cheapening the neighborhood’s real history, and others who just saw him as a nuisance.
Carolyn Franks, the zoo’s owner, has had to find a new home for the statue dubbed Juan the Capistrano Dinosaur.
Homeowners throughout Southern California have offered to put him in their yards, and a college professor wanted him on campus. But, ultimately, Franks settled on Grand Canyon Caverns, a tourist attraction in Peach Springs, Ariz., right on Route 66.
“I feel like a mom placing her baby,” said Franks, who drove out to the speck of a desert town before deciding it would be a good home for him. “I feel that dinosaur has brought a lot of joy to the zoo. I just want to share it with more people. I just want to put it in a good place.”
Grand Canyon Caverns, in addition to its motel, restaurant and canyon tours, also is home to a dinosaur of its own. But the new one is much more impressive. And it reportedly will be installed near the highway.
(Hat tip to Jim Conkle; image of the dinosaur at San Juan Capistrano, Calif., by Trader Chris, via Flickr)
Midewin Tallgrass Prairie may reintroduce buffalo April 18, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, Preservation.add a comment
The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, located off Route 66 near Chicago, may reintroduce native bison there as early as December, reported the United States Department of Agriculture blog.
The blog said the park may bring in 20 to 30 of the buffalo, which once roamed the Plains by the millions less than two centuries ago. Buffalo were hunted to near-extinction by the early 20th century, until conservationists intervened.
The blog said:
The Midewin, the first national tallgrass prairie, covers 19,000 acres of the former Joliet Arsenal in northeastern Illinois. It is the largest piece of contiguous open space in the Chicago metropolitan area and is located just an hour’s drive from the Windy City.
“Establishing a herd of bison on Midewin will bring more visitors to the site to view these iconic symbols of our heritage,” said Wade Spang, supervisor on the Midewin.
It will also help enhance the local economy along the nearby historic U.S. Route 66.
Along with the bison herd, the proposal will also restore 1,200 acres of non-native grasslands to more desirable habitat for grassland birds by planting a diversity of native tallgrass species such as little bluestem, Indian grass and big bluestem.
The proposal also lays out a system of multi-use trails with elevated overlooks that will surround the bison pasture. Hiking trails will be within portions of it and only opened for trail use when bison are not present. Long-term plans include a visitor tram system that travels within the pastures.
Other than the occasion bison raised by hobbyist farmers, the closest place where Route 66 can see a herd of buffalo is at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska, Okla. — more than an hour’s drive north of Route 66.
So the sight of native buffalo much closer to the Mother Road would be very enticing to travelers — especially foreigners.
(Image of a bison herd at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve by Travel Aficionado, via Flickr)
Maybe you can help find a lost dog January 21, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals.1 comment so far
Thousands of pleas to help find lost dogs get posted on telephone poles, in newspapers, and on bulletin boards across the country. One is probably tacked up in your neighborhood now.
Having lost a dog in recent years, I can relate to the worry. But because this website focuses on news along Route 66, I never thought I would post anything about a wayward canine.
Until now.
A longtime reader alerted me this evening about a dog that became lost along the Mother Road in Arizona this past weekend. And Route 66 enthusiasts may be in a good position to help recover it.
Here’s a portion of the email I received:
We are trying to help our friends, Keith and Pieter Schaafsma, who some of you may know, find their missing border collie, Reilly, who is a male, black and white smooth coat. He is 10 years old and is missing in the Twin Arrows area. They go out their hiking sometimes, and he took off after antelope out there yesterday and they can’t find him. They spent the night out there last night and looked all day today, put up posters. They have notified the appropriate agencies, talked to ranchers out there, etc., etc.
A photo of Reilly is at the top of this post. The dog ran off Saturday.
Here’s why this lost dog is noteworthy to Route 66 News. Roadies by the thousands visit the ruins of the historic Twin Arrows complex every year. Even during the tourism off-season, a dozen or more Route 66 fans probably visit the site each day.
According to my website’s data, thousands of people log on to Route 66 News every month. A few of those readers might be on the road and visit Twin Arrows tomorrow, Wednesday, or the day after that.
If you are one of those people, look for a smooth-coated, black-and-white border collie at Twin Arrows. And if you find him, call the owners at 928-699-103, 928-606-3967, or 928-773-1467.
If Reilly is returned to his masters safely, they’ll be grateful to the Route 66 community. And that’s reason enough to post this story.
UPDATE 1/22/2013: Sad news. I received this forwarded email Tuesday night from friends of Reilly’s owners:
Today we received the saddest of news that our friends’ beloved missing border collie Reilly was found on the side of the road near Winslow today.
Our greatest thanks to all who responded to our relaying of our friends’ pleas for help. So many people helped in more ways than I can begin to list here.
Thank you to each and every one of you. While the end of this story is heartbreaking, your kindness and concern are appreciated beyond measure.
Reilly reportedly had been seen alive at a nearby rest area just a few hours before.
Big Red at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch dies December 20, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Businesses, People.add a comment
Big Red, a long-eared mascot at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Ill., died in his sleep late Wednesday or early Thursday, reported his owner Rich Henry on the Route 66 yahoo group.
Henry wrote:
He was the perfect image of health. Tuesday afternoon, during his annual comprehensive exam, received a clean bill of health. Yesterday was like every other day. We miss Him greatly, as he was making his mark with the Route 66 world.
Henry has requested no phone calls about his pet’s death.
This video, shot this summer for the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, features Henry and Big Red:
Big Red was the successor to longtime mascot Montana, who died in June 2008 at age 7 after a period of declining health. Like Montana, Big Red would sit quietly on a counter and be petted by tourists who stopped in to check out the Route 66 business.
Henry ended up having a slew of pet rabbits after his daughter had one. At one point, he had 49 pet rabbits at the ranch. Now, less than a dozen remain. The others perished from old age.
Big Texan adds dinosaur to its parking lot December 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Attractions, Restaurants.add a comment
The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, is adding a 27-foot-tall dinosaur statue in front of the landmark restaurant, reported the Amarillo Globe-News and the Big Texan Brewery’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The dinosaur originally stood at a now-closed Planet Hollywood in Dallas. At the Big Texan, the big lizard will be decked out in more of a Lone Star State style. The newspaper quoted owner Bobby Lee:
When completed, the dinosaur will be sporting cowboy boots, a western hat and kerchief. A badge to be placed at his feet will encourage tourists to “Get your kicks on Route 66,” Lee said. [...]
The ranch took delivery of the dinosaur last month.
“It came in on a flatbed (trailer),” Lee said. “We had it parked around back until the foundation was poured.” [...]
“I was just tickled to get him,” Lee said. “A painter’s going to come out and repaint him and get him all fixed up, ready for, hopefully, spring break business.”
A good photo of the dinosaur at its old Planet Hollywood digs can be found at Matt Harvey’s 75 Central website.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch operated along Amarillo Boulevard (aka Route 66) during the 1960s. For survival’s sake, the eatery moved to the east side of town to Interstate 40 after the superhighway opened in the early ’70s. But the restaurant continues to acknowledge its Route 66 roots.
The Big Texan was one of the first restaurants in the Texas Panhandle to play up the region’s cowboy roots to attract travelers. But the restaurant’s biggest claim to fame remains its 72-ounce steak dinner, which is free if you can eat it in an hour.
The true story of Waynesville’s Frog Rock September 21, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, Art, Attractions, People.1 comment so far
A fascinating article in the Waynesville Daily Guide talks about the history of the Frog Rock landmark along Route 66 in Waynesville, Mo., and the urban legends associated with it:
Contrary to popular belief, the large frog-shaped boulder that sits on the side of Waynesville Hill wasn’t
And contrary to other popular beliefs, the rock did not get its shape magically after the Missouri Department of Transportation widened Historical Route 66 in the 1990s.
The creator of Frog Rock, aka W.H. Croaker, is local tattoo artist and former Army medic Phil Nelson. He also was known as a talented sculptor.
The tale of Frog Rock begins in 1996. The Guide reported:
So one day, Sheila Debo of Waynesville came to Nelson asking him to sculpt the ugly rock formation into something worthy of Waynesville Hill.
“I thought it would make for the perfect tiger head to go with the Waynesville mascot, but the people in the city had something else in mind.” Nelson said. “They wanted a frog. Someone on city council or something liked frogs. And that was it, I was to sculpt a frog.”
Nelson was offered money for the job, but he refused. His only request was that the city would provide him sculpting tools for carving. As an artist, he likes using his talents to give back. And since the city of Waynesville was his home, he felt he owed it to them.
And for the next nine months, Nelson spent his mornings from roughly 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. sculpting. He sculpted through the granite in all sorts of weather — through snowy mornings and though blistering heat— all free of charge.
The Frog Rock eventually led to the Frog Fest event each year in October. The landmark is listed on Roadside America, Missouri Tourism, and a few thousand other websites.
Also, the Guide reported, Mayor Luge Hardman during a City Council meeting Thursday night honored Nelson for creating Frog Rock. And Nelson said he’s tickled that his nine grandchildren and other area kids love it.
Route 66 restaurant co-owner bitten by poisonous snake June 19, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals, People, Restaurants.1 comment so far
Buffy Price, co-owner of The Boundary on 66 barbecue restaurant between Luther and Arcadia, Okla., recently was bitten by a poisonous snake while taking out trash at the eatery and hospitalized, reported KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City.
Excerpts from the report:
She looked down saw blood on her foot and a snake scurry away through the grass.
“It struck me and actually bit me twice,” Buffy Price says, “It started welling up; turning colors.”
She could feel the burn of the deadly venom pulsing from her foot to her leg but she managed to drive a few miles home to get her husband Donnie Samara. [...]
“[I have] never seen anything swollen like that before in my life and it was already black when we got to the hospital, her foot, her entire foot,” Samara says. “She had black all the way up to her thigh, black marks and bruising. It’s scary.”
KFOR posted a photo of Price’s swollen and discolored foot and ankle. She required about $12,000 of anti-venom to save her life. Doctors think the snake was a copperhead.
Price went back to work at The Boundary in a wheelchair, and was able to stand this week. She said it takes about a month to recover from such bites.
Now that Price is on the road to recovery, Donnie Samara has an eye out for the slithering serpent that took a bite out of his wife.
“I will send you a copy of the wanted poster, I’m going to post it all over the restaurant and they’ll be a reward.
It’d be a nice gesture if y’all went to The Boundary for an extra meal or two to help defray those medical bills. Besides, the barbecue is terrific. It’s open Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner, although it tends to run out of food on mid-afternoon Sunday.