A Route 66 app that takes you there … with limits January 25, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Maps, Photographs, Road trips, Web sites.add a comment
Italian photographer Carlo Pinasco recently launched an application, “Image Route 66,” for iPads, iTouches, and iPhones that contains more than 200 high-resolution images from a Route 66 road trip he took in May. With it, you can take a virtual trip down the Mother Road.
But the most intriguing part of the app is each photograph is geo-referenced with global positioning. That way, if you’re interested in traveling to that Route 66 attraction, the app’s Google Maps plug-in will give you precise directions from your location if you’re connected to the Internet.
The turn-by-turn directions won’t always be on Route 66. And but with GPS coordinates, those directions almost certainly will be accurate.
The app requires an iOS operating system of 3.2 or higher. It contains a hefty 48 megabytes, so older iPhones or iPod Touches might crash more while using it.
“Image Route 66″ goes for 99 cents.
Here are a few screen shots of the app in operation:
Each photo also contains a link to a website about the Route 66 attraction. Pinasco seems to defer to the Legends of America site for this information.
The biggest drawback of the app is the omissions. More than 200 photos sounds like a lot. But Pinasco left off large chunks of Missouri and Oklahoma in the app, including POPS, Wagon Wheel Motel, Munger Moss Motel, Rock Cafe, and the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.
So “Image Route 66″ might be good in a pinch during your road trip or planning your journey, but don’t be surprised if you find out later that you missed something really good if you rely on it alone.
For now, the best Route 66 app for the iPhone and iTouch remains Kelly Ludwig’s “Road Trip 66,” which costs more at $3.99, but it’s much, much more inclusive of the Mother Road’s attractions. And Ludwig tells me she’s developing an app for the iPad as well.
Show-Me Missouri magazine creates a tourism app August 27, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Maps, Web sites.add a comment
Show-Me Missouri, a travel magazine, this week released a Show-Me Missouri travel app for Apple iPhones, iTouches and iPads.
According to the Apple app store, the application contains more than 200 entries and 1,000 photographs. It costs $2.99, and updates are free. The app is compatible with iOS systems of 3.0 and up.
And the app includes Route 66 as one of the categories that users can explore.
The Daily Dunklin Democrat spoke with Show-Me Missouri Publisher Gary Figgins about the app:
The Show-Me Missouri app project has been more than a year in the making, and it is a work-in-progress, as additional entires are already being compiled for future updates, said Figgins. The Show-Me Missouri app is not an electronic version of the quarterly full-color travel magazine, but is, instead, a travel assistant that provides in-depth information on a wide range of attractions and destinations in the state. [...] Each listing includes an in-depth description, admission cost and hours. Users can visit attraction websites and call for more information, all from within the app.
Attractions are cross-referenced in 17 different categories: Art & Architecture, Caves, Child Friendly, Civil War, Distinctly Missouri, Famous Faces, Fun On The Water, Great Photo Ops, Highway 36, Historic Places, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Museums, Naturally Missouri, Route 66, State/National Parks and Theme Parks & Zoos. The listings can be sorted by name, distance from current location, cost and region. With iPhone or iPad “Location Services” activated, directions can be generated for each listing using the internal map on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Somewhat different from a regular GPS, “lesser-known” attractions without actual street addresses are plotted on the device’s map, allowing directions to be generated even without an address.
Here are a couple of screen shots from the app:
Using the app, I saw less than two dozen attractions listed for Route 66. A lot of restaurants and motels are left off, although the Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q in Cuba and the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon made the cut.
Sadly, the marvelously restored Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba was omitted. And the app includes an embarrassing photo — a car driving across the Meramec River Bridge at Route 66 State Park, a feat which is no longer possible since the closing of the bridge in 2009.
It’s not a bad app for someone seeking major attractions or side trips from the Mother Road. And don’t be surprised if state tourism agencies and other big-time travel magazines get into the act.
But better travel apps exist out there for roadies, include Roadside America’s, River Pilot’s Route 66 Attractions app for Garmin GPS, and Kelly Ludwig’s Road Trip 66.
Wagon Wheel Motel gives more details on anniversary gala August 5, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Events, Maps, Motels, Preservation.add a comment
Connie Echols, owner of the historic Wagon Wheel Motel on Route 66 in Cuba, Mo., has provided more details on its 75th anniversary celebration set for Aug. 20-21.
From the news release:
Now Echols is ready to celebrate the history of the Wagon Wheel with an Open House and Celebration with a 1930s Bonnie and Clyde theme. Car Clubs have been invited to bring cars of the era to the two-day event that begins with lunch on Saturday, August 20. Vintage dress is encouraged if you would like to get with the spirit of the event.
During the two-day Open House Celebration there will be room tours, games, food, music, book signings by Route 66 enthusiast Joe Sonderman and Wagon Wheel historian Riva Echols, and an explanation of the Route 66 GPS program by its creator River Pilot. Employees of the Wagon Wheel and families associated with the Wagon Wheel are invited to meet and reminisce on Sunday afternoon. There may be a few other surprises in store for attendees.
“It’s been a long journey getting the Wagon Wheel Motel and Connie’s Shoppe to this point,” stated Echols. Now it’s time to share the results with friends, family, and the Route 66 community. I’m anxious to show off all the progress that we have made and to have a good time.”
The motel, which recently finished a long and extensive renovation, also renting rooms at the 1930s price of $3.50 a night for the event, along with similarly priced food.
The schedule for the gala is as follows:
- Saturday, 1-3 p.m. — Wagon Wheel Motel room tours
- Saturday, 2-6 p.m. — Wine tastings.
- Saturday, all day — Croquet and horseshoe contests
- Saturday, 8 p.m. — Live music.
- Sunday, 11 a.m. — Book-signing by author Joe Sonderman
- Sunday, 1-3 p.m. — Wagon Wheel Motel room tours.
- Sunday, 1 p.m. — Book-signing by “The Wagon Wheel on Route 66″ author Riva Echols.
- Sunday, 2-4 p.m. — Wine tastings.
- Sunday, 2 p.m. — Croquet tournament.
Book review: “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” July 26, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Maps, Road trips.add a comment
You can’t accuse Drew Knowles of resting on his laurels with the fourth, “turbocharged” edition of his “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” (456 pages, $19.95, softcover, Santa Monica Press, e-book available).
In fact, so many good changes have been made since Knowles published his first volume in 2002, you could argue that the book has become almost indispensable:
— The fourth edition has added 70 thumbnail maps of various Route 66 alignments and points of interest, making the book even more useful. It also contains brief driving directions.
— The new book contains 350 black-and-white photos.
— Knowles has significantly updated and added material. The first book contained just 240 pages. The third edition contained 384 pages. With this volume, he’s nearly doubled the page count from a decade ago and by nearly 20 percent from the previous edition.
In short, the “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” has become a superb guide to hundreds of architectural marvels, roadside oddities, museums, natural wonders, tourist traps, and historic businesses — not only along the Mother Road, but on side trips within an hour’s drive or so.
With facts arranged from Route 66′s eastern start in Chicago to the end at Santa Monica, the book also is loaded with oddball trivia and obscure attractions that may surprise even a seasoned roadie.
For instance, did you know about Nancy Ballhagen’s Puzzles, just a few miles east of Lebanon, Mo.? It stocks thousands of puzzles, including a 24,000-piece behemoth that measures 14 feet across when assembled.
Did you know a tiny crossroads town of Benonine, Texas, existed just west of the Oklahoma-Texas state line? Did you know about Manila or Hibbard in Arizona? All of those towns once appeared on atlases 50 years ago.
Because Knowles has a lot of material to cover, many of his descriptions are necessarily lean. But when he can elaborate, his writing shines. Here’s his description of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis:
The building itself is an important landmark, but the crucial thing is that here is a business that still believes in the older values of quality product and personal service. They’ve never “sold out” for a fast buck, and their adoring public appreciates it. Their list of mouth-watering topping is printed right on the side of the building to stoke your anticipation. Stop by some morning before opening time and watch the people begin to flock from all over. In no time at all, the place will be mobbed, and it happens virtually every day. And check to see if there’s still a mannequin peering out from one of the upstairs windows.
And here’s advice about traveling Route 66 in the Lone Star State:
You might notice during your time in the Texas panhandle that people are rather neighborly around here. Make eye contact with passing drivers and you’ll find them giving you “The Wave”: the fingers on the hand atop the steering wheel will suddenly spring upward into a sort of peacock spread that means “howdy.” Please learn to duplicate this maneuver so as not to appear out of place.
I sometimes wished the book contained more space for such detail and dry humor.
A few errors are bound to occur in this sprawling book. One is a reference to Terry Wrinkle operating the resurrected Wrink’s Market in Lebanon, Mo.; Terry closed Wrink’s again more than two years ago. Another is the entry about the Exotic World Burlesque Museum and Hall of Fame operating near Helendale, Calif. Exotic World packed up and moved to Las Vegas in 2006. Still, given the volume of material, Knowles’ batting average remains impressively high.
Those who read e-books will be pleased to know the new “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” is available in a Kindle edition (no Nook version is available). The third edition of Knowles’ book has been perched near the top of the Kindle best-seller list for Route 66-related books for many months.
Knowles’ publisher said e-book sales of the third edition of Knowles’ book were just 1 to 2 percent of the total a year ago. Now it’s 10 to 15 percent. Even roadies are catching on to the Kindle craze.
Highly recommended.
Geocache goof continues to reverberate April 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Highways, Maps.2 comments
You may remember a few weeks ago the story about how the Nevada Department of Transportation, citing dubious safety reasons, abruptly removed hundreds of geocaches along the Extraterrestrial Highway.
Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Adrienne Packer today posted a follow-up on that story. In short, she found no shortage of geocache fans who proclaimed they would skip Nevada and instead choose California — and Route 66 — for their activities.
That included Ed Yohn, from Lancaster, Pa.:
“The bright side for Nevada is that we are still flying into Las Vegas and renting a vehicle. Granted, once the tires roll, they won’t stop until California. If the E.T. highway trail is ever reinstated, we’ll be back.”
You get the picture. These notes, which are a fraction of those I received after writing about the caches being taken away, definitely demonstrate how angry these people are and how much money our rural communities might be losing out on.
The transportation division has requested legal advice from the attorney general’s office on the placement of caches off the highway in the desert land, some of which is public and some of which is the transportation department’s right of way.
Transportation officials said they have yet to receive a response.
Packer quoted seven geocachers in her story, and all said they would snub Nevada because of the geocaches’ removal. And, remember, she says that is “a fraction” of the comments she received. At minimum, we’re talking probably thousands of tourism dollars lost — at a time when Nevada’s economy is struggling — because of the agency’s impulsive decision.
And the dithering by the state attorney general’s office isn’t helping, either. Summer tourism season lurks just weeks away.
Website shows Route 66 alignments on Google Maps March 18, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Maps, Web sites.2 comments
Rick Martin of Yukon, Okla., has launched a website that incorporates Google Maps and overlays it with color-coded markings to designate various alignments of Route 66.
Route66map (screen shot of the section of Bridgeport, Okla., is above) shows the oldest alignments in red. Brown is for 1930s to ’50s alignments. Green is for ’50s and ’60s alignments. Blue stands for a later non-interstate section. And black signifies non-Route 66 sections used to connect noncontiguous Route 66 alignments.
Martin wrote on the site:
The lines were drawn using DeLorme Topo maps and then converted over to .KML format. So some of the lines may not be exactly on the road due to the differences in the two data sets of the maps. They should be “close enough” to figure out what road was intended.
In the short time I used the website, I liked its usefulness, especially with its zooming capability and the option of satellite images. I could easily see roadies use the site with on smartphones or with an iPad’s 3G connection.
The site also contains Google Maps waypoints for Route 66 motels, restaurants, historical landmarks, and notes on roads and bridges. Martin’s maps aren’t all-inclusive, but he tells you how to edit the maps to add your own favorite places.
Martin boasts several connections to Route 66. His father owned Martin’s Motel in Ash Fork, Ariz. Martin grew up in Los Angeles, and frequently traveled the Mother Road to visit grandparents in Oklahoma. He and his wife also are avid global-positioning systems buffs, and have used that GPS experience to help build the website.
A geocache of bad publicity March 13, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Highways, Maps, Motels, Restaurants, Web sites.5 comments
The Nevada Department of Transportation, citing highway safety concerns, removed an estimated 1,000 geocache locations along the Extraterrestrial Highway about two weeks ago, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Adrienne Packer.
The agency’s action has irked geocache fans and the small Nevada towns, hotels and restaurants who depended on their business during the tourism off-season. The geocachers vow to snub Nevada and explore Route 66 instead.
First, an explanation of geocaching, from the folks at Geocaching.com:
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.
Packer wondered whether the loss of the geocache locations in that region of Nevada made a financial impact. Apparently it has:
Well, last winter Connie West, co-owner of Little A’Le’Inn in Rachel, was preparing to shutter her 10-room motel and RV park when convoys of geocachers showed up week after week. She decided not to lay off her housekeeper and hold on to the entire kitchen staff.
“They don’t come in bunches of one. They come in bunches. Bunches,” West said. “They came from Australia, Austria, England because the highway is considered a ‘power cache.’ ” [...]
As of March 1, more than 7,000 geocachers had logged their names on the sheet marking the first treasure site along the highway. [...]
The impact of the transportation agency’s recent decision to remove the caches has been devastating.
“For the first time in the history of our business, our rooms were booked all winter long,” West said. “Since they removed the caches, we have had every single one of them cancel. They’re not going to come here anymore. All that revenue is going to California.”
NDOT says safety hazards are the reason it removed the geocaches.
Michelle Booth, spokeswoman for the agency, said the caches are hidden right off the shoulder of the highway or even on top of road signs or guard rails.
“People are parking where there isn’t a shoulder,” Booth said. “They’re going 2 mph on a 70 mph highway.” [...]
“They’re plowing snow, they can’t see and all of the sudden there is a car parked,” Booth said. “It creates a safety hazard.”
There had to be a better way for NDOT to handle it than this public-relations disaster. Perhaps the agency could have contacted the geocachers and asked them to move the caches to a safer location. Perhaps they could have urged cache hunters to be more considerate and cautious to other motorists.
But this unilateral action by the agency angers many and pleases few.
According to Geocaching.com, the number of geocaches with “Route 66″ in their name totals almost 1,000. Many, many more are hidden along the Mother Road. Let Nevada’s case be a cautionary tale to states in Route 66 of being penny-wise in safety and pound-foolish in hospitality.