Two Tucumcari motels earn TripAdvisor awards January 16, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Web sites.3 comments
Not just one, but two motels in the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., were given 2013 Traveler’s Choice Awards by TripAdvisor.com for being rated among the top 25 bargain hotels in the United States.
The Blue Swallow Motel was ranked No. 3 in its category, and the Motel Safari was No. 20. Both motels sit along historic Route 66. In addition to being hospitable, both motels are known for their attention to their historical details.
The average night’s stay for a “bargain” rate motel in TripAdvisor’s awards cost $152. Both the Blue Swallow and Motel Safari are considerably less than that.
TripAdvisor said about the 11th annual awards:
TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions covering more than 650,000 hotels and collected in a single year from travelers around the world.
Go here to see the Blue Swallow’s TripAdvisor listing; Motel Safari’s listing is here.
Other noteworthy awards for businesses in Route 66 towns (but not on the Mother Road itself) included the Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe, N.M., which was No. 1 in the small hotels category. Among bed-and-breakfasts in the U.S., Casa Cuma Bed & Breakfast in Santa Fe was No. 11. Among the top 25 U.S. hotels, Peninsula Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills, Calif., was No. 12, the Waldorf Astoria Chicago was No. 13, and Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago was No. 20.
Girl & The Goat, less than a mile north of Route 66 in Chicago, was among travelers’ top restaurants. Chicago and Los Angeles, which bookend Route 66, were named among the top destinations worldwide.
A look under the hood at Route 66 News January 1, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Web sites.3 comments
About a year ago, I moved Route 66 News from WordPress.com to a self-hosted setup. This gave me a lot more freedom to set up advertising and other controls for the website.
Being self-hosted also gave me access to a lot more data about who was visiting the website, courtesy of AWStats. Reviewing the information for 2012, I decided to offer some of these results to others, especially to those in tourism offices who wish to market the Mother Road to prospective tourists.
Some of the findings:
— The top 25 countries from where Route 66 News readers came:
- United States (about 75 percent of the page views)
- Great Britain
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Canada
- France
- European country (EU)
- Russia
- Sweden
- China
- Belgium
- Japan
- Ukraine
- Australia
- Ireland
- Norway
- Spain
- Brazil
- Poland
- Italy
- Israel
- Switzerland
- Czech Republic
- India
- Romania
Users from more than 180 countries visited Route 66 News in the past year.
— Total number of page views in 2012 was 2.78 million. That doesn’t count another 630,000 page views by robots, worms, and other non-human users.
— Total number of visitors was 651,000.
— The highest traffic month for page views was May, although numbers also were robust in April and July.
— During a typical 24-hour period, the busiest time for traffic was between 11 a.m. and noon.
— The busiest day of the week for page views was Monday, with Thursday not far behind.
— Average duration per visit was nearly 7 minutes.
— The “Route 66 guide to the ‘Cars’ movie” post, from back in mid-2006, remains the most popular post, with more than 86,000 page views in 2012 alone.
— Internet Explorer remains the most popular browser, but with just 29.4 percent of the share and falling. Firefox and Safari browsers are in the high teens, with Chrome coming in at 11 percent.
— The top search phrase that landed visitors to Route 66 News was “route 66 attractions,” but with only 4.3 percent of the share. The phrase “radiator springs” was No. 2 with 2.9 percent. More than 79,000 different search phrases bring people to the site.
If you have other questions about Route 66 News’ traffic data, ask in the comments section, and I’ll try to answer them.
Mobile site launched featuring historic Oklahoma Route 66 locations December 18, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Web sites.add a comment
The Oklahoma Historical Society launched a smartphone-optimized Oklahoma’s Historic Route 66 Mobile Tour website this week.
The website provides information, maps, photos, audio clips, global-positioning system alerts, and other features of 72 historic sites along Route 66 in Oklahoma.
The site was developed by OnCell, which specializes in mobile tour programs. The OnCell app can be downloaded for iPhone, iPad, and Android systems, and the Route 66 mobile tour also is available there.
The office said in a news release:
Through the SHPO’s programs, dozens of Route 66 roadbed segments, bridges, service stations, motels, cafes, and related landmarks are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Many of them continue to serve travelers, while others are vacant for now, rapidly deteriorating, or already lost to us. There are many ongoing efforts to protect our state’s Route 66 legacy and share it with visitors from around the world. Our mobile tour is designed to enhance these efforts by explaining the significance of each of these places. Museums that tell the Route 66 story are also featured in the tour.
Melvena Heisch, deputy officer at the state’s Historic Preservation Office, said in an email that brochures publicizing the mobile site were shipped Monday to Route 66 sites, including the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler, and the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, along with Route 66 communities participating in the state’s Main Street program.
Here are a few screen shots of the mobile-optimized program:
The mobile site is a bit rudimentary in spots, but works well. Best of all, it contains a lot of valuable historical information about many of Route 66′s historic sites. At the least, the site will prove useful to researchers.
The Historic Preservation Office also has a dedicated web page to a full list of the tour stops, including QR codes to the audio files. A screen shot from that page:
The main site also includes a basic state map to all the sites, and a mobile version of the basic map as well.
The mobile tour can also be accessed by calling 405-415-0626, then keying in prompts to listen to stories about selected Route 66 historic sites.
A little housekeeping September 15, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Web sites.add a comment
If you noticed slow loading times this morning, it was probably because I was making changes on the site to make it more efficient. I’m anticipating a traffic surge in the coming days, and any bit of streamlining I can bring will help.
First, I’ve closed comments to Dining, Attractions, Lodging, Events and other pages. The number of spam comments received on those pages have skyrocketed in the past week. The Akismet filter did its usual good job, but all those spammers trying to get into my site have taxed my bandwidth somewhat. So it was time to close those loopholes.
However, the pages still will be updated from time to time. If you see anything that needs to be changed on any of them, you can email me at route66news(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Second, to the suggestion of Tonya Pike, I’ve added a Google Translate button on the top of the website. This allows foreign visitors to decipher the website’s text into their native languages so they can more easily learn about Route 66.
At least count, Google Translate handles about 50 languages, so that should cover a heck of a lot of the planet. If you’re one of our foreign visitors, give it a whirl and see what you think.
A gift that keeps giving August 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Publications, Towns, Web sites.add a comment
In an effort to boost tourism in Kingman, Ariz., roadie Jim Hinckley and several city officials assembled a Route 66-themed gift basket worth $600 to be given away through 66: The Mother Road, an Internet-only magazine.
The Kingman Daily Miner reported:
Contents include a two-night stay at the El Trovatore Motel, gift certificates to local restaurants and cafés, three sets of tickets to Kingman museums, various pieces of memorabilia – including a framed Route 66 photo from the Miner’s own JC Amberlyn – a pound of coffee from Beale Street Brews and a necklace of Kingman turquoise. [...]
There’s undeveloped tourist potential all along Route 66, Hinckley said. Herds of international travelers come through here, he said. The goal is to get them to stay for a bit when they pass through.
“Our community loves to share,” Hinckley said of the basket. “Whoever wins this gets to see Kingman through the eyes of the people.” [...]
“Tourists come through here in droves,” (Councilwoman Carole Young) said. “Getting them to stop is another thing.”
John Springs, the publisher of 66: The Mother Road, told the Miner that the magazine also exists to give publicity to the Mother Road.
“If you’re a small business on Route 66, we’re going to make sure you get some exposure whether you can afford to pay for it or not,” he said. “Our goal is to help businesses out.”
In many ways, the couple has done that. The magazine is read in over 80 countries, he said, and it went from having 70 percent of advertisers getting exposure for free to 30 percent in its short lifespan. [...]
The magazine is a one-stop shop for Route 66 enthusiasts to come together digitally and learn what’s out there, he said.
“We make it easy for everybody to get up and down the road and find these places,” Springs said.
More about The Big Palooza giveaway can be found on this page:
The drawing will be Oct. 21-22 at the Wagon Wheel Motel during Cuba Fest in Cuba, Mo.
The gift basket is a terrific idea for businesses and towns seeking tourists and publicity. Kingman, in spite of a substantial population of about 30,000, tends to get overlooked by Route 66 travelers because of the ample attractions and colorful characters in tiny Seligman, Ariz. (pop. 450).
Still, Kingman is a far enough distance from Seligman, is a geographically natural overnight stop, and boasts a number of Route 66 attractions of its own. It ought to be doing better with Mother Road tourism. Perhaps the generous gift basket is a step in the right direction.
Jim Ross wins top award at Victorville Route 66 festival August 12, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Books, Events, Motels, People, Restaurants, Route 66 Associations, Web sites.6 comments
Jim Ross accepts his Will Rogers Award as presenters Dan Rice, Rick Freeland, and Michael Wallis listen.
Story and photos by Elrond Lawrence
Jim Ross, the accomplished Route 66 writer, cartographer, speaker and photographer, was honored with the 2012 Will Rogers Award at the International Route 66 Festival awards dinner Saturday at the Green Tree Inn in Victorville, Calif.
Ross, who has been exploring, mapping, photographing and writing about the Mother Road since 1990, most recently co-wrote the book “Route 66 Sightings” as well as a second, updated edition of the guidebook “Oklahoma Route 66.” He accepted the prestigious award from famed Route 66 author and actor Michael Wallis and Dan Rice, president of the California Historic Route 66 Association and owner of 66-to-Cali, on behalf of the Route 66 Alliance.
Rice explained that Ross embodies the values displayed on the Will Rogers monument near the highway’s western terminus in Santa Monica, Calif.: humorist, world traveler, and good neighbor.
“It’s easy to have two of these three qualities, but Jim personifies all three. Above all, he is a great neighbor to everyone on the road … he marches to the beat of his own drum, and he’s an ambassador who has spread the goodness of Route 66 across the globe.”
Jim Ross also received the prestigious John Steinbeck Award during the 2001 Route 66 awards banquet.
Shellee Graham and Jerry McClanahan ham it up after winning the Wallis Award with “Route 66 Sightings” co-author Jim Ross.
Ross also took the stage with “Route 66 Sightings” co-authors Jerry McClanahan and Shellee Graham as all three were presented with the Wallis Award by its namesake.
Wallis praised the individual and collective achievements of McClanahan, Graham and Ross, and said when their names were suggested for consideration, the choice was immediately clear.
McClanahan is respected and admired for his timeless Mother Road paintings as well as his “EZ66 Guide for Travelers”; he’s also a 2009 Will Rogers Award recipient.
Graham is a widely recognized Route 66 photographers — she has published two books about Route 66, and her work appears in national and international exhibits. Graham and Ross also launched the Route 66 Photographs website in 2006. Graham also won a Steinbeck Award in 2005.
Zdenek Jurasek, founder of the Czech Republic Route 66 Association, received the National Historic Route 66 Federation’s Award of Excellence.
David Knudsen, executive director and founder of the National Historic Route 66 Federation, announced the winner of the federation’s Award of Excellence: Zdenek Jurasek, president and founder of the Czech Republic Route 66 Association and a driving force behind the wave of Route 66 enthusiasm sweeping his homeland.
Zdenek was a featured speaker at the “California 50′s Dreamin’ Celebration” dinner held the previous night.
The Bobby Troup Award was presented to Kevin and Nancy Mueller, owners of the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., who took over operations in July 2011. While the Muellers were unable to attend, the award recognizes their collaborative success in the spirit of Bobby and Cynthia Troup, who together wrote the lyrics to the famed song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” Rice cited the Muellers’ success in continuing the Blue Swallow’s restoration, started by previous owners Bill Kinder and Terri Anderson, describing it as a “team effort in making Route 66 the best that it can be.”
The Andy Payne Award was given to John Delgadillo, who continues to run the landmark Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Ariz. Delgadillo was unable to attend, but presenter Rice praised his work in preserving the playful spirit of the restaurant, despite the death of his father Juan in 2004 and the sudden death of his brother Robert in 2007.
“A lot of people take the Snow Cap for granted,” Rice said. “John makes it look easy, but it’s not: Just like Andy Payne kept running and went the extra mile, John has gone the extra mile in keeping alive the SnowCap’s tradition of fun.”
“I love running my dad’s shop,” said Delgadillo, when called by Rice to announce the news. “I take it very seriously” — a statement that will undoubtedly trigger an ironic smile from anyone who’s been on the receiving end of a mustard bottle that squirts yellow string and offers of used straws and napkins.
Michael Wallis gave his annual State of the Road address at the banquet.
Wallis’ “State of the Road” address also proved to be an equally memorable highlight of the evening. Speaking on the 48th anniversary of the day he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp., he spoke about the highway’s bright future and the emerging contributions of younger Route 66 roadies while urging the Mother Road community to look beyond “their corner of the road” and reach across state lines to do what’s best for the entire highway. “What’s good for Illinois is good for Texas is good for California,” said Wallis, aiming his message at the “citizens of a linear village.”
Wallis’ address fueled an inspiring wave of optimism, spurred by a Route 66 Alliance summit that he described as “the best I’ve ever attended,” and preservation success stories taking place from Chicago to L.A.
“Tonight I feel better about Route 66 than I ever have,” the author announced in his rich baritone voice. Thinking back on the spirit of community and family that filled the Green Tree banquet room Saturday evening, it’s easy to be a believer.
A site and date for the next International Route 66 Festival remain uncertain; an announcement will be made later.
A new Route 66 website worth watching August 10, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motorcycles, Web sites.add a comment
It’s not often you see a new Route 66 website with a fresh angle to hook travelers.
However, Route66MC.com has one — it’s to attract and guide motorcyclists onto the Mother Road.
The “MC” part of the site’s URL stands for Motorcycle Club.
The website aims to provide bikers this information:
- Turn-by-turn directions both east and west.
- Biker-friendly bars, restaurants, motels, and campgrounds.
- Route 66 motorcycle shops.
- The closest motorcycle shop to each Route 66 town.
- Motorcycle rallies along Route 66.
- Route 66 casinos.
- Motorcycle clubs along Route 66.
- “A link that will allow you to tell us about biker bars, motorcycle shops, motorcycle club news, rallies and other events along Route 66, as well as the ripoffs that should be avoided.”
- Helmet and other motorcycle laws for each Route 66 state.
The fellow behind Route66MC.com is Sam Allen, an attorney now in private practice who says he’s traveled Route 66 for over 20 years. He also owned a motorcycle shop for a few years, and founded the Deacons of Deadwood Motorcycle Club in 2002.
And there’s this on his biography:
He has led a colorful life that included fighting in Madison Square Garden and publishing an article about the experience in New York Magazine. After that, he was featured in People magazine and on NBC Nightly News as New York’s boxing lawyer.
Allen said in an email he is publishing an e-book that contains helpful material about Route 66 for motorcyclists. As for his plans for the site, Allen said:
I plan to sell advertising, so hopefully it will become a profitable venture one of these days. I also hope to get feedback from foks who have businesses or along Route 66 so I can have an evolving site that stays up-to-date and has an ever-expanding database. In addition to the e-book, we are coming out with some apps for iPads and other notebook-type devices, and a GPS download.
If you’re a fan of motorcycles or the Mother Road in general, it may be advisable to bookmark this website.