Notes from the road

A few things to clear off my plate:

— Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., told me today that her restaurant would be closed for the July 4 holiday. Roadies who wish to go to their favorite Route 66 hangout on that day are advised to call ahead to make sure it’s open.

— Here are good articles from the Colorado River Weekender about the Route 66 town of Oatman, Ariz., and its annual July 4 festivities, including a contest to fry an egg using the power of the sun.

— Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn of the Huffington Post tells how he would map out a road trip around great hot-dog restaurants. His list includes the Cozy Dog Drive-In on Route 66 in Springfield, Ill.

— Rory Schepisi, owner of Boot Hill Saloon and Grill in Vega, Texas, won the recent Celebrity Chef Smackdown against Tre Wilcox at the Southwest Food Service Expo in Dallas. Schepisi said on a Facebook posting that her winning dish was a “Cajun Campfire, which is a 16 oz ribeye cooked on a cedar shingle topped with crawfish etoufee, served with a 3 herb pancko crusted corn and smoked gouda maple bacon mac n cheese.” Schepisi also has just opened another offshoot business at Boot Hill, called Rorsch Catering.

— The Grill has been resurrected in Groom, Texas, according to the latest newsletter of the Texas Old Route 66 Association. Karen Brown is the new owner of the longtime Route 66 restaurant. A previous owner was Ruby Denton, who ran The Grill for 44 years.

— David J. Schwartz is holding an exhibit of his “Pics on Route 66: A Photographic Journey Down the Mother Road” at the Michael Stefan Salon in Willoughby, Ohio, through Aug. 1. If you’d like to meet Schwartz, there will be an artist’s reception there from 6 to 8 p.m. on July 11. Many of the photos from the exhibit can be seen here.

— Finally, the Sears Tower in Chicago is set to open its newest, gut-churning attraction on Thursday: The Ledge, which allows you to look straight down 1,353 feet to the street below via an enclosed glass box that juts out a few feet from the skyscraper. The Sears Tower is near the official eastern terminus of Route 66.

The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune both have good stories and photos. And here’s a video by the Tribune, which made me actually gasp a couple of times:

Move over, Grand Canyon Skywalk.