I’ve never met David Wickline that I can recall. Many other roadies haven’t, either. But Wickline’s stature among Route 66 aficionados has skyrocketed in recent weeks.
That’s due to the recent publication of his softcover book, “Images of 66,” which contains a staggering 386 pages and thousands of color photos of sights along the Mother Road.
“Images of 66” is the most comprehensive collection of Route 66 images ever published, period. Considering that there is no shortage of heavily illustrated Route 66 books out there, that says something.
Here are sample pages from Wickline’s site to give you an idea what I’m talking about. These two pages contain a total of 11 photographs. The whole book is like that. It’s packed.
Wickline’s east-to-west photo tour of the Mother Road isn’t just “drive-by shooting.” He traverses the main alignments of Route 66, and he also explores lesser-known segments such as the Ozark Trail, the Ghost Bridge and the infamously muddy Jericho Gap, to name a few. Even a hard-core roadologist like Jim Ross praised Wickline’s work.
And Wickline deserves a Route 66 badge of honor for driving the treacherous, hair-raising La Bajada Hill and its two dozen or so switchbacks. I consider myself a devoted roadie, but I never would be that brave.
Wickline’s text with the photos is necessarily spare, but no less valuable. If a Route 66 business is still operating, it’s nearly certain he’ll have its phone number. That alone makes the book valuable.
A trip to Tulsa in 1999 ignited Wickline’s interest in the road. Since then, he’s traveled end-to-end on the Mother Road six times. He’s already planning a second volume of “Images of 66.” And next year, he plans to open a Roadhouse 66 Bar & Grill in his native Ohio, which will be festooned with his signs and memorabilia. The book says that one of the signs will be from the 66 Courts in Groom, Texas, which he rescued when the dilapidated motel was razed.
“Images of 66” contains a few errors and blurry photos here and there (a production problem, perhaps?). But the book is obviously such a labor of love and so comprehensive that these relatively minor criticisms seem like nitpicking. And at $29.99, it’s a bargain for a thick book that’s so loaded with color images.
Don’t look for “Images of 66” on Amazon.com. You can order it directly from Wickline. Or you can buy it from this ever-growing list of Route 66 merchants. In fact, Wickline is traveling the road through September, distributing the book to businesses that can benefit from its sales.
Put “Images of 66” on your “must-buy” list. It’s indispensable.
As the owner of Kozy Corner Trailer Park, home of GIGANTICUS Headicus, in Antares Point, Arizona, I was honored to be in David Wicklines book.(Page 319). It was quite a surprise when I was flipping through and saw our A-frame! The only thing that he missed was our phone #, which is (928)681-4298. I would like to thank Mr. Wickline for doing such a great job with this book and wish him and every other business owner on Route 66 great success!
We just returned from a vacation following about half of Route 66. We bought “Images of 66” at the Powerhouse in Kingman, AZ. I can’t tell you how helpful it was. We were able to locate and follow some of the unused but still drivable segments of the Route, which was wonderful. We also were able to decide which towns we should stop in on our photo tour, and which we could save until next time.
I can’t praise this book and the author enough. We looked through lots of other books first, but “Images of 66” outdid them all.
I’m blogging the trip, which also included a trip to Las Vegas to visit our son, if you’d like to see. route66vegastrip.blogspot.com
I grew up in Tucumcari, NM, so “Images of 66” brought back many memories. I think I was 19 when I worked for Pearl Barnett at the Ranch House Cafe, pictured on page 204 ~ a lifetime ago!
I would like to make a correction regarding the Rio Pecos Ranch Truck Terminal building on page 211, described as dating from 1955 and located in Santa Rosa, tho, While the date is probably correct, this building was originally the station part of a much larger complex with a large restaurant, motel and a few trailer house spaces out back ~ and located about 12 miles east of Santa Rosa. I know this as fact, because my (then) husband and another “ranch hand” ran the cafe for sevaral months in early 1960. (I also worked in the cafe.) The station and motel were managed by a man named Marvin Sloan, and his wife ~ don’t recall her name. I do remember they had to haul water for the business from Santa Rosa about every other day!
Unfortunately, the partner in the cafe absconded with all the funds and meat from the freezer in the middle of the night, and “we” were out of business. We moved to the old Longhorn Ranch, east of Moriarty, (page 216), where my husband tended bar for a short time, then began cooking at Blackie’s, a popular restaurant for many years in Moriarity. We lived there when my oldest son had his first birthday in Sept. 1960.
Kudos to David Wickline for an excellent job in preserving these images of a bygone day!
Dorothy Q.