Route 66 Magazine moves to Florida; editor stays near Mother Road

In Route 66 Magazine‘s latest issue, longtime owners Paul and Sandi Taylor said they were moving the magazine’s operations from Laughlin, Nev., to Port Richey, Fla., by early April.

In the announcement, Paul Taylor sought to reassure readers that the magazine would still adequately cover the Mother Road, despite relocating more than 1,000 miles from it:

Route 66 is a world-wide experience, and it isn’t necessary for us to be on the route (as we said when moving to Nevada) to continue publishing a magazine that stirs the restless spirit of the intrepid traveler with stories that match the nostalgia, scenic beauty, charm and emotional character that has always been a part of the Mother Road. This has been our editorial mission since we began publishing this magazine in 1993.

We will still travel Route 66, and along with our staff writers and contributing scribes, bring to you entertaining and informative stories about The Mother Road and other blue-line highways.

The move to Nevada came after the magazine was headquartered in the Route 66 town of Williams, Ariz., for years.

Replying to an e-mail that asked why the move occurred, Sandi Taylor said:

After 29 years in the desert, it’s time for a change.

This will in no way affect the magazine. We will continue to publish as we have been doing for 16 years.

This wasn’t mentioned in the announcement, but Route 66 Magazine executive editor Bob Moore is staying behind in Arizona. He explained the situation in an e-mail:

I’ve moved to Lake Havasu City, AZ, which is about the same distance from the road south, as Laughlin is north. I don’t feel the move is going to impact the travel aspects of the Road in any negative way. What you may see are even more freelance submissions from Roadies all along the Road.

My move has been completed and I’m in the process of putting everything back together. […]

I’ll still be the “Roving Editor” in Arizona while the HQ for the magazine will be in Florida. Other than re-location, nothing is going to change with the magazine. Thanks to High Speed Internet we’ll be able to handle all of the business-as-usual seamlessly (once Paul and Sandi get moved).

Moore staying in his beloved Southwest was a good move, and that alone should assuage a lot of  fears by readers.

The Taylors do indeed bankroll the magazine. But it’s my opinion that Moore is the heart and soul of it. He’s been chronicling Route 66 for over 15 years, starting with his Mother Road Journals in the early 1990s and later with his own guidebooks. He holds a lot of knowledge about the route, and the magazine gains credibility with him at the helm.

So Route 66 Magazine should be fine, as long as Bob Moore remains involved, and resides close to the Main Street of America.

(Hat tip to Mike Ward)