President signs bill to reauthorize Route 66 program

About 2 p.m. CST today, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill that contained a measure to  reauthorize the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for another 10 years. The word came over in the past hour from wire services and an elated e-mail from Michael Romero Taylor, a longtime co-director of the Route 66 … Continue reading President signs bill to reauthorize Route 66 program

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

Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge that carried old Route 66 from Madison, Ill., to St. Louis gets a lot of attention from roadies and tourists. However, there also is a bridge over the Chain of Rocks Canal a couple of miles east of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The canal was built during … Continue reading Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge

New blogs on the Blogroll

In recent weeks, I've taken note of promising new blogs, or blogs that I've overlooked, that should be good resources for the roadie in all of us. Here are new additions to the Blogroll, located in the upper right side of the home page: -- Alan Dunn's Mrzip66 blog, which is subtitled "Road Blogging Route … Continue reading New blogs on the Blogroll

Preview of mural event in Pontiac

The Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., is hosting a four-day mural festival in June, and the city was offered a preview earlier this week. Jane Diaz of Diaz Sign Art showed a few artist's renderings of the murals that will be created during the Walldogs' "Chief City Runs with the Dogs" event, reported the … Continue reading Preview of mural event in Pontiac

Road-trip resurgence

The Chicago Tribune is reporting what I've suspected: that more families are taking to the road for their destinations instead of flying. It's a resurgence fed by cheaper gas, childhood memories and a general reluctance to splurge by people who are fearful for their jobs, travel analysts said. Others are fed up with air travel, … Continue reading Road-trip resurgence

Snowstorm hammers Route 66’s midsection

Late March is usually a safe time of the year to travel old Route 66, barring a thunderstorm or two. Not this year.  There are currently blizzard warnings or winter storm warnings from central New Mexico, the entire Texas Panhandle to most of western and central Oklahoma. According to the Quay County Sun, U.S. 54 … Continue reading Snowstorm hammers Route 66’s midsection

Route 66 Pulse may have a heartbeat

I've received word in recent days that an effort is being made to revive the Route 66 Pulse newspaper, which ceased publication August 2008 after a little more than two years. Bob "Crocodile" Lile, president of the Texas Old Route 66 Association; and Jim Conkle, executive director of the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation, are … Continue reading Route 66 Pulse may have a heartbeat

House passes bill that would renew Route 66 program

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday easily approved the Omnibus Lands Bill that contains a measure that would reauthorize the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for another 10 years. The House passed it by a 285-140 tally. The bill had been approved by the Senate 77-20 last week. The lands bill now goes to … Continue reading House passes bill that would renew Route 66 program

The Wolf rises again

The Wolf, which is the nickname for the 70-year-old grill at the Rock Cafe, is again ready to fry hamburgers and other food at the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla. You can read here on Rock Cafe owner Dawn Welch's blog about how the grill survived the devastating May 2008 fire and how the appliance … Continue reading The Wolf rises again