The Gallup (N.M.) Independent has an article about Route 66 sights in town before members of the Society for Commercial Archeology come check them out today.
The article laments about how little is left of Route 66 sites in Gallup. But you can say that about a lot of towns — many Route 66 businesses simply died during the interstate era.
But the way I see it, Gallup is a good representative of the Mother Road. It boasts notable historic businesses, including Richardson Trading Co., the Eagle Cafe and the amazing El Rancho Hotel. Gallup also has a slew of neon signs, and the red rock formations on the city’s eastern outskirts are glorious.
In recent years, the city also has gotten a much better handle on a longtime P.R. nightmare — rampant public drunkenness by the local American Indian population. Longtime roadies tell me that Gallup was much worse in this aspect during the 1980s and early ’90s.
So Gallup, from my perspective, has a lot going for it for Route 66 travelers. At least it isn’t nearly featureless, like Edmond, Okla.
- Kathy Anderson and the late Luke Robison each were inducted into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame a few weeks ago during the Hot Rods and Hot Dogs Route 66 Festival in Clinton. Anderson was a longtime president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and has written and directed several videos about the road. Robison was honored for leading the restoration of the Arcadia Round Barn during the 1990s.
- The Oklahoma Route 66 Association will hold its Museum Cruise on Sept. 20. It starts at 9 a.m. at the Sapulpa Historical Museum and ends at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore. It includes stops at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa and meals at the Mexicali Border Cafe in Tulsa and the Hammett House in Claremore. For more information, contact the association.
- According to LA.com, the Taste of Santa Monica will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Santa Monica Pier, the symbolic end for many westbound Route 66 travelers. The event features wares by 40 restaurants. Tickets are $40 each.
- Longtime Illinois Route 66 roadies Marty and Geri Bilecki wrote an article for the Morris Daily Herald about a bunch of Brazilian motorcycle riders getting their kicks.
- A writer for Trailer Life magazine had a typically memorable encounter with Harley and Annabelle Russell of the Sandhills Curiosity Shop in Erick, Okla. The writer asked Harley what keeps him going. His answer: “All we want is for people to have an experience here that they can get nowhere else on the planet. And that’s it.” I’m sure the Russells are succeeding in that endeavor.