We've known for months that the annual International Route 66 Festival in 2012 would be hosted in Victorville, Calif. In recent days, more details have emerged about the Aug. 9-12 event. A news release from the festival contained this: The festival will feature a rally, a classic car show, daily entertainment, the Taste of 66, … Continue reading More details about Victorville festival trickle out
Month: January 2012
This is good to see
Something I wasn't sure we'd see again ... Harley and Annabelle Russell recently performing in their home base of Erick, Okla. (Warning: the video contains Harley's typically bawdy humor ... another good sign, actually). https://youtu.be/VB2Jmk0CIvo For those new to Route 66 News, Annabelle was diagnosed with ovarian cancer about a year ago. She endured major … Continue reading This is good to see
A Route 66 app that takes you there … with limits
Italian photographer Carlo Pinasco recently launched an application, "Image Route 66," for iPads, iTouches, and iPhones that contains more than 200 high-resolution images from a Route 66 road trip he took in May. With it, you can take a virtual trip down the Mother Road. But the most intriguing part of the app is each photograph … Continue reading A Route 66 app that takes you there … with limits
Boot Hill restaurant put up for sale
The owner of the Boot Hill Saloon & Grill in Vega, Texas, has put the restaurant up for sale. However, Boot Hill will continue operating until it finds a buyer. Boot Hill chef and owner Rory Schepisi, known for her reality television roles in CMT's "Popularity Contest" and "The Next Food Network Star," has an … Continue reading Boot Hill restaurant put up for sale
“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”
Cage the Elephant, an up-and-coming rock band from Bowling Green, Ky., used a lot of footage from Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, for this music video: https://youtu.be/5t99bpilCKw
A visit to Bottletree Ranch
Here's a good new video of one of the must-stops on Route 66 -- Elmer Long's Bottletree Ranch near Oro Grande, Calif. https://youtu.be/gh0wWifh5wQ There's nothing quite like it in the world, much less the Mother Road.
The Nat will become an antique mall
The Nat Ballroom, a legendary former nightclub on Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas, will be converted into an antique mall that perhaps will eventually include a cafe and movie screen, reported the Amarillo Globe-News today. The previous tenant's lease ended in December after nine years. Kasey Robinson, a local business owner, promptly picked up the … Continue reading The Nat will become an antique mall
Another town sees surge of Route 66 tourism
It isn't just Pontiac, Ill., seeing a big increase in Route 66 tourism in recent years. According to an article today in the Springfield State Journal-Register, the small town of Atlanta, Ill., is experiencing a surge, too. From the newspaper: In Atlanta, sales tax revenue jumped 43 percent last year during the peak tourism season … Continue reading Another town sees surge of Route 66 tourism
Rock Cafe owner appears in Chickasaw Nation spot
A few months ago, Dawn Welch, owner of the Rock Cafe on historic Route 66 in Stroud, Okla., said she'd been interviewed for a commercial spot by the Chickasaw Nation. Here it is: UPDATE: I forgot about this blog spot, in which Dawn talks about her Native American lineage. (Hat tip: Kathy Anderson)
Smithsonian magazine details Route 66’s revival
David Lamb of Smithsonian magazine has written an excellent article about Route 66's abandonment by the U.S. highway system and the Mother Road's eventual revival. It's in the February issue, but you can read it online here. The article focuses on Arizona -- Angel Delgadillo and the small Route 66 town of Seligman, La Posada … Continue reading Smithsonian magazine details Route 66’s revival