Don't try this at home, kids. This fellow decides to test his four-wheel drive jeep on the boulders and lava fields around Amboy Crater, just off Route 66 near Amboy, Calif. https://youtu.be/ilKQRG7P1K8 If anyone needs to test-drive a new 4WD vehicle or check the performance of a new Mars Rover design, you could do a … Continue reading Off-roading near Route 66
Category: Attractions
Berwyn’s Spindle sculpture may be revived on Route 66
The Spindle, a long-celebrated sculpture at a shopping plaza in Berwyn, Ill., that was taken down in 2008, may return to the city at its Route 66 museum, reported Berwyn Life. The Spindle, which featured eight cars impaled on a 50-foot spike, stood at Cermak Plaza in Berwyn for nearly 20 years. Dustin Shuler's creation … Continue reading Berwyn’s Spindle sculpture may be revived on Route 66
Wilmington will buy buffalo sculpture for Route 66
The Chamber of Commerce in Wilmington, Ill., is buying a buffalo sculpture from a local folk artist's estate and may eventually install it on Route 66, reported the The Free Press of Wilmington. Noted folk artist Jack Barker of Essex, Ill., died on May 16. His family is planning to sell his unique artwork at … Continue reading Wilmington will buy buffalo sculpture for Route 66
Music straight from the barn
I bet you didn't know the historic Round Barn of Arcadia, Okla., hosts bluegrass music from noon to 6 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month. If you're there, you might hear music by the likes of Burlap Tuxedo. https://youtu.be/ONJzIhvJSqg The loft of the Round Barn makes it ideal for acoustic musicians. The round … Continue reading Music straight from the barn
A mountain will rise north of Galena
The landscape near old Route 66 north of Galena, Kan., probably will see a significant change by fall of 2013 -- a 40-foot-tall hill in the wake of the cleanup of a closed smelting plant. According to a plan by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment unveiled Aug. 3, the agency will clean up … Continue reading A mountain will rise north of Galena
Route 66 town adds charging station for electric cars
The small Route 66 town of Atlanta, Ill., has added a charging station for electric vehicles just a half-block off old Route 66, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. Bill Thomas, a director for the Atlanta Betterment Fund economic development group, compared the adding of a charging station to gas stations before the Route 66 era began … Continue reading Route 66 town adds charging station for electric cars
A gift that keeps giving
In an effort to boost tourism in Kingman, Ariz., roadie Jim Hinckley and several city officials assembled a Route 66-themed gift basket worth $600 to be given away through 66: The Mother Road, an Internet-only magazine. The Kingman Daily Miner reported: Contents include a two-night stay at the El Trovatore Motel, gift certificates to local … Continue reading A gift that keeps giving
The nights of New Mexico
Skylights - A Timelapse Film from Knate Myers on Vimeo. I, too, have witnessed nights such as the ones shown by photographer Knate Myers, mostly in the nearly deserted Route 66 hamlets of Cuervo, Montoya, and Glenrio. (Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)
Pontiac continues its tourism surge
The focus has been on the Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., in recent stories about the uncommonly strong tourism that Illinois saw in 2011. But this excerpt in a new story by the Pontiac Daily Leader got my attention: Locally, the city of Pontiac last year experienced a 40 percent increase in the number … Continue reading Pontiac continues its tourism surge
Radio series explores eastern Oklahoma’s Mother Road
In the few weeks, KRPS, a public radio station in Pittsburg, Kan., produced a series of short stories about Route 66 in eastern Oklahoma. You can hear them here. The Hogue House, a Sears home, in Chelsea, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-7.mp3] Afton Station in Afton, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-6.mp3] Totem Pole Park near Foyil, Okla. [audio https://www.krps.org/archive/r66-4.mp3] Hammett House restaurant … Continue reading Radio series explores eastern Oklahoma’s Mother Road