If y'all are attending the National Preservation Conference in Tulsa next week, here's a video that gives you a taste of the Art Deco architecture that's all over the city. The video contains a number of Route 66 sites, and briefly includes "Route 66: The Mother Road" author Michael Wallis. The video was produced by … Continue reading Art Deco preview
Category: History
Historic chili house changing owners
Joe Rogers’ Original Recipe Chili Parlor, aka The Den, of Springfield, Ill., is set to gain new owners next month, reports the Springfield Journal-Register. Longtime customers Ric and Rose Hamilton are buying the restaurant from Marianne Rogers, daughter of the restaurant's founder. The Hamiltons pledge to not change a thing. Rogers will start a new … Continue reading Historic chili house changing owners
Notes from the road
Actor Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson in the 2006 Disney-Pixar movie "Cars," died over the weekend. I wanted to contact Route 66 author Michael Wallis, who played the Sheriff and served as a technical adviser in the film, about it but was out of town. Wallis confirmed to me Tuesday that he indeed had … Continue reading Notes from the road
A hike up Tucumcari Mountain
Tucumcari Mountain, near Tucumcari, N.M., has long been one of the Mother Road's most-recognized natural landmarks. It was first mentioned in journals in the 1700s, and can be seen for miles from Route 66 and Interstate 40. For the weary traveler looking forward to a night's sleep in Tucumcari, the sight of the mountain has … Continue reading A hike up Tucumcari Mountain
History of the Yellowhorse empire
New American Media has an exceptional story about the history of the Yellowhorse Indian trading posts along the Arizona-New Mexico border on Route 66. It's a story of bootlegging, bamboozlement and good old-fashioned gimmickry to make a buck. And those stores are still going strong.
Notes from the road
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 … Continue reading Notes from the road
T for tenacious
The Western Horseman has an interesting article about the century-old T4 Cattle Co., based in the Route 66 town of Motoya, N.M. It's a fascinating story about how the ranch, now a whopping 180,000 acres, survived family tragedies, tough economic times, prairie fires and calamatous weather over the decades. It also provides a look into … Continue reading T for tenacious
Not just for reminiscing
Today, I found this story by the Southtown Star in Chicago about Route 66 historian David Clark, aka Windy City Road Warrior, and his presentation last week at the Tinley Park Public Library. Clark makes this important observation, the point of which seems overlooked through the rest of the story: "We look at Route 66 … Continue reading Not just for reminiscing
Blazing trails
Mark Muckenfuss of the Press-Enterprise has an interesting story about the history of the wagon and American Indian trails through the Mojave Desert and mountains that led to what became the Los Angeles metro area. When Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, it closely followed the Santa Fe rails through the western cities that pop … Continue reading Blazing trails
Taking the Big Texan challenge
Kevin Connolly of BBC News Magazine decides to take the 72-ounce challenge at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. As I prepared for my own attempt to consume 72oz (that's 4.5lb or just over two kilos) of beef in less than an hour - together with a prawn cocktail, a roll, salad and … Continue reading Taking the Big Texan challenge