Snow cone

Rick Shalander of Whites Creek, Tenn., who's been building his own version of one of the cabins from the Cozy Cone Motel in the movie "Cars," sent me this photo: Incidentally, the title of Shalander's e-mail was "Snow cone." 🙂 It's a nice likeness of a Cozy Cone cabin. Here's another photo for reference:

Hot-rod ambassador Boyd Coddington dies

Boyd Coddington, star of the "American Hot Rod" TV show and hot-rod ambassador, died at age 63 on Tuesday morning. The cause of death wasn't disclosed. However, Edmunds.com revealed that Coddington had been hospitalized since January after a fall at his home. Obituaries by the New York Times and Popular Hot Rodding provide a good … Continue reading Hot-rod ambassador Boyd Coddington dies

Route 66 town tries to grant a final wish

Shirley Trueman greeted customers for a decade at the Bagdad Cafe on Route 66 in Newberry Springs, Calif., while her husband Bud was a chef there. The restaurant became internationally famous because of a 1988 German film by the same name. Now, the Desert Dispatch in nearby Barstow is reporting that Trueman is dying of … Continue reading Route 66 town tries to grant a final wish

Get out the vote

Rich Henry of Henry's Rabbit Ranch on Route 66 in Staunton, Ill., has entered a photo of him and his favorite pet rabbit, Montana, to the United States Humane Society's Spay Day USA online photo contest. I just voted myself. You go here, and have to click on the voting button twice for a window … Continue reading Get out the vote

Book review: “Time of Triumph”

"Time of Triumph" helps answer one question -- what happened to Ron Chavez when his famed Club Cafe in Santa Rosa, N.M., closed? Club Cafe was best-known for its smiling "Fat Man" logo on Route 66 billboards in New Mexico. Chavez's storytelling was nearly as praised as his down-home New Mexican cooking, and his restaurant … Continue reading Book review: “Time of Triumph”

History of the “Patel motels”

Although there is a link to the Route 66 Pulse newspaper on the side of this site (and vice versa), I don't often link to their stories because there's a lot of redundancy there. Route 66 News often reports news on the Mother Road first because the Internet allows nearly instantaneous coverage; Route 66 Pulse … Continue reading History of the “Patel motels”

The forgotten graveyards of Route 66

Ron Paschall, writing for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., makes an impassioned plea that someone, anyone help preserve the long-forgotten graveyards along Route 66 in the Mojave Desert. The Mother Road's cemeteries lay in a state of disrepair. Located on lonely hillsides, out of sight of the few cars that still travel the … Continue reading The forgotten graveyards of Route 66

A look at the Gay Parita station

KOLR-TV in Springfield, Mo., has a story about Gary Turner's re-creation of the Gay Parita gas station on old Route 66 west of Springfield in a settlement called Paris Springs. Here are more photos of Gay Parita. There's a video link with the story. But buried in the story is this item that's not on … Continue reading A look at the Gay Parita station

His own Cozy Cone

Rick Shalander of Whites Creek, Tenn., liked the "Cars" movie and decided to re-create one of the Cozy Cone Motel cabins in the film. He's going to use it as a place to park his motorcycle. He's building it out of of salvaged materials, including a motor from a hospital bed that will be used … Continue reading His own Cozy Cone

A visit to Meteor City

A videographer checks out Meteor City in Arizona, which features what purportedly is the world's longest map of Route 66. There's another long map of 66 in Winslow, Ariz. The Meteor City map was painted originally by Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire, but it was repainted some years later. You can see Waldmire's version here.