Today, I received a message in the mail from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Here's what it said: Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Great Rivers Greenway District Cordially invite you to the Dedication Ceremony for the McKinley Bridge and the opening of The Chamber of Commerce … Continue reading You’re invited
A ‘Hero’ in Amboy
I heard a few days ago that the video for Enrique Iglesias' hit song "Hero" was shot in the Route 66 settlement of Amboy, Calif. Sure enough, it is. Check it out: Roy's is featured prominently, as is a church in town. And I was thinking the stone ruins were at Cadiz Summit, on Route … Continue reading A ‘Hero’ in Amboy
Bringing back Broadway
Los Angeles Downtown News Online has posted a long story about the city's attempts to revitalize the historic Broadway district, part of which is old Route 66. Many similar efforts have failed. But because the downtown area is gaining more residents, there's some urgency and hope that a Broadway revival will be for real. For … Continue reading Bringing back Broadway
Tout the route
We've noticed that more cities are taking advantage of the Internet and YouTube in particular in an effort to draw visitors and tourists. Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is one of them. It has posted a nicely produced three-minute video that briefly explains the history of Route 66 and Rancho Cucamonga's current links to it. The embedding … Continue reading Tout the route
More videos from Dwayne, Part 3
Here's a few more videos from Dwayne of New Zealand. Most of the footage here is in Oklahoma. It's interesting to watch his companion get a bit freaked out by a severe thunderstorm in the western part of the state. It's routine stuff for locals, but foreigners and non-natives tend to become frightened by them. … Continue reading More videos from Dwayne, Part 3
Compact guide to 66 in western Arizona
The Arizona Republic today published a compact guide to the portion of historic Route 66 that veers miles away from Interstate 40 from Seligman to Kingman. There's a lot more than that, but the article is good for starters.
Lincoln Highway news site launched
This is a welcome addition. Route 66 has a news site (you're looking at it, obviously), and now the Lincoln Highway does, too. Brian Butko, author of "Lincoln Highway: America's First Coast to Coast Road," has launched LincolnHighwayNews.com in the past few days. In three days, he already has items about Niland's Cafe, new Lincoln … Continue reading Lincoln Highway news site launched
Waiting out the wildfires
A few of you roadies probably know that David Knudson, executive director of the National Historic Route 66 Federation, and his wife Mary Lou are based in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., in the mountains above Los Angeles. Hearing about the grave conditions caused by wildfires in Southern California, including Lake Arrowhead, I called David on Tuesday … Continue reading Waiting out the wildfires
More videos from Dwayne, Part 2
More YouTubes from Dwayne of New Zealand. Here's one from western New Mexico, with images of Gallup's neon: Arizona sights, including Flagstaff, Holbrook, Williams, Oatman, the Black Mountains and the Painted Desert: On to California and the isolation of the Mojave Desert and the congestion of Los Angeles. Warning: There is brief nudity at the … Continue reading More videos from Dwayne, Part 2
More videos from Dwayne
Dwayne of New Zealand has posted a bunch of new videos from his recent Route 66 trip. Some Mother Road sights from Illinois, although I don't think the apocalyptic soundtrack of "Gimme Shelter" fits: More from Illinois and Missouri, including a lot of footage of Rich Henry and his pet rabbit Montana at Henry's Rabbit … Continue reading More videos from Dwayne