Images from the road March 11, 2010
Posted by Ron in Music, Photographs.add a comment
The photography of Route 66 in this video is exceptional. Ditto for the music, which is by Buddy and Julie Miller.
CD review: “Songs of Tucumcari” March 11, 2010
Posted by Ron in Music, Towns.1 comment so far
While looking over the track listing of the “Songs of Tucumcari” complication CD, a thought struck me: When has such a small town as Tucumcari, N.M. (population 5,900) inspired so many songs?
Maybe it’s because the city’s association with Route 66. Maybe it’s from being the first significant town that westbound travelers encounter when they’re driving into the spectacular skies and scenery of New Mexico. Maybe it’s the city’s unusual name.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad that Bob Beaulieu, executive director of the Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce, decided to compile 14 songs that mention Tucumcari in the title. (The chamber is selling the CD for $15, plus shipping charges, here.) The songs run the gamut from big band, weird folk, Tex-Mex, honky-tonk country and classic pop. Many of these tunes are obscure, and a fair number prove to be delights.
Dorothy Shay’s “Two Gun Harry from Tucumcari,” based on a real pistol-toting restaurant owner in town, wound up being the big find on the CD for me. The spirited big-band number shows why it was a hit in 1948.
Also worthwhile are Dale Watson’s honky-tonkin’ “Tucumcari Here I Come,” Jimmie Rodgers’ pop single “Tucumcari,” the lovely “Tucumcari Tonight” by the Colin Sphincter Band, Andy Mason’s humorous vegetarian tale “There’s Nothin’ to Eat in Tucumcari,” Michael Hearne’s western-swinging “Two Miles Out of Tucumcari,” and The Road Crew’s bright country song “Tucumcari Tonite.”
The CD contains two musical references to the dramatic but preposterous American Indian legend of Tucumcari Mountain. Jimmie Driftwood’s “Tucumcari” and Cheryl Barns and the Teen Tones’ “Tucumcari Legend” both take the tale seriously, and are as spooky as you’d expect.
The only dud I found was “This Train Will Stop in Tucumcari” by David Rubin, which is marred by wobbly singing and erratic drumming. Having just one questionable song out of 14 is a good batting average for any album, especially one that sticks to a very specific theme.
One notable omission was Little Feat’s “Willin’,” which mentions Tucumcari in the chorus. The song also was covered by Linda Ronstadt. Beaulieu said he decided to narrow the CD to songs that focused on the town. Also, he feared the licensing fees for “Willin’” would have been too steep.
Recommended for the Shay tune alone.
—-
Full song listing:
- “Tucumcari Tonight,” The Colin Sphinctor Band
- “Tucumcari Here I Come,” Dale Watson
- “Two Gun Harry from Tucumcari,” Dorothy Shay
- “Tucumcari Legend,” Cheryl Barns & The Teen Tones
- “Tucumcari Tonite,” The Road Crew
- “Tucumcari,” Jimmie Rodgers
- “Tucumcari Woman,” Dan Roberts
- “There’s Nothin’ to Eat in Tucumcari,” Andy Mason
- “Ride in Tucumcari,” The Tarantulas
- “This Train Will Stop at Tucumcari,” David Rubin
- “Tucumcari,” Jimmie Driftwood
- “West of Tucumcari,” Proverbial Cool Aid
- “Tucumcari,” Randy Kaplan with Brian Schey
- “Two Miles Out of Tucumcari,” Michael Hearne
(CD courtesy of the Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce)
Reaching out across the pond March 11, 2010
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Road trips.add a comment
The Illinois Times published an interesting report about the state’s efforts to boost tourism despite a poor economy.
The article includes this excerpt on a novel way that Illinois has reached out to Route 66 travelers who live in Great Britain:
They’ve also found that the British have an interest in the 1960s and authentic American experiences like Route 66, Kostner says, so they’ve partnered with Little Chef, a chain of United Kingdom roadside diners, to bring a Route 66 ambassador to travel and promote the road back in their country.
“It’s an urban and a rural experience,” she says. “Europeans get two to three weeks of vacation, so they can take huge chunks of time to really experience it.
“We’re reaching out to different audiences to get above the noise of our competitor states — here’s something that you can get here that you can’t get elsewhere.”
The Chinese have also taken an interest in Route 66, recently sending three photojournalists to explore the route and report their experiences for two popular Chinese Web sites.
Give Illinois credit for an unusual way to reach potential tourists in Britain. Talk about a win-win situation …
As for tourism forecasts for this summer, the signs are encouraging:
“This is not the time to slow down or stop; it is the time to move onward and upward,” Kostner continued. “American Express says consumers are approaching the year with ‘an optimistic yet prudent outlook’ and that travel tops their list of ‘pursuits most valuable to their livelihood and well-being.’”
“We should be optimistic, too — this is our time to take the new landscape and plant the appropriate seeds so that we grow.”
Travel inquiries to the bureau’s office and to its Web site EnjoyIllinois.com dwindled throughout the summer, but rebounded in December, increasing by 27 percent. The end-of-the-year upswing helped boost total inquiries to EnjoyIllinois by nearly 8 percent over 2008.
Because of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth last year, many Illinois tourism sites actually saw increases in the number of visitors.
Plan your bicycle route on Google Maps March 10, 2010
Posted by Ron in Maps, Road trips, bicycling.add a comment
Today, Google announced it added bicycle routes to its Google Maps site in addition to walking, public transit, and driving routes.
Bicycle routes by Google Maps is still being beta-tested, and users can make suggestions for changes if they find an error or overlooked bike trail.
Here’s a demonstration of the technology:
According to Wired:
To create the mapping tool, Google developed an algorithm that uses several inputs — including designated bike lanes or trails, topography and traffic signals — to determine the best route for riding. The map sends you around, not over, hills. But if you really want to tackle that Category 1 climb, you can click and drag the suggested route anywhere you like, just like you can with pedestrian or driving routes. Users can suggest changes or make corrections to routes using the ever-present “report a problem” feature on Google Maps.
That “go around, not over” part explains why Google Maps produced some seemingly bizarre routes for bicyclists on Route 66.
Here’s a typical route for cars on Route 66 from Needles, Calif., to Ludlow, Calif., through the Mojave Desert:
Here’s the one of the three bicycle-route options. This one includes Route 66 and Turtle Mountain Road:
As you can see, the bicycle route tries to avoid the mountain ranges, including the Cadiz Summit on Route 66. But I have a hard time believing the primitive road that leads to Ludlow from the south would be suitable for a bicycle.
It’s not perfect, but this is a good start by Google Maps. The improvements to the basic mapping program — especially Street View — has improved dramatically in recent years. And I wouldn’t be surprised if cyclists and roadies eventually figure out a quasi-Route 66 path for two-wheelers.
Route 66 viaduct in Galena soon will be rehabbed March 10, 2010
Posted by Ron in Bridges, Preservation.add a comment
Cherokee County, Kan., soon will apply for federal money to stabilize the Front Street Bridge in Galena, which carries old Route 66 over the railroad tracks north of town, according to the Joplin Globe.
The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program awarded the grant in 2008. It includes $30,000 from the National Park Service and a $50,000 local match.
The 216-foot-long structure was built in 1922 and 1923 to serve the mining industry, and it was incorporated into Route 66 in 1926. The viaduct was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Because of a crack in the bridge’s weight-bearing columns, the weight limit of the bridge has been dropped to where tourist buses could no longer use it. Considering that 4 Women on the Route is on the other side of the bridge, there’s a lot of incentive to repair the viaduct.
(Photo courtesy of Ace Jackalope of TheLope.com.)
“Mustang Sally” March 10, 2010
Posted by Ron in Music.add a comment
One of the greatest cruising songs ever, courtesy of Wilson Pickett.
Songs about Tucumcari March 9, 2010
Posted by Ron in Music, Towns.1 comment so far
The Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce is about to release a 14-song CD filled with songs that refer to the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., according to the Quay County Sun.
The Chamber of Commerce will sell the CDs to tourists and the locals as a Chamber fundraiser. In the beginning of the research, Beaulieu says he located half of the songs with a simple amazon.com music search while the remainder required a little more time and effort.
Two of the songs have a similar title, “Tucumcari Tonite” and “Tucumcari Tonight,” which also happen to be the community’s motto. Dorothy Shay performs “Two Gun Harry from Tucumcari”, Andy Mason sings “There’s Nothin’ to Eat in Tucumcari”, Michael Hearne’s “Two Miles Out of Tucumcari” is also included on the album along with pop singer Jimmy Rodgers, folk singer Jimmie Driftwood, and a group called the Colin Sphinctor Band, another called Proverbial Coolaid as well as a number of others.
The project involved securing recordings to transfer to the “Songs of Tucumcari” CD, contacting artists for permission to use their music for the fund raiser, and making certain licensing requirements were met. Many of the songs are old enough to be in the public domain.
About 1,000 CDs will be available, and will go on sale March 18 at the chamber’s monthly business-after-hours event at the Main Street Project office at 207 S. Second St.
Bob Beaulieu, executive director of the chamber, says he hopes to soon have the chamber’s Web site set up so it can accept PayPal payments and post song samples.
One of the songs will be Rodgers’ version of “Tucumcari.” Here’s Rodgers hamming it up with Jimmy Durante before performing the tune:
Enchanted welcome March 8, 2010
Posted by Ron in Signs.add a comment
A few weeks ago, the state of New Mexico erected this “Welcome to New Mexico — Land of Enchantment” structure over westbound Interstate 40 near the Glenrio Welcome Center, close to the Texas border.
Many Route 66ers don’t continue into New Mexico on I-40, opting for the gravel road that was old Route 66 leading into San Jon. However, if time or weather doesn’t permit, this is what would greet roadies.
The welcome sign is reminiscent of a “Welcome to New Mexico” sign that once arched over Route 66 at the Arizona border until 1959.
Those leaving New Mexico the eastbound route also get a nice structure, but not the semi-archway:
(Photos courtesy of the state of New Mexico)
School construction puts Kingman Street Drags on hiatus March 8, 2010
Posted by Ron in Events, Sports, Vehicles.add a comment
The annual Kingman Street Drags event in downtown Kingman, Ariz., will be canceled this year because of the construction of a new school, reports the Kingman Daily Miner.
Typically, the grounds of the White Cliffs Middle School campus at 400 Granview Ave. served as a staging ground for racers, as well as a place for spectators to park and take to the bleachers to watch the action. Now, however, the entire campus is cordoned off as contractors prepare to build a new high school in place of the demolished middle school.
“With the school under construction there is no way to work the event in conjunction with it,” Devincenzi said. “Many people have contacted us from all over the United States asking for the event dates for this year. Plans are to come back in 2011 should the school construction allow it.”
In the meantime, organizers say they’ll redouble their efforts during the hiatus to find a more permanent location for the drag-racing event. Currently, it is held on Beale Street in the downtown area, and has drawn 15,000 spectators in the past.
Touting Tucumcari March 8, 2010
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Towns.add a comment
This is a promotional video created by the Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce in Tucumcari, N.M. It touts the town’s Route 66 heritage and other attractions. It’s an excellent video … every bit as good what I’ve seen from much bigger cities.
1 millionth bottle of soda sold at POPS March 7, 2010
Posted by Ron in Events, Food, Restaurants.add a comment
POPS on Route 66 in Arcadia, Okla., sold its 1 millionth bottle of soda on Saturday afternoon, reported KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City.
Marilyn McIntosh bought the landmark bottle — Round Barn Root Beer, named after the historic Round Barn down the road — as part of a birthday present for her grandson. She won 66 scoops of ice cream, free soda for a year, 66 free burgers and fries, and 2,400 miles’ worth of gasoline.
POPS opened in early August 2007. That means it has averaged 32,000 bottles of soda sold per month, or more than 1,000 per day.
To give you an idea the smashing success POPS has become since it opened, it sold 600,000 bottles of soda in its first year. POPS was projecting 175,000 in its first year. Also, POPS serves between 1,000 and 1,500 customers per day.
“Cars” meets Cadillac Ranch March 7, 2010
Posted by Ron in Art, Attractions, Movies, Toys, Vehicles.add a comment
Be a little patient when you view this Lego stop-motion animation video. You will eventually see toys from the movie “Cars” being used in a re-creation of Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas.
So is this were Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the rest of the Radiator Springs gang go after they die?
Book review: “Route 66 in New Mexico” March 7, 2010
Posted by Ron in Books, Businesses, History, Motels, Restaurants.1 comment so far
Joe Sonderman is primarily known for two things — as a radio announcer in the St. Louis area, and as a huge collector of Route 66 postcards.
But while reading his latest book, “Route 66 in New Mexico” (soft cover, 128 pages, Arcadia Publishing, $21.99), it occurred to me that Sonderman may have met his best calling — history writer. This is his fourth volume for Arcadia (three of them about Route 66), and an Amazon.com search reveals at least three other history-minded books. And he’s very good at it.
This book begins with a two-page summary of Route 66’s history in New Mexico. Despite its brevity, it’s packed with nuggets that likely will educate even the most veteran roadie. For instance, only 28 miles of the Mother Road’s 506 miles in New Mexico were paved in 1926. Also, one in five traffic fatalities in New Mexico from 1953 to 1958 occurred on U.S. 66.
But “Route 66 in New Mexico” shines when Sonderman combines his well-researched text with his enormous collection of old postcards and vintage photos. Each page contains at least one photo, often two. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for text on the history of a restaurant, motel or landmark, but Sonderman manages.
Here are a few facts from “Route 66 in New Mexico” that many roadies probably won’t know:
- Endee, west of Glenrio, boasted 187 people in 1950. Sixty years later, almost nothing but a roadside privy is left of the settlement.
- One of the Blue Swallow Motel’s owners in the 1940s died in a plane crash. Floyd Redman took over the Tucumcari motel and later gave it to his wife Lillian Redman. She owned it for the next 40-plus years.
- Harry Harrison, owner of Harry’s Cafe in Tucumcari, gained national fame by being portrayed in a 1948 hit song by Dorothy Slay titled “Two Gun Harry of Tucumcari.”
- A scene from the Oscar-winning “Grapes of Wrath” was filmed on the Pecos River Bridge in Santa Rosa.
- Elephant Rock, a natural landmark near Albuquerque, was bulldozed into a gully during road construction in the 1970s.
- A scene from the Oscar-winning “No Country for Old Men” was shot at the Desert Sands Motel in Albuquerque. The motel’s Room 109 also reportedly is haunted.
- A giant kachina doll once stood near Gallup.
The images that Sonderman used are always fascinating and sometimes amazing. One striking photo of Arrowhead Camp near Glorieta in 1929 shows what looks like Model T parked next to a tiny log cabin. The image is reminiscent of John’s Modern Cabins near Arlington, Mo. Back then, this was considered good lodging at 50 cents a night.
Amazing sights seemed to lurk around the next bend. In the 1940s, neon lighting and art deco architecture were everywhere, including gas stations. In the Land of Enchantment, you might see a restaurant shaped like a sombrero, a gigantic covered wagon near a souvenir shop, or an iceberg-shaped custard stand.
And places were given such colorful names as the Honey Dew Drive Inn and the Nod-A-While Motor Lodge — sometimes, as in this case, in the same block.
A significant number of these businesses and landmarks have been lost to time or redevelopment. But such sadness is tempered by the joy and wonderment of the past that this book brings. Land of Enchantment, indeed.
Highly recommended.
“Real Gone” March 6, 2010
Posted by Ron in Movies, Music.add a comment
Folks who’ve seen “Cars” or heard its soundtrack know this Sheryl Crow song.
From the Mother Road to the Holy Land March 6, 2010
Posted by Ron in Attractions, Road trips, Television.3 comments
Here’s a video about Route 66 that appeared last month on an Israeli television program titled “Roim Olam,” or “Watching the World.”
The narration is in Yiddish Hebrew, but I think most will easily follow what’s going on.
Eyal Tavor, an Israeli TV reporter who filed the story, said this in an e-mail:
In autumn 2008 my wife Ruth, myself and our son Daniel (then aged 13) went on a month-long road trip along Route 66. It was the realization of an old dream of mine to travel the Mother Road. Although I grew up in Israel, I’ve always been fond of America and saw Route 66 as a significant American icon: Americana at its best. I was delighted to find out the road authentically preserved the image I have always had in my mind about America, an image which was inspired by many movies and books: endless spaces, remote towns, diners that were frozen in time, vintage motels, roadside attractions and nice people respecting good old values such as diligence, modesty, friendship, and strong contact to the land.
Our Route 66 trip turned to be an unforgettable exciting experience. At some points we were actually able to identify with the old settlers who were travelling west in the hope of finding a better future.
These days I am building an Israeli internet site, the first in Hebrew, about route 66. You will be the first link I will put there.
My purpose is to arouse interest in Route 66 among Israeli people and to encourage them to set out for the road. I am aware of the fact that very few in our country are familiar with the whole story. In many places we visited along the road we were told that we were the first Israelis to ever stop by. Most of our hosts had no recollection of any Hebrew in their guestbooks. The Israeli flag Harley & Annabelle are seen holding was hand- drawn by our son.
(Hat tip: Laurel Kane)
60-second man March 5, 2010
Posted by Ron in Art, Attractions, Vehicles.add a comment
Here’s a video of someone repainting one of the cars planted into the ground at Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo, Texas. It serves as a primer (pun intended) for those who want to learn how to repaint their car.
The silence of the trains — for real March 4, 2010
Posted by Ron in Motels, Railroad, Towns.3 comments
For the first time in more than a century, trains now will go through the Route 66 town of Flagstaff, Ariz., without sounding their warning horns, reported the Arizona Daily Sun.
On Tuesday, trains went through Flagstaff for the first time without blasting their horns. It took several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but many residents and overnight guests in the city’s motels now will get a more restful sleep.
Mayor Sara Presler picked up one of the small wooden train whistles given to community leaders to commemorate the silencing of train horns at all five city crossings, only to learn in front of a crowd of more than 100 people that the toy didn’t work.
Presler would later joke that she must have gotten the “quiet zone” train whistle.
An op-ed piece in the Sun today elaborated on the problems with train horns:
But traditions die hard, and it’s taken several decades longer for civic leaders to get over the nostalgia and apply cold, hard logic to the problem.
That calculation has to start with the acknowledgment that trains and their horns aren’t what they used to be. What was once a whistle announcing the arrival of passengers, mail or freight some 30 times a day is now a series of electronically amplified blasts of 110 decibels apiece at each of five crossings. Multiply that by up to 120 trains a day when the economy is good, and, on average, train horns are going off in Flagstaff in multiple bursts along the Route 66 corridor once every 12 minutes — 24/7.
A few train buffs complained, but they’re in a small minority. And one resident argued that only three-fifths of Flagstaff was an actual “quiet zone” because of 78-decibel wayside horns at railroad crossings on the city’s east side.
And I predict the town of Kingman, Ariz., will eventually implement a railroad quiet zone in their town. The complaints against trains are too numerous to ignore.
Notes from the road March 4, 2010
Posted by Ron in Art, Attractions, Highways, Museums, Photographs, Preservation, Signs, Towns.1 comment so far
An artist's conception of the "East Meets West" sculpture.
The “East Meets West” sculpture at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza at Riverside Drive and Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Tulsa is inching closer to being installed.
Dennis Whitaker at the city of Tulsa gave me this update, via e-mail:
[T]he artist is finished with the car group and the foundry has already cast it. It is ready to be assembled; the wagon grouping is complete except for one horse, the balance of that grouping is at the foundry. Once the artist finishes the horse and has everything at the foundry to be cast, we’ll have an estimate of when it might be delivered.
The main artist, Robert Summers, suffered catastrophic injuries in a fall. It took him months to recover, or else the sculpture would have been installed long before now.
Whitaker also provided this update about the Route 66 museum that will eventually be built at the plaza:
PSA Dewberry will be the lead engineering / architectural firm for the Interpretive Center, but they will have a sub-consultant that specializes in program planning. That is Phase I of the design process – to determine what will be housed in the facility (office, interpretive features, static displays, restaurant etc) and how much space it takes to do that. Phase II will be the architectural design of the footprint, façade, approaches, rooms, spaces etc. which will lead to creation of construction drawings.
The City and the County have entered into a new agreement for the design funds. The City Council has the second reading of the budget amendment ordinance on their agenda tomorrow. Once we have the money in the City’s budget we can enter into a contract with Dewberry.
Both Phases of design, construction bidding and then construction could take 36 months.
— A $180 million Navajo Nation casino north of Interstate 40 near the Twin Arrows exit soon will break ground and be finished next year, reported the Arizona Daily Sun. The development won’t have much direct impact on the historic and abandoned Twin Arrows complex off Route 66, mainly because it is south of I-40. (Hat tip to Bob Moore.)
— A long-vacant building in downtown Waynesville, Mo., is seeing new life, reported the Waynesville Daily Guide. The building, at Benton Street and Route 66, will be used for apartments and Lone Oak Printing Co.
— Claudia Heller’s latest in her ongoing series about Route 66 towns in the Mojave Desert concentrates on one of our favorites, the tiny burg of Ludlow, Calif.
— The Railsplitter Covered Wagon, also known as the world’s largest covered wagon, will be re-dedicated in front of its new home at the Best Western Lincoln Inn in Lincoln, Ill., at 4:30 p.m. March 19, reported the Lincoln Courier. Abe and the wagon were repainted, and plans include a Route 66 Scenic Byway Wayside Scenic Exhibit at the site.
— John Treadwell Dunbar has filed a comprehensive article for the Canada Free Press about the history and attractions of the Route 66 town of Oatman, Ariz.
— Needles Downtown Business Alliance members are installing metal signs and banners trumpeting the California town’s link to Route 66, reported the Needles Desert Star.
— Finally, Gordo at Handcolored66.com sent me this terrific photo of the 9-foot-wide Sidewalk Highway of old Route 66 near Miami, Okla. This recent image was captured at dusk:
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