Wayne Bales, owner of Route 66 Motors east of Rolla, Mo., since 1979, is entertaining offers to lease or buy his business, which is a combination of a classic used-car lot and a Route 66 souvenir store. Decorated with many vintage petroleum signs, it’s a favorite stop for many traveling the Mother Road in Missouri.

Here’s a link of another image from Joe Sonderman’s Web site.

Bales told me he’s selling the gift-shop inventory at cost if someone wants to buy it out; there’s about $15,000 worth of merchandise left.

The business has about 800 feet of frontage on the north side of Interstate 44 and its own billboard, which will be a crucial tool to pull potential customers off the superslab. The gift shop itself is about 800 square feet, and it includes an apartment in the basement about the same size.

Bales’ inventory of used cars includes a 1966 Mercury station wagon, a 1968 Ford Crestliner, a 1955 Chrysler St. Regis, a 1967 Chevrolet Caprice and others. He also told me that a Love’s Truck Stop is being constructed just up the road from him, which should help boost traffic to Route 66 Motors.

Bales said the business “has been good to us” and has been an “ideal semi-retirement” benture, and selling it gives him mixed emotions. But he’s approaching 70 years old, and he and his wife Pat are wanting to do have more free time that the business won’t allow.

He told me off the record what the selling price would be, and it sounded very reasonable. Potential buyers can call him at (573) 265-5200 or at home at (573) 364-7656.

UPDATE: Route 66 Motors has been taken off the market. The auto sales part of the business will continue to operate, but the souvenir shop is closed.

Steve Vaught of thefatmanwalking.com has updated his journal for the first time in about 10 days. There’s no real reason for the hiatus; he was just busy, that’s all. He’s also thinking about what he’ll do once he reaches the end of his journey. Scroll down to the Feb. 2 entry to read it.

Ace Jackalope of The Lope blog has posted more excellent photos from his Route 66 trip through the Mojave Desert, including the incredible bottle tree ranch near Oro Grande, Calif.

We met the proprieter of the bottle tree ranch in September. He was friendly, but he also was in mourning because he had to put down his beloved dog. Just a few days before we met him, he built a very nice and moving memorial to the canine near the front of his property.

The Lincoln Courier in Lincoln, Ill., reports that the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau in Logan County is paying for two billboards to try to draw Interstate 55 travelers into the town.

The signs also will feature a resurrection of one of the bureau’s earlier logos - Lincoln’s hat hung on a Route 66 sign - combined with the new Web site address. The new Web site is still under construction. Both will promote the dual theme of Logan County’s Abraham Lincoln sites and Route 66.

As the county’s fairs and festivals approach, the billboards will promote those events.

“I think it’s important to note that we are trying to capitalize on the traffic going to Springfield from Chicago to see the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (and returning),” Ladd said.

He said the billboards will serve as a reminder that people can supplement their Abe experience with Logan County sites.

“Also, Illinois Route 66 has been designated as a scenic byway,” Ladd said, “so its importance continues to be on the rise.”

This came from the AppleInsider.com site based on a CNBC inteview with Pixar Animation Studios boss Steve Jobs and Disney boss Robert Iger:

Iger recently saw Pixar’s next feature animated film titled “Cars,” and said it is one of the best films he’d ever seen. “I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see it,” he said. Disney and Pixar plan an exclusive preview of the film in Detroit before the SuperBowl … The movie is set to open in theaters this June.

I’ve heard it’s a focus screening, not a version of the final product. Still, talk about a hot ticket …

I also found this on Army Archerd’s blog from an interview with “Cars” star Paul Newman:

He’ll attend “at least two” of the premieres planned for the Disney-Pixar animated “Cars” directed by John Lasseter. The first bow is May 26 in Charlotte, N.C. Newman is the voice of “Doc Hudson,” a 1951 Hudson Hornet “with a mysterious past” as a former race car. He advises young hotshot hot rod, Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson. Others who voice the four-wheeled feature include: Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, George Carlin, Richard Petty, Michael Keaton, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, Michael Wallis, Paul Dooley and Jennifer Lewis. I was told Newman contributed his expertise in the car racing field to the filmakers. He modestly told me he only gave ‘em some “racing language they may not have been familiar with.” I was told he also generously gave input about race cars.