Model-railroad set salutes Route 66 March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Toys.add a comment
I know that Route 66 fans include some model-train nuts and railroad aficionados.
Well, here's something for you.
Ernie Bockli of the Sun 'N' Sand Model Railroad Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., says his club has commissioned a limited-edition set of eight model-train boxcars. Seven of the cars show the entire length of Route 66 when the cars are all lined up correctly. The last car shows Route 66 in its entirety, with state boundaries. The boxcars can be viewed here.
The set originally came out in August. But Bockli told me that the sudden death of a club member who was in charge of the project put sales on hold for a while. Bockli says the club is about halfway through its run of 205 sets.
To order the set, e-mail the club here for more information.
I wonder whether Ollie's Station restaurant in Tulsa knows about this.
A Route 66 refresher March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in History.1 comment so far
The Did You Know? blog today features the history, facts and figures about Route 66. It's a pretty good overview, except for this one item:
Route 66 was also the popular truck route because it was mostly flat.
Well, no. I would never describe much of Missouri, parts of eastern Oklahoma, much of New Mexico and Arizona and a good chunk of California as "flat." The reason truck drivers favored Route 66 over, say, U.S. 40 was because the Mother Road's more southern route saw generally milder weather during the winter.
Here’s one way to get youngsters involved in Mother Road March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Preservation.add a comment
The Desert Dispatch in the high desert area of Southern California has this little item:
Route 66 Mother Road Museum offers scholarship
BARSTOW –
Students attending Barstow Community College may apply for a $250
scholarship. Applicants must demonstrate an active interest in
preservation and promotion of Route 66. Further requirements and
application are available at the Barstow Community College, 2700
Barstow Road, Barstow or 252-2411, Ext. 7309. Deadline is April 15.For more information, contact the Route 66 Mother Road Museum at 255-1890, www.route66museum.org, or 681 N. First Avenue.
It sounds like a good idea for other colleges up and down Route 66 to pick up this program and help their local communities and the Mother Road.
Horn Oil Co. story picked up nationally March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Motels, Preservation.add a comment
MSNBC.com has picked up the story about the proposal to redevelop the historic Horn Oil Co. property in Albuquerque. The story is here.
Cruise Route 66 at University of Tulsa spring football game March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Events, Sports.add a comment
The University of Tulsa football team is holding its annual spring practice game at 1 p.m. April 1. It's going to have more than a sports atmosphere though, according to the university's athletic site.
In the spirit of Route 66, on which the historic Skelly Stadium stands, fans are encouraged to join the festivities of the "Spring
Cruisin' Festival". For the second straight year, the festival will
feature a classic and collector car showcase on display in the Donald
W. Reynolds Center parking lot beginning at 11 a.m.Car Clubs scheduled to be in attendance include: Military vehicles, Corvette Restorers Club, Antique Car Club, Tulsa Wheels,
Metropolitan Club, Studibaker Club, Green Country Corvette Club,
Classic Chevrolet Club, Tulsa Vette Set and Green Country Classic
Mustangs.The Golden Hurricane football team will take the field at 1 p.m. for the Annual Spring Game. Fans will be able to meet the team and get autographs following the game. Season tickets for the 2006 football campaign will be available to purchase at the Reynolds Center Ticket
Office.Fans can get their "Kicks on Route 66" and enjoy an All-American good time with classic cars and great food, fun and
football. There will be inflatable games for kids.There is no admission charge to the game or the Classic Car Showcase.
For more information to participate in the Classic Car Showcase, call 918-631-3208. Drive-ups are welcome.
Japanese “Cars” trailer March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Movies.add a comment
Lots of cool footage I haven't seen before. The Upcoming Pixar blog has it.
Rock Cafe is featured on Roadfood site March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Food, Movies, People, Restaurants.add a comment
The Rock Cafe on old Route 66 in Stroud, Okla., is now featured as a recommended restaurant on Jane and Michael Stern's wonderful Roadfood.com site.
Here is an excerpt from the Sterns' review of Dawn Welch's venerable restaurant:
Among Dawn's menu innovations are a fabulous chicken fried steak she makes out of a pork cutlet rather than a slab of beef. It is thick and juicy and fallapart tender, sheathed in a luxuriously brittle crust. Having been married to a man from Switzerland, she also broadened the menu with spaetzel (topped with melted jack and cheddar cheese) and apple streusel crepes. There are Mexican dishes, stir fries, po-boys, beignets, tall stacks of pancakes, and a short bowl of beans with cornbread on the side.
A cool destination halfway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, the Rock Cafe is a cozy diner with curious booths that remind us of automobile bench seats and a couple of counters with low stools from which customers carry on conversations among themselves and with the kitchen through a large pass-through window. Every inch of cedar-paneled wall is packed with nick-nacks, souvenirs, and silly kitchen homilies. With the menu (which is in the form of a multi-page newspaper), customers are given a guest book to sign. "We are from Oslo," wrote Greta and Stein. "This is the only place between here and there," another customer contributed.
Incidentally, Welch and the Rock Cafe were visited by the Pixar Animation Studios crew a few years ago during its research of Route 66 for its upcoming movie, "Cars." Route 66 author Michael Wallis, a technical adviser for "Cars," has said that Bonnie Hunt's character, Sally, in the film is at least partly based on Welch.
Photos from the road March 27, 2006
Posted by Ron in Photographs, Web sites.add a comment
Jason Hudson, a photographer from Fayetteville, Ark., had a slow weekend for gigs and was bored. So he jumped in his Honda Element and drove west, much of it on Route 66.
The photos from his trip can be viewed on his blog here.
