Large protests have been seen in the large Route 66 cities of Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Tulsa and Oklahoma City against illegal-immigration bills proposed by Congress.

But even smaller towns along the Mother Road have seen their share.

Here's a story about a small protest in Gallup, N.M. The photo of the rally above is by Matt Hinshaw of the Gallup Independent. That's the Blue Spruce Lodge sign on Route 66 in the background.

About 3,000 marched against anti-immigration legislation in Amarillo, Texas.

About 2,000 protested in Santa Fe, N.M. The city also saw a student boycott and an economic boycott.

About 300 marched in Flagstaff, Ariz.

There was a small demonstration in Barstow, Calif.

And one man — a Republican, no less — held a protest against proposed immigration laws at the Praying Hands statue in Webb City, Mo.

Johnny Mango of the Duke City Fix blog collective in Albuquerque brings an interesting twist to the debate:

When the U.S. obtained most of New Mexico in 1848, many residents of Santa Fe wanted to remain Mexican citizens … and they moved south to the Las Cruces area to remain in Mexican territory. Five years later the Gasden Purchase put them back into the U.S. anyway. The borders changed. The people didn't. The land between Socorro and Chihuahua looks exactly the same. And El Camino Real celebrates a people trying to stay together. Although history does indeed depend on who writes the book, remember, it is only a book. We need to think for ourselves.

Be sure to also read the wide-ranging comments at the end of the story.

My two cents' worth: No matter what the law-and-order crowd says, don't expect to see mass deportations of the 11 million or 12 million illegal immigrants in this country. Ain't gonna happen. And today, the GOP proposal to make illegal immigration a felony — one of the big reasons for the protests — has been dropped.

And as much as I hate to agree with nationally syndicated columnist George Will and his bloated verbiage, his March 30 piece brings the most common sense to the issue.

The "Cars" movie now has an interactive movie poster. Just drag the magnifying glass over the the characters, and you can read a bio and hear a voice sample.

And the good folks at the Upcoming Pixar blog, via TheMovieBox.net, recently posted short advertising spots for the movie. Here's the first spot. Here's the second.

Author Michael Wallis (above, left) and a camera crew from the Disney Channel were on Route 66 in Kansas and Oklahoma on Monday and Tuesday to tape a segment for the "Movie Surfers" show. They sought out the real-life inspirations to the Pixar Animation Studios crew when it was touring Route 66 and brainstorming ideas nearly six years ago for the "Cars" movie, which will be released June 9.

I attended the Tuesday taping at the historic Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla. About a half-dozen classic cars were parked in front of the restaurant to provide a colorful backdrop.

But the main reason the film crew was there was because Dawn Welch (above photo, left), proprietor of the Rock Cafe, is one of the inspirations for Sally the Porsche in "Cars," voiced by Bonnie Hunt. Thank-you notes to Welch from Pixar employees are framed on the wall.

Young teens who hailed from Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom peppered Welch with questions about her restaurant, Route 66 and the movie in front of the lights and cameras as her employees went about their usual restaurant duties of serving juicy burgers, chicken-fried steak and oatmeal pie.

The "Movie Surfers" segment will run about 150 times before the release of "Cars." Wallis told me that some footage also would be used in the eventual "Cars" DVD.

During the "hurry up and wait" conversations between shoots, Wallis told me that he and the Disney crew had shot footage of the following:

• Dean Walker of the Kansas Route 66 Association, who provided at least some of the inspiration for Mater the tow truck in "Cars." One of Walker's claims to fame is he is able to turn his feet completely backwards.
• The Rainbow Bridge in Riverton, Kan.
• Scott Nelson at his Eisler Bros. Store in Riverton, Kan., who sang his usual rendition of "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66." Wallis said "Cars" director John Lasseter is a fan of the store's hand-made sandwiches.
• The Round Barn of Arcadia, Okla., along with its affable caretaker, Butch.

Wallis said that some of these sights are not direct inspirations for the content of "Cars," but helped create the ambiance and nuances for the film.

The crew was unable to film one of the "Cars" inspirations, however. When the Pixar crew first traveled down Route 66, the studio's "story guru," Joe Ranft, became inspired by a rusty old pickup truck he saw in a junkyard near Galena, Kan. That truck provided much of the template to the equally rusty and rickety Mater. Regrettably, Ranft died in a car wreck last year, and Wallis said the old pickup truck at the junkyard was gone when he searched for it on Monday. Wallis said he had hoped to buy the truck and fix it up so it would be running again.

The Daily Guide reports that Waynesville, Mo., over the weekend dedicated its portion of Route 66 through downtown as a Blue Star Memorial Highway.

Named after the service flags flown during World War II placing a single blue star for each person serving in the military on a flag flown outside the homes of their family members back home, the Blue Star Memorial Highway program began after the war by garden clubs in New Jersey whose members wanted to commemorate veterans of that war. State officials from the memorial program said there are now 1,325 markers placed around the United States, 32 of them in Missouri, with another eight Missouri markers planned by the end of the year.

Donna Lantry, the Blue Star Memorial chairwoman for Missouri, said U.S. Routes 40, 50, 66, and 67 were the originally designated memorial routes; I-44, I-36, and I-70 have since been added to the list. Memorials on each of those roads have memorials maintained by local garden clubs whose members agree to maintain the memorials, often by planting flowers or trees in designated rest areas or roadside parks to remind travelers of the sacrifices of American servicemembers.

“When the program began it honored only those in World War II, but in 1951 it was decided to honor all who served, past, present and future,” Lantry said. “We want you always to know that we will not forget what you do.”

The Mainichi Daily News in Japan says that a group of "Geezer Riders" that includes a Japanese movie star and several retired corporate executives will saddle up on Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Chicago and drive Route 66 to Los Angeles.

The "geezer" tag comes because the youngest rider in the group is 60.

The Mainichi Daily News and the Japanese American Dream magazine will cover the event as it transpires.