Jim Conkle of the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation reports that both he and Hampton Inns were nominated for the Preserve America Presidential Award.

Conkle found out yesterday that Hampton Inns won, so he in essence also won because he was a humongous part of the Hampton Inns Route 66 Caravan a few years ago that plastered Route 66 Roadside Attraction signs up and down the route and was also a part of Hampton's Save-A-Landmark program.

Conkle and Hampton Inns will meet with President Bush on May 1 for the awards ceremony at the White House.

I reported on this plan here and here a few months ago when I had a hard copy of it. But now it's on Tulsa County's Vision 2025 site for your perusal.

• Route 66 Master Plan home page
• Route 66 Master Plan, Part 1 
• Route 66 Master Plan, Part 2
• Route 66 Master Plan, Part 3 

Steve Vaught of thefatmanwalking.com is enjoying springlike weather in Pennsylvania and has fewer than 300 miles to go in his cross-country trek, according to his April 26 journal entry (near the bottom of the page). 

Also, if anyone wants to join Steve's walk into New York City, e-mail him at steve@thefatmanwalking.com to let him know.

The central New Mexico region is preparing to open a commuter rail line called the Rail Runner that eventually will connect the Duke City to Santa Fe.

Considering that Albuquerque has the region's only major airport and considering Santa Fe is filled with tourism attractions, it sounds like this is a terrific alternative to driving the 90 or so miles on Interstate 25 or the remnants of the Mother Road.

But for the time being, the rail line will run from Belen (south of Albuquerque) to U.S. 550 north of the city. There are nine stops in all, including downtown ABQ, so commuters will find it enticing also. The train is scheduled to connect Santa Fe in 2008.

As for the Route 66 connection, the rail line runs close to the older alignment of the Mother Road, from north Bernalillo County all the way down to Los Lunas. Johnny Mango of the Albloggerque rode on a test run and was impressed. He also made this observation:

Further north, artifacts of the pre-1937 Route 66 are still visible near Sandia Pueblo and Bernalillo. In fact I think I remember seeing a Fred Harvey railroad poster showing the grade crossing at Sandia Pueblo. Abandoned gas stations and small roadside stores are also along the way.

Another blogger, NewMexiKen, also rode the train and has this report.

The train is set to begin making runs in July, and the first three months will be free.