Route 66 road warriors Jim Ross and Shellee Graham announced today that they have created a Web site, Route 66 Photographs, that offers prints, licensing and images for photo editors and commercial use.

There are a wide range of images, from roadkill to vanished attractions to classic cars to rear ends (it's not what you think, wise guy). There are 15 categories in all.

And best of all, sort of like a karaoke machine, they can do requests.

Developer Mike Morgan and his Grand Canyon Northland Amusements and Entertainment investment group last year announced a massive $3 billion theme park near the Route 66 town of Williams, Ariz., on the road that leads to the Grand Canyon.

According to the Arizona Republic, county and city leaders haven't heard a progress report on Morgan and his project, and they're losing patience with him. He has 2 1/2 years to raise $500 million so he can acquire bonds for the project.

The story gets complicated. You can read the whole thing here. 

I'm skeptical of such a massive project, but we'll see. 

Missouri 266 west of Springfield is an old alignment of Route 66. It sees about 8,000 vehicles a day, which is decent but nothing huge.

That volume quadrupled for a few hours Tuesday when a diesel truck accident forced traffic from Interstate 44 to old 66, according to the Springfield News-Leader. 

As many people familiar with the Mother Road know, you can't set an appointment to meet Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire. You simply go to where he's kinda sorta scheduled to be and you hope to run into him.

Dave Bakke of the Springfield Journal-Register lucked out and found Waldmire when he was back in his hometown of Springfield, Ill.

The VW minibus named Fillmore in the "Cars" movie was supposed to be named Waldmire. Bob Waldmire is an unapologetic hippie and drives an old VW minbus all over Route 66. But Bob Waldmire refused to give Pixar permission to use his name. I already asked him about it a couple weeks ago, but the Springfield reporter asked him why.

"I am an ethical vegetarian," Bob explained. "After they sent me a letter asking for my permission, another local artist friend of mine, Bill Crook, mentioned to me that the movie toys are probably going be sold in Happy Meals at McDonald's. That made up my mind real quick. I couldn't have them selling a bus with my name at a McDonald's if I'm an ethical vegetarian."

The movie does have a deal to distribute toys though McDonald's, by the way. Bob made Pixar/Disney a counteroffer that would have funneled a small portion of movie proceeds to a charity of Bob's choice in exchange for the use of his name. The company rejected that out of hand. That is why you will be watching Fillmore instead of Waldmire.

It's a good story, with stories about Michael Wallis, Dawn Welch and other people and places that inspired Pixar for its "Cars" movie.

The town of Strafford, Mo., is planning its annual Route 66 festival, according to the Springfield News-Leader. It's trying to round up volunteers and make Route 66 more prominent.

This idea sounds intriguing:

Keiser would like to produce a live show, with "Route 66 players" who will dramatize and detail the history. Keiser has volunteered to help write the script and recruit some actors for the show he would like to feature several times during the fall festival, which is tentatively set for the second Saturday in September.

ComingSoon.net has an excellent interview with "Cars" director John Lasseter. Check it out.

UPDATE: Here's another interview, this time with The Australian. It includes this excerpt about Route 66.

Observation is important, says Lasseter, who refers to the small town on America's Route 66 that is integral to the story. Bypassed by the major highway, it represents old-fashioned values.

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words. When you come to some of these towns, you can tell they were really vibrant but now the customers are all gone. You can tell from the peeling paint, the cracks in the asphalt, the dust, the sun-bleached nature of everything. All that stuff is extremely difficult to do with a computer."

Michael Yessis of World Hum: Travel Dispatches from a Shrinking Planet asks this question amid a preview of the Independent Film Channel documentary "Wanderlust: On the Road with American Road Movies":

“Does the road still promise us an open sense of freedom and liberation as it did in so many great films? Or, has the adventure of the American road ultimately been reduced to the stuff of Hollywood lore?”

Yassel's answer:

I spent five days of those days traveling with my dad. We planned a night in Las Vegas and a side trip to Monument Valley, but otherwise loosely followed Route 66, a road he’d driven several times before the government built the interstate system. The United States we saw is as vast and as interesting as ever, filled with roadside diners and fast-food chains, black-socked European tourists and big-haired waitresses, gaudy billboards and breathtaking red rock landscapes. Hollywood can spin out road movie after road movie — another one, Pixar’s Cars, comes out June 9 — but these cinematic journeys, as much as I love watching them, will never trump the experience of rubber hitting road, the feeling of unfolding a map and sensing the possibilities that lie along every thin black line. If you think Hollywood sapped all the adventure out of road trips, you need to get in a car and drive.

Amen, brother. Say it. 

AutoWeek has a humongous special issue about Pixar's "Cars." In one of its stories, it says this:

AS YOU READ THIS ISSUE please understand you will not learn the plot twists and turns of Cars, the movie. You will read about the undulating way in which the film came to the big screen, about some of the characters behind the characters, and why it should be considered the best car movie ever.

And if you can’t take our word, see for your own skeptical self on June 9 when Cars opens in theaters around the country. As the critics say, you’ll laugh and you’ll cry. When was the last time that happened because of a car (other than with vintage Jaguar ownership)?

One of the AutoWeek stories focuses on five members of the Pixar crew who helped shape the look of the studio's latest upcoming movie, "Cars."

Two excerpts stand out. First, this one:

… Pixar’s in-house gearheads take great pride in having modeled each car character’s suspension geometries and road behavior after its real-world inspiration. Thus Ramone, the ’59 Chevy low-rider, has fully operational hydraulics. The Volkswagen bus, the hippie Fillmore, has swing axles, and moves like it. Luigi, a Fiat 500, bounces around in excitement on his spindly springs and skinny tires. Such antics would be completely wrong for stiff old Doc Hudson, the ’51 Hudson Hornet ex-racer whose voice is Paul Newman.

And this one:

“The background of the town is the Cadillac Range,” he pointed out, the obvious reference being the Cadillac Ranch, a row of half-buried cars in Texas. “The ’59 is in the center, the iconic Cadillac tailfin. The [aircraft contrails] are tire treads. Every little detail has got a little bit of automotive feel to it.” (my emphasis)

Also, from the same issue, are:

• An interview with "Cars" director John Lasseter and an automotive-oriented look at Pixar and "Cars."
• An "interview with Lightning McQueen.
• An overview of each of the major "Cars" characters. 
• "Cars'" Bench-Racing secrets. Make sure you read the "Nine gearhead facts to amaze your friends and kids."
• Dutch Mandel's column.

Michael Howe was assigned by Jim Hill Media to attend the premiere of the "Cars" movie at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Here is Howe's extensive report, along with plenty of photos.

Howe also interviewed many of the film's stars on the red carpet of the event, including this excerpt of a Q&A with Michael Wallis, a Route 66 consultant of the film and the voice of the Sheriff in "Cars."

Q: We've just got a little question, because we took a little road trip from Chicago this morning, and were wondering if you've ever heard of "The Chicken Basket?" (EDITOR'S NOTE: "The Chicken Basket" is one of the restaurants near the start of Route 66. Which starts in Chicago, IL)

A: Oh yes. Up in Willowbrook. I know it very well. I've devoured lots of chicken there. The Road is so great in the state of Illinois today. Out of all the states, I always point out that Illinois is leading the 8 Route 66 states in terms of restoration and preservation. Great signage, wonderful ride, yeah.

Q: You play the Sheriff in Radiator Springs. Was that John's (Lasseter's) idea, or did you kind of come up with the idea?

A: I was his consultant. And then I wrote the book about the making of the movie, "The Art of Cars," with my wife. But he said: "you've got to be a character voice in this film. We've got to capture you on film. And don't you think you'd make a great Sheriff?" And I said: "Sure, why not? What's the car?" "1949 Mercury." "Um, it's a done deal." Because it's one of my favorite cars. It's the same kind of car that James Dean had in "Rebel Without a Cause," you know? It's just a Classic. And people tell me that grille on that car looks a little bit like my moustache. Which just a few years ago was pitch black and suddenly it's turned chrome-colored. So I don't know.

Q: You have a very distinctive voice.

A: Yes, and wait til' you see my interaction with Mater. I think you'll get a kick out of that. Mater is one of my favorite characters, and he drives my "Cars" character crazy.

Q: I didn't know that.

A: Oh yes. He's sort of my little nemesis. I'm always after him. But these people that are represented in these cars are actual people from Route 66. And a lot of them are here tonight: Cooks, waitresses, people that I exposed Pixar to. And they took the personailty of these people and it comes out in these cars. That's why this film is so good. That's why it's accurate and true.

The Bloomington Pantagraph has coverage of the first-ever Happy Wiener Festival in the Route 66 town of Atlanta, Ill., this weekend.

Ninety-year-old Paul Adams, a resident of the town, has made the same observation as I have about the town.

"There is a lot of energy in this small town," Adams said. "It's a great place to live, and it seems now that we have some young folks moving in we're getting everyone involved and starting new things, like the Happy Wiener Festival."

Here's a story from the Bloomington Pantagraph about the allure of Route 66. Here's a side story about the number of foreign tourists the road draws.

These two paragraphs jumped out at me:

More than 300,000 tourists drive Route 66 through Illinois each year, according to the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project, based in Springfield. Precise figures on the economic impact are not available.

“It has an impact of millions of dollars,” said Patty Ambrose, executive director of the heritage project. “Route 66 is the No. 3 tourism draw in Illinois. Chicago is No. 1, and the (Abe) Lincoln sites are No. 2.”

I have doubts the number of travelers specifically traveling old Route 66 is that high. That averages to more than 800 people a day. During the height of tourism season in the early spring and summer, maybe. But not the whole year. Maybe the Heritage Project is also counting incidental traffic.

The city of Tulsa once cited a figure of 50,000 visitors a year on Route 66, which sounds a lot more realistic.

However, the "millions of dollars" of economic impact is easy to believe, because it doesn't take a lot of money per capita to hit the seven-figure mark. Just finding lodging for the night will be in the $40- to $80-a-night range. And folks who travel the old road love buying Route 66 souvenirs.

And after the "Cars" movie comes out, who knows? Maybe that 300,000 mark won't be so far-fetched after all.

The reason? Because "Cars" director John Lasseter "gets" Route 66 and its allure.

Here's an excerpt from a New York Times story that illustrates this:

As for the town of Radiator Springs, the quirky desert hamlet on Route 66, it provides a reminder of the less homogenized America Mr. Lasseter saw as a boy.

"For a lot of our vacations, my brother and sister and I would pile into the station wagon, and our parents would drive Route 66 from L.A.," he recalled. "When they started building the Interstate, my dad would drive it for parts of our journeys and say, 'Now we can really make time.' But the Interstate was so smooth, you'd lose track of where you were. When you drove Route 66, you really felt the land. You knew where it was hilly and where it was flat. On the Interstate it was all flat."

The melancholy images of the forgotten town balance the fast-paced racing scenes and broad comic sequences. Mr. Lasseter says his use of these moments was inspired by the films of Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese animation director.

"In every one," he said, "there are beautiful quiet scenes. The drive in our early films was to trim out all the 'dead spots,' because the executives were always saying: 'I'm going for popcorn.' 'You're losing me.' After a while I realized I wasn't going to lose the audience. The executives were used to seeing the movie, but the audience wouldn't be. They'd be with us in those moments."

The Pontiac (Ill.) Daily Leader reports:

Ten Norwegians on their way to Los Angeles aboard seven Harley-Davidson motorcycles visited Pontiac's Route 66 museum Thursday afternoon, getting a look at some Illinois aspects of the highway they will travel on their 10-day journey.

"Route 66 all the way," one of the members of the group - friends who share a liking of motorcycles and the famous road - told a reporter shortly after their arrival in Pontiac, their gleaming, rented-in-Chicago Harleys arranged in a neat line in the Main Street parking lot south of old city hall.

The rest of the story is here. 

The funny part is, it's not that big of a deal. When I'm out on the road, hardly a day goes by when I don't encounter a European tourist in a car or motorcycle seeking their kicks on Route 66. And there will be many more motorcycle tours before the summer ends.

Sarah Overstreet of the Springfield News-Leader shares her memories of the now-defunct Red's Giant Hamburg, which was along old Route 66 in Springfield, Mo. Her writing paints a vivid picture of what the place was like in its heyday.

Julia Chaney, former co-owner fo the restaurant, died a little over a week ago. The other co-owner, Red Chaney, died in 1997.

Mary Adamski, a religion columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, writes about some people being extremely wary about the date June 6, 2006, that will be apocalyptic somehow because the date is kinda sorta “666,” or the “mark of the Beast” from the Bible’s Book of Revelation.

Adamski writes:

We might think we’re in an enlightened age or are a sophisticated society, but there are inhabitants of the 21st century who are scared of 666. People have chosen not to move into a place with that address. People have asked for a different Social Security number.

Only a couple of years ago, politicians succeeded in getting the federal government to renumber a highway because it was considered such an inauspicious address. The old Route 666 was an offshoot from Route 66, leading from Gallup, N.M., through parts of Colorado and Utah. What was fondly known as “triple six” by irreverent, unbelieving cowboys is now dull old Route 491.

The change of Route 666 remains a rare sore spot with me and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. He caved in to a bunch of half-baked, superstitious fundamentalists who thought U.S. 666 glorified Satan or some other nonsense, and he changed it to the more sedate Route 491. It was called Route 666 because that was the logical number to be  assigned in that region. Before the change, Route 666 was known for little more than having gorgeous scenery, having too many drunken-driving accidents (back when Gallup was more awash in booze) and an awful movie starring Lou Diamond Phillips.

My father-in-law, who’s well-read, thinks the Book of Revelation deals with the eventual fall of the Roman Empire and has little relevance in the modern-day. I’ve always found Revelation darned near unreadable, as it was packed with symbolism and code words to keep Roman captors at bay.

As for me, 6/6/06 will be a good day, because I’ll be downloading the Cars soundtrack, which will be released that day.

Steve Vaught, the man who walked much of Route 66 in a cross-country effort to lose weight and documented much of his trek on thefatmanwalking.com, has been on a tough row to hoe lately.

This article by the San Diego Union-Tribune spells out much of his recent troubles. Not only is he accused of skipping several long stretches during his walk, including 117 miles from from Albuquerque to Tucumcari, but apparently he has lost his book deal with New York publisher Judith Regan. The Washington Post also has a story.

Friday night was the big premiere for the Pixar "Cars" movie at Lowes Motor Speedway at Concord, N.C. A sellout crowd of 30,000 people attended, as did a bunch of the movie's stars.

Here's the Associated Press story of the event.

Here's the report from AP's racing writer.

Here's a page that links to video report from News Channel 14 in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer has lots of coverage, including this poster page.

Here are a bunch of wire photos from the event. It's good to see Bonnie Hunt wearing a Route 66 T-shirt here.

UPDATE: Scene Daily, which reports on NASCAR racing, has a report. 

St. Louis is the most confusing town in which to drive Route 66. There are at least a half-dozen alignments and almost as many on the Illinois side of the river.

Route 66 mapper extraordinaire Stefan Joppich tries to figure out the Mother Road Maze that is the St. Louis region with a new section about the Gateway City. It's about as comprehensive as anything I've seen regarding that metro area's alignments. 

Red Fork Hippie, posting for Ron this evening:

This USA Today article lists New Mexico as one of the top 10 great road trips. The author is a little too enamored of the interstates for my taste, but the article itself, which focuses on some of Gallup’s Route 66 attractions — including the beautiful and historic El Rancho Hotel, which is a must-stop.

I particularly liked this description of Route 66 in western New Mexico:

The authentic hogans lie scattered amid red rock monoliths that litter the desert like abandoned castles. At Exit 36, hand-painted signs promising Navajo tacos lead to a home in tiny Iyanbito on the Navajo Reservation. Grazing horses disregard a trio of Navajo boys practicing their golf swings on a makeshift 16-hole course. It’s the sort of off-kilter encounter that makes veering off the interstate a detour into serendipity.

And this description of Gallup matches my own experiences:

The town is rough around the edges, but nonetheless a gem. At its heart, historic Route 66 splits vintage storefronts on one side from railroad tracks on the other. The town was forged by the railroad in 1881 (160 trains still pass through daily), but it’s now a major Indian crafts center. The selection of native jewelry rivals Santa Fe’s, but the prices don’t. …

The author concludes the piece with a description of the landscape and the billboards touting “Chief Yellowhorse and the Teepee Trading Post and Ortega’s Indian Jewelry Wholesale Outlet” on the way into Arizona:

The faded billboards may look as if they’ve been here since I-40 was but a gleam in President Eisenhower’s eye, but still they promise 20%, 30%, 50% off.

And you can’t help but think: Is this a great country or what?

This Roanoke Times article should give Route 66 businesses some reassurance this summer: Despite gasoline being 75 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, travelers are still hitting the road.

The AAA Mid-Atlantic office in Richmond estimates a slight increase in travel this weekend, with roughly 31.4 million motorists taking to the roads …

So while Fetters maps out his Western adventures, other residents are looking for ways to avoid high prices for gas, lodging and car rental, while beating the traffic and enjoying the summer heat.

Although estimated travel will be up less than 1 percent for this Memorial Day holiday — significantly lower than the 2 percent to 3 percent increase usually expected — Americans still plan to take their time off, according to Martha Mitchell, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The article goes on to explain how travelers save a few bucks here and there to cover the higher prices at the pump. Those with vintage motels on Route 66 should be heartened by this advice:

Fetters suggests saving by staying in motels that don't offer the amenities that go with higher room rates.

"The average person doesn't need all that stuff."