The Wichita Eagle recounts the story of Bob Sandifer and his lifelong dream to tour Route 66 in a vintage Chevrolet Nomad. He had to overcome serious heart problems a few years ago, but finally realized his dream in 2004.

From the article is this priceless quote by Sandifer:

“Route 66 reminds me how some things never change… and how some things change so fast you can’t keep up.”

Yep.

Brent Weber, a former TV reporter in the Los Angeles area, recently took a job as morning anchor at KOKH-TV in Oklahoma City. He filmed his drive from L.A. to OKC, including a few short jaunts on Route 66.

The footage includes a lot of interstate driving (I guess he was pressed for time). However, it’s worth viewing to see Weber get a haircut and shave from barber Angel Delgadillo of Seligman, Ariz.

Delgadillo, known as the Guardian Angel of Route 66, doesn’t do nearly as much hair-cutting as he used to; he’s semi-retired and spends most of his time greeting tourists. But he’ll get out the scissors and razor for special occasions or if you make arrangements.

According to the Rolla (Mo.) Daily News, the town’s Route 66 Summerfest is “getting bigger every year.”

This year’s version is from May 31 to June 2.

A special tabloid newspaper detailing the event, with a distribution of more than 20,000 copies, will hit the streets in early May outlining the festival.

With the slogan, “It’s a Kick! Rolla’s Route 66 Summerfest,” the event has grown into an annual celebration saluting the fun and adventure of Route 66.

“It began in 1994 as an arts and crafts festival, and essentially, it has evolved into a much bigger event with sporting events and so much more,” Smith said.

The article has details about the festival’s beauty pageant, a Route 66 cruise, a charity poker run, a street dance with a live country-rock band, a professional skateboarders exhibition, the Route 66 Motorcycle Classic, an arts and crafts show, military displays, children’s activities, a car show, a parade, a sand volleyball tournament, a bicycle ride, kids’ bicycle and tricycle races, a tennis tournament, a burnout contest and an Elvis Presley impersonator. And it’s all free.

The Summerfest schedule can be found on its Web site here.

KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City did a bang-up job talking to people about their recollections of the long-gone 24-hour restaurant at Route 66 and U.S. 77 in Edmond, Okla., the Wide-A-Wake Cafe.

The link to the video is the top item on the search here. A photo from the cafe can be found here.

The restaurant started in 1931 and continued until 1980, when it was bulldozed — much to the lament of Route 66ers and Edmond residents to this day. Alas, Edmond’s lack of respect to its Route 66 history seemed to be all too common until recently.

(Hat tip to Rich Imrie.)