The images aren’t high quality, sometimes objects fade out of focus, and many of the neon lights remain out of commission after a severe hailstorm in late March.

But this recent video from the seminal Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., made me exclaim: “I wish I’d thought of that.”

Brian, aka bkdurham, on a Saturday night mounted a video camera on the dashboard of his car and drove from one end of Tucumcari’s city limits to the other and back. You’ll see many of Tucumcari’s vintage signs and/or neon. Appropriately enough, in the background is big-band and jazz music from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.

This could be my imagination, but if you look carefully enough, you may see some ghosts on the Mother Road.

The Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat has a story about the “trail-breaking” on June 2 of the new Route 66 Trail from Chicago to St. Louis that was fashioned specifically for bicyclists.

Six towns along the Mother Road are hosts for segments of the trail. The segments range from 17 to 50 miles, although riders can go on more than one segment that day if they wish.

I doubt that anyone is going to attempt the entire trail — at least in the same day. The Route 66 Trail is 369 miles.

You can register to participate in the “trail breaking” here.

A couple of Reuters wire service correspondents are driving Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago in a vintage Porsche. Along the way, they are talking to people about issues that matter to them.

This story angle may sound unique, but I’ve seen a number of these “getting the pulse of America along 66″ stories during election seasons. I recall one in 2004 that correctly surmised that although people’s satisfaction with President Bush had declined, he probably would be re-elected.

The first stories from the Reuters road trip are here.