In the last few days, there’s been much discussion in the Route 66 yahoogroup about Indian Harvest Trading Post, located along Route 66 near Union, Mo.

Indian Harvest is an arts-and-crafts business inside a tepee-shaped building near Exit 242 of Interstate 44. It’s been there for 11 years, and is a member of the Route 66 Association of Missouri.

The discussion has centered on Indian Harvest’s $2 admission charge and some treatment by the owners that several visitors regarded as rude or unwelcoming.

I called Bob Atkinson, who co-owns Indian Harvest with his wife. They only two employees at the business, which is open six days a week, with many 12-hour days.

He confirmed the $2 charge is waived with a purchase. They started charging the fee four years ago because of theft and other problems.

“We had vanloads of people coming through the store and not buying. It was interrupting the people who were interested in buying, or we had outright theft,” he said. “As long as there’s a purchase, there’s no charge. In fact, depending on how you’re buying, you sometimes get a gift.

“Nothing against anybody, but we had to eliminate some bad experiences we were having. Some would come in to look around while someone else outside would leave a (soiled) diaper behind or let their dog run loose. We were being used too much as a rest area. “

Atkinson said that a few years ago, a band of locals was coming twice a week and shoplifting merchandise while Bob and his wife were busy with those posing as customers. They were eventually caught, he said.

He also encourages potential customers to surf to Indian Harvest’s Web site so they can narrow down what they’re looking for and expedite the purchase.

I’ve been to Indian Harvest five or six times, and I’ve always been treated well there. We usually buy the buffalo sausage, and other products it sells range from good to excellent. It’s the only Indian store on Route 66 I’m aware of for hundreds of miles. The next-closest is in Oklahoma. The only other one that’s comparable to the east is in St. Elmo, Ill.

That said, I’ve always had the impression that Bob and his wife are somewhat reticent people. He mentioned during my conversation that he was “overwhelmed” for the first few years before they started the admission fee, which is telling. They simply are not natural businesspeople, like Bill Kinder of the Blue Swallow Motel is.

This sort of situation is not unique. Country Classic Cars near Staunton, Ill., once had a $1 admission fee because it wanted keep the “just looking” crowd to a controllable level. And Lucille Hamons, the famed “Mother of the Mother Road” and owner of Lucille’s near Hydro, Okla., was known in the last few years of her life to be coarse and grouchy — anything but mother-like.

I admit I’m torn. I’m not sure whether the admission fee is the best way to handle their problem, and brusque hospitality certainly isn’t.

But Indian Harvest is one of the few honest mom-and-pop businesses on the road. They’ve managed to keep it operating longer than many others. And Route 66 wouldn’t be as fascinating without a few shades of gray to deal with.

Until Indian Harvest’s business practices become intolerable, I’m inclined to not judge them until I’ve walked a mile in their moccasins (pun intended).

Todd Garrison has posted sights and sounds from the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif.

The pier isn’t technically on Route 66. But it’s so close and so many travelers end their trips there, it’s as inextricably linked to the Mother Road as the Grand Canyon is.

Straight from the news release:

YMI Jeans will shoot its Spring 2008 advertising campaign on location in the heart of the California desert. Noted photographer Odessy Barbu captured images of model Danielle Donn of Nous Models in a setting that exemplifies the spirit of the YMI brand.

Placing emphasis on YMI’s classic motto “YMI gives you the freedom to be what you want to be,” the campaign embodies the excitement of a young woman’s road trip along the historic Route 66. Styled in a variety of YMI looks including shorts, skirts, cuffed bermudas, capris and skinny jeans, Danielle expressed the essence of freedom, style, independence and youth. [...]

The YMI Spring 2008 advertising campaign will premiere in February 2008 on billboards around Los Angeles including Sunset Blvd., La Brea Blvd., Hollywood Blvd., Highland Ave., Vine St. and Downtown. The campaign will also grace the pages of the Spring issues of Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, and OK!, to name but a few.

I reckon the photo shoot will take place at Amboy, Calif., and other nearby places.

Here’s a Web site of Barbu’s work.

A few of you may have noticed more music videos being posted in recent days.

We’re sliding into the slow winter season at Route 66 News. So I’ve decided to track down as many road-related songs as possible on YouTube and Google Video, and post them when there’s not much to report from the Mother Road.

So even on days when there isn’t much happening, stay tuned. If you like music in the slightest, you’ll probably find something to enjoy here.

Scott Leitner of Athos Video Productions has posted two very good videos that were inspired by the “Cars” movie to YouTube.

Made about 18 months ago, they originally were big Windows Media files that took a few minutes to download before viewing. YouTube files are more user-friendly.

Here is his moving video of declining landmarks on Route 66, using the film’s James Taylor song, “Our Town,” as the soundtrack.

The second video takes much more upbeat look at the Mother Road, with John Mayer’s version of “Route 66.”

The McKinley Bridge, which held a reopening ceremony to much fanfare about two weeks ago, will open to traffic for real sometime in mid-December, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

About 10,000 motorists are expected to use the McKinley a day — the same number as used it before its closure in 2001. At that time, the bridge was charging tolls: 50 cents each way.

The rebuilt bridge, which will feature one lane for vehicular traffic in each direction, will be free. But the thrills will be gone: The gaping holes in the deck, which allowed motorists to see the river below, have been repaired.

The cost to rehab the bridge was $52 million. The bridge, which also will be available for cyclists and pedestrians, carried Route 66 from the late 1920s to early 1930s, until the Chain of Rocks Bridge was built.