The half-dozen or so volunteers at the Oklahoma Route 66 Association’s cleanup day at the Blue Whale of Catoosa found that a lot of the work had already been done by Tuesday morning.

Trees surrounding the famous whale and pond lost many limbs during last month’s severe ice storm. Many of the broken branches precariously attached to the trees had been removed, as had many of the larger downed limbs.

But that still left many smaller broken limbs strewn throughout the Blue Whale grounds. Whatever we couldn’t pile into a pickup truck, we carried to a brush pile away from where Route 66 tourists would roam. That’s Frank Jugler (above), owner of the Chelsea Motor Inn in Chelsea, Okla., hauling away one of those branches.

The grounds were spic ‘n’ span in less than an hour, and we were glad we finished quickly, too. It was 32 degrees when we started, and the winds started picking up about the time we finished.

For more pictures of the cleanup, check out future editions of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association newsletter.

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which once carried Route 66, near Granite City, Ill., will be the site of Eagle Days on Jan. 19-20, reports the Granite City Press-Record. It’s an ideal time of year to see bald eagles along the Mississippi River.

Planned this year is a slew of eagle exhibits, trained volunteers discussing the history of the animal and viewing scopes to spot the winged creatures, which were designated the national symbol in 1789.

An eagle education program with a live eagle is also scheduled every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. and re-enactors will set up a camp similar to that used by explorers William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, who stayed nearby on their Corps of Discovery Expedition in spring 1804.

Parking will be available on Chouteau Island and at the Missouri Tourist Information Center near Riverview Drive and Interstate 270 in Missouri.

The event comes six months after the bald eagle was taken off the federal endangered list. [...]

The Old Chain of Rocks, a restored 1929 span owned by Madison that once carried Route 66 over the Mississippi River to St. Louis, allows visitors to view eagles swooping into the Mississippi River for fish, riding chunks of ice and roosting in nearby foliage.

Weilbacher said the bridge, now used only by pedestrians and bicyclists, is ideal for spotting the birds.

“There’s no vehicles and no traffic,” she said.

The story doesn’t mention this, but if you go, dress warmly. Even on the mildest winter day, winds are robust on the old bridge.

Calexico’s sound captures the feel of the desert Southwest better than any band out there. It’s as if an alt-rock band was merged with a mariachi group.