The Route 66 Hotel and Casino near Albuquerque just finished a big expansion. This report from KOAT-TV provides an inside look:

Tucked into this business story from The Missourian about the St. James Winery in St. James, Mo., are startling facts about its growth:

Distributed in only five states four years ago, St. James Winery vintages may now be found in 14 states with further expansion efforts for 2008 in place.

With over 2,700-plus awards to date, St. James Winery was named by Wine Business Monthly Magazine, February 2006, as the No. 4 Hottest Small Brand of 2005.

St. James Winery has surpassed all other wineries, not only in Missouri, but in the entire 12-state Midwest Region in terms of case volume and is in the top 10 most awarded wineries in the United States.

St. James Winery is owned and operated by the Hofherr family since 1970. It is located on Interstate 44, on Old Historic Route 66, in St. James.

That’s impressive, considering that Missouri is blessed with several popular wineries, including Mount Pleasant and Stone Hill.

Todd Lassa, who’s blogging for Motor Trend magazine, is driving smart fortwo car models on Route 66.

The dinky car was challenged by a snowstorm in Flagstaff, but it seemed to handle it OK.

Near Flagstaff, in a part of Arizona that was hit with a big snow storm, smart replaced the standard 15-inch tires with winter tires. Even before the change, though, the smart’s rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, fairly tall stance and narrow tires proved adequate for making it around partially plowed Northern Arizona.

And for those complaining about fuel prices, the diesel model gets excellent mileage per gallon:

That diesel is the type of fortwo smart needs to sell in the U.S. While I didn’t drive that version long enough to figure fuel economy, smart says it’s good for about 60 mpg on the highway, which sounds reasonable. On the second and third fillips of the hybrid fortwo I recorded 35.4 mpg and 49.6 mpg respectively. The second fill-up was in Flagstaff, Arizona, after lots of full-throttle uphill drives (barely maintaining 75 mph) and high winds. The third fill-up was near Albuquerque, New Mexico after driving under easier conditions. I’d like to try the mild hybrid in Detroit city driving conditions. It cuts off the engine at stoplights as long as you keep your foot on the brakes.

It sounds like the Route 66 town of Grants, N.M., home of the annual Fire and Ice motorcycle rally, is sprucing itself up a bit, thanks to its MainStreet program.

From the Cibola County Beacon:

Jaramillo reported on recent funds awarded to the group. “We’ve received a $53,000 grant to erect a neon Route 66 sign at the east end of town and a $73,000 grant to build a base for the pavilion tent used during the bike rally.”

Further, MainStreet has obtained a $10,000 grant to provide a stage and sound system for the pavilion and a smaller grant to beautify the front of City Hall with flowers and other improvements, according to Jaramillo.

I’m uncertain whether the neon sign is a permanent display or something for the rally only. It’s a nice salute to Route 66, regardless.