Barely a block south of the Manchester Avenue alignment of Route 66 in the St. Louis area is Saratoga Lanes, an upstairs, eight-lane bowling alley that’s been there since 1916.

Yep, it predates the Mother Road.

On Jan. 29, the Saratoga Lanes building was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

Saratoga Lanes is frequently open for private parties, including individuals. I and Emily went there a few years ago for a bowling tournament as part of Twangfest activities. The bowling alley is immaculately well-maintained; it’s practically a time machine from the 1950s.

Here’s a pretty good overview of the place. Here’s a virtual tour.

Here is a segment of “Return to the Road” documentary, a look at modern-day Route 66 starring Martin Milner before he became ill a few years ago.

Using the near-deserted Rock Cut segment and the quiet village of Devils Elbow in Missouri, this segment looks at the more contemplative stretches of a once-bustling Mother Road.

And here’s a segment from “Route 66: An American Odyssey,” narrated by Michael Wallis:

Both films are highly recommended. And, yes, they’re available in DVD.

Here’s a news release from the Hualapai Lodge on Route 66 in Peach Springs, Ariz.:

The Hualapai Lodge, owned and operated by the Hualapai Nation at Grand Canyon West, has placed new premium beds in all 60 of its rooms. The rooms now feature Elite 1350, FR Plush Serta mattresses and premium Serta box springs.

“We placed one of the industry’s most comfortable beds in the Hualapai Lodge to provide our visitors with the most relaxed night before and after their day exploring the Grand Canyon,” said Nancy Echeverria, Manager of the Hualapai Lodge.

This is canny marketing. You always have a fair number of people who hike into the canyon, and would welcome a top-notch mattress on which to rest their weary bones.

And those who brave riding that primitive road to Grand Canyon Skywalk would probably love those Sertas after being jostled for 30 miles. But there are plans (finally) to start paving the road to Skywalk sometime this year, and it will be done, weather permitting, by 2010.

The Flagstaff City Council voted 5-2 this week to reintroduce parking meters to 400 spaces in the downtown area, which includes Route 66, reports the Arizona Daily Sun.

I’m not necessarily against parking meters, especially if they stop those who squat on spaces for hours or even days at a time.

But there’s reason to be concerned about Flagstaff’s $1.2 million meter plan:

• Downtown merchants are split on whether the meters will hurt or help their businesses. If all of them were clamoring for meters, then they would seem more justified.
• The plan doesn’t address parking spillover into nearby residential areas.
• The plan does not address the most pressing concern — building a downtown parking garage. There’s not one yet planned, nor is it funded.

According to a study, downtown has a deficit of at least 200 parking spaces. You’d think the most prudent thing would be is to build that parking garage, then install meters if the space problem doesn’t improve. It seems to me that Flagstaff is doing this backwards.

Rick Shalander of Whites Creek, Tenn., liked the “Cars” movie and decided to re-create one of the Cozy Cone Motel cabins in the film. He’s going to use it as a place to park his motorcycle.

He’s building it out of of salvaged materials, including a motor from a hospital bed that will be used to raise the door. The structure is 25 feet tall and 14 feet in diameter at the base.

“You should see all the drivers going by as they break their necks to see what the heck I’m building,” he wrote.

Rick’s Cozy Cone is not yet finished, but it’s shaping up nicely:

Here’s a frame of reference from the film:

Rick promises to send more images when his personal Cozy Cone is done.