Online Media Coverage of Route 66

CARTHAGE, Mo. - A community leader in Webb City is looking into painting Route 66 markings on the road along the path of the old road through Jasper County.

TULSA, Okla. - The historic Rose Bowl on Route 66 is set to open this week after two years of renovations to transform the old bowling alley into an events center.

WILMINGTON, Ill. - Tourists may be fumbling around the downtown in their attempts to find the newly-opened Route 66 Welcome Center.

Some Oklahomans think of Route 66 in the past tense, as if to say it used to be America's Main Street or the Mother Road was the ultimate road trip. But I recently experienced first-hand how much charm and personality this iconic highway still boasts.

GALENA, Kan. - The women from 4 Women on the Route returned from the Route 66 Festival 2008 with bumps, bruises and an award.

FONTANA, Calif. - Progress won't put the squeeze on a Route 66 orange stand if Joe Bono has anything to say about it.

The owner of Bono's Restaurant and Deli on Foothill Boulevard, where the orange orb occupies a spot in the parking lot, says the stand will open again.

PACIFIC, Mo. - Supporters from all over the region, as well as federal representatives, are encouraging Pacific officials to move forward with a proposal to convert the historic Red Cedar Inn into a city museum and visitors center.

“Tucumcari Tonite” will be returning to billboards advertising the city to motorists on Interstate 40 and U.S. 54.

OATMAN, Ariz. - Every year July 4 is celebrated as the date in 1776 the U.S. announced its independence to the world.

ODELL, Ill. - Jennifer O'Dowd used to dream of a traditional marriage ceremony.

OATMAN, Ariz. - Crowds gather around a local celebrity, and cameras explode as she bats her big eyes and unashamedly gorges on food. It's the kind of scene you expect at a Hollywood hot spot.

BARSTOW, Calif. - The Route 66 Mother Road Museum is busy preparing to celebrate their eight years of service to this area. This special event will be Saturday, June 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are no admission or parking fees.

STROUD, Okla. - A fire Tuesday gutted the historic Rock Cafe on Route 66 in Stroud.

TULSA, Okla. - Construction will wrap up in June on the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, which is a major component of Tulsa's Route 66 revitalization efforts.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. - Some people consider traveling cross-country a bore, while others consider following the roads that keep our nation moving quite an adventure.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Judging that a federal program to preserve aspects of historic Route 66 is helping breathe new life into rural America, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici has offered legislation to ensure its continuation for another decade.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Owners are finally cleaning up abandoned motels along Central Avenue in Northeast Albuquerque. The American Inn was attracting drug dealers and transients, forcing the city to condemn the building.

TULSA, Okla. - Cars 2, a sequel to the 2006 animated smash that included Tulsa author Michael Wallis as not only a technical adviser but also giving voice to the role of the sheriff, will be released in summer 2012, Disney reported in a press release.

DEVIL'S ELBOW, Mo. - Pulaski County Commissioner Bill Farnham has made restoration of the Devil’s Elbow Bridge on the original path of Route 66 one of his highest-profile projects, and told commissioners Thursday morning that he’d like to authorize grant writers to begin efforts to obtain another $400,000 grant.

WILLIAMSVILLE, Ill. - Frank Kohlrus hasn’t quite picked an occupation yet, or it could be that he has picked a whole bunch of them.

LINCOLN, Ill. - There are now two new stops in Lincoln on the official Route 66 History Tour.

DES MOINES, Ia. - Erika Nelson should be an Iowan. She would fit right in with our taste for the large and oddball, which she will speak of today at Iowa State University in Ames.

Nelson, of Lucas, Kan., gathers stories and photographs of the nation's largest roadside attractions, every large ceramic bullhead and ball of twine, every giant popcorn ball and ketchup bottle.

AMBOY, Calif. - The pumps are running in Amboy.

Almost three years after restaurant chain owner Albert Okura bought the desert way station between Barstow and Needles on old Route 66, the gasoline pumps went to work Thursday.

AURORA, Ill. - The first coast-to-coast highway in the country runs right through the Fox Valley, but many local residents probably don't realize it.

The Lincoln Highway, stretching along Routes 30 and 31 and 38 through Fox Valley towns, was once a thoroughfare where the wealthy built mansions, cities positioned downtowns and theaters hosted major shows.

SELIGMAN, Ariz. - Looking through a chain-link fence at the abandoned Havasu Hotel, once the economic and social center of this community, Angel Delgadillo found it hard to acknowledge that it won't be here soon.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - A proposed design for a Route 66 display in the Jasper County Courthouse drew praise Wednesday from county commissioners and an official of a group that promotes Route 66 in Missouri.

CHICAGO, Ill. - A towering sculpture of eight cars made famous in the movie "Wayne's World" is up for sale on eBay.

SELIGMAN, Ariz. - The sounds of clinking china cups and laughing ladies have been gone for years at the Havasu Harvey House in Seligman. And soon, possibly today, the Havasu House itself will be gone.

Oklahoma is a state of natural beauty, rich history and quaint, small-town charm. It's no secret that many areas are hidden havens for homemade pies, serene lakes and weekend getaways. But don't let the small-town surface fool you. We have all heard that big things come in small packages, and in Oklahoma this rings true, literally.

THE 1928 BUNION DERBY -- a dramatic race across the country along Route 66 -- had all the elements of a true American story: a part-Cherokee farm boy from the heartland with determination, integrity and humility who was trying to pay off the farm and marry his sweetheart.

If you didn’t get enough of Disney’s animated take on the fables of Route 66, you’re in luck. The company’s Pixar unit is brewing up another installment of its Cars franchise, with the new animated feature due in 2012.

Route 66: It's not just Chicago-to-L.A. any more.

EDMOND, Okla. - Every time I come home from a press trip, someone comments, “Gee, I want your job.” Yes, it’s a lot of fun but it’s also serious business. State tourism organizations, convention and visitors’ bureaus and destinations host groups of writers, introduce them to their product(s) and hope for press coverage in return.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - “The Mother Road” will go on display in the Jasper County Courthouse later in 2008 and the public can see what that display will look like on April 16.

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Director Steve Owens has announced that ADEQ is hosting a conference in Kingman on April 15 to explore economic redevelopment opportunities for contaminated properties in all communities along historic Route 66 in Northern Arizona.

COLUMBUS, Kan. - The Cherokee County Commission on Monday heard a request for $1,000 to benefit a three-state effort to promote historic Route 66.

EL RENO, Okla. - Larry Nance rode a motorcycle on Route 66 so he could stand on a corner in Winslow, Ariz.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - This is one pit stop that won't break any records for brevity.

The Art of Cars exhibit -- which opens Saturday and runs through Nov. 2 -- at the Petersen Automotive Museum provides a one-of-a-kind look at the creative process behind "Cars," the 2006 animated movie from The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Abe Lincoln and Route 66 share top billing on the cover of Logan County�s brand new visitors� guide.

ERICK, Okla. - Disney/Pixar sent a team of 12 Imagineers to Erick last week to meet with Harley and Annabelle Russell as research for Cars Land, a new amusement park to be added to Disneyland Resorts in 2012.

Officials in Miami, Oklahoma want to jump start tourism, but not just in Oklahoma. They want people to come to Kansas and Missouri as well.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Despite approval by the General Assembly and the governor last August, efforts to restore the old Illinois State Police Headquarters in Pontiac remain stalled.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Although much has changed over the years, historic Route 66 through Carthage continues to be the road to interesting sights and events in the city.

MIAMI, Okla. - A three-state collaboration to market historic Route 66 and its attractions has city and tourism officials hoping more tourists will “get their kicks on Route 66” in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Danner Trust, which works to encourage and aid preservation and restoration of historical locations in Central Illinois, has provided grant money to replace windows at The Mill, according to a news release from The Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The 1.3-mile section of road southeast of Springfield is narrow, rough and probably headed for landmark status.

Cuba, Mo. - A site on Route 66 was a natural when chocolatier Marcia Wilson looked for a storefront for her on-line candy business that had outgrown her kitchen.

HOLLAND, Mich. - One of the most indelible memories of my childhood was a trip "out West" as my parents liked to refer to it via the famous Route 66.

The city of Albuquerque is fixing up the El Vado Motel.

JOLIET, Ill. - The Joliet Visitors Bureau's efforts to promote the city as the "gateway to Route 66" was a hit at the recent Illinois Governor's Conference on Tourism.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - There once was a time when Sundays meant piling into the family car and leisurely cruising around the Southland simply to experience the joy and peace of a relaxing weekend activity.

WINSLOW, Ariz. - Of all the towns dotting the western stretch of Interstate 40, Winslow, Ariz., is a sight to see. It's not a thriving metropolis like Phoenix, nor an artsy spa haven like Sedona, or a cowboy corral like Tucson. It's a town that time forgot, a brick-and-mortar reminder of what used to be.

The Panhandle city of Adrian is at the midpoint on Route 66.

ONTARIO, Calif. - This great road came into existence in 1926 and ran through three time zones and eight states.

TULSA, Okla. - When it comes down to deciding what to do with a neglected and disused property, preservationists and business interests sometimes lock horns.

DENVER, Colo. - In 1926, a road was established that would lead straight into the American psyche. It would become known as the Mother Road, and it would link small town America along its 2,400-mile path from Chicago to Los Angeles. That road was Route 66.

BEDFORD, Penna. - In its home at the entrance of the Bedford County Fairgrounds, the Coffee Pot, one of a few remaining examples of utilitarian roadside art dating to the 1920s, continues to attract sightseers and history buffs.

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill. - America is home to many main streets, but none has held the official title of the "Mother Road" like Route 66.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Hold off on making reservations at El Vado just yet.

If the city goes ahead with its plans to purchase or condemn the Route 66-era motel on Central Avenue and restore it as a tourist destination, it could be a good long while before there are rooms at the inn.

EDMOND, Okla. - Arcadia resident Janetta Chapple remembers the time before 1965 when almost every small town had a downtown along Route 66. Edmond Mayor Dan O’Neil remembers his family driving through Route 66 on their way to Walt Disney Land in 1956.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac will be the location of a Route 66 exhibit featuring photos of the Mother Road, with a grand opening scheduled at 2:30 p.m., Friday, March 7, at the museum complex located in the Old City Hall and Firehouse in downtown Pontiac. The exhibit encompasses 166 photos taken during an eight-day trip though the eight states Route 66 traverses—Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California—and will be on permanent loan to the city.

Today's question:

About 20 or 30 miles east of Flagstaff on Interstate 40, there are signs for the town of Two Guns. Is that an authentic Old West name or something made up to attract tourists?

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - Benjamin Franklin said "Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have," which leads one to ask, what does the condition of Route 66's cemeteries say about us? Along California's section of "The Mother Road" the final resting places of those early travelers have been forgotten.

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.

FOR SALE - The original neon sign from the Thunderbird Motel, Miami, Oklahoma, on old Route 66.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - An historically black town and an American Indian school are among Preservation Oklahoma's most endangered historic places in the state.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - The Mother Road will be on display in the halls of the Jasper County Courthouse, but exactly when is still to be determined.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Demolition of the old Fifth Street bridge at the 215 Freeway should soon begin, and some people will get a chance to take a piece of it home—a souvenir of Route 66.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - A plaque marking the grave of “Brownie,” a stray dog who greeted World War II troops as they passed through Victorville, will be moved to the California Route 66 Museum as Forrest Park is torn down.

LONGMONT, Colo. - One digit short of Satan’s sign, Route 66 was where you went to get your kicks. But the fabled road was almost called Route 60, and before the popular song claimed it for free-wheeling tourists, dust bowl escapees followed it to California, and later it was Kerouac-minded adventurers who rolled down its path, finding themselves as they explored the country.

TULSA, Okla. - Part of the Mother Road that passes near Downtown Tulsa is the destination for new development. Along Southwest Boulevard, and the 11th Street bridge, there is so much history. Thanks to Vision 2025, city leaders are getting on the road to remembering. 24 miles of Route 66 goes right through Tulsa. That's one of the longest stretches in the state. [Editor's Note: We at Route 66 University are unsure just what the author means by that last statement.]

The Albuquerque City Council voted 5-4 Monday night to designate a classic Route-66-style motel on Central Avenue a historic landmark, but it might not be enough to save the El Vado from a bulldozer.

The Albuquerque City Council enters Round 2 on Monday in the fight to preserve the historic El Vado Motel, despite the owner's plans to demolish the building.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - Frank Bates is an old-school salesman, a little extravagant, a little unorthodox. He's dedicated his life to his RVs. "It's a great thing!" Frank said, "We're selling something that's fun."

LINCOLN, Ill. - Richard Sumrall is always on the lookout for a good book. When he read the review of Geoff Williams' "C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race," and noticed reviewers had given it several stars, he decided to add the book to the collection at Lincoln Public Library.

ON ROUTE 66 IN OKLAHOMA - Six years ago Laurel Kane and her husband moved from Connecticut to Afton, Okla., because of Route 66.

They bought an old D-X gas station in the small town and began turning it into a welcoming center and old car museum.

DO you ever wish you were back in the Fifties, cruising across the Wild West of America to find the California sun?

It’s not such wishful thinking... because you can do it for real in the 21st Century. Well, almost.

ARCADIA, Okla. - The second best-selling soda at POPS—Oklahoma's tribute to the carbonated beverage—is a brand that didn't exist six months ago.

But don't look for Round Barn Root Beer to be showing up at the corner convenience store anytime soon.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The McKinley Bridge that links St. Louis and southern Illinois is expected to reopen to traffic on Monday, the Illinois Department of Transportation said Friday.

MIAMI, Okla. - The National Scenic Byways Program has awarded the city of Miami $120,000 for the erection of historical markers and other projects along historic Route 66.

The New Mexico Tourism Department's Scenic Byways Program has received $576,477 in federal funds to help fund nearly $800,000 in projects for 2008.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Ned and Michelle Leuchtner of Kenilworth, Ill., are trying to bring back some of the magic of Route 66.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum has received a superior achievement award from the Illinois Association of Museums for its newest exhibit, The Route 66 Experience.

ARCADIA, Okla. - You can see the big, glowing thing from a couple of miles away on historic Route 66, and as you approach from the east, you wonder what it is: A rocket ship at an amusement park? Surely not out here in the middle of nowhere. A giant, glowing Q-tip, like they used to have at the Johnson & Johnson factories? Nope, wrong shape.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Bill Gates and Paul Allen once got their kicks in a brick office building located just off Route 66 in eastern Albuquerque, across the street from the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. Now any company able to pay $83,000 for 1200 square feet of office space with two rest rooms can set up shop in the building where Microsoft was born.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - In recognition of their outstanding field work, Drs. John Mitrano and Bruce Day of the Central Connecticut State University Department of Sociology have been awarded a grant from the U.S. National Park Service Route 66 Preservation Program.

JOLIET, Ill. - Gas pumps may not say Christmas to most people. But with prices like 48 cents a gallon, the nostalgic gas pumps in downtown Joliet are a timely reminder of the way things used to be as the holiday season starts with record-level gas prices.

SELIGMAN, Ariz. - Angel Delgadillo remembers when train passengers in suits and silk promenaded into the Havasu Hotel to relax and dine in luxury.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Contract details are still being worked out, but the installation of a Route 66 museum in the lobby of the Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage is moving closer to reality.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - American Express and the World Monuments Fund today announced a new initiative that rewards and encourages the responsible stewardship of historic sites by supporting projects that address the issue of sustainable tourism. This initiative, which is part of the American Express Partners in Preservation initiative launched in 2006, is focused on sustaining historic sites in the face of increased visitor activities and environmental impacts, and preserving them for future generations to enjoy.

NORMAL, Ill. - A plan to restore a 1930s gas station along Route 66 got a bit of financial help from the town Monday night.

CLAREMORE, Okla. - Will Rogers Hotel at the northeast corner of Will Rogers Boulevard and Route 66 will be host to a 10th anniversary celebration Friday, marking the decade since the landmark was reopened.

LOS LUNAS, N. Mex. - The Augustin Archuleta Building has been many things since it was built in the 1930s - police station, courthouse, library, even the office for a cable television company.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - While time and progress slowly chip away at the remnants of old Route 66, the Green Spot Motel in Victorville lingers as a quiet reminder of the Mother Road's heyday. Just off the legendary highway in the old town section of Victorville, the cluster of fading white stucco buildings was once advertised as "Southern California's Finest Auto Court."

They're out here. Right now, this minute, whether it's early in the morning or late at night, the searchers are out here on Route 66.

And so are we.

Is there any highway in America as celebrated as Route 66?

CHELSEA, Okla. - When talking about the future of Chelsea, residents say it is bright.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Mill, a Dutch-themed building in Lincoln once was a restaurant and bar, and members of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Lincoln hope to open it in 2009 as a museum.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - The song says you can get your kicks on Route 66. But after you get them, where do you sleep?

GALENA, Kan. - Federal and state officials met Tuesday with Galena city officials and business people about ways to restore environmentally damaged properties along Route 66 to productive uses.

HOLBROOK, Ariz. - At first glance, driving in after a scenic tour through Arizona’s Painted Desert on a late summer afternoon, the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook doesn’t look like much, just a forlorn collection of stucco-coated dunce caps on an asphalt lot by an aged strip of Route 66 in a forgotten settlement amid the vast 27,000 square miles of the Navajo Nation reservation.

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - Nearly six months after volunteers began work to restore a 1930 gas station as a Route 66 Visitor Center, the Baxter Springs Historical Society is ready to open the doors.

CUBA, Mo. - A beautification organization, Viva Cuba, founded in 1984, just completed its goal of 12 outdoor murals along historic Route 66 by 2007, Cuba's 150th anniversary.

CHENOA, Ill. - A 3-mile bike trail in Chenoa doesn't mean very much by itself. But as part of a state-spanning trail along old Route 66, it could become a big deal.

SAPULPA, Okla. - Members of the Sapulpa community gathered to voice their opinions on how Route 66 can enhance the area with state and university officials on Tuesday.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The first 15 episodes of the top-rated 1960s television series “Route 66,” which defined the wonder lust of the open road as well as establishing the Corvette as an American icon, is slated for release on DVD Oct. 23.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - Residents of Pulaski County have spoken, and decided the cover of the Tourism Bureau’s promotional brochure should reflect Historic Route 66, not local canoeing.

MIAMI, Okla. - Signs, historic markers, festivals and events would be considered priorities for Route 66 through Oklahoma if the federal government designates the 417-mile stretch of highway a national scenic byway.

TULSA, Okla. - Helen Louise Avery Berghell, longtime Tulsan and daughter of Cyrus Avery, who was known as the "Father of Route 66," died Sept. 10 in Newport Beach, Calif. She was 91.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - David Waller, owner of the Shelter Insurance Agency near the intersection of Central and Garrison, has seen it -- travelers driving Route 66, especially those going from east to west, coming to the intersection of Central and Garrison and facing confusion.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - One key ingredient with the emerging trend of Slow Travel is to let the modest winds blow you away. You go as far as time will take you. The movement gets compared to the separate Slow Food initiative, which makes sense, seeing how fast food redefined America's interstates.

Broadwell, Ill. - When the Pig Hip Restaurant Museum caught fire earlier this year, and could not be saved, many thought that only the memories would live on in the hearts and minds of visitors. This was not to be. Bob Olson, longtime friend of Pig Hip proprietor, Ernie Edwards, took it upon himself to purchase a bronze plaque, which was then set in stone, and placed at the site of the Pig Hip. This marker tells the story of the Pig Hip Restaurant, immortalizing the memories and the history of this Route 66 Icon.

Lincoln, Ill. - The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has teamed up with the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County to present a car show at the Mill. All are welcome to attend, or to register their car in the show. Registration is $3, which will go directly to the Mill restoration. The show will take place on October 20, 2007, from 11 AM to 3 PM, at the Mill (738 S. Washington St., Lincoln, IL).

WHARTON, Tex. - [Editor's Note: Though the motel discussed below is not on Route 66, it makes for an encouraging story, nonetheless.] A bit of American history — quirky and curious, but history nonetheless — huddles next to old Highway 59, past the tractor dealers and the rice mills, just before a green sign that proclaims Wharton’s population of 9,237.

ORO GRANDE, Calif. - To preserve or to destroy, that is the dilemma of property owners all over the country as they stare down the costs of renovation.

Larry Judkins went with the latter option, tearing down a group of stone cottages along the old Route 66 that had become a haven for squatters and vagrants.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Flagstaff officials are trying to lure more tourists to get their kicks on Route 66.

NORMAL, Ill. - Several Normal Town Council members say they've often looked at the historic building at 305 Pine Street and thought more could be done with it. But, they're not sure they can meet the owner's request.

GALENA, Kan. - Some mine disasters happen in a flash, like the Utah cave-in last month that apparently entombed six coal miners. Others unfold in slow motion.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - Pulaski County Tourism Bureau members narrowed down their choice of covers for their new tourism guide Thursday, and now want to give community residents input into their two final choices.

TULSA, Okla. - Oilmen struck it rich in Tulsa, and now a theme park to honor that history has found some cash too. Four hundred thousand dollars from the state's Centennial Fund has been earmarked for the Red Fork Derrick. The News On 6’s Steve Berg reports the plan is to build an 80-foot tall oil derrick that will be the centerpiece for a transportation theme park in West Tulsa, located on Route 66.

ARCADIA, Okla. - Out in Arcadia, things are really hopping. More precisely, they're Pop-ping.

CHICAGO, Ill. - Route 66 is probably the most famous highway in the world. The Pixar movie Cars and a 1960s TV show were based on it. A popular tune was written about it ("Get your kicks on Route 66"). A gas retailer, Phillips 66, was named after it. Its merchants called Route 66 "The Main Street of America." It is a travel destination today.

BROADWELL, Ill. - Piglet pink and far weightier than the heftiest hog at the Illinois State Fair, Ernie Edwards' birthday gift arrived Wednesday.

ARCADIA, Okla. - Before school is in full swing, you may want to head out on a road trip to see Oklahoma's latest big attraction. There's a cola craze going on along Route 66 at a place guaranteed to quench your thirst for a fun day trip. Hit the road down Route 66 and there are plenty of old landmarks that have drawn people for decades. News On 6 anchor Craig Day reports now, there’s a new one.

PONTIAC, Ill. - With its name writ large in red cursive letters and lit by a neon glow, The Palamar Motel once beckoned countless travelers driving Downstate on The Mother Road. Now the "T" and half the "P" have fallen off, the faded pink motel room doors are bolted shut, and weeds fill the swimming pool to the rim.

The chef Alice Waters and other foodies talk about "slow food" as an antidote to fast food.

Now many connoisseurs of the highway are championing the use of slow roads - back roads with scenery and history - instead of faceless Interstates.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Richard Delgado is appealing to sentimental New Mexicans who yearn for a bygone era of neon, tourist courts and roadside hamburger stands.

When Manoj Patel's family bought the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif., four years ago, the iconic Route 66 property was rundown. Its stucco teepees, built in the 1930s by Kentucky motor-inn visionary Frank Redford, had been frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes because the Wigwam's previous owners tried to reel in customers with a cheesy sign urging them to DO IT IN A TEE PEE.

ARCADIA, Okla. - When Aubrey McClendon thinks about Route 66, his thoughts turn not just to trips to California, but to the road's darker history as an escape route from Oklahoma.

COUNTRYSIDE, Ill. - It’s been immortalized in literature, song, movies and television, but there’s little left in the Chicago area to identify Route 66.

AMARILLO, Tex. - For sale: one historic helium plant (helium not included).

The federal government, which is getting out of the helium business, is auctioning off the Amarillo Helium Plant, which for decades refined much of the nation's squeaky-gas supply mined from the surrounding natural gas fields.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. - First came the world's largest ketchup bottle. Now this southern Illinois community is after the record for the world's largest ketchup packet.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn. - About 285 Girl Scouts will be "traveling" through eight states, back in time and down historic Route 66 for four action-packed days -- and it won't take nearly as much gasoline as you'd think.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac tourism director Ellie Alexander remembers piling into the car with her four siblings and father and traveling down Route 66 to St. Louis.

Albert Okura says chickens can save Amboy.

The chickens are cooked in rotisserie ovens and sold at Okura's 35 Juan Pollo chain restaurants, at locations from Whittier to Yucaipa. Sell enough chickens, he says, and he'll raise the $1 million he needs to restore the luster to Amboy, a way station in the Mojave Desert between Barstow and Needles on old Route 66.

WILMINGTON, Ill. - John Korelc was a constant at a famous city restaurant.

Korelc and his wife, Bernice, opened the Dari Delite on Baltimore Street in 1960. But in 1965, they changed the name to The Launching Pad Drive-In.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - While high fuel prices are rapidly driving up the cost of road maintenance in Pulaski County, commissioners were glad to hear Monday morning that Commissioner Bill Farnham appears to have succeeded in obtaining approval from the Missouri Department of Transportation’s District 9 region for repairing the historic Devil’s Elbow Bridge.

CAJON PASS, Calif. - Thousands of hikers pass through this section of the Pacific Crest Trail each year. Probably very few realize they are treading in the footsteps of early pioneers and ancient people.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac again will be showing its respect to the Mother Road with new murals and possibly a festival for mural painters.

Our pilot was a petite Japanese woman with jet black hair. Her feet barely reached the floor of the helicopter. With a twitch of her pinky we were in the air, racing over the tops of the ponderosa pines, soon a blur of ebony green. Her musical voice came over the headphones: "If you don't like heights, I suggest you close your eyes." The helicopter accelerated. The tree tops suddenly vanished. The ground was gone. We were floating over the Grand Canyon.

PONTIAC, Ill. - It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday, so John and Lenore Weiss decided to load up some supplies, drive 60 miles from their rural Wilmington home to Pontiac and do a little bridge maintenance.

They're not contractors, engineers, professional painters or iron workers.

They're devotees of historic Route 66.

Lebanon, Mo. - More than two years since the day it was shuttered at the same moment its longtime operator died, Wrink's Market is coming back to Route 66.

Inspired by the history and people of The Lincoln Highway, author and historian Michael Wallis is taking off on a journey across the continent-wide highway.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - A Carterville resident told the Carthage City Council Tuesday how important it is that the city has a sign program illuminating Route 66 as it winds through town.

GALENA, Kan.— Route 66 covers 13 miles in Kansas, but it took staff members with the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program all day Thursday to make the journey.

PONTIAC, Ill. - The Pontiac Planning and Zoning Board gave a 6-1 recommendation Monday for a mural that the City Council has already suggested it would approve. But the art may not become a reality anytime soon.

MONROVIA, Calif. - A new lobby and a new bar with a new name are planned for Monrovia's historic Aztec Hotel, and the hotel owner hopes the face-lift will help the Aztec's appearance as well as its reputation.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - This area shouldn’t underestimate old Route 66 as a historic link to our past and as a magnet for tourists lured to the old Mother Road.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - It's an abiding love of history that make Richard and Sherry Mangum don Edwardian-style clothing and stroll downtown Flagstaff in the heat, a group of visitors in tow.

The Mangums have been conducting historic walking tours in Flagstaff for 14 years, but after this summer, they're packing it in. For their effort, they have been selected to receive one of Arizona's Culture Keepers awards this year.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac is a town full of a very rich history. There are some occasions when people might not notice a piece of history right out in the open. What the people of Pontiac and the area might be missing out on is a little bridge.

EDMOND, Okla. - A nostalgic thread of Americana crosses Oklahoma as State Highway 66. The old Mother Road is an avenue for which stories are told from Chicago to California.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The respected nonprofit World Monuments Fund has updated its list of the world’s 100 most endangered cultural heritage sites. The 2008 watch list includes sites as diverse as the Freetown Historic District in Sierra Leone, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and even our very own Route 66, which “runs from Chicago to L.A.” (as the old song says).

GALENA, Kan. - Melba Rigg on Wednesday was talking up Galena and its Route 66 connection to visitors from Palm Springs, Calif.

“I’m bound and determined to get Galena back on the map,” Rigg told them.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The gravel parking lot near the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge looked like a classic car show Friday.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Tourism revenue in Livingston County in 2006 increased 8.8 percent from 2005, according to a study released last week by the governor's office.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Larry Van Bibber has donated $15,000 for the renovation of the Mill on old Route 66.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. - Visit the Apple Valley Motel along Chain of Rocks Road in Granite City most nights and it's likely you'd find the asphalt parking filled with muddy pickup trucks and crews of dozing construction workers and electricians inside its 17 simple rooms.

But every summer, Apple Valley plays host to a curious group of different visitors: foreign tourists making a pilgrimage along Route 66, the iconic "mother road" linking downtown Chicago to California, more than 2,000 miles all the way. For a small number of those miles, Route 66, or what's left of it, passes through Edwardsville, Collinsville, Mitchell, Madison and Venice, including passing right past the Apple Valley Motel.

Michael Wallis is a rock star among Route 66 fanatics.

His name is mentioned with great cheer and fanfare at Afton Station, Stroud's Rock Cafe and among Tulsans planning to celebrate their legacy as the birthplace of America's internationally famous highway.

TULSA, Okla. - Chris Felthous spent seven years as manager at the Metro, a popular '50s-style diner along historic Route 66 — and he admits the eatery's destruction earlier this year was a big hit to this city's efforts to lure fans of the "mother road.”

BARSTOW, Calif. - Some of Barstow's old signs on iconic Route 66 downtown may get a facelift, funded in part by the city.

ARCADIA, Okla. - Ernest "Butch” Breger is a living Route 66 icon, welcoming guests into the world-famous "Round Barn” next to the former filling station he's called home his entire life.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Carthage's historic Boots Motel could probably be turned into a profitable tourist destination, but the current owner says he's not the guy to do it.

AFTON, Okla. - Pulling up to the Afton Station in their red 1993 Corvette convertible, Jim and Nancy Allan couldn't help but stop and tour Laurel Kane's lifelong dream.

At Kane's restored 1920s-era DX station along Route 66, the Atlanta couple looked at the postcards, the memorabilia, and saw what they call "the real America.”

TULSA, Okla. - Oklahoma, let's talk about Route 66.

I know that for years you've struggled with your identity. You're often compared to the shy, attractive girl at the small town dance — too easily overshadowed by the cocky glamorous homecoming queen named "Texas.”

As the laziness of summer creeps in, students all over the country get restless, stricken with an insatiable wanderlust. So they pack up their cars with duffel bags and friends and head home, out to the beach or to a distant campground.

Unfortunately, far too often we sacrifice the art of the road trip for the function, simply looking to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. That's not what road trips are really about. The old-fashioned road trip relegates points A, B and C to simple changes of scenery along the way.

The road itself is the destination.

MIAMI, Okla. - Michigan firefighter Dale Adams has a motorcycle, a backpack and a map of Route 66. He doesn't know where he'll be today, but he set off on this trek with some mandatory stops.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Large murals advertising Pontiac and Old Route 66 are being proposed on the sides of two buildings, but the property owners, including the city, first must get city code variances.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The back of The Mill restaurant came down this morning under the watchful eyes of a group of preservationists dedicated to restoring the remainder of the building as a Route 66 museum.

TULSA, OKLA. — Wide-eyed dreamers from throughout the world came here Friday to see the gleaming gold-and-white Plymouth Belvedere — buried decades ago in a time capsule as a publicity stunt.

AMARILLO, Tex. - Preservation enthusiasts believe a silver lining runs just under "endangered" labels slapped twice on Route 66 in the past nine days.

AMBOY, Calif. - Albert Okura, the businessman who bought and restored the original McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, formed a partnership Thursday to restore Roy’s motel, café and gas station on Route 66.

SANTA FE, N. Mex. - A portion of historic Route 66 that runs through between Bernalillo and Algodones is among several landmarks around New Mexico that have been added to the State Register of Cultural Properties.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Parts of New York City's fabled waterfront are disappearing faster than the Brooklyn accent of “dese, dem, and dose.” A preservation group wants to do something about it, declaring the area one of the most endangered places in the United States.

So begins the great pilgrimage.

The first wayfarers arrived at the shrine of the buried Belvedere on Tuesday morning not long after excavation of the Plymouth's 12-foot-by-20-foot vault began on the Tulsa County Courthouse lawn.

MESILLA, N. Mex. - Potential threats from Spaceport America led a national group to name the centuries-old El Camino Real trail Thursday as one of the top 11 most endangered historic places in the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Preservationists are warning that coming generations of Americans won't be able to get their kicks on Route 66 unless steps are taken to save the aging neon-lit lodgings beside the storied highway.

LEBANON, Mo. - The iconic Wrink's Market, a fixture on Route 66 in Lebanon for more than fifty years, will re-open this summer.

AMBOY, Calif. - Along Route 66, which connected Chicago to Los Angeles from 1926 to 1985, roadside motels and their signature neon signs have been celebrated in books, songs and movies, as motoring west became an expression of American independence and freedom.

LINCOLN, Ill. - It isn't quite as bad as first thought at The Mill. The landmark restaurant on old Route 66 was within days of the wrecking ball last year when the newly formed Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County stepped in to take over the deteriorated property.

BROADWELL, Ill. - With a final celebratory snort, The Pig Hip will give a final farewell this Sunday to Route 66 and its rabid travelers.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Route 66 which runs through Oklahoma is on a list of the world's 100 most endangered architectural and cultural monuments released Wednesday. The New York-based World Monuments Fund included historic U.S. Route 66 on its list. The fabled east-west highway that runs about 2,400 miles through eight states is flanked by eccentric, deteriorating attractions.

SELIGMAN, Ariz. - The Roadkill Cafe proudly proclaims "You kill it, we grill it!" -- but the closest you'll actually get to animals mown down on the road is dish names on the menu.

PONTIAC, Ill. - A Pontiac woman, two Bloomington businesses and a Springfield cafe are the 2007 inductees to the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame.

ROLLA, Mo. - The hillbilly sign is back on historic Route 66.

Carl and Zelma Smith, owners of the Mule Trading Post, bought and restored the sign that had been out of sight since 2000. The hillbilly sign now stands in front of a new tobacco barn they opened Memorial Day weekend, just next door to the Mule Trading Post. He stands close to two stories tall, and his arms rotate in a circular fashion.

JOLIET, Ill. - Get hip to this timely tip: Joliet Kicks on Route 66.

Beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the city will celebrate its ties to the Main Street of America, the cross-country road running from Chicago to Los Angeles, and the new Route 66 exhibit at the Joliet Area Historical Museum.

When I think of Route 66 before the interstate highways were built, I remember how friendly and helpful people were as much as I remember attractions for snakes, caves and even two-headed calves. Roadway courtesy was so common that truck drivers often stopped to help travelers change flat tires or fill their radiators.

GRANTS, N. Mex. - Heritage tourism is the newest tool in the travel arsenal. It includes everything from the Queen of England visiting Jamestown on the East Coast, to tours of Wild West towns, and road tours across the country on Route 66, America's Main Street. The Mother Road is of extreme importance to the history and growth of the nation, and New Mexico is certainly a large part of that historic automotive heritage.

JOPLIN, Mo. - With gas at more than $3 a gallon, the romance of the open road is, well, road kill.

But there was a day when motoring across the country with the top down was part of the American experience.

SANTA FE, N. Mex. - A new license plate that celebrates Route 66 as the first transcontinental roadway in the country is now available to New Mexico drivers.

“Get your kicks on Route 66” serenades the song about the highway that “winds from Chicago to L.A.” Many people took to the road when it became the country’s first continuous span of paved highway linking East and West.

CHANDLER, Okla. - Chandler's new Route 66 Interpretive Center redefines the meaning of rest stop.

MIAMI, Okla. - The Riviera Courts motel is crumbling away and nobody seems to care.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The garage sale planned along Route 66 in Logan County June 9 and 10 has been dubbed "37 Miles of Smiles" by event founder Bruce Huskins of Lincoln.

The sale will include vendors in Atlanta, Lawndale, Lincoln, Broadwell and Elkhart.

ARCADIA, Okla. - Historic Route 66 cuts across Oklahoma, entering the state's northeast corner at Quapaw and exiting on the southwest corner at Texola. Halfway through its journey through the Sooner State, it meanders through the picturesque town of Arcadia, population 279. Travelers often stop at Arcadia to marvel at the Round Barn and to pause where Washington Irving explored during his travels. Now, there is another reason to stop in Arcadia: POPS, a new destination on Route 66 that will join the many great landmarks on “America's Main Street”!

This summer, Oklahoma's stretch of Route 66 will unveil a new icon in Arcadia.

WILMINGTON, Ill. - A decade or so ago Morey Szczecin brought his two sons to the Launching Pad on historic Route 66. He recalled liking the place and being intrigued by the big, green statue looming outside.

So when the Channahon business man heard the place was for sale, he jumped at the chance. Last week, he officially took ownership of the business that happened to come with the famous Gemini Giant on the side.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Bicyclists and other “trail breakers” will travel the entire 369 miles of Illinois’s new Route 66 Trail June 2 during the bike route’s debut event.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The West Hollywood Convention & Visitors Bureau (WHCVB) has officially launched its completely re-designed web site to the public. The site, located at www.visitwesthollywood.com, serves as the official resource for travelers, media, and locals to access the latest West Hollywood news and information.

DWIGHT, Ill. - It’s a scene right out of the 1940s, but the setting is contemporary Dwight. Inside the restored Ambler’s Texaco Station is a potbellied stove alongside small-sized Coca-Cola and 7UP bottles. There’s also an ancient cash register and a plaid stamp saver book.

NORMAL, Ill. - Few may remember Route 66 running along Pine Street in Normal, fueling a thriving business district that has waned over the decades.

Terri Ryburn wants to refresh everyone’s memories and bring back business there.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac officials say the inaugural Red Carpet Corridor over the weekend was a success, with events in Pontiac likely to be more centralized for the 2008 second staging of the Route 66-based event.

FUNKS GROVE, Ill. - When early settlers first came to Illinois, the state was covered with acres of untouched grassland and forest.

Today, the Sugar Grove Foundation in Funks Grove, located along old Route 66 about 15 miles south of Bloomington, protects the state's largest remaining intact prairie grove.

HESPERIA, Calif. - I was born on Mother's Day, May 9, 1948 and lived my first seven or eight years with my parents, Abel and Mary Doornbos, in a two-story house, in Dolton -- a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. In 1955, we moved west, following Route 66 and ended up at 1515 E. Huntington Drive, which was the Yearling Motel. My parents had bought the motel.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Route 66 will once again be on the big stage in Kingman this weekend.

The 20th Annual Route 66 Fun Run starts this Friday at noon in Seligman.

Waynesville’s signature frog overlooking the Historic Route 66 hill became a little greener Tuesday, thanks to the work of six members of Fort Leonard Wood’s Marine Corps Detachment.

Well it took a while to get the video uploaded and approved, but finally our route 66-trip montage is complete.

It was a relief, after driving the rented Chevy HHR over 50 miles of punishing dirt washboard, to come to a real highway. The sign on the paved road pointed me toward Seligman, Arizona, but even more welcoming was the second signpost, leaving me feeling oddly nostalgic since I'd never been here before. It read, “Route 66.'”

TULSA, Okla. - Richard L. Branaman felt empty the day two skyscrapers tumbled to the ground in New York City.

Then, some six months later, he passed a Sept. 11, 2001, monument along Interstate 244 and wondered why there couldn't be reminders of something other than disasters that hollow a man out.

You know, "Something happy," he said.

ATLANTA, Ill. - The Palms Grill Cafe, along Route 66 in Atlanta for many years, is coming back to life.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - There is a cow on Route 66 that could soon be put out to pasture.

It sits perched atop a steakhouse, as it has for the past 34 years, sending the simplest of messages.

DWIGHT, Ill. - The village of Dwight has completed restoration of the historic Ambler-Becker Texaco Station at the intersection of Old Route 66 and Illinois 17.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County marked its 20th anniversary as a certified bureau Friday with a banquet and awards ceremony at the Maple Club.

With the exception of Branson, few associate the state of Missouri with vacation, adventure or getaway. This is not the case for the die-hard Route 66 enthusiasts, as they know that just off the interstate lie some of the best the old highway has to offer.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - [County Commissioner Jim Honey] reported that Commissioner Darius Adams had secured a Missouri Department of Transportation grant of about $100,000 to create a Route 66 museum in the Courthouse.

AMBOY, Calif. - A man sat, perched on a stool at the dusty countertop.

In the cafe that doesn't serve food.

At the gas station that doesn't pump gas.

At the motel where nobody sleeps.

GRAND CANYON CAVERNS, Ariz. - Owners of Grand Canyon Caverns and Inn east of Kingman on old Route 66 say the local attraction is due for a number of upgrades in the coming months.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - A state publication has recognized Carthage as the second most beautiful town in Missouri.

TULSA, Okla. - Among the more persistent rumors about the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried at the Tulsa County Courthouse is that it isn't really there -- that it was secretly removed from its concrete vault during the last 50 years and put somewhere else.

Kansans, and those outside the state for that matter, may help determine the eight wonders of Kansas.

The Kansas Sampler Foundation, on the Web at www.kansassampler.org, is seeking nominations.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - The owner of the Route 66-era El Vado motel says two court rulings this week aid his plan to redevelop the site -- although the city says no way.

LINCOLN, Ill. - In Lincoln Thursday afternoon, Geoff Ladd and Carl Johnson were like two kids in a candy store.

Havasu Canyon is a spell binding place where you would be sure to find spring buzzing and blooming around you.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Chris Brock can’t count how many times tourists have stopped workers in city trucks and asked for directions to historic sites in Pontiac.

New “way-finding signs,” which could be up within the week, should help.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Kouguu. It’s the Japanese term for “welcome” that many Carthage residents may want to familiarize themselves with in anticipation of tourists from across the globe visiting our community in the near future.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - It was decommissioned from the U.S. Highway System more than 20 years ago, but U.S. 66 apparently hasn't lost its allure. In fact, it seems the road has developed something of an international reputation as a place where you can still get your kicks.

JOLIET, Ill. - Faster than the kids at Rydell High could slap out the hand jive, city agencies have started gearing up to launch Joliet's latest marketing venture: Joliet Kicks on Route 66.

GLENRIO, Tex. - Time has passed this town where cars once rolled through on cross-country treks from Illinois to California.

Today, there's not much left in Glenrio, remnants of a bygone era.

OLNEY, Ill. - The white squirrels of Olney are out of the running for finalists in the Seven Wonders of Illinois competition sponsored by the Illinois Tourism Bureau. In the fourth and final week of online voting for favorite attractions, the white squirrels fell into fourth place.

ROLLA, Mo. - At 3:30 p.m. today, the doors will close on a Missouri tradition right here in Rolla.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - It would be a safe bet to say more ink has covered paper in regards to Route 66 than there has been asphalt to cover the highway itself.

In spite of this notoriety, it is surprisingly easy to become myopic about one particular section of the legendary highway. Such is the case here in our neck of the woods where other portions of the road, such as the eastern leg in Illinois, receive little attention.

PEACH SPRINGS, HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, Ariz. - Children laugh as they splash one another while washing their tribe's new Boys and Girls Club van -- a vehicle covered bumper to bumper with an advertisement for nearby Grand Canyon West and its controversial new Skywalk bridge.

PONTIAC, Ill. - The former Illinois State Police District 6 headquarters, just south of Pontiac on old Route 66, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

PONTIAC, Ill. - State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa (53rd District), is sponsoring legislation that he says would help protect, for long-term public benefit, a historic site along Route 66.

ATLANTA, Ill. - A cafe re-creating the Palms Grill Cafe circa 1938 is expected to become another Route 66 tourism draw for the village.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Diane Avila doesn't interpret legal documents, though she does make a mean green-chile-and-blue-cheese hamburger.

So it stands to reason that the owner of the Route 66 Malt Shop panicked a bit when she received word from her landlord that her lease would be terminated.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.Mex. - With all of today's focus on adventure travels, spending a day or two sampling a city's museums might not seem appealing.

But if you discount Albuquerque's list of museums, you'll truly be missing out on some of the better and more appealing stops in New Mexico's largest city.

TULSA, Okla. - An old gas station will soon be surrounded by new cars again, in downtown Tulsa. The 1926, Phillips 66 station, is being restored and will become the home of an Avis Rent A Car office. The building is on the original Route 66 and will be renovated to look like it did back then.

A pizza parlor called the best in the country. The home of the next Super Bowl (and likely new Dodgers spring-training headquarters). The resurrection of an old Scottsdale hotel favored by Bing Crosby into a hip, retro hangout.

SANTA FE, N. Mex. - It was called America's Main Street. It also was known by the name author John Steinbeck coined: The Mother Road. Route 66, designated by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1926, stretched from Chicago to Southern California, covering 2,448 miles.

PONTIAC, Ill. - For 30 students of Heartland Community College to be together in downtown Pontiac is unusual, but there was something unique about a group on Tuesday.

JOPLIN, Mo. - Lots more people could get their kicks in Joplin if the city’s ribbon of Route 66 was revved up, a local promoter says.

Ron Hart sees green lights when he thinks about the city’s opportunities to draw nostalgia buffs seeking out the Mother Road.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The City of West Hollywood has been named to the 2007 list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the country's largest private, nonprofit historic preservation organization.

PEACH SPRINGS, Ariz. - Depending on your point of view, the new Skywalk jutting out over the south-western rim of the Grand Canyon is either an irresistible attraction giving visitors a whole new perspective on the breathtaking scenery below, or an abomination that threatens to turn one of the great natural wonders of the world into Disneyland self-parody.

AMARILLO, Tex. - A barrel-shaped restaurant that first opened in 1937 on Route 66 in Amarillo, Tex., may have reached the end of the road.

JOPLIN, Mo. - Local Route 66 promoter Ron Hart says Joplin could rev up its tourist industry if local leaders would pay more attention to promoting the Mother Road.

BROADWELL, Ill. - John Miller called the fire that destroyed the Pig-Hip Museum Monday "a big blow to Route 66 fans all over the country, all over the world, who used to stop there to chat with Ernie and Frances Edwards."

LINCOLN, Ill. - Garage sales, Route 66 and food.

Can it get any better than that?

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, a newly formed organization through the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, is looking for members.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Does Joplin have a better press agent than Springfield or what?

JOLIET, Ill. - The city's official seal refers to its proximity to interstate highways 55 and 80, but Joliet's boast of being the "crossroads of Mid-America" is turning to more intimate long-distance thoroughfares that once served to bring motorists through, rather than around, the city.

SAPULPA, Okla. - Al's Route 66 Cafe in Sapulpa advertises itself as the "Home of the Big Daddy."

JOLIET, Ill. - Twenty-seven years after "Joliet" Jake Blues walked out of the Joliet Correctional Center, he and Elwood could be coming back to town for good.

If all goes as planned by city and tourism leaders, a statue of the Blues Brothers will welcome motorists cruising along historic Route 66 into Joliet by summer.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - So that diners may someday soon “Get their kicks” at exact replicas of Barney’s Beanery, the venerable roadhouse/famed celebrity West hollywood hangout, the Beanery’s co-owners David Houston and Avi Fattal are taking a 4,200-mile, Seven-day scouting trip to research good roadhouse spots along the famed highway next month.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Geoff Ladd is rooting for Route 66.

Ladd, director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, attended the Governor's Conference on Tourism earlier this month in Chicago. He was accompanied by tourism board chairman Paul Gleason and vice chairman Annette Chapman.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Born of cardiac infarction, the world's biggest covered wagon continues to be an arresting experience, now that it's parked in the heart of Lincoln.

WARWICK, Okla. - For half a century, Americans have whisked about the country on high-speed, but rather boring, interstate expressways. Romantics prefer older, two-lane highways that meander across the land. There, you can smell the new field corn and the Tuesday meatloaf special wafting from a local diner. You can gaze at vintage neon signs, crackling through the night, and listen to nostalgic tales of slower times gone by. So prepare your imagination for a visit to the noblest old, cross-country highway of them all.

WINSLOW, Ariz. - The words “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona” have swirled in American imaginations since 1972, when the Eagles recorded “Take It Easy.” What you’ll see from those corners today is an old railroad town of one-way streets and two-story buildings resting on a high grassland plateau beneath spacious skies. In the distance, snow-capped mountains, volcanic buttes and flat-topped mesas appear sharply silhouetted in the clear air.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Nex. - After years of debate, a Route 66 motel in Albuquerque can't be torn down for townhouses, the city ruled last month.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - A landscape painting featuring the Round Barn along Route 66 in Oklahoma County now hangs in the state Capitol.

GARDNER, Ill. - It is feared that lost motorists may be stumbling around this 2-square-mile town around 30 miles south of Joliet.

These visitors are attempting to get their kicks on Route 66. Their reason for venturing off the Mother Road is to get a peek at the historic, two-cell jail in the center of town.

TULSA, Okla. - Randomly stacked around the shop floor of Claude Neon Federal Signs (CNF Signs), among the shiny painted metal boxes holding high-tech, state-of-the-art, computer driven electronic message center signs, are numerous very old, very large, handmade metal and porcelain letters in various stages of deterioration. Arranged correctly they spell “Meadow Gold” and they represent a Tulsa historic treasure.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Abe Lincoln rode into town Tuesday, peering over the side of a trailer as it sped along Interstate 55 and probably marveling over the efficiency of modern transportation.

Also in Abe's convoy was a flatbed truck, carrying the world's largest covered wagon.

TULSA, Okla. - Organizers of a coming out party for a brand new 1957 Plymouth Belvedere could use some help. The car, buried under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957, is scheduled to be unearthed June 15 as part of the Oklahoma Centennial.

Promoters are looking for people who helped lower the car into its crypt in 1957 to perhaps shed some light on what to expect when the car is unearthed.

AMBOY, Calif. - Before Interstate 40 bypassed them and drove a stake through their heart, this broiler of a town on old Route 66 and its modernist landmark, Roy's Motel and Cafe, thumped with life day and night.

PONTIAC, Ill. - A mural of a Route 66 highway sign — believed to be the largest in the country — could be painted on the back of a museum dedicated to the road’s history.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Lincoln resident Bruce Huskins envisions a long, long, long garage sale in Logan County's future.

Miles long.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Mill sure looks like it's been through the mill.

This quirky former Lincoln restaurant was built to resemble a windmill and even had lighted faux sails that actually turned, thanks to a motor borrowed from a barbecue rotisserie.

CATOOSA, Okla. - Oh, if the old Blue Whale could talk.

The latest tale to come out of the aquatic oddity along Route 66 involves a senior class ring that was lost in the whale, presumably forever.

Nearly everyone has seen a car pulled off to the side of the road and someone having a photo taken while standing next to a saguaro. It's what tourists do.

When such photos are passed around offices in Chicago and Minneapolis, it only furthers the cliché. You may want to point out Arizona's flip side, the one with pine trees and mountain lakes and cold, crisp air.

Here's where to see that other side of Arizona.

OATMAN, Ariz. - This little town attracts almost a half-million visitors a year, tempting them with its Wild West history, its burros, and its shops.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - On Dec. 15 the National Park Service announced that the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge had been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The next time you have holiday time to kill, you ought to check out the Museum of Transportation in west St. Louis County.

HOLBROOK, Ariz. - “The chamber’s new Web site recently premiered, and we now have a site, www.gotouraz.com, that was completed with the regional grant received from the Arizona Office of Tourism,” related Paul DoBell, president of the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce.

He noted that the chamber’s Web site has a broad array of links, from the city to Navajo County, to Petrified Forest National Park, schools, Route 66, Snowflake and Winslow, other area attractions and much more.

Chicagoans are still upset about Marshall Field's becoming Macy's. Around Thanksgiving, a group of shoppers actually protested in front of the department store.

I'm glad that's all that's wrong with the world.

And locals continue to lament the closing of the Berghoff (in what really was a union busting move with the restaurant's storied waiters--the Berghoff reopened as a small cafe.) But here's something to really get your undies in a bunch.

Frederick's of Hollywood has closed its Lingerie Museum.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - Like so many communities from Illinois to California, Victorville has been shaped by the “Mother Road.”

Decommissioned in 1985, the road has since enjoyed a rebirth around the world as an icon of American culture. Now a local researcher is hoping to tell the story of the resurgence with a syndicated TV show.

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Bill Williams was a gruff old mountain man of the early years of settlement of the American West. So fierce was he that some said you'd best not walk in front of a hungry Bill Williams late on a wild woods trek when the food was gone.

There is a small town in Arizona named for Williams and it backs up to a solitary mountain that also carries his name.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - When filmmaker Lauren Cardillo and her mother set out on a trip on legendary Route 66, they decided to do it the way people used to -- with stops by the roadside and at places that are often overlooked.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - El Vado Motel's fate is still up in the air, but two thing are sure: A final decision could be months away, and the meetings leading up to that decision are likely to be contentious.

LINCOLN, Ill. - This is big. Really big.

OK, so it's not as big as Big Abe, the 10-story statue that's the dream of some local tourism boosters and the nightmare of others. Of course, you remember Big Abe - the 300-foot-plus-tall depiction of the 16th president that was first envisioned a few years ago by a local Baptist preacher.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - In spite of the marvelous artistic and architectural contributions William M. Bristol made in Southern California, his name is not well known today outside the circles of local-history fans.

WILMINGTON, Ill. - For Sale: Small-town restaurant with international reputation. Comes with giant spaceman.

WILMINGTON, Ill. - The Launching Pad restaurant could be blasting into the past. The legendary drive-in on Route 66 in Wilmington is for sale. It is famous for its Dirt Worm Sundae -- crushed Oreos and gummy worms -- as well as its Gemini Giant fiberglass figure standing 28 feet tall and weighing 500 pounds.

PONTIAC, Ill. - The 90 miles of old Route 66 that stretch from Joliet to Towanda will become a tourist trip next spring.

Pontiac Tourism and 12 other towns along the Mother Road are planning the Red Carpet Corridor Weekend Experience, billed as 90 miles of family fun on Route 66, for May 5 and 6.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Renovations to the former Mill restaurant will begin soon, thanks to a secured loan and the go-ahead from the City Council.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Navigating Pontiac and checking the downtown sights may get easier with the help of new signs.

The City Council has endorsed a plan to add signs to help people find downtown attractions, such as the Route 66 Museum and the Livingston County Courthouse.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - De Anza LLC has been selected by the city to redevelop the historic De Anza Motor Lodge on Central Avenue near Washington SE.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Efforts continue to preserve a pistol-shaped icon of local Route 66 history, but its future remains unknown.

The former Illinois State Police District 6 headquarters, about two miles south of Pontiac on old Route 66, may be registered soon as a historic landmark -- and the state may put it up for sale.

The following press release was received at Route 66 University from Jennifer Jenvey, Assistant to the Director, Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, Illinois:

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Mill, a historic structure on Route 66 in Lincoln, Illinois, has now been officially saved from demolition, and is on its way to complete restoration. The preservation project has already gained attention on the national and international circuit of Route 66 enthusiasts.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Ownership of The Mill should soon be in the hands of the Route 66 Heritage Foundation, a fledging non-profit group that formed in recent weeks for the purpose of saving the dilapidated Route 66 landmark bar and restaurant.

TULSA, Okla. - It's a Route 66 Icon and a Tulsa treasure, not just for the famous chicken fried steaks or the fifties feel, but for the people you find there.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Ten months after the city declared El Vado Motel an official landmark, the owner of the property at 2500 Central Ave. S.W., is looking to raze the place.

LA CRESCENTA, Calif. - It runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and covers roughly 2,448 miles, eight states, and three time zones. Jack Kerouac traversed parts of it in his generation defining novel, On the Road. John Steinbeck called it, "The Mother Road." And if you've ever driven through Old Town Pasadena, across Suicide Bridge, or stopped at the intersection of 7th and Broadway in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, you have been part of the legend that is Route 66.

ARCADIA, Okla. - Arcadia residents are starting to get a true glimpse of their newest Route 66 attraction.

LINCOLN, Ill. - It's highly unlikely that its famous schnitzel sandwiches will ever again be flying out of the kitchen, but The Mill soon will get a makeover.

MONROVIA, Calif. - Kathie Reece-McNeill, a 48-year-old Southern California businesswoman, is a rarity among the targets of ADA access lawsuits.

She won.

But not before Reece-McNeill -- owner of the historic Aztec Hotel in Monrovia along the old Route 66 in eastern Los Angeles County -- had spent $100,000 defending herself against the suit.

The American highway has been a vital part of our nation's economy and a fascination for travelers. Although hundreds of highways now crisscross the country and link the states, there remain a special few that helped to modernize America and protect the free world.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Eighty years later, people are still getting their kicks on Route 66.

Old U.S. Highway 66 marked its 80th anniversary on Saturday, and even though the roadway has fallen into disrepair in some places, efforts are under way to preserve the spirit of the blacktop ribbon that novelist John Steinbeck once called the Mother Road.

This year marks the eightieth anniversary of the dedication of U.S. Route 66, born in 1926 and completed in 1938. What started as a link between Chicago and Los Angeles—a 2,400-mile hodgepodge of diagonal connections between farm towns across the Midwest and West—became a legend.

TULSA, Okla. - This is a perfect time to consider making Oklahoma your next vacation destination as the state begins observing its centennial, celebrating a century that has carried it from cowboys on horseback to the space age.

The animated movie Cars made us want to jump in our dad's old silver Chevy station wagon and take a nostalgic road trip along Arizona's Route 66, just like we did one summer long ago.

Through the magic of computer animation, some of the movie's best sequences involve driving through imaginary roads and towns in a fantastical mix of Monument Valley, Holbrook, and Amarillo, Texas.

AMARILLO, Tex. - It wasn't a religious experience, really.

At least, it wasn't in the sense of being rocked to the bottom of your soul during Sunday services, or talking in tongues at church teen group snow camp.

But there was no denying the profoundly spiritual vibe resonating from that huge field on the Texas Panhandle, west of Amarillo. There was something much more than over-the-top art going on at Cadillac Ranch, where 10 vintage Cadillacs are planted in the earth, their tail fins pointed at heaven.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - It's quiet and a little on the chilly side in the lobby of the old Hiland Theater at 4804 Central Ave. S.E.

CLINTON, Okla. - Planning and preparations are already underway for the 2007 Route 66 Festival to be held in Clinton, Oklahoma, June 21-24. A car and motorcycle show, golf tournament, live musical entertainment and a carnival, are just a few of the activities currently planned for the four-day Festival.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - This southwest Missouri city on old Route 66 is rallying to preserve a 1920 wooden bridge from too much renovation that might take the thrill out of driving over its sharp rise and fall, according to The Joplin Globe newspaper.

LINCOLN, Ill. - A new group is hoping to turn the landmark Mill restaurant into a museum. Foundation spokesman Geoff Ladd, who represents the newly formed Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, said plans call for partially demolishing the structure and eventually turning the original building with its Dutch windmill blades into a tourism hotspot.

When it comes to roadside attractions, there's a time-honored American tradition to go big or go home. Before the sprawling Wal-Marts and Target Greatlands dotted the interstates, towering kitschy statues reigned supreme. Brian and Sarah Butko, co-authors of Roadside Giants, share their top oversized icons with USA TODAY's Colleen Clark.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Herbert B. Leonard, who created and produced the 1950s western TV series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and the gritty police drama Naked City, has died. He was 84.

Leonard, who also produced the memorable series Route 66, died of cancer Saturday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, said his daughter Gina Leonard.

WINCHESTER, Mass. - One of the more prominent entries in Americana is the nearly 2,400 mile-long stretch of road known as "Route 66." The highway, one of the first east-west arteries, stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles, giving small-town communities access to some of the country's most populous cities. Author John Steinbeck called it "The Mother Road," and singer Bobby Troup advised a legion of willing travelers to "Get your kicks on Route 66!" Indeed, this legendary highway is an integral part of American folklore and history—it is no wonder that few who travel along it fail to appreciate its special place in this nation's culture.

LINCOLN, Ill - Lincoln City Hall will pull the legal strings necessary to transfer ownership of The Mill, a dilapidated landmark along the original Route 66, from its embattled owner to a new foundation that wants to resurrect the property.

Historic Route 66 occupies a special place in American history. Today seems to be a time when even more Americans are interested in a road trip. Route 66 is THE road trip.

BUDVILLE, N. Mex. - The historic Budville Trading Company on Route 66 near Cubero is scheduled to reopen in time for Christmas shoppers this year.

LINCOLN, Ill. - A foundation has been organized to rescue The Mill, a crumbling structure at Washington and First streets that once was a popular bar and restaurant on the original Route 66.

Foundation spokesman Geoff Ladd asked the city council Tuesday to take steps that would give the group ownership of the property.

Atlanta's smiley face water tower; the telephone booth on the roof of Lincoln's city hall; the watermelon that marks the general site where Abraham Lincoln christened his namesake city . . .

PONTIAC, Ill. - The most recent contingent of cars to park in downtown Pontiac while their drivers visited the Route 66 museum were some of the oldest vehicles that have passed through town in recent months: Ford Model A's.

AMARILLO, Tex. - They come in twos and threes. Some are alone, some have kids in tow who this time of year are missing school.

Retirees, Generation Xers, baby boomers. It's always a steady stream of travelers who just can't resist.

The paintings, crosses, tiles and folk decor that cover the Aztec Motel are an inspiration to Jae Whitehorse.

"I'm very visual," said Whitehorse, an artist and resident at the motel. "I never thought of doing anything like this on the outside of the building. Everything is always on the inside."

The Aztec Motel, at 3821 Central Ave. N.E., is the oldest operating motel on Route 66 in New Mexico, said owner Matthew Terry.

PONTIAC, Ill. – Robert Waldmire’s interpretations of Route 66 are intricate, historical and filled with life. Waldmire, known to many as Bob, has spent most of his life as a traveling artist and has made sites along the Mother Road the subject of much of his work.

TULSA, Okla. The once-thriving Chilocco Indian School and two original stretches of U-S Highway 66 are among eight state sites that have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

SAYRE, Okla. - "I was seven months pregnant, and I had two children," Renee Russell recalled. "It seemed like a good opportunity."

So 13 years ago, this Okie and her Okie husband bought the classic motel on old Route 66 in Sayre. They moved their family back to Oklahoma to a town used in the filming of "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck's tale of Oklahomans fleeing a dusty land for California.

The New Mexico Tourism Department awards $473,000 in federal funds through the Federal Highway Administration’s Scenic Byways program for fiscal year 2006. The Tourism Department submitted 14 grants, 12 through its Scenic Byways program and one each directly from Acoma and Santa Clara pueblos. All but one of the 14 of the applications were funded.

The land beneath what was once the nation’s most famous thoroughfare is tainted with old gasoline, the insidious footprint of filling stations as long gone as Route 66’s heyday.

GALLUP, N. Mex. - Next weekend, Gallup's El Morro Theatre is slated to host several hundred guests during the theatre's grand re-opening celebration.

The mesa and new cultural center are far from being the only draws of the Acoma area: There's easily enough to keep you here for a week.

It travels through eight states over some 2,400 miles, but its birth — in name, at least — began in Springfield.

The pioneers of Route 66 actually wanted the highway designated Route 60, but that was taken. After much wrangling, a group of businessmen involved with creating the road — among them Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Okla., and John Woodruff of Springfield — settled on 66, which hadn't been assigned.

VINITA, Okla. - One of the fading remnants of the Route 66 in Oklahoma will be torn down and its sign sold on eBay.

AMARILLO, Tex. - Last month, volunteers spent a day cleaning up the one of Route 66's first motels. Built in the late 1940s, the Triangle Motel, located in Amarillo, Tex., was slated to be demolished, but the city has given its new owner one year to clean up and renovate the two moderne structures.

Route 66 is obsolete. Aged. Outdated.

Perhaps that's why so many people won't let it be forgotten.

CUBA, MO. - At the top of a gently sloping hill just south of Cuba and easily seen from Interstate 44, several tall poles topped with signs of gasoline brand logos stand clustered. Passersby with a keen eye, however, recognize that the signs are for brands no longer in existence - or that the emblems have been long abandoned in favor of more modern graphics.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Nearly five decades ago, a parade rolled down Highway 11 in Vance on Saturdays in the fall.

The men drove bodacious curvaceous autos, dressed up in white jackets with red ties. The women sat pretty beside them, their bouffant hair topped by tiny hats, nylons and high heels under their dresses.

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - The Baxter Springs Historical Society has received a grant to turn a gas station along historic Route 66 in southeast Kansas into a welcome center for the famed highway.

The old neon Meadow Gold sign that glowed over midtown for decades as a reminder of the days of the milkman and porch deliveries has found a new site on Route 66.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Unfortunately for Tulsa resident Dr. Paul Reagan, this motto did not help him consume a 66 oz. hamburger, three pounds of fries and a 32 oz. milk shake in 66 minutes at Al’s Route 66 Cafe Tuesday evening.

SPRINGFIELD -- "Enough of this Lincoln stuff," the voice in my head barked. "Let's get a corn dog."

Not many people can say they've worked in the same building since they were 14. Even fewer can say it still looks pretty much the same.

In the August 4, 2006 USA Today, our university's administrator, Drew Knowles, listed his top ten interesting picks for things to see on the Mother Road. . .

LINCOLN, Ill. - Dennis Koehler--owner of the dilapidated structure that formerly housed The Mill restaurant at Washington and First streets--was found in default of a city ordinance violation today for allowing an unsafe building and fined more than $32,000.

FONTANA, Calif. - They line a stretch of Foothill Boulevard largely free of shopping, dining and even sidewalks.

ALONG THE MOTHER ROAD IN ARIZONA - The TripTik had it all mapped out for our summer vacation drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon.

Travel south on U.S. 93 from Vegas to Kingman, Ariz. Then go east on Interstate 40 to Williams, Ariz., our departure point to the canyon's south rim.

But we had other plans. The Mother Road beckoned.

Los Angeles is often derided as a city with little sense of history, when in fact history is everywhere you turn — in the stately mansions of Hancock Park, the grand old facades of downtown office buildings, the Craftsman and Spanish-style bungalows sprinkled throughout the older suburbs.

WEATHERFORD, Okla. - A restaurant scheduled to open in August in Weatherford pays tribute to a near legendary roadside gas station on Route 66.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Mill sits lonely and abandoned at the corner of First and Washington streets.

SAPULPA, Okla. - It was 10 years ago. Sapulpa was preparing to celebrate its centennial, and there was no home for the town’s last remaining electric trolley car.

Most Oklahomans will give you the obvious answer when asked to name a famous Oklahoma aviator. The first answer that comes to mind is Wiley Post.

HAMEL, Ill. - When traveling Route 66 you often come to a fork in the road. The place will be a respite where the regulars zig while the rest of the world zags, a place like Scotty's Route 66 Restaurant & Bar, Old Route 66 and Highway 140 in Downstate Hamel. So you stop. And you eat.

Amarillo's Triangle Motel isn't going anywhere -- at least not anytime soon.

In a unanimous vote Thursday a city board of review decided to give the motel's owner a 12 month extension period to clean up and restore the structure.

Munger Moss Motel, of Lebanon, owned by Bob and Ramona Lehman, was recognized as the Mother Road Business of the Year during the 2006 Route 66 Festival, held June 23 in Albuquerque, N.M.

TUCUMCARI, N. Mex. - There’s a new player on Route 66’s motel row.

On Wednesday, Nita and Shawn Berryhill of Globe, Ariz., became the new owners of the Motel Safari on Route 66, said Nina Berryhill. That’s when she and her husband, Shawn, signed the deal, sh