Online Media Coverage of Route 66

MIAMI, Okla. - Barbara Smith is about to go into a frenzy, but she's trying her utmost best not to show it.

LUDLOW, Calif. - The gas stations, eateries and minimarket of the Route 66 town of Ludlow are located just a hair off I-40, some 36 miles east of Barstow and about 149 miles from the San Gabriel Valley.

FONTANA, Calif. - As they motored through the scorching Central Valley in the family station wagon, Mel Haynes' nine children watched for the juice-and-fruit stands shaped like immense oranges that dotted California 99, symbolically proclaiming the Golden State's eminence as the king of citrus.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - If the Route 66 Association of Missouri gets its way, motorists will be getting their kicks on a National Scenic Byway. That's the plan unveiled at a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 17, at the Kirkwood Community Center.

RIALTO, Calif. - Whether it be difficult times, such as getting stuck on washed-out portions of the road, or milestone experiences like spending a wedding night in a wig-wam, memories of Route 66 remain with many people today, long after their journey ended.

BRAIDWOOD, Ill. - If the Mother Road had a mom, it would be Lenore Weiss.

GARDNER, Ill. - Could it be the end of the road for a historical edifice on historic Route 66?

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Fourteen sites in Missouri have been nominated for induction into the National Register of Historic Places.

PACIFIC, Mo. - The city's Blackburn Park on a bluff along old Route 66 will get a marker commemorating the city's lone Civil War battle.

Traveling along Route 66 heading west, we leave Amboy, and pull over at the site of Bagdad, a lonely and eerie patch of desert, now home only to the deceased.

PONTIAC, Ill. - First it was doors and then it was dogs.

Now downtown leaders are looking to beautify the area with fiberglass cars and trucks decorated by area artists.

Service stations, cafes and motels looking after travelers were not the only reasons communities on Route 66 survived.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - A nature conservation group said Monday it has reached a deal that would protect a huge swath of land near the world-famous Hollywood sign from being developed into luxury homes.

AMBOY, Calif. - It was a quiet morning in Amboy when the towns people, to their horror, spotted smoke spiraling from the "dormant" crater south west of town. Panic set in. Route 66 was shut down as was the Santa Fe Railroad mainline.

EUREKA, Mo. - People visiting Missouri's Route 66 State Park can browse through a converted 1930s roadhouse filled with mementos of the iconic Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway that ran through here.

But that stroll down memory lane ends abruptly just a few short feet from the visitor center.

JOPLIN, Mo. - Revitalizing interest in Route 66 as well as getting input for a Corridor Management Plan (CMP) for Missouri's segment of the road, a prerequisite for seeking national byway status, were the reasons for a public meeting held at the Powers Museum on January 19, 2010. Jointly organized by members of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and representatives of Great River Engineering of Springfield, the meeting was the second of 10 to be held in counties that claim access to the road.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - It may have been decommissioned 26 years ago, but Route 66 is alive and well in the heart of Carthage and in the minds of millions around the world.

CHAMBLESS, Calif. - Motoring west on "the highway that's the best," travelers routinely pull over at the site of the Route 66 desert town of Chambless.

SAPULPA, Okla. - Oklahoma soil is what Frankoma has been built on for 76 years. It's what grew this company from the ground up.

JOPLIN, Mo. - Public meetings have been scheduled in January and February 2010 in each of 10 Missouri counties as the next step in the creation of a Corridor Management Plan for Missouri's segment of historic Route 66, according to an announcement by the Route 66 Association of Missouri. Participation is encouraged in these meetings to help identify unique economic development opportunities that may exist in the corridor.

E Clampus Vitus.

Just the sound of it is intimidating, conjuring up visions of a horrible disease or perhaps a fraternity of enlightened scientists.

DUARTE, Calif. - The way Emory Duick, 71 of Des Plains, Ill. figures it, no one has ever walked the entire length of Route 66.

Part 7 of an ongoing series

Fenner is a small town in the Mojave Desert which is located on the Old Route 66. That is, it was expelled from the current Mother Road by virtue of a highway re-alignment, in the same way the town of Goffs, which we recently visited in this series, was evicted.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - It was, John Steinbeck wrote in "The Grapes of Wrath," the "Mother Road" of Dust Bowl sharecroppers heading to the promised land of California. It was where George Maharis and Martin Milner got their 1960s kicks in a Corvette and the highway that brought families to Disneyland and the original McDonald's in San Bernardino.

CHICAGO, Ill. - Out there on Route 66, among the desert rats and yodelers, bluegrass musicians and storekeepers, artist Bob Waldmire found a home in a life that defied settling down.

JOPLIN, Mo. - Vince Lindstrom called Route 66 "our Mississippi River." The man of ideas, Joplin's director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau has found a way to finally call attention in the Joplin area to this bit of nostalgia, also known as the "Mother Road."

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Local artist and Route 66 legend Bob Waldmire died peacefully as the sun rose over Springfield on Wednesday morning.

BRAIDWOOD, Ill. - The kicks are back at a famous Route 66 roadhouse. The Riviera has re-opened for business, nearly one year after former owners Bob and Peggy Kraft had to close the doors on the 80-year-old business.

The following is an excerpt from a Daily Press story published Dec. 31, 1999.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - More than any other American roadway, Route 66 has been celebrated in songs and books, on television and at the movies.

LA VERNE, Calif. - At the mention of Route 66, a flood of memories enveloped La Verne resident Noah Jameson.

He's spent his life within a stone's throw of the Mother Road. He was raised in Joplin, Route 66's last stop in Missouri, and lived for a while in Duarte. Now he and wife Rosemary reside in La Verne.

Part 5 of an ongoing series

We are about to visit an extremely significant Route 66 town, despite the fact that it has been expelled from the famous highway.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. - His love of the automobile and the way a sunset illuminated a Mojave Desert mountain range inspired Gus Lizalde two decades ago to invest in a piece of Route 66 history.

STROUD, Okla. - Dawn Welch still has to reach for a napkin when talking about the fire that gutted the historic Rock Café.

PITTSBURG, Kan. - The old Jefferson Highway was the first road to traverse North America from north to south and possibly the first dedicated international highway in the world.

There is no better way to gain knowledge and perspective about the historical spots along California's Route 66 than to visit two museums in Victorville and Barstow dedicated to the road's history.

ROCHESTER, Ill. - Lots of things could cross the mind of Bob Waldmire as he lies dying on the futon of his 1966 Chevy bus-house. Waldmire is an artist, bioregionalist and the free spirit of Route 66. He has been diagnosed with colon cancer, which has spread to his liver. He has declined medical care with the exception of some fine pain-killers. Doctors say he has between three weeks and three months to live.

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. — The Baxter Springs Route 66 Visitors’ Center was recognized Friday by the National Park Service as a place that matters.

Its heyday has flourished and waned, and yet Route 66, the 2,400-mile corridor from the Midwest through Los Angeles, continues to fascinate travelers with a promise of adventure, nostalgia and dreams fulfilled.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - The question of where the old Route 66 officially ended in the West has been the subject of debate among history buffs and roadsters. On Wednesday it was resolved in a quintessentially American way, by placing the terminus in a place where it can best be monetized.

On October 9th, U. S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that 160 projects across 43 states will receive grant funding to improve and promote the highways that make up the America’s Collection of nationally significant roads under the National Scenic Byways Program. Arizona’s Historic Route 66 was awarded funding for the three grants submitted under this grant program earlier this year.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - The Powerhouse Visitor Center celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this month, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has presented it with a generous birthday present - nearly a quarter-million dollars for renovation work.

TULSA, Okla. - Longtime Tulsans remember when 11th Street was as much highway as city thoroughfare. Before the massive interstate highway system was built high above us all atop its spindly concrete columns and earthen mounds, and certainly long before that endless ribbon of concrete and asphalt was but a glimmer in President Eisenhower’s eye, cities like Tulsa had streets running through them that changed from state and federal highways into slow moving currents of hungry travelers and then back again into highways on the city’s outskirts. In the case of 11th Street, the motorists passing through were on the biggest river of all, none other than the mighty “Mother Road” known as Route 66.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - In a nation built on freedom of movement, no roadway has captured the American spirit quite like Route 66. For decades, the people of Kingman have been able to recognize the Mother Road's unique character, from its post-war glory days as the nation's main drag to its present incarnation as a living museum of the small-town Americana of yesteryear.

ROCHESTER, Ill. - Normally by the time fall’s first chill reaches central Illinois, Bob Waldmire is far away in his beloved Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona. There, he lives as he chooses -- off the power grid, with his water tank, his wind-generated power and his solar hot tub.

SAPULPA, Okla. - The Maggie M stands as an icon of the old Route 66, recalling the days when she glided across gleaming rails, whisking carefree passengers to and from Tulsa.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Many people drive on Dunn Road every day in North County. They see it as an outer road to Interstate 270, but may not know about its history.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - It’s practically a place of pilgrimage. A Mecca for food historians. Tourists flock there, not just from Illinois, but from all across America and around the globe, by motorcycle, car and by the busload.

Route 66 introduced Arizona to America.

Running 2,448 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles, U.S. Highway 66 was born Nov. 11, 1926. It rolled across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas (only 12 miles), Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, and it lived almost 60 years before being pronounced dead June 27, 1985.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Hundreds of pictures and pieces of memorabilia dedicated to the historic Route 66 will line the walls of the Cline Library Special Collection and Archives until the end of July.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - Kingman celebrates a new centenarian in October; a true character full of history, harboring an energizing past -- speaking here, of course, of the Powerhouse.

It started with the arrows. The iconic namesakes of Twin Arrows, once reduced to battered telephone poles leaning into the wind that sweeps across Interstate 40, now glisten red and gold, new heads and fletchings -- tail feathers -- in place after a recent volunteer restoration effort.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Route 66 bikeway is getting a $1.44 million boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Jasper County’s historic courthouse is a frequent stop for tourists traveling Route 66.

Now, Route 66 history is a part of the courthouse, in a display that mimics Carthage’s former Boots Drive-In.

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Twenty-five years ago, songwriter-turned-actor Bobby Troup came to Williams to perform "Route 66," the hit song he had written in 1946 for Nat King Cole.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - One set of new signs, marking the historic old Route 66 through Carthage, has been installed and another set will be installed in the next few weeks.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The cracking sound of balls striking pins, the weekly birthday parties, the league tournaments, live music and just plain bowling fun draw people from across states and across oceans to 66 Bowl.

Elvis, James Bond and Pearl Bailey all did it. One had a temper, one was passing through and one was a regular.

They each ate at the historic Summit Inn atop the Cajon Pass.

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Colors of the West, a retail store located on Route 66 in Williams, was recently awarded a cost-share grant from the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. The program provides assistance for eligible historic preservation projects along Route 66.

The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program announces the awarding of three cost-share grants to restore historic properties along Route 66.

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL, Ill. - Ten years ago this September, an intergovernmental agreement was reached to share costs and planning for a Route 66 bikeway from Chenoa to McLean. There are already short segments, some using pavement from abandoned portions of Route 66, in Chenoa, Lexington and Towanda.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - For 23 years, Carthage resident Mark Goodman has been getting his kicks on Route 66.

SAPULPA, Okla. - Today volunteer work crews cleaned up the undergrowth and trees which had been obscuring a historic bridge on old Route 66 just west of Sapulpa.

SELIGMAN, Ariz. - It’s known as the “Birthplace of Historic Route 66” not because the old Mother Road began here, but because, in 1987, the people of Seligman staunchly refused to let the great American Main Street in this small town die.

ATLANTA, Ill. - The brick facade was collapsing. The interior was stripped to the studs. The business district of Atlanta, Illinois was just about dead.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An oasis lies a few high-dives east of Interstate 55 on South Sixth Street.

LINCOLN, Ill. - A $10,000 grant is on its way to help fund the restoration of The Mill, a former Lincoln restaurant whose 80th anniversary was celebrated last month.

PONTIAC, Ill. - Pontiac Tourism Director Ellie Alexander told the city council Monday that the community’s 19 murals helped to increase tourism 99 percent during the month of June compared with last summer.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Most anyone who has lived in Springfield more than a couple of decades probably has a prom, first-date, family vacation or regular-dining-spot story about the Lamplighter, formally known as INN OF THE LAMPLIGHTER.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A Route 66 bikeway from west Bloomington to Shirley took a step closer to reality Tuesday when the McLean County Board approved an engineering contract for the project.

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - The Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum (BSHC&M) has announced that it is a founding partner in the national Route 66 Archives and Research Collaboration (ARC), a part of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program of the National Park Service.

KINGMAN, Ariz. - The number 66 bears a dual significance to Jim Hinckley. It's not just the designation of his favorite stretch of all-American asphalt, it's also the year he first stepped foot in a sleepy little desert burg called Kingman, Ariz.

McLEAN, Ill. - Nearly $500,000 in improvements to the Dixie Travel Plaza give it a fresh look but doesn't change the down-home feeling for which it's famous, said General Manager Tina Kletz.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Saturday, July 25, 2009 the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County will be hosting a huge celebration in honor of the 80th Anniversary of The Mill. Along with reaching this great milestone, the foundation has a lot more to celebrate. The Mill on 66 was recently inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame.

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Coote family of Lockport planned on taking a family road trip out West this year. They just didn't plan on television crews tagging along. The Cootes are one of seven families chosen to star in the new reality TV program "Great American Road Trip," premiering at 7 p.m. Tuesday on WMAQ-Channel 5. The eight-episode series follows the exploits of these peripatetic parents and their kids as they pilot RVs along America's legendary highway, U.S. Route 66.

The Society for Commercial Archaeology Announces Falling by the Wayside: 10 Most Endangered Roadside Places, 2009 call for nominations.

It runs through eight states and covers over 2,400 miles from California to Illinois but Historic Route 66 offers more than just pavement.

NORMAN, Okla. - Enjoy the Oklahoma weather, roll the windows down and take a throwback in time to cruise the most popular, romanticized road in the world right here in Frontier Country.

LINCOLN, Ill. - The Mill on 66, a famous quirky restaurant during the heyday of Route 66 and beyond, will be inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Jasper County, including Carthage and the surrounding area, is prominently included in a new book “Route 66 in the Missouri Ozarks.”

WEBB CITY, Mo. - Webb City officials said an ordinance adopted Monday by the City Council likely will net the city $25,000 in state funds to beautify an area on old Route 66.

PONTIAC, Ill. - So far the Route 66 Museum and Hall of Fame has stood the test of time. In fact, in only five years, it appears the cozy little part of the old Pontiac City Hall building has become quite a place.

STROUD, Okla. - "Never doubt Dawn Welch,” is written on the floor-to-ceiling eraser-board walls in the restrooms at the renovated and reopened Rock Cafe.

Welch, Rock Cafe owner since 1993, stood by a little more than a year ago as fire crews sifted through the wreckage of her livelihood. She swore it would not only open again but would open within the same walls originally erected during 1938 and 1939.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - State funds will go to build a Route 66 welcome center in Webb City and trails in Joplin and Carl Junction if a recommendation from a local committee to the Missouri Department of Transportation goes through.

ATLANTA, Ill. - Bill Thomas punched a few keys and turned a crank to open the old-fashioned cash register at the Palms Grill Cafe.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - At the heart of Devils Elbow is a truss bridge that crosses the Big Piney River on the original alignment of Route 66.

Holbrook, Arizona is the gateway city to the Petrified Forest National Park. Located 25 miles west of the park, Holbrook offers a variety of services that visitors will want to take advantage of.

ROLLA, Mo. - The Phelps County Commission approved a formal request from the Route 66 Association of Missouri to install new Historic Route 66 Byway signs.

TULSA, Okla. - There are 24 miles of historic Route 66 running through Tulsa. Along it are bits and pieces of our history. One of those bits and pieces has been restored and is being re-erected along the historic pathway.

Billy Yeager—who, incidentally, is the nephew of Bunny Yeager, the well-known pinup photographer of the 1950s and 60s—announces a film project inspired by the Mother Road.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.Mex. – Cowpokes now have a good reason to gather 'round the campfire and break out the guitar—New Mexico's got an official state cowboy song.

PETRIFIED FOREST, Ariz. - One man's trash is another man's treasure and archaeologists often have to differentiate between the two.

From dilapidated ruins to stately Victorian homes, Route 66 travels past many interesting sights through southwestern Missouri.

TWO GUNS, Ariz. - As drivers head East and West on Interstate 40, the majority of travelers have never noticed the ghost town of Two Guns eroding away in the desert.

PONTIAC, Ill. - The newest addition to the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum is a 68-year-old wishing well with some highway history of its own.

TULSA, Okla. - U.S. Route 66 is one of America’s first highways, established in 1926. It is almost 2,500 miles and stretches from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. Route 66 runs all the way through Oklahoma, about 375 miles total.

Preservationists worried about military expansion and renewable energy development in the California desert are pitching a plan to create a vast national monument east of Twentynine Palms and protect 70 miles of historic Route 66.

TULSA, Okla. - The national Route 66 Alliance and the River Parks Authority hope to have offices in the Route 66 Interpretive Center once it is constructed at Southwest Boulevard and Riverside Drive.

CATOOSA, Okla. - State preservationists and Route 66 advocates are sweating the fate of a structurally deficient bridge built during the Great Depression.

CUBA, Mo. - The steel 42’1” rocking chair that took its place on Route 66 on April 1, 2008, celebrates its 2009 birthday with the Guinness World Records designation of Largest Rocking Chair.

ARCADIA, Okla. - In 1926 Route 66 was commissioned to join Chicago and Los Angeles passing thru eight states.

GALENA, Kan. - Think of Route 66 and several names come to mind: Bobby Troup, who wrote "Route 66"; John Steinbeck, who proclaimed it the Mother Road in "The Grapes of Wrath"; Will Rogers, whose face appears on plaques and is carved in granite memorials all along the old highway.

MARSHFIELD, Mo. - Three brand-new Route 66-themed motel rooms are scheduled for opening mid-March.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - The curved front of the former Boots Drive-In will be repeated in a Route 66 display at the Jasper County Courthouse.

SANTA ROSA, N. Mex. - A young museum celebrating old cars, the Route 66 Museum here just north of Interstate 40 in central New Mexico is a great stopping off spot for weary travelers.

BARSTOW, Calif. - Visitors to Barstow hardly ever think of it as a destination. They usually see it as a sort of rest stop. They usually don't linger.

Famed and feted Route 66 has been placed on a historic list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. But don’t immediately panic about the future of its hospitality industry.

JOLIET, Ill. - Dick's wants kicks, too.

Dick Bartel, owner of Dick's Towing at 900 N. Broadway, saw the city commemorating the historic Route 66 with a special park across the street. And the adjacent Dairy Delite has Blues Brothers statues on its roof.

If you took a road trip during the 1960s or 1970s, you probably encountered a few of the enormous fiberglass statues, referred to by fans and followers as Muffler Men or M-Men.

TULSA, Okla. - The familiar metal framework is in place, the electrical power has been connected, and soon the giant letters will be hoisted into position.

As castles go, the building isn't much, with its crumbling turret and boarded windows on a forgotten stretch of Ogden Avenue in North Lawndale.

Americans have been enjoying road trips since the first automobile rolled off the assembly line.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Soulsby's Shell station in tiny Mt. Olive, Ill., seems like an unlikely attraction for international tourists. The gasoline pumps, which first started dispensing fuel in 1926, have been dry since 1991. But its position alongside historic Route 66 draws scores of visitors from every corner of the globe each spring, summer, and fall.

CARTHAGE, Mo. - One of the original co-owners of a Route 66 icon in Carthage has died at the age of 102.

WINSLOW, Ariz. - This is one tough town. It has survived the loss of rail travel, air travel and the tourists who once came through on Route 66.

Roadsign fans rejoice: Caution: Funny Signs Ahead has just been released by the good people at RoadTripAmerica.com (Ulysses Press, 164pp, $11.95).

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A 1955 Chevy BEL-AIRE two-door hardtop has rested atop a three-story pole at 2412 Clear Lake Ave. through 17 years, two car dealerships and two trips to the ground for thorough refurbishings.

PONTIAC, Ill. - A Route 66 organization has big plans to help tourists better understand the iconic highway.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The city of Springfield is willing to take temporary ownership of the Bel-Aire Motel if it means replacing a persistent trouble spot with an Illinois Historic Route 66 Discovery Center, Mayor Tim Davlin said Monday.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - You'll find all the new, fancy restaurants in the east part of town.

But to the west, along a stretch of Route 66 that's seen better days, the Magic Lamp Inn still stands tall, a tower of red tile, red brick and stone and, of course, the famous neon lamp.

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. - Saturday's St. Louis Route 66 Festival on the Chain of Rocks Bridge offered food, art, music, bicycling and the chance to view classic cars.

BARSTOW, Calif. - The main street of Barstow is part of historic Route 66. Today, while the city tries hard to keep the thoroughfare fresh and alive, much of the traffic is found elsewhere on the humming freeways - two of which meet just north of town.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - During the recent Route 66 Rendezvous festivities in San Bernardino, the main streets were filled with shiny examples of automotive art, and the sounds of souped-up engines filled the hot evening air with their roars and rumblings.

GALLUP, N. Mex. - Members of the Society for Commercial Archeology will be coming to Gallup Thursday to try to get an idea of what life on Historic Route 66 is all about.

On a cold December night in 1960, Orland Park resident John Dalton was returning home to Chicago from Fort Leonard Wood Army base in Missouri, where he was stationed, when his bus happened upon a rather famous 2,500-mile stretch of highway.

August was quite a month for birthday surprises. Take the case of Connie Colson. Connie turned 66 this August and her innovative daughter, Irene Ducharme, came up with a clever birthday surprise.

If you are 66, how about a trip down Route 66?

EMBUDO, N. Mex.- Tucked away on Highway 68 in the northern New Mexico community of Embudo, three 1940s-era gas pumps stand as sentinels at a filling station.

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, she said.

Once targeted for demolition, Oklahoma City's "gold dome" bank, one of the first geodesic domes built in the United States and an icon on historic Route 66, has returned to productive use. In May, the Oklahoma Main Street Center moved into the now-rehabilitated building, which is nearly full of tenants.

Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and now, Cars, which opened June 9. Call them Pixar's magnificent seven.

Beginning in late June, a new monthly tabloid newspaper aimed at locations along the historic Route 66 will start publication.

CARS is the Da Vinci Code for gear heads.

You won't really find it on a map.

Route 66 is more than a particular strip of federal highway that ran from Chicago to Los Angeles. It's shorthand for the great theme of American life -- mobility -- and its manifestations in mid-20th century art, literature, movies and music.

Tulsa's most famous twin won a $35,000 makeover last year, but the 55-year-old is pretty high-maintenance.

The Admiral Twin Drive-In Theater, 7355 E. Easton St., was awarded the money last May after winning the Save-a-Landmark contest that Hampton Hotels sponsored.

LINCOLN, Ill. - Logan County attractions soon will hit the small screen in a big way as part of a special segment for a United Kingdom television show to celebrate the premiere of the Pixar feature film "Cars: The Movie."

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Thousands of people get their kicks on Illinois Route 66 each year, bringing millions of dollars with them.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinoisans can officially ruin their diets in the name of history now that three restaurants along Route 66 have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In its earliest days, the neon zig-zagging the top of the Grandview Motel was an eastbound Route 66 motorist's first sign of roadside lodging in Albuquerque, N.M. Today, the more-than-60-year-old motel has only two red letters alight.

JOLIET, Ill. - It has served up ice cream for nearly 30 years.

It withstood an attempt by officials to change its location.

JOPLIN, Mo. - John Steinbeck dubbed it "The Mother Road." It has been immortalized in song and word. The highway stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles carried Okies, Missourians, Kansans and Arkansans westward toward the promised land of California during the depths of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Interstate 44, given time, may be declared historic. But, compared to Highway 66, which it replaced in the 1950s, it's hardly a scenic byway.

A brochure for the dedication Friday of Historic 66 as a Scenic Byway includes several area scenes.

BARSTOW, Calif. - Nineteen volunteer artists, drawn together by their fascination for Southern California's colorful past, have given a piece of downtown Barstow to the public.

Why Invest in Seligman?

Seligman is still a small town, and anyone who invests in helping it stay that way will get its full support. Restore the Havasu as an architectural treasure and you have a magnet reinforcing Seligman's history. The Havasu was once the center of a thriving Seligman, and we'd like to see it that way again.

Despite the blare of trumpets in the somewhat famous Herb Alpert song, Tijuana has no monument to a taxi. Texas doesn't have a shrine to George Strait's ex-wives. Likewise, Georgia has failed to honor the devil, although Charlie Daniels insists that Beelzebub himself went down there.

A Pontiac couple and a Lexington trucking company are among those to be honored this year, the 60-year anniversary of Route 66, by the Route 66 Association of Illinois.

FONTANA, Calif. - It was once a scenic drive along the wide open road traveled by tourists from Chicago to Santa Monica, staying at motels, stopping at fruit stands and eating at restaurants along the way.

New Mexico? It's a place even some Americans have trouble finding. As the state’s biggest city prepares to celebrate its 300th birthday, Hester Lacey goes exploring.

Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino ... no mention in the song of Amboy, the home of Roy's Motel and Café, though the settlement dates back to the mid-1800s. It's a ghost town now. The handful of buildings are deserted except for the occasional passing motorist, including me, doing a double-take and locking up the brakes to grab a few shots of a 1950s time capsule out along the original Route 66 in the Mojave Desert.

TUCUMCARI, N.M. - The world’s largest collection of bronze dinosaur skeletons awaits visitors to Mesalands Community College’s Dinosaur Museum in Tucumcari.

Blessed Mary's Restaurant in Groom makes a righteous cheeseburger, and the enchiladas are heavenly. What distinguishes this spot on Historic Route 66 is that there are no prices on the menu and no cash register on the premises. There is only a big jar by the door and a sign asking you to pay what you can. Any profits are donated to charity.

“We want to create an establishment that will highlight Holbrook’s rich history and also promote local tourism,” related Steve Williams of his family’s latest project.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Pete Domenici encouraged New Mexico communities and organizations along Route 66 to apply for cost-share grants offered by the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.

Jim Conkle, of the Route 66 Preservation Foundation, announced today that there will be a monthly (initially) newspaper published beginning this spring. The following announcement was sent via email to several key Route 66 entitities, including Route 66 University:

On Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006, I took the train into Chicago to pay one last visit to the Berghoff, a name that's been synonymous with Chicago for 107 years. It closes for good on Feb. 28th.

It's been bought, sold, and burned, more than once. What's the next chapter in the Rose Bowl's colorful history?A new buyer closed on the building Tuesday and News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the Rose Bowl may bloom again.

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. - The Feb. 24, 2006 Richland Mirror and the Pulaski County Democrat reports that another attempt will be made to get funding for lighting on the historic Rt. 66 Roubidoux Bridge. This graceful, five-span bridge was constructed in 1923 and was repaired in 1939.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - From Chicago to Los Angeles, Americans know Route 66 as a bygone road evoking a simpler era of road trips and song.

But Karen Macaulay and Andy Garrett say Europeans like them still get their kicks retracing a decommissioned highway that now exists officially only in tour guides and on the occasional brown historical marker.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. - For years, administrators at Cahokia Mounds longed to acquire more property near the ruins of a prehistoric city, fearing that artifacts on the coveted private land could be forever lost to development. But they lacked the money to do it. Their concerns eased Thursday after the state released $837,800 earmarked years ago for expanding the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, one of the largest archaeological sites in the country.

Foyil, Okla., population around 250, is very proud of native son Josh Brown, who just played in Super Bowl XL.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality will hold public meetings in Winslow and Holbrook, Ariz. to stimulate redevelopment and cleanup at abandoned gas stations and leaking underground storage tank sites along historic Route 66.

Supporting the axiom that great things come in threes, Hollisters Monument Company and the Will Rogers Memorial, in conjunction with the City of Claremore, have joined to beautify Claremore with three roadside monuments as part of the city’s median beautification project on Highway 66 (Lynn Riggs Boulevard).

Community leaders in Atlanta are looking toward the future of preserving the town's past.

While fund-raising work continues for the future home of an Atlanta museum, activists met this week to talk about what else can be done to preserve local history and promote Route 66-related tourism.

It's always great to see a historic building on 66 restored or continuing life in a different role. Such is the case of the University of New Mexico's 1892 Hodgin Hall.

The Cajon Pass has been an important passageway connecting the Mojave Desert with the San Bernardino Valley since prehistoric times.

The El Vado Motel is back on the market and drawing interest from potential buyers.

Come along with columnist Richard Doornbos as he travels Route 66 from Williams to the California state line.

Route 66 University was notified this week that its website has been featured as a Virtual Pitstop Web Destination by PC Today Magazine.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Artist Daymon Lindsey will soon get his "kicks on Route 66."

First Marshall Field's, now this. What next, the Watertower or the John Hancock?

Chicago is soon to lose another icon.

Regardless of the route, you can still get your kicks on 66.

With three alignments of historic Route 66 traversing the St. Louis metropolitan area, tourists and history seekers will soon find the way marked with brown and white Route 66 signs and increased publicity thanks to the efforts of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).

A number of projects are planned at Petrified Forest National Park during 2006.

A major event will be the re-opening early in the year of the historic Painted Desert Inn, which has been closed since October 2004 for a complete rehabilitation.

When the Santa Fe Railroad built the Seligman Harvey House, ca. 1890, the company christened it Havasu. The name furthered Fred Harvey's developing tradition, part of his grand vision of fine dining for the newly opened Western United States.

John Ruh leans into the basement room where the washer and dryer used to be. "Let me show you the light on the Mojave," he says enthusiastically. "Watch this."

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Grass roots efforts in many cities try to combat the hometown homogenizing created by national franchises and strip malls. But Albuquerque doesn't need copyrighted slogans or coffee mugs to advertise its quirkiness: It has Route 66.

Crumbling ruins, a stone wall with the words "Mountain Lions" written in block letters and a cement bridge beckon tourists to pull off Interstate 40 about 30 miles east of Flagstaff and cross Canyon Diablo to a long-deserted gas station.

The historic railroad depot in downtown Holbrook bears silent witness to the evolution of its hometown. From the lawless wild west times leading up to the Blevins shootout, to shiny chrome-trimmed Ramblers rumbling down Route 66, to tourists stopping to snap a picture on their cell phone, the depot has seen it all. The depot has also seen better days.

PONTIAC, Ill. - For a structure only 33 feet long, the Division Street Bridge has presented its share of challenges for its replacement. Replicating its historic appearance was one hurdle, and this year's Gulf Coast hurricanes are indirectly providing the latest snag.

ALBUQUERQUE, N. Mex. - Historic Route 66 won't be the same without the landmark El Vado Motel and its neon American Indian.

The gaudy neon-trimmed marquee of the Azusa Foothill Drive-In will continue to glow. But preservationists and Azusa Pacific University don't agree on anything else about the last remaining drive-in movie theater on historic Route 66 west of Oklahoma.

Twenty round, heavy, concrete tables rest in San Bernardino's Perris Hill Park. At Lytle Creek Park, also in town, there are 23 matching tables just as old.

About 5 feet in diameter, steel rimmed and with a 12-inch iron inscription plate in the center, these tables were at one time located in the Cajon Pass. It was part of Camp Cajon, which was established from 1919 to 1921 by William H. Bristol, a Highland citrus grower.

It's a devil of a question: Do you come for the view or for the water?

BROADWELL, Ill. - Route 66 is a long way from Minnesota.

But it was the famous road that brought Minnesota author William Kaszynski and venerable Pig Hip Restaurant and museum owner Ernie Edwards together for a collaboration that has resulted in a new book.

A piece of Macoupin County history and Americana will be spared from the wrecking ball if the County Board approves an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation to save Sugar Creek Bridge on historic U.S. Route 66 north of Gillespie.

There was a time when a person driving Route 66 to Chicago would have several must-stop places to visit.

TUCUMCARI, N. Mex. - The Murals of Tucumcari, New Mexico spread to 17.

Beginning with a Route 66 style mural on the west side of Photo Perfect, "The Dodge and The Cowboy," Doug and Sharon Quarles have helped the town come back to life with many more murals along Route 66 and the Downtown area.

When 39-year-old Bettie Ditto came from Chicago to Tucumcari in 1955, she said she was not intending to stay. She inherited Route 66’s Lins Motor Lodge after her dad’s death and said she planned to sell the place as quickly as possible and make a beeline back to the Windy City.

In 1997, Time Magazine named Pontiac as one of the 10 best small towns in America. While many residents, new and old, will agree that it's a great place to live, it's also a pleasant place to visit.

"Sorry, we're open."

That isn't a sign travelers on a road trip often see. But there it was, on the front of the Snow Cap Drive Inn on historic Route 66 in Seligman, Ariz.

LEBANON, Mo. - Like a mystical snake, Route 66 winds past the Munger Moss Motel in pursuit of distant charms.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- To the hundreds who assembled at the Great Western Depot on that February morning to bid farewell to the newly-elected president, it was surely inconceivable that this would be the last time Abraham Lincoln would return -- alive -- to the state that was his home, his moral compass, for much of his life. Four years later Lincoln would return -- in the train that bore his coffin home to Springfield for the funeral and burial.

ATLANTA, Ill. -- America's back roads are for people with time on their hands. Bikers. Poets. Hobos. A few journalists.

On the grounds of the Atlanta Public Library in central Illinois there's a 30-foot-tall clock tower that became a metaphor for a recent midsummer trip down old Route 66.

BARSTOW, Calif. - Vintage railroad depot: For sale or long-term lease.

For decades, the city has wrestled with the enigma presented by the historic Harvey House.

COLTON, Calif. - All pillars and pediment, Colton's old Carnegie Library sits downtown as the obvious symbol of one of the region's older cities.

But just blocks from this signature architectural achievement -- the star of the city seal -- lie Colton's unpolished relics.

Do you know where the Springfield Art Museum is?

Take National Avenue to Brookside Drive and turn west at the yellow french fries.

CLAREMORE, Okla. -- He was one of the great wits of the 20th century, a homey philosopher and the top box-office attraction of his time.

Taking a trip back in time will make the current 100-degree weather a little more bearable. Just talk to someone who knows.

When former Tucumcari residents Paul and Rosa Trujillo came back to visit this week for the first time since 1956, they said they did not expect a lot of what they saw.

John and Lenore Weiss have been Route 66 junkies for more than a decade.

Now, the preservationists for the Route 66 Association and authors of Traveling the NEW, HISTORIC, ROUTE 66 OF ILLINOIS are finding out that there is a new, younger group of future fans seeking a fix along Route 66.

"Get your kicks on Route 66." Bobby Troup penned those words, and Nat King Cole crooned them in 1946. Ever since then the Mother Road has worked potent magic on the American psyche. Not even an official road anymore (the last piece was decommissioned in 1984), Route 66 claims more than 2,200 miles of living history. Motoring on its small-town streets, one-lane dirt roads and blue-line country highways is like entering a secret parallel universe, though you'll often be less than a mile from the interstate.

Debra Hodkin's love for people and Route 66 helped create the Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow five years ago.

When David Houston and his partner took over Barney’s Beanery, a West Hollywood landmark with 80 years of wear and tear, he assumed that the first order of business would be to clean things up.

“Luckily I came to my senses,” Houston said.

Winslow, AZ - Weekend events for both the guests staying at the hotel and day participants include architectural tours, an authentic Fred Harvey dinner, an auction of the largest known collection of Fred Harvey memorabilia, a meet and greet with the last of the living Harvey Girls and a screening of the MGM Harvey Girls movie starring Judy Garland. The weekend's events will conclude with a traditional western BBQ which will be held on the front lawn of the La Posada Hotel.

Two famous Route 66 icons, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard are both 76 years old this year and Trailnet is celebrating with a Bridge Birthday Bash and Bicycle Ride on Sunday.

BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- The armadillo, a symbol of Texas, has been vacationing in Illinois.

According to the Illinois Natural History Survey, 76 armadillos have been sighted in 22 Illinois counties between 1999 and 2003. Most sightings occurred in southwestern Illinois.

"All aboard!" called the conductor, his shout echoing the length of the platform at the old train depot in Williams, Ariz. Hurried along by the blast of the train whistle, passengers clamber up the steel steps for a ride back in time.

Destination? Sixty-five miles to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The lulling motion of the rails is punctuated by Wild West adventure and entertainment during the two-hour and 15-minute ride.

FONTANA, Calif. - Some have long considered the stretch of Route 66 from Fontana to San Bernardino one of the country's most dangerous roads for pedestrians.

I was very saddened to find out that the Wishing Well Motel in Countryside, Illinois, on Route 66 since the 40s, is closing.

The property will become the site of condos.

I am a granddaughter of Glenn Wrinkle, Sr., "Wrink". I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful sentiment of Grandpa.

LIVERMORE, Calif. - For decades, each spring a two-story cowboy has been hoisted along Interstate 580 to signal the coming of the Livermore Rodeo in June.

He's a manly hulk with a square jaw and a steely gaze. He's a cowboy among cowboys, but he's not alone. The unnamed big cowboy is one of an army of towering "Muffler Men" created 40 years ago as macho cultural icons of their day.

Canyon Service Station in Santa Monica Canyon gained historic-cultural monument status yesterday after the Los Angeles City Council voted to preserve it as a local landmark.

This designation recognizes the structure as important to the history of the City, state or nation, and requires Cultural Heritage Commission review for proposed exterior and interior alterations. It also prevents the demolition of the station for one year.

As the building came down, John Connolly breathed a sigh of relief. The blighted Paradise Motel on East Route 66 had been red-flagged by every cop in town and was hurting business at his Salsa Brava restaurant next door, said Connolly, the restaurant's owner.

The old orange roof is going the way of the two lane U.S. highway.

Word comes that the last of the Howard Johnson's restaurants will be closing soon. The place that was famous for 28 flavors of ice cream, grilled frankfurters and fried clams will be gone. HoJos didn't serve Coke or Pepsi, they served their own HoJo Cola. It was also the place to get salt-water taffy.

Admiral Twin Drive-In Gets Face Lift from Hampton’s “Save-A-Landmark” Program, Just in Time for Summer Movie Season. . .

A poster of the old Carnegie library building in San Bernardino planted the seed in Mike Clark's brain.

A visit to a little thrift shop in Wyoming provided the first few vintage postcards. Then his basic instincts as a librarian took over.

As Native American tribes, Spanish explorers and Mormon settlers followed the Little Colorado River they no doubt found the landscape with its painted deserts and petrified forests to be unlike anywhere else.

It was the middle of the night, and Jackson Browne was on tour with the Indigo Girls, who wanted to stop.

SANTA ROSA, N. Mex. -- Among diving sites, there are the big fish (Great Barrier Reef, Egypt's Red Sea, Bonaire) and the small fish (U.S. lakes and quarries). And then there are the goldfish--of Santa Rosa's Blue Hole.

A restaurateur from San Bernardino with great interest in the history of Route 66 has purchased the town of Amboy to build goodwill for future expansion to the Tri-state area.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Interstate 215 dealt a death blow to a thriving stretch of historic Route 66 and an uppercut to the economic potential of the city's Westside when it roared through in the 1950s.

In 1948, two brothers opened a hamburger joint in San Bernardino. Their plan was to keep it simple and serve it fast.

Four years later, Richard and Maurice "Mac" McDonald were selling a million burgers a year from their restaurant on E Street, then part of Route 66.

This little speck off Interstate 15 was suffering an identity crisis. Tussling with Barstow and Nevada casinos for travelers with empty gas tanks or full bladders, the town first tried to lure them with a moniker, "Gateway to Death Valley." It didn't really work.

Music, gunfights and horse-drawn cart rides were all part of an old-fashioned celebration Saturday.

For the grand opening of his newly created Tumbleweed Ranch, local resident Dusty "The Cowboy" O'Brien hosted a Wild West extravaganza.

Kicks aren't all you can get on Route 66. And soon, there will be another alternative to the fabled highway.

A few new restaurants will join Glendora's culinary scene over the next few months.

Renovations are under way to turn the former Millie's Restaurant and Bakery on Route 66 into a Honey's Restaurant and Bakery, an independently owned and operated business.

Men, women and children buried decades ago in a Livingston County cemetery for paupers were nearly forgotten in their weed-choked graves, but not anymore.

The Iowa Tribe is the latest to announce plans for a casino and resort complex in the Oklahoma City area.

A Williams investment group is asking state lawmakers to help create a 1,000-acre, multi-themed amusement park near Williams that would be part Disneyland, part Renaissance Festival and bring millions, even billions, into local economies.

Texans are known for doing things in a big way. But the state is planning a futuristic highway system that's gargantuan even by Texas standards: 4,000 miles of expressways, mostly toll lanes.

Oatman southwest of Kingman on old Route 66 was turned into a boom town by a 1915 gold strike. A year later the population increased from a few hundred to more than 3,000 miners, speculators, merchants, saloon keepers, restaurant and hotel operators.

Dale Bakke, owner of the historic Blue Swallow Motel on East Route 66 Boulevard in Tucumcari, said he has put the motel up for sale on Tuesday (2/22/05).

Old Route 66 has always gone east and west in New Mexico. But in Edgewood the Mother Road is heading south.

He wasn't the first, not by the most modest of counts. My first love had been a Fat Boy. Once upon a time size clearly had mattered and the confident bulk of this classic Harley-Davidson bike had made my teenage knees go weak. But today, in the Surdyke Dealership in St Louis, Missouri something sleeker had turned my head: a brand new Heritage Softail. He was classic but sporty and he was plainly making eyes, winking at me in the summer sun that made molasses out of the tarmac.

Historic Route 66 has its charm and heavy traffic as well and residents of a suburban lakeside community want to find a better and safer way to get to work and back home again.

In the past, I always left it up to friends to take pictures of our vacations. I couldn't be bothered fumbling around with a camera. I feared I'd miss stuff if I spent my time hidden behind a viewfinder. . .

Sadly, since its "discovery" by California-bound pioneers in the 19th century, this national treasure has been so despoiled by greed, negligence and criminal exploitation that it is a mere shadow of what it once was --- one of the great, natural wonders of the world.

One of the axioms I most often quote is that the more things change, the more they are the same. Before the white man settled Pulaski County . . .

Elmer Long has a forest of "evergreens," but not one will become a Christmas tree.

His evergreens, a collection of welded steel trees with thousands of bottles clinging to spiked arms, occupy a 2-acre site on old Route 66 about nine miles north of Victorville.

If only jewel-encrusted G-strings could talk. It's a thought many weary travellers, kitsch hunters and curious onlookers have wrestled with while visiting the dusty roadside attraction known as Exotic World.

It's not much more than a few stools and a counter plunked near the end of fabled Route 66. But like the highway whose time has come and gone, Irv's Burgers may soon be razed to make room for a coffee bar.

The golden age of rail travel in the Southwest lives again at a dusty town in eastern Arizona.

La Posada Hotel, which opened in 1930 as a rest stop for rail travelers intrigued by natural treasures and native culture, is about halfway through an exhaustive restoration, and welcomes guests to hallways where John Wayne, Mary Pickford, Shirley Temple and Lionel Barrymore once roamed.

Whether you call it America's Main Street, the Will Rogers Highway, or by the name affixed to it by John Steinbeck in his epic novel "The Grapes of Wrath" -- the Mother Road -- U.S. 66 still conjures images of freedom, wanderlust and hope.

Despite a cold Tuesday morning in downtown Flagstaff, community members gathered had a warm feeling in their hearts as they gathered to dedicate two huge and historic logging wheels that have found a new home next to the train station.

It's a good thing the Eagles didn't say which corner they were standing on in Winslow, Ariz., in their hit "Take It Easy." That's because this city's centerpiece, Standin' on the Corner Park, may have to find a new home in the aftermath of a fire last week that destroyed a building next to the park.

Bob Waldmire's other car is a house.

The vintage 1960s school bus, complete with a wooden upper extension, rain gutters and solar panels, serves as Waldmire's home. But the house on wheels stays put when Waldmire takes to the road, which he often does, in either his trusty 1972 VW Camper Van or his beloved 1965 Mustang fastback. And he's been known to live in those, too.

Smoked, buckskin hides dangle from hooks. Eyes of Indian forefathers stare out from an array of antique photographs scattered randomly across the room. Iron kettles are stacked in one corner, woven baskets in another.

Forget Route 66.

America's first quintessential road was the National Road, and through the mid-1800s, the road now known as U.S. 40 was the main way that people journeyed from the ocean foam of the Mid-Atlantic to the fertile flatlands of Illinois.

October's issue of ARTHUR FROMMER's Budget Travel magazine touts BILL SHEA's Route 66 Gas Station Museum [Springfield, Ill.] as a "jaw-dropping roadside attraction."

A documentary featuring work in Tucumcari and five other New Mexico Route 66 communities to restore historic neon signs has won the Rocky Mountain Emmy, the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division announced earlier in the week.

A modest wind will blow across Springfield this weekend. The state Capitol's downtown area is the site of the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival. Tom Teague had a lot to do with that.

For years, Dean Vonn of Sa-Vonn Computer Service has been waiting for the walls of the former Azusa Foothill Drive-in to come down.

Thea Chesley says she knew Tom Teague was a kindred spirit when she saw him wearing a sweatshirt bearing the famous line from the cartoon character Pogo: "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

Lebanon's Route 66 Festival has featured a museum ever since it was first held here in 2001. But this year, instead of being set up a few days before in one of the Cowan Civic Center's meeting rooms, the museum is a permanent 3,500-square-foot fixture inside the new Lebanon-Laclede County Library.

Classic Route 66 billboards are back in Lexington.

The popularity of hiking/biking trails and the attraction of historic Route 66 are too often underestimated by those not interested in either.

Lexington and Towanda are among communities in McLean County that recognize the value of both and particularly the advantage of having both interests converge.

Oatman, Ariz., on Route 66 is a living ghost town with a population around 150. A town becomes a living ghost town when its reason for formation no longer exists. Oatman's reason for being and its almost demise was the gold mines.

Route 66 began to be something in the early 1920s with a vision of a paved highway that would connect Chicago to Los Angeles and the west.

Andrew Wood is not of the age (36) to recall Route 66 or the heyday of mom-and-pop motels. But he says he remembers a road trip with his parents when he was about 4 and seeing down the road a motel's neon sign that buzzed and glowed.