Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Lots of Tin on the Mother Road... Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Thanks JB! Wife and I are planning a trip in the next few years once her car is finished. Regards, Randy Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Retirement is just around the corner for me.......this is on the absolute top of the bucket list......Mark
Ha ha- Glad to know I was missed! After 10 years of steady writing for TJJ, figured I was due for a two week vacation...
@Jive-Bomber I recognized a lot of the things in 'Cars' from my own 66 explorations years before, but would love to see your list of places along Route 66 that that are in the movie. I'm sure there's still some for me to go check out.
There are lots of good books about Rt 66. I have a good shelf full, maybe about 1/8 of what's in print! But, if you are driving, make sure you have Jerry McClanahan's Guide Book. Indespensable. And, take your time.
The most fun I ever had with my clothes on is as newlyweds my new wife and I made a cross country sight seeing trip. That was back in 1972 when you could still see lots of vintage tin on the side of the roads. I still have good memories of that, but unfortunately, I didn't realize until we got back that my camera (SLR) had a leak and none of my photos came out....
So it would be cool to know how you researched it for the movie, or have you already told that story? Can't you tell that story here, seems like it would be on topic?
Here's some of the milestones that we hit: Carthage, MO Route 66 Drive In Joplin, MO (Route 66 Mural w/ Cars in it) Galena, KS (This town is packed with Cars things and the original Mater inspiration tow truck is still there) Catoosa, OK Home of the Blue Whale Tulsa, OK (home of Sheriff voice and Route 66 historian Michale Wallis) Stroud, OK Rock Cafe owner Dawn was inspiration for Sally Shamrock, TX U-Drop-Inn was inspiration for Ramone's House of Body Art Amarillo, TX Big Texan Amarillo, TX Cadillac Ranch (Cars had Cadillac Range) Adrian, TX The Mid Point Cafe (former owner was inspiration for Flo) Tucumcari, NM - The Blue Swallow Motel Holbrook, AZ - Joe & Aggie's Holbrook, AZ - The Wigwam Motel Joesph City AZ - Jackrabbit Trading Post Seligman, AZ- The Snow Cap Drive In and Angel's Barbershop Hackberry, AZ General Store - Inspiration for Lizzie's Curios Shop Plus we stopped in: El Reno, OK Gallop, Grants Albuquerque, Santa Rosa, NM Windslow, Flagstaff, Williams, AZ Needles, Ludlow, Amboy, CA
Oh yes, beautiful vibrant Ludlow. Lived there twice as a youngster. First in 1953 and again in 1959. Kind of like living on the moon I would think.
@Jive-Bomber - My wife & I really enjoyed following your families journey via FB & IG ... Glad you shared some of the (H.A.M.B. friendly) photos here.
I've always wondered, when you see that 'old tin' lying around, if one could just scoop it up? I'm talking that stuff in the desert areas that appears to be abandoned & not going onto someone's obvious property
cool! Yes, there is lots of old stuff sitting around out here in the desert. It lasts forever, and there aren't any trees to hide it. I'm planning to hit the mother road again on another LeMons Rally in a week or so. I probably won't have time to do as much sightseeing as you did...but it'll still be a fun adventure. If I make it, that is. The car sucks. It's off topic, although the drivetrain is pure hot rodded 1963.
You could, but you would be almost certainly breaking the law. There is no unowned land in the US. Every acre belongs to someone, either a private or public entity (a state, local, tribal, or federal goverment, a public trust, etc.) , and the things you find on that land are generally property of the landowner (unless they are otherwise marked with a sign that says "Free - Take Me"). Even if someone abandons a privately owned car on gov't property, gov't regulations still would normally prevent someone other than the owner or towing/recovery firm hired by the gov't from removing it.
I understand your comment & would not do this anyway as it is part of the history & scenery plus it be stealing plain & simple & l don't do that
This is the best guide and we used it on our travels on two occasions on 66. My photo in the same place in the Hudson on my USA trip in 2018
Sister lives in El Reno.......pretty cool the folks that stop by the places......we see a lot of out of state plates.....and 66 is a little off from I-40 as it goes thru OKC........
Hello, On our way to the Eastern seaboard one year, my wife and I drove through the whole Southwest to “almost” St. Louis,(similar to your travels) on our summer road trip. Our goal was to go sailing on the East Coast bays and harbors, including the coast lines all the way up to Maine. We had the whole summer and had planned on the road trip lasting almost a month. Reservations and side trips were set and we headed to OKC for some family history searches. The route went through some interesting towns and for us, some were a nice respite from the long drive in barren country. It was a good thing we had some nice CDs to continually play and sing along while driving. There were some stretches of the road that looked rather empty on both sides and we thought we might be on Mars. The trip from Amarillo, Tx to Rolla, Mo was on the same surface streets as your trip. Jnaki From Barstow, California to Albuquerque, NM was the similar route through Winslow & Flagstaff, AZ. My wife thought it was interesting that so many people were standing round on that corner of Winslow, AZ at that time of day. It was a long drive from the OC to Albuquerque, so, we wanted to get there before dark. For us, those highways were no place to be in the dark. Mainly because there is nothing to see, except for truck headlights adding to our night vision coming our way. There are things to see, but, our itinerary and previous reservations made it a “move along” road trip. We got as far as the Fort around Rolla, MO, before we had to turn around and head back West to avoid all of the construction traffic on that highway. For us, it was not worth the effort to continue on, so we made different plans to see some national parks out West. The eastern seaboard adventures can wait until later if so choosing. It was a whole new ballgame heading West to the national parks in Utah, Arizona and California. A week later, we were in Santa Monica at the farthest West that Route 66 can go in that direction. Then of all things, a couple of years later, we were farther West than the end of the Route 66 sign allowed. We were looking back at the official end of the famous highway, Route 66 in an easterly viewing spot. photo by Vnak, Looking East