Keep the Show on the Road!

This photo was taken in January 2007 at Meteor City, Arizona along US 66 as a meteor came screaming in from the west! Just kidding!! The photo was taken into the sun on a winter day. Thus the bit of snow on the ground. The whole mood of the photo fits a place called Meteor City! I like the lens reflection near the left rear of the classic truck and the purple sun rays. The store is a Route 66 classic. Along a wall is the longest Route 66 map in the world. Meteor City is about 14 miles west of Winslow, Arizona. on Route 66. Let's Keep the Show on the Road!

The photo below was taken this winter (January 2007) in Holbrook, Arizona along old Route 66, just north of the historic Santa Fe Railroad depot and across the street from the J&J Trading Post. I figured we had discovered the Route 66 dinosaur retirement home! Or maybe the breeding ground!! Does anyone know the story behind this place? Post a follow up. Did you notice the classic A&W in the background? Take a look at the other great postings in this section. There are lots of photos and great advice from American Road Stars like Becky Repp, DennyG and the one and only roadmaven! So look for more images, a couple of panoramas, and their great stories. And if you haven’t yet joined this happy crew, sign up so you get all the benefits of the Forum. The photos will be displayed without the need to follow the links, and you get access to all the photos in the Gallery, including a lot more of Route 66. Best of all you can share your discoveries and road trips with the rest of us! Let’s Keep the Show on the Road!

Thanks, Jennifer. I really appreciate the work you are doing, and your response! I looked at the Parachat site after I posted the suggestion and realized that their basic chat package doesn’t give you control over message length. That requires their "professional" (more expensive) package. Thanks for the effort anyway!! Some of us used the chat last night for about an hour and the message length didn’t get in the way at all. The change in “between e-mail time” is appreciated; as I agree with you that ease of communication (without spam) is important. You might also tell Pat that I have withdrawn for now the suggestion that we schedule regular publicized times for specific “narrow” chat topics (eg Route 66 Saturdays at 5:30PM). I still think it has some possibilities, but it didn’t get rave reviews in the Sunday chat, and apparently got a yawn from all but a couple of leadership folks I invited to discuss it. Maybe I’ll resuscitate it at some later date. When chat gets going we will need separate rooms anyway. I am still trying to get a feel for what works to generate participants and even more participation. Now that I have discovered the expertise here, I want all roadies to hitch a ride. We really do have world class experts as moderators and some fantastic members. I want to get the story out.

If you are interested in old road maps, road guides, and other related travel ephemera, post here to describe that interest. Let’s see if we can get a thread going. I have a collection that I use primarily to enhance road trips. I don’t collect any specific company’s material. I do tend to look for western states items because I live and travel there. Most of my material goes back to the Auto Trails days, before numbered US highways, but I do have later material as well. In the interest of kindling a response to this post, I am going to comment on a few categories of material in my collection. I like strip maps. I have more than 200, mostly from the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC), but from other producers as well, including a nice set from the teens in Washington State. One of the nice things about strip maps is their detail. No atlas or state map has the same degree of detail. I enjoy old travel guides. For example, I have a 1911 guide book from the ACSC that is filled with detailed road directions and full page maps for most of the state. It is a real gem. My 1916 Lincoln Highway guide is carefully wrapped, but a facsimile copy gets lots of use. Another favorite is the Automobile Blue Books (ABB). My earliest only go back to 1910, and those of the west to 1915 or so. If you wonder where an old road went, the turn by turn directions will tell you. It is also fun to spot an old business, garage, or hotel described or pictured in the ABB, and take a “now” photo. One of the nice details of the ABB in the early to mid 1920’s is the road descriptions that accompanied each route (at least in the west). If you wonder what the road was like, these are invaluable. Another favorite is the Hobbs, and later the Gousha guides. These showed both road condition (paved, gravel, dirt, etc) and the grade (hills, etc). Perhaps as interesting to me are the recommendations as to accommodations and services. I have several of Rand McNally’s Auto Trails maps from the teens and twenties, and their commercial atlas for the year (was it 1926?) it contained all the auto trails maps by state. Well, there is a shotgun start to a thread. Any takers?

Dave, I really enjoyed the photos in your link! I can’t say it was better than being there, but they were great. You are also an impressive photographer. You must have a nice telephoto for some of the wildlife shots. In the old days I had a Nikon F with a bunch of lenses and I looked like a pack mule on the trail. Now I carry a small Nikon 8400 with a wide angle zoom lens, and a tiny Pentax that fits in my shirt pocket in case I leave the Nikon behind. I’m looking for another digital with a long lens and optical stabilizer. I’m staying away from SLR for now because I don’t want to return to being a pack mule. Any suggestions? Did you wander elsewhere on that trip? That whole area is nothing if it isn’t spectacular. Doing it in April adds some snow on the ground. Wonderful! Sheila and I have wandered over just about every two lane road in the west at one time or another, and that area is top notch. When I was a young man I decided to travel every red two lane road on the map in the western states. I think I’ve done it, plus most of the black ones! It is always great to be returned to one via photos and stories such as yours! Among my interests is the fur trapping era, and there are places along 89, and elsewhere in the region where you can practically rejoin the trappers, at least in your mind eye. Thanks again for posting your photos! Let’s Keep the Show on the Road

Thanks to both of you for the great photos!!! It brings back great recollections of a trip in October several years ago along 89. I’m glad it is getting some well deserved attention. And I’m pleased the Bluebird is doing well! I really appreciate the inline photos because they illustrate the descriptions in the text. The gallery is good too, but when I jump to the gallery, I seem to lose the context, kind of like a book with all the photos in the back. When you do use the gallery, good captions help. Brian, back to 89. If you get the chance, please do keep us posted as you travel and when you return home. Even a few notes are welcome, and if the one photo is an example of your work, we must see more! And Dave, I’m going to your link now. Thanks for your great efforts to Keep the Show on the Road!

Super, Super job. A good read the whole way!!! Full of great info. I'm glad to see the prices on Ebay. The few items I have been able to outbid you on over the years must be worth a small fortune now! Again, a terrific job on the newsletter, late or not. Keep the Show on the Road

Thanks, Jack! A really helpful and entertaining reply!! I can see the scene at the top. I bet it was as interesting as the view! I guess if I get serious about my friend's RV, I should look into towing and load capacity. I think he may tow a little car, but I'm not sure. Let's Keep the Show on the Road!

I agree. US89 is well worth a trip! Is the Bluebird Café in Logan still going strong?. When I was through several years ago it was a terrific example of an old time café. For anyone at all interested in the days of the trappers and mountain men, 89 is a must do. The beautiful Cache Valley and Bear Lake appear regularly in the diaries and journals of the time. In fact the whole of 89 from south of Logan to Jackson Hole takes you through site after site of history from the early 1800’s. Gees, aren’t the two lane roads great!! Lets Keep the Show on the Road

What great timing! Just today we sold our fully self contained van with only 38,000 miles on it. It was just too small for two people. I have used the van successfully on one person trips into some pretty tight places, but with Rose of the Road along, we are virtually stepping over each other. Our first long trip in it almost ended in divorce! So it sat unused most of the time. Now what? I like to take the old roads, but don’t want to go down one where I can’t turn around in my vehicle. We have some friends that would like us to buy their 30 foot rig. It is in great shape, but your question raises the key issue for me. My real concern is that I might be chicken to take a road for fear it will get too “tight” along the way, and thus miss some gems. What have your experiences been? Do you shy away from adventuring? I'm trying to Keep the Show on the Road!

OK, two technical irritations that maybe we should change. On the Sunday chat (March 25) the message truncation at three lines hindered communication (not mine) three times that I recall. I suggest we try 5 or 6 lines. They are short lines! Second, I was trying to send e-mail to four forum members this morning. I discovered that we have a 15 minute lock between messages!!!!. Why don’t we cut it down to 5 minutes or less? I recognize we don’t want spam, but a 15 minute lock discourages legitimate communication to more than one member. Community is key, and 15 minutes between messages has already hindered us in trying to establish a chat group on road trips. I suppose it is a default with the Board software, but I hope we can change it. Just trying to Keep the Show on the Road Dave

It sounds like my kind of place! September is probably the only month this year we are a little booked. We have our 26th annual reunion with college pals planned in our town (Olympia, WA) in September and we are hosts, so we have our work cut out. But when in September, just in case? I definitely need to get to Missouri. Your advice is really helpful. If you are around, drop by the forum chat site at 5:30 PM Pacific time Sunday, April 1 (no April Fool). Another fellow and I are going to discuss establishing a regular chat time to share road trip info. You are the kind of guy we need to give us advice! I’m also going to invite DennyG and a few others. Lets Keep the Show on the Road! Dave

Thanks RoadDog for the tips! I look forward to what becky described. Like you, I'd much rather stay in a unique and charming (clean and quiet) place then another cookie cutter box. Every little bit helps Keep the Show on the Road while we keep on down that two lane Hhghway!!

If Ypsi Slim offers a map, take him up on it. He knows his stuff. It is golden. As an aside, Streets and Trips works very well if you are mapping a delivery route and want to optimize the route for the shortest distance, delivery sequence, etc. But my personal experience gives Delorme’s products the edge for accuracy, and especially the edge outside the metro areas. Trying to help Keep the Show on the Road!

As I looked at your photos, I got the impression that a couple of the old brick towns were actually still “in operation.” By that I mean they still had several businesses still going, not just antique stores or junk shops. For example, maybe the drug store in the photo was still operating. Is that true? Part of the fun of two lane travel for me is the opportunity to step back in time. I’m not big on renovations and re-creations, so a real drug store that still is hanging in there is a must stop for me. Is Missouri a fertile ground for these interests, or not? Great grandfather was a Jayhawker in the 7th Kansas Cavalry during the Civil war, and he did some Missouri border raiding as well as bushwhacker hunts in the State. He spent some time around Booneville and moved up and down the Missouri by steamboat. His diary includes many description of the area so I would combine a visit with some visits to sites he describes. It looks like a Booneslick drive would be a good introduction. Any other suggestions?

These are great photos! I really have got to head east from my base in Washington state. Your pictures of places along the road get the old travel juices going. Is there a little story behind the photos (family trip, travel with friends, club members, etc)? Thanks for sharing them. It will Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Opps, ignore the question about the story behind the photos!! I found it!!! Great!! Keep the Show on the Road Dave

Right! The stories of ranchers creating mud holes so they could hire out themselves and their horse teams to pull motorists out of the mud are legend. There was a spot on the Lincoln Highway in western Utah that was so bad that the county sheriff had to go out to inspect. There is an often quoted excerpt from the Lincoln Highway Guide for western Utah to the effect that if you need help on the road, build a fire of sage brush and Mr. Thomas will come out with his team to rescue you. In researching the excellent old newspaper archives Utah has on the web, I found stories of how some ranchers in Mr. Thomas’s area were turning their irrigation ditches into the roadbed! I have wondered if Mr. Thomas was less Good Samaritan than businessman! Motoring in the teens and before, especially in rural areas, was done at your own risk, and considerable risk it was. Have you ever looked at the list of equipment recommended for any car and driver. Extra springs, tires, intertubes, spark plugs, valves, shovels, chains, and so on. The wonderful University of Michigan Lincoln Highway photo collection is a must view. One of the enjoyable things you can see is the equipment carried by the early traveler. Count the extra tires in the picture! This photograph is taken between Tippett’s Ranch, NV and Ipabah, UT. I have sat in almost exactly the same spot in my air conditioned vehicle and pondered whether I would have been up to the demands of travel when this picture was taken around 1915, give or take a couple of years. By the way, Tippett’s (or Tippet’s) and this area of eastern Nevada and western Utah are almost unchanged from when this picture was taken. The road is better drained, but the powdery surface turns to slippery mud at the slightest bit of rain. I know! We almost ended up "slip slide-en away." Once you got past the physical obstacles, you had the sheer meanness or stupidity of some people to deal with. I recall a story from Florence Trinkle who made a transcontinental trip with her husband in a Brush Runabout in 1908. A man in Lucin, Utah deliberately gave them false directions which led them into a trackless desert, and save that they ran into some prospectors, their trip could have ended in death for both of them. Keeping in mind where Lucin itself is, it is amazing they made it! As always, thanks for the update, and great insights, and let’s Keep the Show on the Road! Dave

I thought that might be the reason, and I do understand it. It certainly is one way of looking at it, but I would like to make a respectful counter argument. Look at the photo gallery statistics. First, there are few viewers. So if membership is a requirement to view the gallery, it appears few are being induced by that incentive to join. Even those photos up longest with 30 or more viewers, average fewer than 5 a month! It isn’t evident from this distance that the strategy is working to induce new members to join if so few people get to the gallery. And we have to assume that most of the 5 (or less) per month per photo are old members, not new. Second, making it hard to view photos discourages us (at least me!) from posting photos. Who wants as small an audience as possible?? I have 400 viewers of my Route 66 trip thread, and only 10 viewers of the associated photo gallery (that magic 5 per month)!!! If it were only my gallery photos that got few viewers, you could blame the photographer. But look at the view (and comment) count for all the photos in the gallery. If admission to the gallery is the inducement to join, very few seem to be joining to get there. And it discourages those of us (at least me!) who want to share photos as well as text, from doing so. I recognize the reasons for using membership as a prerequisite to posting, but not as a prerequisite to viewing. I hope we will reconsider the strategy and decide instead to show off our members’ talents, both written and visual, to all who visit us. The photos are important to all viewers. I truly believe that will interest and induce more to join than will our current practice. In any event, thanks for listening, and keep up the good work! I’m just trying to Keep the Show on the Road! Dave

This is a note of thanks to Becky Repp and Denny G for adding immeasurably to my recent Southwest road trip through their postings. I am a charter subscriber to American Road, in fact a pre publication subscriber. I enjoy the print version a great deal, but getting live interaction en route has got to top everything! I note that the “Advice on What to see on Route 66 in Arizona” thread has enjoyed almost 400 viewings in less than two months, and the less popularized route (US 80, Old Spanish Trail) “Westbound on the Old Spanish Trail” thread has had 250 viewings. The dialog must make a difference for viewers. And it made a big difference to me. I would not have continued posting as I traveled had I felt no one cared. Thanks again!

It is difficult or impossible for non members (anyone not logged in) to view photos. You have to be a member (logged in) to access the gallery. Furthermore, inline (embedded) images display only the URL link (no photo unless you click it) for non members. The whole effect is a dull sea of text. Imagine American Road without photos! Can we change the board settings to better display our photos to non members? I would think it would encourage interest, thus membership, and the like.

Curses!! DennyG told me about the Shady Dell but I forgot it was near Bisbee, so we missed it. We wouldn’t have been able to spend the night with a 130 pound Malamute, but I would have loved to sample Dot’s Diner. Judging by their website things look healthy, but I can’t give you a first hand report. Thanks for the posting and I will do better next time I’m near Bisbee. Just trying to Keep the Show on the Road, Dave

You are a keen observer! Thanks for the tip. One of the destinations on this year’s list is Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg is definitely worth a stop, and it is working to recapture and preserve its heritage. However on my last visit, I don’t remember seeing any recognition of the Yellowstone Trail, which went through Ellensburg. 1915 Ellensburg Garage Ad: http://www.pair.com/davepaul/americanroad/garage.jpg The westbound Yellowstone passed through Ellensburg from the south because the route before 1925 swung in an oxbow from Spokane to Walla Walla, Sunnyside, North Yakima, then northward to Ellensburg before turning west to historic Cle Elum and over Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle. The whole area is rich in road lore and many of the old routes still exist through pristine countryside, along sparkling rivers, and through historic towns. They rank among the most scenic and interesting in the Northwest. Section of 1917 Auto Club Strip Map of Roads in and around Ellensburg: http://www.pair.com/davepaul/americanroad/ellensburg1917.jpg The old roadbed of the Yellowstone Trail between Ellensburg and Yakima still exists, little used, and partially dirt, but in good condition. Not surprisingly, it was an old wagon road of the late 1800’s. If anyone asks, I will post the detailed 1915 and modern directions in the Yellowstone Trail section of the forum. Let's Keep the Show on the Road!

Thanks for the reminder that Route 20 is one of the most interesting two laners around! I lived on the west end of the route for many years in Bend, Oregon. My wife was born in upstate New York so we have visited family there and followed the route in the east. Now we just need to take a road trip and connect the ends! The website is great, and lots of fun to visit! Keep the Show on the Road!

Thanks for the good news and interesting description of Glenrio! I have added it to the places I want to see on my next trip to New Mexico. We just got back from a trip your way and plan a return visit soon. I couldn’t resist looking up the description of the road through Glenrio in the 1921 Automobile Blue Book, where it is described as a “sand dirt rut” from a few miles east of Tucumcari to Glenrio. It was identified as a section of the Ozark Trail. Glenrio was apparently just a wide place in the road in 1921, as it didn’t merit more than the terse “Thru Glenrio, NM, 111.0” (the mileage from Santa Rosa). They did comment that stretches of the road between Santa Rosa and Amarillo “will be improved in the near future, making to possible to travel over graded road the entire distance.” Thanks again!