I have been enjoying in the last few days a beautiful book named Route 66 Backroads: Your Guide to Scenic Side Trips & Adventures from the Mother Road. It was written by Jim Hinckley and features photography by Kerrick James, Rick Bowers, and Nora Mays Bowers. The title is somewhat misleading, but not in a bad way. Before looking through the book, I had assumed that it would highlight 66 sites and other places of interest nearby. While sites such as these are covered, the scenic side trips take you far away from the Mother Road, showing many of the other interesting areas within the eight Route 66 states. In my home state of Illinois, for instance, we travel along Route 66, then take an excursion along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, a scenic drive along U.S. 52 from Joliet to Galena, and another north from Springfield to Peru. There is a drive from the St. Louis area north along the Great River Road to Nauvoo, and finally a trip from Cahokia down to the southern tip of Illinois at Cairo. While all of these drives start on 66, they take you up to two hundred miles away on fascinating adventures.
This last spring, I had the pleasure of taking a few of these excursions (although without the help of this book at the time). Carol, the kids and I drove 66 from Chicago into Missouri, then returned to Illinois and traveled north along the Great River Road to the Quad Cities. We then went east to Peru and followed the Illinois & Michigan Canal corridor back to Joliet. Thus, I can attest that these trips away from Route 66 are well worth the time spent.
The photography throughout the book is stunning, and the narrative compelling. I give the book my highest praise: it makes me want to jump in the car and take a road trip!
Voyageur Press, 2008, $24.99US. ISBN 978-0-7603-2817-0.
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In 2004 at the Route 66 festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Russell Olsen. He was at the festival selling his first book, Route 66 Lost & Found. The book did two things better than just about any other work on Route 66 that I have seen: first, Russell used vintage postcards and photos of Route 66 sites, then he paired those images with modern photos of the current look of the same site taken from the same vantage point. Second, and almost as important, he accompanied those paired images with knowledgeable text that told little-known details of the background of the sites. The results are intimate, knowing, and exhilarating.
As I was out on the road in late May/early June, I stopped in at the Antique Toy Museum in Stanton Missouri on old Route 66. The proprietor informed me that he has decided to retire at the end of the current 2008 season. Although there is always a chance that he may change his mind, he seemed quite determined when I spoke with him. His children seem to have no interest in operating the Museum, so it is likely that this will be the last year that anyone can visit this marvelous place.
The museum contains a collection of 20th century toys worth an estimated $500,000. As the slogan of the Museum states, “If you were ever a kid, you’ll love the Antique Toy Museum.” If you are a member of the baby boomer generation, this Museum has virtually every toy you had as a child, or wished you had.
This post has two purposes. One, to inform all who care that the Upcoming Events page (link to the right) has been updated. I have added a few more dates for June library presentations of the Historic Route 66 PowerPoint slide show and lecture. Also added is the current schedule of events for July.
I recently received my copy of the Spring 2008 Route 66 Magazine. The cover story on the public art of Joliet, Illinois is great, since it showcases the great work that has been going on in that city over the last several years.
