OLD TRAILS, LOST HIGHWAYS, ROUTE 66, AND ADVENTURES ON THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

After a lengthy series of false starts it looks as though the refurbishment of the historic Old Trails Garage is on again. The center piece of this project will be the restoration and illumination of a towering circa 1930 neon lit Packard sales and service sign.

This is but one of several projects that we are hoping will be completed before the Route 66 Fun Run next May. Others would include the repair of the Harley Davidson themed murals on the old warehouse across from the Old Trails Garage, refurbishment and update of the Power House visitor center, and, perhaps, a mural or two.

If the unseasonably cool weather last week did nothing to dampen the adventuresome spirit of the motorcyclist exploring Route 66, I am quite sure the unseasonably warm weather this week will truly inspire them.

Last Saturday afternoon as we were exploring the previously noted mystery road above Goldroad it almost seemed as though the parade of motorcycles on Route 66 was an endless stream. As many were flying foreign banners it would be a safe bet to assume these examples of Harley Davidson's were rentals piloted by Europeans seeking the wonders of iconic Route 66.

Ghost Towns of Route 66 is beginning to coalesce into something tangible. With the assistance of Jerry McClanahan and Jim Ross, as well as Vickie Ashcraft of the New Mexico Route 66 Association, Tom Huber in Illinois, and Debra Holden with the Barstow Harvey House and Route 66 Museum, I now have a pretty good list of communities that will be profiled.

Kerrick James has gathered the lions share of the photos of the eastern half of the route for the project. Now we will concentrate on New Mexico, Arizona, and California this winter.

The one real fly in the ointment is my inability to schedule time for driving east on Route 66. Additional reasons and excuses are fast piling up for making the trip during the Thanksgiving week. Bob Waldmire's last art show in Springfield, Illinois, on the 22ND, the showing of Bones of the Old Road by Jim Ross at the historic Coleman theater in Miami, Oklahoma, on the 24Th are two of the best reasons I can think of.

In an ideal world where fish don't smell funny and roses don't have thorns I could take the drive to Springfield on US 66 and return on US 6, another lost highway and possibly the next project after Ghost Towns of Route 66. The latter would provide an opportunity to experience one of my favorite overlooked attractions, Harold Warp's Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska, as well as share its wonders with my dearest friend.

In the mean time I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to return to the Goldroad area this weekend and explore the upper end of the mystery road below Sitgreave's Pass. It would seem we may an overlooked chapter in the history of Route 66 unfolding.