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Route 66 Backroads, off the beaten path adventures along America’s Main Street
Just how popular is iconic Route 66? In Illinois, it is consistently the third largest tourist attraction in the state. A travel agent in London, England, now offers a Route 66 package tour. There are Route 66 associations in more than twenty countries.
Books, such as the recently released Legendary Route 66 by Michael and Gyvel Young-Witzel, fuel this international passion for the most famous highway in America. Ironically, many who seek the wonders, the treasures, and the dusty time capsules portrayed in this and dozens of related works miss delightful gems only discovered with short detours from the Main Street of America.
In 1950, a billboard on the border of Arizona and New Mexico proclaimed the wonders awaiting discovery along Route 66 on the journey west. It also teased the traveler with hints of the many attractions found just north or south of that highway.
It was a well worn photograph of that billboard that inspired award winning author Jim Hinckley to write Route 66 Backroads: Your Guide to Backroad Adventures from the Mother Road. More than a simple travel guide, in addition to presenting Route 66 as a bridge to the past and a living time capsule, it also uses it as a portal to a wide array of oft-overlooked attractions, historic sites, and scenic wonders.
About the Author and Photographers
Jim Hinckley (Kingman, AZ) has a passion for the open road that has translated into regular contributions to a wide variety of periodicals, including Route 66, American Road, and others. He is the author of The Big Book of American Car Culture and Backroads of Arizona.
Kerrick James (Mesa, AZ) has been a professional photographer for more than twenty years. His images have appeared in such publications as Arizona Highways, Sunset, and National Geographic Adventure. He provided the photography for Backroads of Arizona and is the author of Our Arizona.
Rick and Nora Bowers are professional travel and nature photographers with more than forty years of photography experience between them. Their work has been featured in numerous books and magazines. The Bowers are on the road often, but make their home in Tucson, Arizona.
Route 66 Backroads: Your Guide to Backroad Adventures from the Mother Road
Author: Jim Hinckley; Photographers: Kerrick James, Rick Bowers & Nora Bowers
ISBN: 978-0-7603-2817-0
Retail: $24.99US – $27.50CAN – £15.99
Pub Date: November 2008
Paperback / 8.5 x 11 / 208 pages / 165 color & 35 b/w photos, 8 maps
Imprint: Voyageur Press
About Voyageur Press
Voyageur Press, a member of the Quayside Publishing Group, features books about nature and the environment, American heritage, country life, crafts, trains, boats, sports, collectibles and travel.
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msalenger@mbipublishing.com
Q & A with author Jim Hinckley
What is your favorite Route 66 “detour”?
Highway 18 from Route 66 north to Hualapai Hilltop and then the hike to Supai. Within a mere sixty miles, you travel from the era of the tail fin and the Edsel to the 1890s where mules still deliver the mail and the Garden of Eden is just around the corner.
Who should buy this book?
Any Route 66 enthusiast who wants to enhance an adventure on America’s most famous highway, who appreciates the artistry of photographers such as Shellee Graham, Jim Ross, or Kerrick James or anyone who has traveled that historic highway and wondered what they were missing by not talking the turn off to Acoma.
Do you have a favorite Route 66 eatery?
I have several including the Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois, the Pine Country Restaurant in Williams, Arizona, and the Café on the Route in Baxter Springs, Kansas.
What sections of Route 66 do you find the most scenic?
I’m a desert rat so from west to east the section between Victorville and Goffs in California, the section from Topock to Kingman in Arizona, Santa Rosa to Tucumcari in New Mexico, from Tulsa in Oklahoma to Baxter Springs in Kansas, from Springfield to Rolla in Missouri, and from Springfield to Joliet in Illinois.
Is there one Route 66 themed event that encapsulates everything the highway has come to represent?
The Route 66 Fun Run, a three day, 180 mile block party in some of the most beautiful country in the southwest.
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Reviews of previous books by Jim Hinckley
The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair guide to Automotive Americana
Texas Driver, November-December 2005″…an old-fashioned family vacation…kitschy, informative…a whole lot of fun. Well-written, entertaining…can keep you browsing for hours.”
Road & Track, May 2006
“Satisfyingly more than a pictorial pot-boiler, these 320 oversized pages show signs of thoughtful research on everything from the Lincoln Highway (Route 66 for an earlier generation) to Earl Scheib (‘I’ll paint any car any color for only $29.95’).”
Hemmings Classic Car, June 2006 (circ.: 36,000)
“More than a few books chronicling the American road have passed through our inbox and been reviewed in these pages. When this one arrived, we groaned reflexively, figuring we’d found yet another volume joyously recounting the kitschy glories of Route 66. We were pleased, however, to learn that in this large- format paperback … the authors fire a quick-shot series of features at literally all things automotive, or at least auto-related…The brisk writing and reader-friendly style make this a good one-shot volume of what our hobby’s all about.”
Auto Aficionado, March/ April 2007 “The Big Book of Car Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive America turned out to be thoroughly engrossing and entertaining. It is well researched, unearthing some information that is usually not found in print, and delightfully illustrated.”
Classic American (UK), Winter 2006“If you’re looking for a good all-around book about American car culture, then this is it! Beautifully illustrated with period color (where possible) pictures.”
Scotland Daily Record, November 2, 2005″It’s a power-packed paperback on the weirdest and wackiest wheels ever seen in the U.S.”
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Backroads of Arizona: Your Guide to Arizona’s Most Scenic Backroad Adventures
Phoenix Magazine, January 2007“Backroads is chock-full of vivid images by Kerrick James … James’ artwork almost makes Backroads a better picture book than travel guide. Almost. With plenty of maps, directions and little-known facts about each region, Hinckley proves himself to be an excellent travel guide. In addition, the drives are designed for all types of sightseer – from leisurely tourist to the adventuresome off-roader.”Arizona Republic, Dec. 1, 2006 “An unqualified joy, whether you intend to use it for practical route planning or simply for armchair exploration.”
Phoenix, January 2007 “From budding poppy fields in Bisbee to salmon-colored sunsets in Sedona and historic buildings across the state, James’ artwork almost makes Backroads a better picture book than travel guide. Almost. With plenty of maps, directions and little-known facts about each region, Hinckley proves himself to be an excellent travel guide.”Kingman Daily Minor, Feb. 18, 2007 “The book is broken into regions with easy-to-follow directions accompanying fascinating stories on what to look for as you cruise across God’s country. Add in the vivid photography of Arizona’s natural and man-made treasures, and you’ve got a wonderful treat to thumb through on a Sunday afternoon, then to use as a guide as you enjoy the state’s many backroads.”
Tucson Lifestyle, February 2007 “Hinckley, an auto enthusiast, knows the pleasures of the open road and proves that he’s an excellent source of info on everything from the topography to the history to the attractions of the state, giving a strong overview of the character of each region.”
Valley Guide Magazine, Spring 2007“Perfect for the casual traveler and the experienced adventurer alike.”
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Talking Points
Five little known Route 66 facts from Route 66 Backroads –
The path Route 66 would follow in 1926 through western California and northwestern Arizona was the course for the last of the Desert Classic Cactus Derby races in 1914 that featured Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet.
Illinois and Kansas were the first states to pave their portions of the highway.
The iconic teepee shaped motel in Holbrook, Arizona, that is now a Route 66 landmark, was copied from the original built at Cave City, Kentucky.
Route 66 was initially designated U.S. 60.
Production of maple syrup for profit at Funks Grove, Illinois, began in 1891.
Five famous people associated with Route 66:
Mickey Mantle grew up in Commerce, Oklahoma, and played ball for a Baxter Springs team
Carthage, Missouri was home to Myra Belle Shirley, the infamous Confederate spy and outlaw known to history as Belle Star.
Charles Lindbergh stayed at the Hotel Beale in Kingman, Arizona, during construction of an airport there.
Louis Chevrolet was a driver in the 1914 Desert Classic Cactus Derby that followed the future path of Route 66 across California and northwestern Arizona.
Cecil B. DeMille evaluated Flagstaff as a possible relocation site for his New York City based motion picture company before choosing Hollywood.
Fifteen most exciting sites found with detours from Route 66
Fort de Chatres state historic site – Illinois
Lincoln’s New Salem state historic site – Illinois
Lake of the Ozarks – Missouri
Branson – Missouri
Coffeyville – Kansas
Lawton – Oklahoma
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge – Oklahoma
Palo Duro Canyon – Texas
Old Town Albuquerque – New Mexico
Acoma – New Mexico
Grand Canyon – Arizona
Oak Creek Canyon – Arizona
Supai – Arizona
Death Valley – California
Catalina Island – California
BIO
Jim Hinckley currently resides in Kingman, Arizona, the proclaimed “Heart of Historic Route 66, with his wife of twenty-five years, Judy, two ancient cats, and Barney the wonder truck, a well worn 1968 Dodge Adventurer. He is the manager of Penske Truck Leasing, an associate editor and feature columnist for Cars & Parts, and an award-winning author.
The books and features authored by Jim reflect a passion for vintage cars, trucks, and the open road that has spanned almost a half century. They also draw heavily from his colorful adventures that include work as a cowboy in southern New Mexico, as an underground miner in the ghost town of Stockton Hill, Arizona, a dredge operator, the recovery of repossessed automobiles from throughout the country, and collection agent on Indian reservations in Arizona.
Books by Jim, The Big Book of Car Culture, bronze medal winner at the 2006 International Automotive Media Awards, Backroads of Arizona, and Checker Cab Photo History, and Ghost Towns of the Southwest scheduled for a summer 2009 release, exemplify his diverse interests. Likewise the titles of publications in which his work has appeared; Route 66, Classic Auto Restorer, Old Cars Weekly, the Kingman Daily Miner, Hemmings Classic Car, American Road, and Special Interest Autos.
