Followers of this blog, or the books and feature articles I write, know that adventures on the road less traveled are how we choose to spend most every moment of free time. In fact it was this love for adventure and the difficulty in finding travel information geared towards those on a restrictive budget that initially led to moving behind my specialty, automotive history, to pen travel books and features.
Well, that coupled with insatiable curiosity led to toying with the idea of creating a website where I could provide all manner of material to assist in planning a trip on Route 66. As my imagination often runs faster than I can keep up this idea soon morphed into envisioning a website that provided this information about Route 66 as well as other great highways. Then it became a virtual clearing house for travel information including reviews of books, hotels, and restaurants, maps, original features, and links to approved sites as well as a place to share my fascination with automotive history.
In typical fashion I read a couple of books and set up an account with Go Daddy. Then I proceeded to build a website that became a sink hole for time.
Still, it was an educational endeavor if not a rewarding one. The most frustrating aspect is that it do not come anywhere near meeting its intended goal of providing travelers with needed information.
So, as my schedule is so full I am currently working 26 hours out of every 24 the decision was made to abandon the website. I toyed with the idea of selling the domain name but just could not get the vision for the website out of my head.
A few weeks ago I took a deep breath, adjusted the schedule and decided to give the website an honest effort. First, I erased everything. Next, I revamped the entire format.
To be honest I am rather pleased with the general site. Now, I will begin trying to flesh it out in an effort to manifest the dream of creating a Route 66 adventure in the electronic age, a site for the armchair traveler as well as those planning to take to the legendary highway.
Suggestions, ideas, and thoughts are always appreciated. So, please take a gander at the site, http://www.route66infocenter.com/, and drop me a note.
Now, an explanation of the photos.
This photo of the Jeep was taken south of Williams, Arizona, near White Horse Lake. There are miles of forest service roads in this area making it a delightful escape from the summer heat for fishing, camping, or merely cruising dusty back roads. This area is accessed by taking Fourth Street south from Route 66 in Williams. I should note that if this main road is followed south for about forty miles you will arrive above the stunning red rock country of Sedona in the amazing ghost city of Jerome.
This second photo is Barney the wonder truck in the Cerbat Mountains near the ghost town of Stockton Hill last fall. It is amazing how much things can change in a mere twelve months. We visited the same location a week ago in the Jeep and the road had deteriorated to such a point we actually had to use four wheel drive.
This second photo is Barney the wonder truck in the Cerbat Mountains near the ghost town of Stockton Hill last fall. It is amazing how much things can change in a mere twelve months. We visited the same location a week ago in the Jeep and the road had deteriorated to such a point we actually had to use four wheel drive.
