The weather continues to be a source of fascination for me, specifically winter. In the writing of the Route 66 encyclopedia I have developed a real fascination for what could be deemed the winter of the named roads era and the spring of Route 66.
For several weeks the walk to work in the morning is accentuated with spring in the form of song birds, baby rabbits, and grass turning green even though the temperatures hover around the freezing mark. Now the weather in my corner of the world is most always a bit different, but this is notably odd.
An average winter here is a few weeks of cold mornings (6 to 20 degrees) with afternoons that hover between 35 and 50. This is followed with a day or two with temperatures being about ten degrees warmer.
This winter we had December 12. The rest of the winter has been strange in its consistency. Most every morning it is 30 degrees and most every afternoon it is between 50 and 60 degrees.
On on average winter we will have one or two snows of about six inches. This year zip, a dusting. Ditto for rain, barely enough to form a puddle here or there.
I suppose what is most notable about the weather is the consistency and as inconsistency is often the hallmark of weather in Kingman, especially in the winter and early spring. One year, in January, it was warm enough for my dearest friend and I to picnic along the Colorado River, and even go wading. Two days later it snowed. One year it snowed during the Route 66 Fun Run.
I know, global warming. Well, yes, I suppose. However, I just have trouble buying a prepackaged disaster that a select few stand to profit from. I mean, when was the last time we heard “experts” include the change to the earth’s axis resultant of the earthquake in Japan or New Zealand in the global warming discussions?
Okay, I deviated from my usual course this morning. I suppose this fascination with a change in weather can be attributed to early years, a time when I spent so much time out of doors that the weather could be read like a watch. As crazy as it may sound, there was one time, at the end of summer down in New Mexico, I lived outdoors, day and night, for six weeks.
Okay, enough of my weather obsession, at least for this morning. Lets talk Route 66 starting with our little contest.
Keep your notes pertaining to why you have a fascination for Route 66 coming. Remember, the deadline is May 1.
The March edition of 66 The Mother is just weeks away. This issue will be the most exciting one to date as John and Judy Springs will be providing details for what may just be the biggest Route 66 contest yet organized.
The writing of captions for the encyclopedia is consuming vast quantities of time but with each written, it becomes easier to envision the final product and the excitement builds. The images supplied by Steve Rider, Joe Sonderman, and Mike Ward have given this work a previously unimaginable depth.
One of the most engrossing segments of this work is the period between 1919 and 1930, the end of the named roads era and the infancy of Route 66 and the U.S. highway system. Fueling this fascination is the rare, early images of auto camps, service stations, garages, and street scenes provided by these collectors. I am quite confident these will spark a great deal of discussion among Route 66 enthusiasts.
I will talk more about this Thursday.
