It is now less than two weeks to the 2012 edition of the International Route 66 Festival in Victorville, California. The theme this year is California Dreaming and that is exactly what we will be doing for the next few days as a whirlwind of loose ends are addressed before hitting the road.
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| The historic Mojave River bridge on Route 66 east of Victorville. |
Between then and now, there are several days at the office, notifying the police department and neighbors for added property surveillance, getting the caretaker of the homestead settled in, service on the Jeep in the form of a headlight replacement resultant of an errant rock on a recent excursion, and packaging of all the display items. Other tasks include my self imposed schedule of spending a minimum of one hour per day on the new book, and finalizing details for the pending GM executives visit in Kingman as they motor west on Route 66.
These festivals blend the very best attributes of the class reunion, family reunion, family vacation, and great American road trip. The common theme is a highway that officially doesn’t exist, and and yet it has an international fan club to rival that of Elvis.
This year, instead of using the event as a venue to sell books and promote my corner of Route 66, I will focus solely on promotion, catching up with old friends, making new ones, and encouraging those unfamiliar with the roads charms to take a road trip. This years promotional endeavors will be international in the most literal sense of the word.
Zdnek Jurasek of the Czechoslovakian Route 66 Association, a featured speaker at the event, and his organization have been commissioned to transform the largest mall in Prague with a Route 66 theme. As I have agreed to supply a wide array of images from our vast collection that can be printed as posters for display at the exhibit, we will be meeting with Zdnek to finalize details.
I am also hoping to spark excitement and eager anticipation for several projects being developed in Kingman. One, the World’s Largest Route 66 Museum now has a solid foundation that we can build on beginning with the organizational meeting scheduled for August 20.
Another innovative project is the transformation of the west wall of the Old Trails Garage, 1915, into a telescope that allows people to peek into the past. Details for this project will also be finalized at the meeting.
There have been a few postponements but it looks as though initial work on the long anticipated Mohave County and Route 66 permanent photo exhibit on the mezzanine at the Powerhouse Visitor Center is about to get underway. I am quite confident it will be a well received attraction.
The final note pertaining to exciting updates from Kingman has a hint of self promotion. I am now offering my services to groups stopping in the Kingman area. These will include speaking engagements as well as limited guide services such as to unique photo opportunities.
See you in Victorville?
