by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
For those who partake in the American holiday of Thanksgiving, I hope you had a pleasant day. In our homestead it was relatively quiet, which provides ample opportunity for the reflection that is an integral part of meditating upon what one has to be thankful for, a key component in the original concept behind this holiday.
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The road to the site of Fort
Beale near Kingman. |
As it was a most delightful fall day in Arizona (high temperature 70 degrees), my dearest friend and I spent much of the morning on a long walk along the Cerbat Foothill Trails near the site of historic Fort Beale. I have to rate this area at the top of the list for sites missed by visitors to the Kingman area.
I find great enjoyment in sharing this are with friends who visit from out of town. It is also on my list of stops when asked to provide tours of the area.
As my son and his family were sharing the holiday with his in laws, our visit was vicarious via phone. This left my dearest friend and I free to indulge in another rather unconventional Thanksgiving dinner.
This year it was teriyaki turkey burgers with grilled onions and a touch of horseradish mustard, sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon, whole grain Wasa with cranberry sauce, roasted red pepper hummus with goat cheese, and pie, pumpkin and blueberry. I have hinted on numerous occasions that my dearest friend needs to write a cook book or launch a blog.
I may be a bit prejudiced but in my humble opinion she is a gifted cook. Just as a mechanic fixes things rather than merely replaces parts, she fixes things.
As an example, in recent years she has been experimenting with various things that can be used to replace oils and lower the fat content in foods. Yogurt has often been utilized as a substitute and to be honest some of her creations have leaned toward the extraordinary side of the gastronomical side of the spectrum.
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A vintage car at Cool Springs presents an interesting
illusion. |
On the day before Thanksgiving, I had a most fascinating meeting pertaining to a proposed business idea. The gist of the meeting was that there should be consideration of creating a multi faceted travel store under the umbrella of Jim Hinckley’s America with the primary area of focus being the American southwest and Route 66.
In addition to providing assistance with trip planning, there could be a gallery, book store featuring books I have written as well as carefully selected guide books and historic works, tours where I serve as a guide, and a wide array of photographic based products such as calendars, post cards, holiday greeting cards, and similar material. It was an interesting idea, especially as I have been giving thought to something similar, currently assist in the tours offered by the El Trovatore motel when the schedule allows, assist with travel plan development, and on occasion give tours of the Kingman area.
A couple of quick notes before closing this morning are updates on the Brunswick Hotel project, and on the Mueller’s (Blue Swallow Motel) Model A project. First, the Brunswick Hotel.
Acclaimed artist Julie Snider will be establishing a gallery in the Brusnwick Hotel complex this coming spring. She is also funding a mural window in the west wall of the Old Trails Garage. That leaves with only two to fund.
Several months ago the Mueller’s were blessed to obtain a Model A Ford truck, a vehicle that has long dominated my list of must have adventure vehicles. Well, it looks as though the motor is now free and so I am quite sure it will be on the road soon.
This has renewed my hunger to travel Route 66 from end to end in a similar truck loaded with camping gear. I see a Model A convoy in the future.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 22, 2012 | Uncategorized
As the Great Depression, part two, sweeps across the nation in slow motion there is an almost palpable sense of grey, except on Route 66. Framed by this dreary backdrop the colors, the warmth, and the allure of Route 66 seems magnified.
In the late 1920’s Route 66 was the road to a bright and promising future. During the dark days of the 1930’s, it was the nations trail of tears. To those who traveled it during the late 1940’s and 1950’s it was a road of discovery and adventure. In recent years it became a road of memories remembered, and memories made.
Today it is an old friend, an escape from the cares and worries of the day. It is a safe haven, a port in the storm, a return to the old neighborhood, an oasis in a desert where the vast wilderness seems to be a sea of uncertainty.
All along the course of this old road communities foster the illusion of being an oasis with gaily painted murals, time capsule motels, and diners that offer blue plate specials with a healthy dose of friendly. From Chicago to Santa Monica fans of the double six energize those who foster the illusion with their enthusiasm, their excitement, and their generosity.
Who can spend a night at the Wagon Wheel Motel, and savor a breakfast at Shelley’s, in Cuba, Missouri and not be refreshed, renewed, and filled with excitement about the future? Who can end a day of exploration among the haunting ruins of Glenrio and Endee at the Motel Safari and not feel that the sun is again shining bright?
Few communities have been immune to the optimism, the sense of excitement that is carried from town to town by the legions of fans who travel the old double six. Kingman was a bit slow to succumb but I am happy to report that this is about to change.
The transformation of the west wall of the historic Old Trails Garage into a cornerstone for historic district beautification is well underway. The first in a five window mural project is complete.
The Kingman Downtown Merchants Association have financed the art work for the second window. Today artist Julie Snider, who will be opening a gallery in the refurbished Brunswick Hotel complex in the spring of 2013, provided the funds for the third window this morning. This means we will be starting a new year with a renewed sense of optimism in Kingman.
It also means we will be ending the year having taken several steps toward the transformation of Kingman from a stop to a destination. The Old Trails Garage will mark the closing of the year. Refurbishment of the El Trovatore Motel neon and the extensive mural program on that property marked the beginning.
Now, looming on the horizon for the new year we have the grand reopening of the historic Brunswick Hotel, which in turn will mean the opening of our gallery and visitor center. Then there is the development of the phantom gallery project, another season of Chillin on Beale, another year of First Friday events at Beale Street Brews & Gallery, another Route 66 Fun Run, and, most importantly, another season filled with endless opportunities to meet with friends old and new as they travel along the legendary double six.
On the horizon grey skies may loom but along Route 66 the forecast is for sunny days.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
Those who travel the old double six are well aware that the road is a living, breathing time capsule of near epic proportions. Scattered along its course, a course that on occasion changed more often than the seasons, are incredible links to the past. A few are obvious – the Blue Swallow Motel, the Motel Safari, Gay Parita – but others are far more subtle.
West of Kingman, Arizona there is a truncated alignment of the road that was bypassed in 1937. A hint of what makes this segment of U.S. 66 truly unique is found on page 82 of Legendary Route 66 by Karl Witzel.
This section of highway, with the exception of the fact that the road is now paved, is as it was in 1920 when this was the National Old Trails Highway. Here we have an unchanged snapshot of the American landscape from almost a century ago. The railroad bridge, the canyon, and the towering spires of stone are the same as in the circa 1920 photograph.
In Kingman, along the earliest alignment of the road that was also the course of the National Old Trails Highway, the time capsules are in the form of links to several decades of American automotive history. In one yard alone milestones from several decades of history bask in the Arizona sun as silent monuments to automotive evolution.
From end to end the now iconic Route 66 is a battered time capsule but with a very unique attribute. The international fascination with the old road is leading to the resurrection of dusty gems, tarnished treasures, and long bypassed landmarks.
It is also a 2,000 plus mile amusement park for those who dream of being an explorer cut from the cloth of Indiana Jones. From the almost vanished remnants of Bagdad in the vast wilderness of the Mojave Desert to the crumbling ruins of John’s Modern Cabins framed by Missouri over growth there is something to explore that will unleash the hidden adventurer.
Even better, it always seems as though there are a legion of like minded explorers who will revel in your discoveries and share in your poison ivy induced discomfort, even if it is just vicariously. This is but another manifestation of the international fellowship that is one of the perks of being a part of the Route 66 community.
High on our list of favorite discoveries was an adventure to the ruins of the Beacon Hill Motel led by intrepid explorer Rich Dinkella. Accompanying us on this odyssey of discovery was Joe Sonderman and Dean Kennedy. The motel may be gone but the memories and the camaraderie will stay with us forever.
This is the essence of the Route 66 experience. This is how the old road intoxicates and entrances. This is how the double six is able to transcend often insurmountable boundaries of culture and language.
The most famous highway in America is not driven, it is experienced. America’s longest attraction is not a road, it is a village of dreams where the imagination is unfettered.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
Well, Thanksgiving is now just mere days away and here in the former colonies that means the “holiday” season is upon us. Please note, to avoid causing upset to the hyper sensitive among us during this stressful time, I avoided using the “C” word.
For the fortunate few this means it is a season of family in all their dysfunctional glory, friends, food, and memories old and new. My wife will be baking pies in anticipation of who might drop by, aside from my son and his family, and, I hope, her delightful pumpkin latte that is now on my list of favorite seasonal drinks.
Friday evening it will be dinner with John and Judy Springs (66 The Mother Road) at the Hualapai Mountain Lodge. The lodge, as well as the park, is a treasure many Kingman visitors overlook.
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| Maramec Springs Park in Missouri |
To do my part in rectifying that oversight the park and lodge will be featured in my next book, a travel guide to the double six. Obviously the primary focus will be the things to do, see, and experience on Route 66 but as with all of my work, the goal is to add depth and context to the adventure that is a drive along iconic Route 66.
In my research for this book I discovered an amazing array of fascinating sites and attractions within twelve miles of Route 66, my limit for inclusion in this guide. Counted among the highlights would be the Cave Restaurant (a bit of a stretch as it is almost twenty miles), the beautiful canyons that shelter ancient cliff dwellings at Walnut Canyon east of Flagstaff, and Maramec Springs Park south of St. James, Missouri.
Counted among the difficulties in writing a book such as this is that I am not immune to the road trip fever it inspires. The wsix day work schedule will impose limitations and restraints on such endeavors for at least the next month or two but I am quite sure we will find a way to indulge ourselves with a day trip to Prescott, or to Amboy for an annual hike up the crater on New Years day.
Meanwhile, its off to work I go. See you on Tuesday.
by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
The end of another year, and the dawn of a new one, is now mere weeks away. This means the holiday season is upon us in America and it begins with Thanksgiving.
Over the years it has become a bit of a tradition here at Route 66 Chronicles to start the season with some historical perspective about the concept of Thanksgiving. As the new film, Lincoln is putting our 16th president in the limelight, I thought it might be appropriate to share a few of his words from April 30, 1863.
“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied, enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray clemency and forgiveness upon us.”
While we are on the subject of the holiday season, and as Route 66 is our primary theme here at Route 66 Chronicles, I would like to make a gift suggestion for the fan of the double six on your list of family and friends. At the Jim Hinckley Studio we have two galleries, one of Arizona images and another that capture the best of our Route 66 adventures.
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| A sample of images available from Jim Hinckley Studio. |
International shipping is available on all images and related products. Books, available for ordering at the top of this posting, are another matter. For international orders, please contact us for shipping rates.
Another great gift idea is to do your shopping at Fading Nostalgia or the Legends of America Rocky Mountain Store. This is a great way to support the starving artist as well as find something unique.
Now, a few updates on the Brunswick Hotel, Kingman beautification projects, other related endeavors. Funding for the second mural in the west wall of the Old Trails Garage has been donated by the Kingman Downtown Merchants Association and we have estimated time for installation of late December.
While funds are being raised to finish the project, attentions are being turned toward the door in that wall. We are also hoping to revive an old plan to refurbish the Packard Sales and Service sign for the front of the building as well as replace the visible register pump that once stood on the curb.
Renovation of the Brunswick Hotel continues with a steady pace. The goal is to have it up and running in time for the Route 66 Fun Run on the first weekend in May. I am hoping that the contractor can meet that tough deadline as we would love to have our gallery and the first stage of the Route 66 Information Center in place for that event.
Well, that is all we have time for this morning. See you on Monday.
