The past, present and future, Route 66 blurs the line and that is just one reason that this iconic highway is viewed as the quintessential American road trip. This highway corridor has evolved into America’s longest small town. And so, as the focus at Jim Hinckley’s America is on the sharing of America’s story, encouraging people to discover America with road trips, and telling people where to go, we focus a lot on Route 66.

But we are not myopic. We encourage road trips, period. That is the best way to discover America.

Drive U.S. 12 across southern Michigan and stop at the historic Walker Tavern. Or pop into the Jonesville city hall and discover the fascinating story of the Deal automobile company. Take time for the narrated self guided Kingman Tours historic district walking tour in Kingman, Arizona. historic

We also know that the memory making magic of a road trip are the people met along the way. The travelers, the motel owners, the waitresses, the storytellers.

Past, Present and Future

At Jim Hinckley’s America we try to blur the line between past, present and future. We try to make history relevant. And we work to create a community of people that are as passionate about road trips, and the American story, as we are.

To better serve that community, our multifaceted network was given a major update this past week. As everything that we do is a shared adventure, we would like to hear from you. I may have opened a can of worms with that request, but your input is needed if we are to build a network that inspires road trips and makes history relevant.

As an example, a follower suggested a simple, short informal video for providing updates. So, now we are adding early morning videos designed to create the idea that old friends are visiting over coffee to the Jim Hinckley’s America YouTube channel.

So, What’s New?

We have been making regular posts to our new Substack account. This past weekend we introduced a new series using PowerPoint format to bring chapters of Ameria’s story to life. To make them more interactive they will be livestream. The first program in the series was entitled Era of Innovation: Bathturbs, Birdcages and Buick.

Initially the programs will be a bi-weekly feature. But if there is enough interest and I can free up time in the schedule, we will make them weekly.

The livestream episodes of Coffee With Jim that a reviewer called a “virtual diner” have been moved from Podbean to our YouTube channel. If you have written a book that would be or interest to our community, or are involved with an historic preservation project that can provide ideas for other communities, perhaps you would like to join us as a guest.

On the most recent episode we talked about my adopted hometown of Kingman, Arizona. Even in the song about getting your kicks on Route 66, Kingman was pictured as a top on the way to somewhere else. In light of the things that are happening in Kingman it seemed high time to present the town as a destination.

That’s Not All

Meanwhile, on Podbean we are posting recorded programs every Friday. These Coffee With Jim audio programs are not duplications. We share chapters in the American story. And we also have fascinating conversations with guests that are unable to join us for the Sunday morning livestream programs on YouTube.

We are also adding daily road trip inspiring or historical tidbits to the Jim Hinckley’s America Facebook page and Instagram account. This is all part of our quest to create a multifaceted platform that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. It is also a manifestation of our obsession for encouraging people to discover America.

Now we want to make the Jim Hinckley’s America website a bit more user friendly. We have received lots of suggestions and comments. And most of them were of a friendly nature!

Shared Adventures

Remember, Jim Hinckley’s America is a shared adventure. And like Route 66, it is a community.

So, please subscribe, follow, and comment. Invite your friends. Let’s tell people where to go together!