Yet Another Book Recommendation

It's an investment, but it's worth it to any Route 66 fan. It's Shannon Richardson's black and white photographic essay, Route 66: American Icon, a large-format coffee table book. Shannon is a sensitive photographer with a fine eye for the details of Route 66. His love of the Mother Road is evident on each page. Each black and white photo is large, approximately the size of an old album cover. Subjects range from familiar icons photographed at interesting angles to rarely noticed details along the road. I'm particularly fond of Page 45, this incredible photo of Afton Station at night in the rain.The book may be purchased at http://www.route66americanicon.com/order.html. The price is $66. Shannon was at the Amarillo Festival, so some of you may have already met him. He is an Amarillo native.

Blahs!

I guess "the blahs" is the best way to describe my mood today. I think I'm coming down with a cold, so that's probably the reason. It certainly doesn't have a thing to do with my visitors to Afton Station today. They included Ron M., Betty, Tattoo Man, Phil, and 20 others.

Those 20 others came from Fairfax CA, Mt. Morris IL, Haltom City TX, Warsaw MO, Bloomington IL, Jackson TN, Bartlesville OK, Bristol TN, Ketchum OK, Franklin TN, and Virginia Beach VA. Greeting three couples from three different towns in Tennessee was an odd coincidence for one day, since we rarely have Tennessee visitors at all. The man from Ketchum, OK came in his truck which is fueled by compressed natural gas. The couple from Virginia Beach visited for the second time in four days, as they're staying around the area doing family genealogies. They are the kind folks who gave me the photo of his father's gas station in Afton in the early 20th century. With Betty W's help, they have made some progress on their family history. And here's a very nice couple from Texas. Tattoo Man is showing them a picture of himself in David Wickline's Images book.

When we arrived at the Station this morning, we were greeted by a calling card left by a horse. Ron M. felt it was necessary to photograph it for future generations.And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. I feel sort of like the above picture. :-(

Real Ramblings. . .

I just arrived at Afton Station and went through the opening up process. I decided to forego the a/c for a while because last night's storms blew some beautiful cool weather our way. Let's see how long that lasts. It feels good to air things out.
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I'm clearly experiencing post-vacation letdown. What do I miss the most? Well, my daughter of course, from my first vacation to Richmond. From the Amarillo Festival, I miss (0f all things) the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel. Sitting there chatting with old friends was the highlight. I wouldn't mind a couple more days at Palo Duro Canyon, either. However, I'm here now and I can't complain about switching from being the visitor to being the "visitee". If I only thought I could make my Afton Station visitors feel as welcome as I felt in Richmond, VA and Amarillo, TX, I'd know I've chosen the right path in life.
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Speaking of visitors, where are they? Thus far, only the air conditioner repair man has been here. Since I didn't turn it on this morning, I didn't realize it was broken. Marly must have called him yesterday.
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It still hurts a bit when people drive by and take pictures but don't come in, even though I'm often reminded by others that that it's good advertising just to have photos of the Station on various blogs and websites. I realize I can't meet every traveler, but I hope the word gets out that Route 66 is every bit as much the people as it is the sightings.
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Traffic picked up around noon, and by day's end I'd visited with 15 people. They came from McAllen TX, Helrenueln Netherlands, Brevard NC, Seattle WA, Justin TX, and Tulsa and Disney, OK.

This truly enjoyable couple is from Brevard, NC and they're embarking on a full Route 66 vacation. I was glad that they weren't in so much of a hurry that they were able to stay and chat for a while. I think their faces reflect the happiness they're feeling by being on the Mother Road.
The young man from the Netherlands was traveling solo, but it was not his first Route 66 trip. The couple from Seattle, WA were heading for Springfield, MO to attend the National Studebaker Convention. Since Packards and Studes have a familial relationship, they were also very interested in our Packard collection.

Larry Davidson, whom I'd seen just last weekend in Amarillo, came for a visit today, too, in his gorgeous '50s Ford Station Wagon (I wish I could remember the exact year.) It's silver, and very long, and beautiful. He was heading for a car show in Indianapolis.

The young lady from McAllen, TX was with her aunt who lives locally. She's spending her 16th birthday today with her aunt and uncle and wanted her photo taken in each of our cars. Sounds like a creative and cute way to celebrate a Sweet Sixteen.
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Allow me to gush a bit about Joe Sonderman's latest book, "Get Your Pics on Route 66: Postcards from America's Mother Road". Because I'm a Route 66 postcard collector, it simply blows me away. But I can't find anything wrong with this big, colorful, display -- 160 pages of repros of old, very old, and even some newer images of Route 66 motels, cafes, attractions, etc. You don't have to be a postcard collector or a Route 66 nut like me to appreciate this volume. I guess the best thing I can say about Joe's book is that it's exactly what I once started to put together myself, but I was too lazy to finish and Joe beat me to it. Please buy it. You'll love it, too. Get your pics on Route 66 : Anniversary Books

King's Service Station, Afton

This is the extraordinary photo given to me yesterday by the King family during their visit to Afton Station. Mr. King's father is the second man from the right. They said that the family owned four service stations in Afton, but this one apparently no longer exists, since there are no buildings that even remotely resemble it standing now. It was a Conoco station on Route 66. If anyone who reads this blog can tell me any more about it, I'd appreciate it. Betty W. is also working on the dilemma. By the way, in the photo gasoline is selling for 15-cents a gallon!

Ta en titt på dette attraktive par

That's Norwegian for "Check out this hot couple!" :-) It's hard to beat the good looks of folks from Norway, and this couple is no exception. And, they were very nice and knowledgable too! The couple, from the town of Skien, were actually the last of the 29 visitors we had today at Afton Station, but they were also the only foreign travelers to visit today. It's not their first trip to the U.S., but it's their first time on Route 66.

Ron M. and I were impressed by the interesting and varied folks who visited today. Here are two friends from San Antonio, TX and San Ramo, CA respectively. The Texas lady is a longstanding member of the Road Map Collectors Association, and she's such an avid collector that she even had a road map tattooed to her arm! (Mike Ward, take notice. Pascha said she knows you from your contributions to the roadmaps.com site.)

Our first visitors of the day were some bikers from Stark City, MO. One of them had this gorgeous Indian motorcycle which was tricked out with lots of unique additions, including the buckskin fringe which I liked a lot.

These two pleasant guys are brothers from Baltimore, MD and Melbourne, FL. They're making their way across Route 66 with lots of laughs and smiles.

But that's not all! We also greeted Dan Oberle from Edwardsville, IL whom we first met when he sat at our table at the Amarillo Festival last weekend. It was good to see him again. Also, a couple with the last name of King, from Virginia Beach, VA stopped by on a search for information about his father who had a gas station in Afton in the thirties. Of course, this piqued my interest. Fortunately, Betty W. stopped by after church and met the folks. She wants to ask around and see what information she can get for them. Knowing Betty, she'll have a full family bio before the week is out! The Kings also gave me a photo of the gas station his father owned, and I'll post that tomorrow. It's a beauty!

A self-confessed "Packard guy" and his friend from LaGrange, IL stopped by on their motorcycles, followed by a retired teacher from Chicago. A perfectly lovely family (mom, dad, college-age son, and high school-age daughter) from Festus, MO arrived at Afton Station because their son had found us in a tour book he'd been reading on the trip. He is very interested in Route 66 and its history, and his sister is interested in collecting old postcards. It's great young folks like these that are so important to the further renaissance of Route 66!

But I'm not done yet. There were also travelers from Clarendon MN, Salina OK, Grove OK, Houston TX, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. All of them were wonderful guests, too. We really hit a home run today for sure. Sometimes I need a day like this to remind my why I'm here and to energize me. Believe me, I'm energized!

Happy Fathers' Day to all who fit that description!!!

Detour Dan Visits

Only ten visitors today. Eleven if you count Detour Dan. Here he is.Detour Dan is traveling Route 66 with this fine Masteller couple from Strafford, MO. He's being photographed here and there along the way. The Mastellers are members in good standing of the MO Route 66 Association and are developing the website www.Detour66.com.This gentleman from Shreveport, LA is making his way home from a long trip which involved Route 66 as well as the Rocky Mountains. On a bristling hot day like today, he happily enjoyed our air conditioning and ice cold water for a while before he moved on.

Other visitors were all from Oklahoma. They came from Caddo, Miami, Tulsa, Ponca City, and Stillwater. Frequent visitor Perry Knight and his companion Merilee stopped in for a while, and Perry showed us his new, impressive model airplane engine. Both of them are pilots, so this acquisition was much appreciated.

Ron M. was with me today. We were somewhat surprised by the slowness of the day after the very active previous weeks. Maybe dads are celebrating Fathers' Day weekend watching golf on TV rather than facing the heat and roaming the Mother Road.

The turtle given to me by Richard, an Afton local, was found terrorizing and intimidating the tiny frog from Puerto Rico given to me by Ron M. after his recent trip. I think the turtle had an unfair advantage, and yet froggy continues to smile. All this drama is taking place on top of the antique cash register.

See you tomorrow!

Stormy Day

Today began with an unique sunrise, then a drive to Afton in one of the most spectacular lightning shows I've ever seen. I was listening to the news on the radio and they were remarking on the abundance of lightning as I was driving through it, so I know I wasn't dreaming. There was also a good bit of rain, but it ended about half way to Afton.

The rest of the day, until the very end anyway, wasn't as exciting. There were only 10 visitors, mostly local. They came from Leander TX, Stockton MO, Shawnee KS, Dallas TX, and Wyandotte and Grove, OK. It seemed that a lot of men were trying to sell their cars to me today. Since we're not buying at the moment, I had to decline.

Tattoo Man (with yet another fresh tattoo), Betty (with a scrumptuous rhubarb pie), Marly, and Phil were also present for much of the day. Marly and Phil cleaned up water that the brand new air conditioner in the new showroom had poured onto the floor with abundance. A call was made to the installers, and they will be fixing it tomorrow.
My Afton Station Family -- Tattoo, Betty, and Marly and Phil in the background.

Meanwhile, around 2 p.m. we got two calls from folks who warned us that BIG storms were on the way, and they were potentially tornadic. Since Afton is just up the road from Joplin, everyone around here is super-aware of those sorts of warnings these days. So, I decided to close up and try heading for Tulsa. With Betty's help, I closed up and was on the road by 2:30, a half hour earlier than usual. As it turned out, all I encountered on the road were a couple of small downpours and lots and lots of wind. Now that I'm home, the sun is out and all is well.