The weekend of October 9-11, Quinn and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary by cruising to Helena, AR for the thirteenth consecutive year to enjoy the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival.

On September 11-13, the Route 66 Association of Missouri held its 20th Annual Motor Tour, which started in Joplin, MO and ended in Pacific, MO. Back in 1989, the Association was founded in Mt. Vernon, MO; it was certified by the Secretary of State in early 1990, and the first Motor Tour, which went from the McArthur Bridge to Joplin, was held in September of 1990. It was a nice crowd: over 63 cars and nearly 100 cruisers joined us.

Here are some pix from the recent Baden Taste, held in the Baden Neighborhood of North St. Louis. Main Street Baden is Broadway, which is a section of Route 66.

The weekend of March 21st and 22nd, a group of roadies, including Robert Schulz, Bob Richards and Peggy O'Neill, Carolyn Hasenfratz, Fred Zander and Candy Trapp, Briney and Sue Welborn, Kip Welborn, Quinn Grimes and Natalie Kay Welborn, and of course Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson, trekked from Columbia Illinois to Cape Girardeau, MO on the 4th annual Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson Sweetheart Cruise. Enroute we took in some of the best BBQ and Fried Chicken in the country, cruised the Shawnee Wine Trail and sampled some of the vinters product, and stayed at the incredibly neat Giant City Lodge in Giant City State Park. While we had a flat tire, and some of us came close to getting lost in the "streets" of Giant City, there were few mishaps and a boatload of great times. Robert Schulz served as our guide and did a great job showing us what there was to see on our tour.

The weekend of October 10-12 we made our annual anniversary trek to the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (aka the King Biscuit Festival). We've been doing it for 11 or 12 years (the first year is still subject to debate) and have had a blast--taking in the music and a trek into the land of the blues--every year we have gone. This year we managed to get into the Casino across the river, which added to the fun (and the convenience--did not have to drive over there!). We also followed the trail of the life of Sonny Boy Williamson and the very sad end of Emmit Till's life. My sister and brother in law, Beth and Tom Bischof, were gracious enough to show Natalie a good times. It was a blast, it gave us a chance to see the best of blues music, from the artists that were part of its evolution, and it gave Quinn and I a chance to relive a lot of fun times we have had over the past 19 years!

Pictures from a (yes) very cool McDonalds in Lebanon, MO....

This year, folks from Maine to California "came to dinner" with the Route 66 Association Missouri on its 19th Annual Motor Tour, held September 5th through September 7th. This years tour started in Collinsville, IL and ended in Lebanon, MO, with a midpoint stop in Rolla, MO at Zeno's, where we celebrated Zeno's 50th Birthday! Close to 75 people and 40 cars joined us this year, not too shabby in a year of close to $4.00 gasoline!. For this years tour, we added passports for people to get stamped at several of the eateries between Collinsville and Lebanon. We also had scheduled stops at Jensen's Point, Sheldens Market and the Pulaski County Historical Society. Thanks to all who joined us, the Motor Tour Committee, and the stops along the Motor Tour Route for making this years tour a huge success! Here are some "pictures from the tour" for your viewing pleasure!

Between June 20 and 23, Quinn, Natalie and I cruised up the mother road in Illinois to join our Route 66 friends and the International Route 66 Festival, and, from there, headed north to Springfield to take in the Lincoln sites and revisit a lot of the cool pavement and cool towns along Route 66 in Illinois.

On May 24th, Friends of the Mother Road, Inc. had a "work day" at Rich Henry's Rabbit Ranch to clean up the area around the Stanley Cour-Tel and Lin Air Motel signs, make them look more presentable, and salvage the neon from the signs to utilize in hopefully relighting the signs in the future. For those who don't know, the signs were located along Lindbergh Blvd. (Route 66) near Lambert Field. The crew that tore down the Motels sold the signs to one Mike Steidley. Thanks to the efforts of Kirk Johnson, who initially contacted Mike Steidley about the signs, Mike Steidley, who was willing to sell the signs for a very reasonable price, and the VERY generous Dr. Joel Braunstein, who paid for the signs and lent them to Friends of the Mother Road, Inc., the Stanley and Lin Air signs remain in their rightful place along Route 66. And thanks to Rich Henry, the signs have a home, where they can be seen today (cont'd)...

After the Route 66 Association of Missouri's quarterly meeting yesterday, we paid a visit to the new Fanning Outopost General Store, located in Fanning, MO (between Cuba and St. James). They have just installed a 40 plus foot rocking chair, touted as the largest rocking chair in the world! All I can say is that, when we rounded the corner and saw it, all we could say was "gosh"! It is one BIG rocking chair! And when you stop to see it, make sure you take in the Fanning Outpost General Store, a real neat little place with a small convenience store, wine tastings, a fireplace in the back, and nice people throughout...

The weekend of February 16 and 17 was a weekend to hit the road for participants in the 3d Annual Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson Sweetheart Cruise. This years cruise took us up Missouri State Route79--aka the Great River Road-Missouri--from St. Peters, MO to Hannibal, MO. It took us back to St. Louis through Illinois, passing through Kent and Mary Sues hometown, Pittsfield, IL. The tour ended at the Wild Goose Tavern in Grafton, IL. This years participants included: Pat and Jennifer Bremer, Denny Gibson, Steve and Kathy Look, Kent and Mary Sue Sanderson, Robert Schulz, Fred Zander and Candy Trapp, and Kip, Quinn and Natalie Kay. Enroute we saw a lot of cool sites, "watched" a lot of cool birds, ate a lot of great food, and had a great time together. Here is the story of the weekend, in words and pictures--enjoy!

On Saturday night, we were treated to a great show at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups, where Marquise Knox, Leroy Pierson and Bobby Rush put on a Country Blues Showdown that warmed a packed house on a very cold St. Louis night...

After 6 years and 52 million dollars, the ribbon was cut on the reborn McKinley Bridge this date...the dedication ceremony was as much a dedication of the Bridge as it was to those whose labor brought the Bridge back...at the foot of the bridge on the IL side is a park which contains a wonderful tower commemorating the efforts of the steelworkers of Madison County "The Salute To Steel", and the efforts of every person who assisted in bringing the bridge back to life.

Every year since 1997, Quinn and I have cruised South to Helena, Arkansas to attend what was the King Biscuit Blues Festival and what is now known as the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. The Festival brings tens of thousands of people into the little town of Helena, AR, filling its streets with blues enthusiasts, good food, and great music! It gives us a chance to visit the stomping ground of many of the great "players" in Blues history: W.C. Handy, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Son House, Charley Patton, Honeyboy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins and Robert Johnson, just to name a few. It also gives us a chance to travel the blue highways we love and just hang out together. This is just a travelogue of this trip--there is a lot more to see in the Delta, and a good guide to travelling the Delta is Steve Cheesboroughs "Blues Traveling" (University of Mississippi Press).

A section of the original alignment running through the City of St. Louis--Manchester between Sarah and Boyle-- known as the "Grove" (so named because of its proximity to Tower Grove Park, St Louis' second largest park) is coming alive, complete with new bars, dining establishments and other entertainment. The folks in the Grove have actively promoted this new development and held two "Grove Fests" to bring people to their neighborhood--and to this section of Route 66. It is a neat area and is well worth visiting when passing through St. Louis. Just West of Boyle, at the corner of Manchester and Tower Grove, you will find another great eatery, "Sweetie Pies On The Mangrove", which serves up some of the best southern cooking you will find on either side of the Mason Dixon Line! Here are a few shots of Grove Fest II and the places that are springing up along this old alignment of Route 66 in the CITY of St. Louis.

September 7, 8 and 9, the Route 66 Association held its 18th Annual Motor Tour. We cruised from Miami, OK to Sullivan, MO. This years tour had a baseball theme; we stopped at Mickey Mantle's boyhood home, Baxter Springs, KA, where Mantle was "discovered" by the Yankees; passed the "Field Of Dreams" between Baxter Springs and Riverton; toured the Mickey Owen Baseball School; and ended the tour in Jim Bottomley Park, near the final resting place of Cardinal great "Sunny" Jim Bottomley. We saw other great places along the way, including Afton Station, the Coleman Theatre, the Kan-O-Tex Station in Galena (and Tow Tater!), and the Gay Parita gas station outside Halltown, MO, just to name a few. Here are some pix of Kip, Quinn and Natalie Kays trek to Miami and from the Tour. It was a great motor tour, and hope to see our fellow 66ers next year on the 19th Annual Route 66 Association of Missouri Motor Tour!

I turned on the news yesterday morning to hear that, the demolition would begin on Noah's Ark in St. Charles, MO Wed. evening. Noah's Ark was opened in the late 60's. It was just a block off of I-70, but it belonged on a blue highway somewhere. It looked the part, complete with scale model animals you could see 'on the deck" from the Interstate. It was open on and off into the late 80's when it finally closed up. The motel adjacent to the Ark was apparently one of the great haunted houses in the area. My dad took me to Noah's Ark several times. I always thought that Dad took me there because he usually took me to very swank adult places that did not serve French Fries. I remember going there, loving the decor, and enjoying a plate of Fries (then about the only thing that I ate!) and they had great clam chowder. There was a party last night to demolish the place;now it is pretty muc gone. Heres a few parting shots.

Here's our travelogue from our AWESOME trip to the Route 66 Festival in Clinton, OK and on west to Santa Fe, NM. This is our third trek West on Route 66, and, like the first two, this one did not disappoint! Saw a lot of great people, in Clinton and elsewhere, saw a lot of things we hadn't seen before, stayed at one FANTASTIC motel and had some great food on Route 66! Part I takes you from Day 1 to the end of Day 5, and covers the trek from St. Louis to Tucumcari with stops in Miami; Chelsea; at the TOTEM POLE PARK; in Stroud; Arcadia; Yukon; El Reno;Clinton; Elk City; Erick; Shamrock; The Jericho Gap; Conway; Vega; Glenrio and Tucumcari.

This is part II of our Trek from St. Louis to Santa Fe, NM, covering the end of Day 5 to Day 8; covering the trek through Tucumcari; Montoya; the Pre-1937 Route to Santa Fe; the dirt road at Romeroville; Pecos National Park and Pecos; THE EL REY; LA BAJADA; Santa Fe; The Turquoise Trail and stops at Cerrillos, Madrid and Sandia Crest; and our rejoining Route 66 at Tijeras.

Part III of our trek from St. Louis to Santa Fe--June 21 to July 1....covering the trek from Tijeras to St. Louis, Day 8 through Day 11, covering the trek through Moriarty; Clines Corners; Santa Rosa; Tucumcari; Adrian; Vega; to the Cadillac Ranch; to the Big Texan; through Conway; Sayre; Sapulpa; Claremore; to Afton Station and the Buffalo Ranch.