In the Spring 2014 issue in the Friendd in the Fast Lane department, we show a Kansas artist, Dave DeArmond, who was so moved by the 1916 Midland Trail Tour guide that he began painting scenes mentioned in the book. Now people like our guest, Joan Nothern, of the Solomon Valley Hwy 24 Heritage Alliance are making that nearly century old driving guide come alive. Joan is the president of that association and right here shares the story behind their efforts to rediscover the forgotten transcontine...
Apr 30, 2014•13 min
Butterflies normally conjure up beautiful images of colorful, delicate winged creatures flitting by your mind’s eye. How about throwing in a few thousand cockroaches you can play with and lots of hungry caterpillars? In the Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine in our US 40: Across the Middle Department, I described some of the Looking Glass Insects I discovered at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. This remarkable facility is located in a beautiful park...
Apr 28, 2014•9 min
In the Spring 2014 issue of American Road Magazine our Memory Motel column was all ears as we swept down into the mountain resort of Steamboat Springs to visit the Rabbit Ears Motel. Ironically, as Greg Koehler, our guest and owner of the motel will tell us, the name has more to do with geology than a certain rascally cartoon character. On the other hand the inn’s overactive sign did create something of a distraction for visitors to the famous Steamboat Springs right across the street. Greg also...
Apr 24, 2014•12 min
In our Winter 2013 issue of American Road Magazine we wandered a bit north of our theme area of Washington State into the Canadian Rockies for the subject of our Memory Motel Column. Tucked in the foothills of the craggy grandeur of British Columbia near the town of Ainsworth Springs stands the Mermaid Lodge and Motel. Not quite the image that would seem to go with a town that grew up in the rough and tumble of the Canadian Gold Rush. In part three and our final interview with Marsh Giles, the c...
Apr 09, 2014•9 min
Welcome to Part 2 of our interview at the Indiana Medical History Museum in Indianapolis where I met Mary Ellen Hennessey Nottage, the passionate curator of medical history in Indiana. We conducted the interview as we strolled through what had been the pathology lab for the state's main mental health hospital for more than a century. In Part 2 of our interview you will find out how death provided both a valuable resource in medical study and a compassionate benefit to the deceased's family. This...
Mar 31, 2014•6 min
In our Winter 2013 issue of American Road Magazine we wandered a bit north of our theme area of Washington State into the Canadian Rockies for the subject of our Memory Motel Column. Tucked in the foothills of the craggy grandeur of British Columbia near the town of Ainsworth Springs stands the Mermaid Lodge and Motel. Not quite the image that would seem to go with a town that grew up in the rough and tumble of the Canadian Gold Rush. In part one of our interviews with Marsh Gillies who is the c...
Mar 31, 2014•11 min
In our Winter 2013 issue of American Road Magazine we wandered a bit north of our theme area of Washington State into the Canadian Rockies for the subject of our Memory Motel Column. Tucked in the foothills of the craggy grandeur of British Columbia near the town of Ainsworth Springs stands the Mermaid Lodge and Motel. Not quite the image that would seem to go with a town that grew up in the rough and tumble of the Canadian Gold Rush. In part two of our interviews with Marsh Gillies who is the c...
Mar 31, 2014•11 min
In 2011 a California grocer named Dave Schaub drove his Brizio-built Custom ’32 Ford roadster through all 49 continental United States in an amazing 7 days, 14 hours and 21 minutes. We featured a picture of Dave at the finish line in Alaska in one of our recent Friends in the Fast lane Column. In part two of our interview Dave describes how he made the incredible journey on 5 hours of sleep a day without being accompanied by a chase crew. It was literally man and machine against the clock for ne...
Mar 11, 2014•14 min
In 2011 the jovial California grocer drove named Dave Schaub drove his Brizio-built ’32 Ford roadster through all 49 continental United States in an amazing 7 days, 14 hours and 21 minutes. We featured a picture of Dave at the finish line in Alaska in one of our recent Friends in the Fastlane Columns. It was all part of an effort to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford University Hospital. In this first part of the interview, Dave talks about getting himself and his custom car r...
Mar 11, 2014•11 min
You only have to mention the words “Route 66” and people all over the world begin to conjure up their own visions of this nostalgic ribbon of American highway. I seriously doubt, however, that many if any of you would identify pigeons with that same stretch of asphalt. However, for our guest in this two-part American Road Trip Talk podcast, Route 66 is a feathery racetrack. Randy Goodpasture is the owner, loft manager and organizer of the Route 66 Race in which the contestants are the noble carr...
Feb 28, 2014•11 min
You only have to mention the words “Route 66” and people all over the world begin to conjure up their own visions of this nostalgic ribbon of American highway. I seriously doubt, however, that many if any of you would identify pigeons with that same stretch of asphalt. However, for our guest in this two-part American Road Trip Talk podcast, Route 66 is a feathery racetrack. Randy Goodpasture is the owner, loft manager and organizer of the Route 66 Race in which the contestants are the noble carr...
Feb 28, 2014•14 min
Like any good fish story, the tale of the National Freshwater Fishing Museum located in the wooded Lakeland of northwest Wisconsin is about a big one…that didn’t get away. In this second of two parts, Emmett Brown, the museum director, gives some of the vision and mission behind the Hall of fame. It is very much about protecting our valuable fish stocks and educating the public about ways to keep our freshwater resources healthy. Emmett even has a story about the big one that got away…deliberate...
Feb 19, 2014•14 min
Like any good fish story, the tale of the National Freshwater Fishing Museum located in the wooded Lakeland of northwest Wisconsin is about a big one…that didn’t get away. Emmett Brown, the current director of the Museum, takes us on a two part tour of this remarkable and growing collection of freshwater fishing memorabilia, hall of fame for the greatest fishermen and women and even home to over 100,000 lures, rods and reels. For a full article about the museum and a collection of photos, check ...
Feb 19, 2014•11 min
The movie The Help took viewers behind the scenes of a post WWII southern society in the midst of change. It was filled with wit, insight and mouth-watering southern fried dishes. When Hollywood location scouts for the movie found Greenwood, MS, they knew that had struck gold. The architecture, cotton fields, fabulous food, and residents who welcome everyone with open arms were enough to convince producers that Greenwood was the perfect place. Here to give us a guided tour of Greenwood is Paige ...
Jan 31, 2014•12 min
For many of us this has been a hard winter that has kept us cooped up. Good news, there is an event taking place during the first two weeks of February that is guaranteed to get you out of the house. The scenic Hocking Hills area of Ohio just 40 Miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio is hosting a Comfort Food Cruise Feb. 1-2 and 8-9. Karen Raymore, the Executive Director of the Hocking Hills Tourism Association has all the details about this wonderful opportunity to visit a winter wonderland and to s...
Jan 29, 2014•13 min
If you have been a frequent listener to these podcasts you will know me as the host of American Road Trip Talk but most of the time I wear an entirely different hat. For 40 years I have been a radio broadcaster in the Detroit Metropolitan area and for the last 16 of them I have hosted a weekly show called the Internet Advisor where we help people with their computer problems and introduce them to experts in the field. So what has that got to do with traveling the open road? Glad you asked. On th...
Jan 20, 2014•9 min
For many years now Erika Nelson has been like a big game hunter stalking her elusive prey all over the continental United States. The major difference is not the size of her quarry but that they stand still so patiently waiting to be captured. I am referring of course to the World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World Largest Things. Erika is a peripatetic artist who has scoured the American Road for the Largest Coin, Biggest Ball of String, Biggest Bank Vault Door a...
Jan 13, 2014•9 min
Collinsville is a little town in southwest Illinois with a big roadside attraction that’s hard to miss and that will be even harder to miss this Christmas season. Towering over a hundred feet above the town’s main road stands the world’s largest catsup bottle, a symbol of both the town’s proud past and valiant efforts to save the landmark during the 1990’s. In this podcast Mike Gassman, President, CEO and Big Tomato of the non-profit World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, Inc. tells how they got Jolly O...
Dec 15, 2013•12 min
Sometimes the best visits you make during a vacation are those unique, hidden attractions that aren't on the big maps. It's a special little cafe, a unique overlook or a remarkable museum that is full of extraordinary displays. Such was my experience when I visited the Indiana Medical History Museum off US 40, the National Highway, just outside downtown Indianapolis. There I met Mary Ellen Hennessey Nottage, the passionate curator of medical history in Indiana. We conducted the interview as we s...
Oct 16, 2013•9 min
Nothing evokes the magic, the tainted/painted history of the showplace of the west Las Vegas, Nevada like the gaudy brilliance of its brash neon signs. Our summer 2013 issue was entitled Electric Avenue and dedicated to the neon signs that pointed the way to lodging, lunch and lots of roadside attractions but none could quite match Las Vegas for pure size and scope of magnificent displays of gas and glass. One of our Tunnel Vision articles in that issue focused on the Neon Boneyard of Las Vegas,...
Sep 06, 2013•13 min
In Tacoma, WA, summer 2013 ended with a Blast From The Past at the LeMay Family Collection. What began, as a personal collection of vintage cars more than 40 years ago is now the largest private collection in the world with 2,200 vehicles according to the Guiness Book of World Records. The Blast from the Past annually raises funds to help local charities and serves as a showcase for the highlight of the upcoming Annual LeMay Car Show, Auction & Swap Meet around Labor Day weekend. According t...
Aug 24, 2013•10 min
The summer 2013 issue of American Road Magazine focused on: Neon Sights that Keep the Night Bright. Dave Hutson, our guest in this podcast, is the man who brings the warmth of yesterday back to those glowing gas sentinels. He is the owner of Neon Time, a company in suburban St. Louis, MO that specializes in restoring neon signs. He is also part of the Neon Heritage Preservation Committee that was formed by the MO Route 66 Assoc. in 2008 to save endangered historic neon signs along the Mother Roa...
Aug 15, 2013•10 min
Our summer 2013 issue of American Road Magazine is focused around: Neon Sights that Keep the Night Bright. In this podcast we meet Dave Hutson, the man who brings the warmth of yesterday back to those glowing gas sentinels that once beckoned us to spent the night or to enjoy some homemade comfort food along the American Highway. Dave is the owner of Neon Time, a company that specializes in restoring neon signs in suburban St. Louis, MO. He is also part of the Neon Heritage Preservation Committee...
Jul 31, 2013•13 min
The summer 2013 issue of our magazine features the theme: Neon Sights that Keep the Night Bright. In the Motoring the Mother Road column, I wrote about an ambitious Neon Heritage Preservation program led by Jim Thole, a member of the board of the Missouri Route 66 Association. Be sure to check out the magazine issue for great photos and more details. In 2008, a terrible windstorm blew through St. Louis, MO and nearly tore down a neon sign, which had been a local landmark. Jim Thole and his fello...
Jul 30, 2013•8 min
The summer 2013 issue of our magazine features the theme: Neon Sights that Keep the Night Bright. In the Motoring the Mother Road column, I wrote an article about an ambitious Neon Heritage Preservation program led by Jim Thole, a member of the board of the Missouri Route 66 Association. Be sure to check out the magazine issue for great photos and more details. In 2008, a terrible windstorm in St. Louis, MO nearly tore down a neon sign, which had been a local landmark. Jim and his three fellow c...
Jul 26, 2013•9 min
The summer 2013 issue of our magazine features the theme: Neon Sights that Keep the Night Bright. In the Motoring the Mother Road column, I wrote an article about an ambitious Neon Heritage Preservation program led by Jim Thole, a member of the board of the Missouri Route 66 Association. Be sure to check out the magazine issue for great photos and more details. In 2008, a terrible windstorm in St. Louis, MO nearly tore down a neon sign, which had been a local landmark. Jim and his three fellow c...
Jul 19, 2013•9 min
The last weekend of June 2013 in Kearney, NE marks the 100th Birthday Party for the Lincoln Highway, one of the first transcontinental highways for automobiles across the United States of America. In Part 2 of our Centennial Celebration for the Lincoln Highway, Sarah Focke, of the Kearney Convention and Visitors Bureau gives you all the details on the upcoming celebration. Car buffs, Lincoln Highway aficionados and the Lincoln Highway Association are all gathering for a big week of celebration b...
Jun 27, 2013•8 min
The last weekend of June 2013 in Kearney, NE marks the 100th Birthday Party for the Lincoln Highway, one of the first transcontinental highways for automobiles across the United States of America. In Part 1 of our Centennial Celebration for the Lincoln Highway, Sarah Focke, of the Kearney Convention and Visitors Bureau gives some of the background on why her fair city of 30,000 was chosen to host the party. Sarah will also fill us in on the history of this main line for autos across the heart of...
Jun 27, 2013•8 min
Perhaps no other roadside attraction is as closely identified with the American Road as the neighborhood drive in movie theatres that once dotted the US map. Sadly the ritual of warm summer evenings with the family piled in the car to watch the latest blockbuster has gone the way of the Edsel in most places. But the good news is that people like Jim Kopp of Stephens City, VA are hard at work keeping that tradition alive. Our guest on this podcast runs, the Family Drive In, a 500 car outdoor thea...
Jun 23, 2013•14 min
The rich earth of the Mississippi River bottom just east of St. Louis has long been a place to grow some of the best produce in the country. In particular, it was something of the tomato capital of the Midwest for many decades. What better monument to that juicy history than a massive catsup bottle, masquerading as the city water tower for Collinsville, Ilinois? In this podcast you’ll meet the Big Tomato himself, Mike Gassman, who along with his wife and many other volunteers have successfully f...
Jun 11, 2013•13 min
