I spent last weekend in Springfield, Missouri in the company of friends. It was the 8th annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival and I had a vendor booth in the Old Glass Place, a historic venue near the iconic Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque. When I attended my first Birthplace festival in 2015, I told … Continue reading 8th Annual Route 66 Birthplace Festival
This is the final entry in my series about my time with Michael Wallis on the Midwest leg of his book tour for, "The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny". If you've missed any previous installment, here they are: Springfield MO & KC Kansas City KC to Columbia … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – Home Again
(other installments of this series here) Tuesday, the final full day of my journey with Michael Wallis. We got off to an early start since we had a drive to Illinois first thing. Before we even left St Louis, though, Michael had a live interview with the Sam Madonia morning radio show in Springfield. The … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – The Best Land Under Heaven
When I went to the Tulsa Historical Society in May to hear author/historian Michael Wallis talk about his new book ("The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny") I expected to enjoy the presentation, which I did. I expected to visit with my friends and walk out with a … Continue reading On the Road with Michael – Tulsa to KC
It's really nice to hit the road after a period of time without much travel, especially when I have my favorite co-pilot in the passenger seat. Samantha and I set out for Springfield, Missouri early Saturday morning to attend the annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. The gathering itself was enough to make the trip, … Continue reading 2016 Birthplace of Route 66 Festival
The first road trip I took that was focused specifically on Route 66 was July 5th, 2013. It was a Friday; I had the day off from work and decided to take the short drive from Tulsa to Miami, OK to see the Coleman Theater and take 66 back home. I had absolutely no idea … Continue reading An Ending in the Land of Lincoln
This weekend was the fifth annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield, Missouri. A lot of my roadie friends were driving hundreds (or thousands!) of miles to attend, so I felt I could at least drive 180 miles from Tulsa. In fact, I hadn't spent much time in Springfield since my Route 66 passion surfaced; … Continue reading 2015 Birthplace of Route 66 Festival
When I had the opportunity to buy tickets to finally see Arcade Fire in concert, I didn't care that I would need to drive. I'd been to Dallas for a concert before (my first arena concert: Foo Fighters on their Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace tour) so another drive wouldn't be a big deal. I … Continue reading The Spirit of St. Louis – part one
Rhys' Pieces 