Thank you to all those who contributed photos for our 2021 Illinois Route 66 Photo of the Year Contest! It was a pleasure perusing the pictures, vicariously traveling along and enjoying the Mother Road with you! I’ve narrowed the field to my favorite three and now it’s your turn to pick the winner!

Here they are – in no particular order:

Vote for your favorite by emailing your preference to gina@writeytidy.com before Wednesday, February 23, 2022. The winner will be announced by February 28 and the winning photo will take residence as our association’s Facebook cover photo for the month of March, 2022. The top photo submitter will also win a Route 66-themed prize package (details are forthcoming).

(The featured image for this post (below) has already won Honorable Mention (and Editor Gina’s comedic appreciation.) Thank you, John P. DeWitt for illustrating for us all the quote from Lord of the Rings, “All who wander are not lost.” And if you’re in a wandering frame of mind, there’s no better place than along Route 66…)

Due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis, we’ve decided to cancel our Winter Quarterly Meeting that was scheduled for Sunday, January 23.

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Photo contest time!

Let’s have a photo contest to close out the year!

Submit your best pic(s) of Route 66 in Illinois from your travels this year and you could win a Route 66-themed prize package!

Contest details

Submit your best picture(s) taken this year along Illinois Route 66 (send us up to five) by January 31, 2022.

Editor Gina will serve as judge, choosing her favorite three – then you get to vote among them to determine the winner!

The winning photo will be featured on our website and will spend the month of March as our Facebook cover photo.

Email your photo submissions to: gina@writeytidy.com

We look forward to seeing your photos!

The 6th Annual Get Your 6.6 on Route 66 run/walk from Funks Grove to McLean  will be held Saturday, August 24, 2019.

The finish line is (as it’s always been) at the old water tower in McLean, and we’re excited to announce that this year as the participants make their triumphant finishes they will be able to observe another triumph of this event: the beginnings of a new small park area under the water tower.

CORE of McLean, in cooperation with the Village of McLean, have begun work on this new community area and are pleased to be able to present it those who have helped us make it a reality. It is ideally situated along the official Route 66 bike path, and we plan to have a bike rack, table, and bench in place by the date of the event. Innovative creation of shade and shelter using the base of the water tower and landscaping with trees and flowering perennials will be forthcoming this fall and next spring.

We are well on our way to our goal of 200+ participants with 178 registrants—please help us spread the word so we can surpass our goal!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or for an interview.

Thank you,

Katie Funk
President, CORE of McLean
Race Director, Get Your 6.6 on Route 66!

Read the official press release for this event.

Pontiac Tourism is excited to welcome a new temporary exhibit to the Pontiac Museum Complex. Opening June 29, “I Am Rt 66” is a project by Jim Livingston and Bob Lile showcasing the people found along Route 66. They travel the route meeting people, and participants are asked to answer three questions on a plain white sheet of paper; “I am,” “I Regret,” and “Before I die” before getting their portrait taken.

This is a traveling exhibit and will be featured at various points on Route 66. It will be here in Pontiac for the months of July and August 2019. The grand opening will be Saturday, June 29 at 10:00AM, a portrait taking session will take place from 1:00-3:00PM the same day. For more information on the project, visit their websitewww.iamrt66.com. The exhibit will be found on the third floor of the Museum Complex located at 110 W Howard St., Pontiac. The public is invited to both the ribbon cutting and the portrait session. The exhibit will be open daily from 9:00AM to 5:00PM through August. Questions can be directed to Pontiac Tourism at 815-844-5847.

Our Motor Tour is an annual three-day event sponsored by the Route 66 Association of Illinois (that’s us!). Since 1989, the event has been scheduled for the second weekend of June. The Motor Tour provides an opportunity to drive and appreciate the attractions along our Illinois stretch of Route 66.

So each year we plan a trek down the road, inviting everyone to come along for the ride. Although we’d love you to join our Association, you need not be a member to join us on the tour.

The Motor Tour kicks off on Friday evening of the weekend with on-site registration at a local restaurant. We eat a wonderful meal, then meet and greet our fellow Route 66 enthusiasts. The Association blocks off rooms at a couple nearby hotels with a special rate for Motor Tour participants who wish to wake up on Saturday near the start of the road portion of the Tour. You must book your hotel room in advance – information about hotels and their rates is included in the Motor Tour Flyer/Registration Form we prepare for each tour. You can register for the Motor Tour in advance by downloading the Motor Tour registration form when it becomes available for the current year. Association members will also receive a copy of the Registration Form in their Spring issue of our Quarterly Newsletter, The 66 News.

We meet Saturday morning at a location at one end of the road. (We alternate between a South start and a North start every other year.) Registered participants receive a dashboard plaque (to identify your vehicle as a Motor Tour participant), a decal and an informational guidebook/passport as they check in. When the appointed time comes, we get in our cool cars, new cars, vintage cars (or on our motorcycles, bicycles, roller skates or whatever rolls you down the road) and form a procession along Route 66. Thus begins the Motor Tour. We drive along Route 66 at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sights and attractions as we tour. Our guidebooks will show and tell us the way as we drive along the Mother Road, as well as inform and entertain us with stories of the people and places that made Route 66 beloved. Whether it’s your first ride along the road or your thousandth, you’ll discover the hidden history of Old 66.

Along the way, there will be passport stops which are featured attractions at which you are encouraged to stop and explore. At each passport stop, Association members will be waiting to stamp the passport page in your guidebook, signifying your arrival at the attraction. Bear in mind that the Motor Tour is just that – a tour – and not a race. The guidebook provides an itinerary and approximate window of time when volunteers will expect vehicles to arrive at the passport stops. The times are not engraved in stone, however, so do travel at your own pace so you can have an authentic Route 66 experience. While we begin the tour as a group, each vehicle travels independently and is free to join or leave the tour at any time.

At noontime, the group stops to enjoy a lunch break at a predetermined destination. After lunch, the band of merry travelers continue along the Mother Road with more attractions to be enjoyed.

Come Saturday evening, it’s time for the Hall of Fame Banquet. This event is held at a banquet facility near where the Tour stops for the night. Tickets to the Hall of Fame Banquet must be purchased separately from your Motor Tour registration if you wish to attend. The Hall of Fame Banquet honors those who have served Route 66 through their contributions to its character or their preservation efforts. This year’s nominees to our Hall of Fame are inducted at this banquet. The Association will again have blocked off rooms nearby for you to book in advance at the Motor Tour rate.

Sunday brings the final leg of the journey along the Mother Road. At the final stop we bid our fellow Roadies a fond farewell and a hearty, “See you on the Road, Friends!”

The Motor Tour is the highlight of our Route 66 year. People from all over the world join us for this celebration of the people and places that make the Mother Road our special treasure.

You’re cordially invited to join us on a journey along a nostalgic slice of Americana every June. We think of the Motor Tour as a Scenic Sampler of the attractions that make Route 66 special and worth preserving. We hope that after experiencing a taste of the Mother Road that you’ll come back for a second – and third – helping!

The Motor Tour makes a great family vacation! We guarantee you’ll meet wonderful folks and make new memories while experiencing some old-time charm. We look forward to seeing you on the Road!

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
If you’ve never participated in a Motor Tour, you may not know what we’re talking about here. In case you’re wondering, read, What is a Motor Tour Anyway? to get up to speed.

Our annual Motor Tour for 2019 is shaping up nicely: this year’s theme is Life in the Slow Lane! You can now pre-register for this fun-filled weekend event. This year marks our 30th Motor Tour. You get a lot of fun for only $35 per registered car!

You don’t need to be a member of our association to participate in our Motor Tour, but we’d love it if you joined our mission to Preserve, Educate, Promote and Enjoy Route 66 in Illinois. Click for membership information.

Tour highlights include:

• North to South tour direction (Romeoville to Litchfield)
• Registration: (fill out registration form and pay on site OR pick up participation packet if pre-registered) Friday evening June 7 – 5:00 PM -8:00 PM OR Saturday morning 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM at White Fence Farm (parking lot), Romeoville, IL. (Tour takes off immediately following morning registration).
• Includes stops/events in Joliet, Gardner, Atlanta on Saturday; Springfield, Nilwood and Gillespie (special event) on Saturday and many more destinations along the way!
• Hall of Fame Banquet (separate event – $25 per person) Saturday evening will be held at the American Legion Hall in Lincoln, Illinois featuring the famous food of Chef Wentlandt!
• Each registered car receives a commemorative aluminum license plate (additional plates will be available for $5 each)
• Commemorative T-shirts, 100% cotton and made in the USA (of course) will be available for sale

You can easily pre-register for this event by downloading the form below:
(Pre-registration before June 7 is $35; on-site registration Friday evening or Saturday morning is $45.)

Click for official registration form which includes additional Motor Tour details.

Submit completed form with payment to:

Motor Tour
9280 Drummond Dr
Tinley Park, IL 60487

Pre-registered tour participants will receive further details at a date closer to the tour date by mail.

For questions about our Life in the Slow Lane Tour, contact:
Marty Blitstein
708-444-1312
blitz66@earthlink.net

We look forward to motor touring with you!

An important message from Association president, Cathie Stevanovich:

Due to anticipated snow and black ice, I am cancelling the Association’s Winter Quarterly meeting in Pontiac, originally scheduled for Sunday, January 20.

Due to the fact that two storm fronts are going to pass through the Pontiac area, the Board felt it would be safer to cancel the meeting on Sunday rather than have everyone caught in the possible snow and ice storm. This has been an unusual winter and although we all looked forward to a hot lunch provided by the Log Cabin Restaurant, we feel its better to be safe than sorry. Based on the last storm (last weekend) the area along 66/55 was hit pretty hard with snow, wind, and ice. This weekend on Sunday there will be some polar air coming through as well with  strong winds.

So be safe, stay home and keep warm. Cuddle, watch Netflix and dream of custard at the Whirl-A-Whip!

We will be rescheduling the meeting and will notify everyone as to the new date.

Cathie Stevanovich, President
Route 66 Association of Illinois