Category: News

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Classic Car Road Trip to Advocate for Historic Highway, Local Shops


DES MOINES, Iowa – If you’re a classic car lover, there’s still time to take part in a road trip across Iowa on Highway 6.

The drive isn’t until October, but the Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association is trying to get the word out now. The goal of the three-day “River to River Retro Road Trip” is to raise awareness of the history of Route 6, and to support small mom-and-pop shops along the way.

“You can either come out and enjoy the parade of classic cars as they drive by, or you can join and have a blast and enjoy these little mom-and-pop shops along the way, all of which are unique and special in their own way,” said David Darby, executive director of the association.

You can get more information and register for the road trip here.

[ Source: WHOTV ]

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Bikers begin ride across Iowa on U.S. Highway 6

Bikers riding on Route 6

By Kirby Kaufman
Just remember: Under Iowa law, scooters and mopeds are motorcycles, too.
About 20 people gathered Friday in Council Bluffs in the 100 block of Broadway to begin a ride across Iowa along U.S. Highway 6 as part of the River to River Motorcycle Cruise.
Rodger Freel and his wife, Tami, both of Des Moines, chose to ride a scooter because they had recently switched from motorcycles.
“We’ve done this all over on scooters,” Tami Freel said of travelling. “It’s kind of like seeing a dog out of the window with his ears and tongue flopping. You get the thrill of fresh air.”
The couple had previously participated in a classic car ride across Iowa. However, Rodger Freel said, they prefer to travel by bike.
“This is a thrill for me,” he said. “I’d rather be on two wheels than four wheels.”
Motorcyclists will continue across the state through Newton, Adel, Des Moines, Altoona and Colfax before arriving at their final destination, Davenport.
Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said the event was an opportunity to bring more attention to downtown Council Bluffs.
“Anytime we get people in town from out of town, it’s good for Council Bluffs,” Walsh said.
Barry Cleaveland, director of research and development for Omaha-based SilverStone Group and an organizer of the event, said the event also brought recognition to stops along historic U.S. Highway 6.
The Iowa Division of the Route 6 Tourist Association, which sponsors the event, plans to install historic U.S. Highway 6 signs across the state in an effort to recognize the road and promote local businesses.
“We want to bring attention to all the communities on Highway 6,” said David Darby, the organization’s executive director. “We like to encourage people to stop at local mom and pop establishments.”
U.S. Highway 6 stretches 3,205 miles from Provincetown, Mass., to Bishop, Calif. It formerly stretched 3,652 miles from Long Beach, Calif., to Provincetown, making it the nation’s longest highway, before portions of its California route were decommissioned.
Riders traveled through Pottawattamie County and made stops at the freedom rock located in Oakland and White Pole Road, which was designed in the early 1900s to follow along the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad line from Des Moines to Council Bluffs.
Mike Brink rode three hours from Dover, Kan., to Council Bluffs to participate in the ride across Iowa. He also chose to ride a scooter instead of a traditional motorcycle.
“There’s no cattle to feed and no work to worry about,” he said. “You can relax and watch the world go by.”

[ Source: The Dail Nonpareil ]

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River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6

River to River- Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6
River to River- Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6
River to River- Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6

What do Bonnie & Clyde, Jesse James, Nancy Drew, John Wayne, Jack Kerouac, Gary Cooper, a meteorite strike, and the inventor of barbed wire have in common? U.S. Route 6 in Iowa takes two-lane motorists from Davenport on the Mississippi to Council Bluffs on the Missouri. Built in one day by 10,000 farmers and businesses across the state, Iowa’s Route 6 is part of the second longest transcontinental highway in America. “River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6” guides viewers on a nostalgic classic car journey through yesterday’s soda shops, filling stations, general stores, drive-ins, and roadside attractions. Experience the sights and sounds, the people and the places that the four-lanes have forgotten…before they are gone forever. From award-winning filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle and inspired by the Highway 6 research and photography of David W. Darby.

highway6movie.com
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CPC approves funding for Historic Route 6 signs

ATLANTIC – The Atlantic Community Promotion Commission (CPC) approved $680 in funding during its Thursday meeting to help pay for Historic Route 6 Signs. According to the funding request, the funds would be used “to provide (Historic Route 6) signage within the Atlantic City limits. U.S. Route 6 is the longest transcontinental highway in the U.S., and it goes through Cass County, including Seventh Street in Atlantic. The US Route 6 Tourist Association is a non-profit group promoting cultural preservation and economic development along the route (www.route6tour.com). A Route 6 tour came through this past summer, and many of them spent the night (and some money!) in Atlantic. Proper signage would encourage more of these events.”

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U.S. Route 6 Goes Cross-Country? Behind the Scenes of a Cross Country Odyssey

Several years ago when my youngest son left for college, I decided to leave as well, if only for a month and a half to drive cross-country on the second longest highway in the U.S., Route 6. Also known as the vaguely communist sounding Grand Army of the Republic Highway, US Route 6 was once the longest road in America, running 3,652 miles through 14 states from Provincetown, MA to Long Beach, CA, but fell to second place (Route 20 is longer) after California renumbered its highways in 1964. US Route 6 now officially ends in Bishop, CA – a colorful Eastern Sierra’s town rich in murals and mules – but I also intended to retrace Historic Route 6 from Bishop to Long Beach and include that portion, too, in a mile by mile Route 6 guidebook…

[ Source: Huffington Post ]

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Historic Route 6 tour to stop in Newton, pass through Colfax

From “Newton Daily News“
The Route 6 River to River Classic Car Road Trip is taking place this weekend and the first overnight stop for participants will be in Newton on Friday.

“The Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau is excited once again to welcome the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association to Newton” Newton CVB Executive Director Linda Bacon said. “Route 6 has been coming to Newton for the last few years and their presence gets a little larger every year; and we were able to partner them with the South Skunk Blues Society and the Thunder Nites in Newton for this and future trips.”

Posted on

U.S. Route 6 Goes Cross-Country? Behind the Scenes of a Cross Country Odyssey

Huffington Post

Several years ago when my youngest son left for college, I decided to leave as well, if only for a month and a half to drive cross-country on the second longest highway in the U.S., Route 6. Also known as the vaguely communist sounding Grand Army of the Republic Highway, US Route 6 was once the longest road in America, running 3,652 miles through 14 states from Provincetown, MA to Long Beach, CA, but fell to second place (Route 20 is longer) after California renumbered its highways in 1964. US Route 6 now officially ends in Bishop, CA – a colorful Eastern Sierra’s town rich in murals and mules – but I also intended to retrace Historic Route 6 from Bishop to Long Beach and include that portion, too, in a mile by mile Route 6 guidebook.

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Historic Route 6 tour to stop in Newton, pass through Colfax

Newton Daily News

 

The Route 6 River to River Classic Car Road Trip is taking place this weekend and the first overnight stop for participants will be in Newton on Friday.“The Newton Convention & Visitors Bureau is excited once again to welcome the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association to Newton” Newton CVB Executive Director Linda Bacon said. “Route 6 has been coming to Newton for the last few years and their presence gets a little larger every year; and we were able to partner them with the South Skunk Blues Society and the Thunder Nites in Newton for this and future trips.”

Iowa’s section of the historical ‘Grand Army of the Republic Highway’ stretches for 320 miles from Davenport to Council Bluffs.

David Darby, Iowa executive director for the Route 6 tourist organization, expects to have somewhere between 150 and 200 cars along on the ride.

“We came in really close to 100 for pre-registration online and then right around the same through the mail,” Darby said. “We usually get quite a few who will just show up without registering on the day of the event too … It’s going to be a great turn-out”

Darby touted the ride as not only an opportunity to get out and experience the historic Route 6, but also as a means to get a better taste of different Iowa communities and to support the locals businesses found across the state.

The banner for the event exclaims, right below the title, “No interstates, No chain restaurants,” and Darby says that they plan to live by that motto for the weekend tour.

“We’re not going to touch the interstate for a moment unless we absolutely have to for a bridge closure or other detour,” Darby said. “If you do the interstate, you’re crossing Iowa in about four and a half hours, and by the time you’re through you’re bored silly and you haven’t eaten anything other than chain restaurant fast food.”

He went on to explain how the Route 6 tour would be a great exhibition of all of the communities along the way, and help bring money back into the local economy at the same time.

“When you’re going to a mom-and-pop restaurant or hotel versus one of the larger corporate chains, that money is able to stay in the community and do much more good for the local economy … Otherwise it would travel up and leave the town, the state and sometimes the country,” Darby said. “We plan to go to as many local businesses as we can.”

He explained that each community might not have enough ‘local’ hotel rooms to accommodate the more than 150 cars that would participate, but they would make a concerted effort to only stop at local restaurants and businesses.

At least four of those stops in Newton have already been planned. When the drivers get into town on Friday night, they’ll have their options in entertainment. The tour organizers have planned for many of the attendees to visit the Valle Drive-In for the nightly double feature. Others will go to the Scoreboard Bar and Grill or the First Avenue Speakeasy, which will both be hosting bands for the travelers.

The next morning, the drivers will break their fast at Newton’s Midtown Café before rallying around the town square and embarking on the next leg of their trip, to Omaha.

The travelers will have a special escort as they pull out of Newton, heading down County Blacktop F48 towards Colfax. The Colfax Fire Department is sending out their 1947 Ford fire truck to run an escort for the group as they begin their second day of travel.

The fire truck won’t be the only Colfax emergency vehicle on the trip however.

Paul Kuhlman, 10-year police officer with the Colfax Police Department, is taking his department’s restored 1964 Ford Galaxy Police Car on the road. Kuhlman is driving the whole stretch of the tour and is also serving as the Jasper County Coordinator for the trip, having helped with arranging traffic safety through the county along with some of the events.

The Route 6 group continues to recruit sponsors for its road signs. To sponsor a sign, contact Darby. Bacon said the Newton CVB also works to promote the organization and its mission.

“The Newton CVB is also selling prints produced by the association at our new Newton Visitor Center,” she said. “Proceeds will benefit the association and the Newton CVB.”

Newton Daily News