<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/2011/10/tulsa-blogger-meetup-prairie-fab-edition/2313604137_f657231b15_o/" rel="attachment wp-att-9333"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-9333" title="blogger" src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2313604137_f657231b15_o-500x450.jpg" alt="by Mike Licht" width="500" height="450" /></a>

So we're off and running here with this new series here at TDT, which features interviews with your favorite Oklahoma bloggers. Last week we talked with <a href="http://www.nicci6.com/" target="_blank">Nicci Atchley, the creator Nicci6.com, a dating and relationships blog based here in Tulsa</a>; up to bat this week is <a href="http://www.route66news.com/" target="_blank">Ron Warnick, the blogger behind Route66News.com, a blog that chronicles news and stories from the Mother Road</a>. 

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<strong>TDT: Why does the web need a Route 66 blog by a Tulsan?</strong>

I started Route 66 News in 2005 because the historic highway needed a timely source of news. Two print publications covered the road at the time, but it was weeks between  editions. An online forum existed on Yahoo!, but it was and remains a semi-private group with a lot of peripheral chatter. So it was a niche that wasn't being filled.

My initial vision for Route 66 News wasn't a blog. But it became clear a blog platform would serve me and its readers best. I wanted a medium where I could post stories quickly. I wanted the site to be capable of embedding video, audio, and photographs. I wanted archived stories to be readily accessible. A blog fit all those needs and more.

Although Route 66 News exists as a news site first, it also advocates for the promotion and preservation of the road and its landmarks. The importance of a Route 66 news site was driven home less than a month after it launched, when a developer in Albuquerque, N.M., announced he would tear down the historic El Vado Motel for luxury townhouses. Because the news and call for action were distributed quickly, it enabled the Route 66 community across the globe to mobilize and persuade the city to preserve the motel. A lot of people deserve credit for El Vado Motel's eventual preservation, but I've been told by folks close to the action in New Mexico that Route 66 News played a vital role.

The fact I live in Tulsa is sort of incidental to the site. I'm sure Route 66 News could exist if I were based elsewhere. But I live just four blocks from 66, and Tulsa occupies a vital location on the Mother Road's 2,400 miles. And I'm very glad voters approved the Vision 2025 initiative to boost Route 66 in the city. All those things make me more cognizant of Route 66 in general.

<strong>TDT: How does one approach blogging about something that's both historic as well as currently relevant and dynamic like Route 66?</strong>

Before starting Route 66 News, I observed that many Route 66-related sites concentrated on other people's memories and little else. It was as if they saw Route 66 in only the past tense.

I became tired of hearing how Route 66 was a "dead" highway. I'd driven long swaths of the route, and saw how it was dynamic and evolving. The popular White Dog Hill restaurant near Clinton operates in a historic clubhouse of a long-gone golf course. Pops in Arcadia pays tribute to classic roadside kitsch while staying massively popular. Cafe on the Route in Baxter Springs, Kan., offers creative cuisine in a century-old building. All of these establishment are less than 10 years old.

It's the new things -- plus the old-new dichotomy you see with many Route 66 businesses -- that make the old road interesting. History remains a news hook for many stories, and should. But how these places relate to the 21st century is what really intrigues me.

<strong>TDT: You have several comprehensive lists on your site — for restaurants, lodging, attractions, and campgrounds along the Route, just to name a few — how do those lists affect your presence on the web?</strong>

The pages came as a sort of an afterthought, but they turned into significant drivers of traffic to the site. Initially, I created them as a basic service to readers. If Google sends Route 66 novices to the site because of a story, it makes sense to have resources there to peruse if they're considering a Route 66 trip of their own. The Attractions page, in particular, has become of the biggest sources of traffic to Route 66 News.

The Campground and Clubs listings were created after requests from readers. No one before had created a listing of campgrounds for Route 66 travelers, so I obliged with the help of Google Maps and Google searches. The Campgrounds page also has become a substantial source of traffic. The Clubs listing is fairly new, so its impact isn't certain yet.

I've worked for an online retailer based in Tulsa for two years, and learned a lot about search-engine optimization. A lot of people think there are certain tricks or some sort of cyber-voodoo to SEO. But, in the end, Google values websites with authority and fresh content. It turned out that I was doing the right things all along.

<strong>TDT: What are some of your most popular posts at Route66News.com?

By far, the most popular post remains "A Route 66 guide to the 'Cars' movie," (http://route66news.com/2006/06/09/a-route-66-guide-to-the-cars-movie/) which explains the real-life places and people that inspired the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated film. I was fortunate enough to see the movie at a charity event in Oklahoma City one week before its general release. The post was an idea that occurred to me during the screening, and saw it as an ideal way to introduce people to Route 66. It took a lot of work and cooperation from other websites for material, and it was published the day of the film's release. Tulsa resident Michael Wallis, a Route 66 technical adviser to the film as well as the voice of the Sheriff of Radiator Springs, also was very helpful and supportive. I later received word that Pixar itself was appreciative of the post. To date, it has generated more than 200,000 page views.

Another post that's steadily growing in traffic is "A chat with George Maharis." (http://route66news.com/2007/10/15/a-chat-with-george-maharis/) In 2007, the first season of the original "Route 66" television drama from the early 1960s was released for the first time on DVD. I emailed the producer's publicist and asked whether "Route 66" co-star George Maharis would be available for a phone interview. A few days later, she gave me Maharis' phone number and a time to call. Maharis and I talked for 30 minutes. He was a superb interview; he provided a lot of great background about the show. The interesting thing is that dozens of readers have left their salutations and memories to Maharis in the comments section, with the hope he would read them. 

I had hoped to also interview "Route 66" co-star Martin Milner, but it's my understanding he's in very poor health.

5. How would you describe your Route 66 newsgathering process, and how would you say it compares to the same type of work for a more traditional media outlet?

Route 66 News is foremost an aggregate of news media reports, multimedia, and original material. I initially described it as "a clearinghouse of news and happenings on historic Route 66," and it still fits. I'm big on giving credit to newspapers and other outlets for their reporting, because it's only fair. But I can add context.

I use Google, Dogpile, and Bing to hunt for Route 66 stories. Each search engine contains gaps in its coverage, so all of them must be used. I use a number of email, phone, and social-media contacts. I carry a small still camera and an HD video camera for on-the-scene coverage. And I always keep a few Route 66 reference books handy in my office to look up data that's not on the Internet.

I also hunt for Route 66-related videos on YouTube and Vimeo. These clips often add valuable context to a story. But many clips are posted simply as entertainment. The site would be boring if it didn't contain fun stuff.

Having worked in the newspaper business for many years, I'd say my newsgathering approach with Route 66 News is more broad and freewheeling. I think many newspapers cite the Internet timidly, mainly because they see the medium as a competitor instead of as a tool.

At the same time, I'm more reserved in my opinions than many blogs. I'm adamant about keeping my credibility, and I think inflammatory or ill-considered rhetoric would be counterproductive to that effort.

6. You've made at least three trips over the Route's 2,200-mile length. Looking back, what stands out? What are your standby recommendations for anyone heading out on Oklahoma's stretch of The Mother Road?

What's stuck with me during all of those Route 66 trips is how geographically and culturally diverse America is. The Mother Road goes through only eight states, yet you encounter farmland, mountains, wide-open plains, desert mesas and, finally, ocean. You'll encounter folks in enormous cities, small towns, ranchers, techies, Bohemians, church-goers, eccentrics, and goofballs. You'll meet people who are inexplicably ignored in the so-called "real America" -- Native Americans, hard-working immigrant business owners, and Spanish-speaking natives who've hailed from the same area for 400 years. Route 66 exists almost as an alternate universe -- an America you seldom encounter near the interstate.

It's tough to recommend any one thing in Oklahoma, namely because it contains about 400 miles of Route 66 and, as a result, so many attractions. But I started to fall hard for Route 66 in Oklahoma a decade ago while dining in Clanton's Cafe in Vinita. If you're coming from the east, it's one of the first places you can get a really good chicken-fried steak. And it's one of the few places anywhere that serves calf fries. Clanton's also is good for people-watching -- you'll see ranchers, tourists and multi-generational families you know have been eating there for many decades. It's been operating since the 1920s, so folks obviously feel a certain comfort to it always being there.

I would ultimately recommend driving old 66. If you can't do all 400 miles on the Sooner State, tear off manageable 50- to 100-mile chunks. I guarantee you'll find something to delight or intrigue you.