The Adventure Cycling Association and other groups are developing a bicycle trail along the route of historic Route 66.
Stephanie Garber owns an RV park in Carthage, Missouri, along USBR 66. Although most of her customers arrive in motor homes or towing campers, so many cyclists now pass through that she created tent camping spaces specifically for them.
But making the route suitable for cyclists was no small task, and choosing the roads to include on the route meant balancing safety, tourism, and history. In addition to assessing factors like traffic volume and speed limits, staying close to the original highway and its Americana was paramount.
Honda is releasing the newest version of one of the most iconic and best-selling motorcycles in the world, the Super Cub C125, in the United States.
Available only in a red, white and blue colorway, the Super Cub has a four-speed semi-automatic transmission, 125cc engine, and more style than most bikes twice its size.
2019 Honda Super Cub C125
The Super Cub, in various formats, has been around since 1958, but hasn’t been sold in the U.S. since the 1980s (when it was called the Honda Passport). The Super Cub also was the inspiration for one of the most significant advertising campaigns, introduced in 1963:
The Super Cub, and its variants, have been sold continuously in other parts of the world. The U.S. version will be released in 2019 and has a list price of only $3,599.
Toyota calls it a Desert Air Intake, but it’s a snorkel. Only available on the top of the line 2019 TRD Pro. As Toyota says:
The most eye-catching of the Tacoma upgrades, no doubt, is the available all-new TRD Desert Air Intake. Designed to sustain consistent off-road performance no matter how silty or dirty the terrain gets, the TRD Desert Air Intake takes the 278-horsepower 3.5L V6 engine’s air intake away from dust that hovers inside the wheel well (where traditional air intakes are located) during off-road operation. This allows for air ingestion to occur in a cleaner space above the windshield, therefore, helping to benefit filter longevity and, ultimately, engine health.
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Source: Toyota2019 Toyota TRD Pro 4Runner, Tundra, and Tacoma. Source: Toyota
I enter my Iowa City hotel room and open the curtains to check out the view and there’s a flash of green in front of my eyes. It’s an actual, I-kid-you-not hummingbird flying outside my window.
This is not your typical chain hotel just off the highway. This is the Coralville Marriott Hotel, not far from downtown Iowa City, and even closer to the Interstate 80 exit ramp.
With the help of brownfields remediation grants (thank you, Environmental Protection Agency), the town of Coralville has cleaned up and redeveloped several acres of former wasteland. The Marriott Hotel is part of that redevelopment, and outside my window, I can see another component: the Iowa River Landing Wetlands Park. This charming park covers about 12 acres and includes ponds, an elevated walking trail, and wetlands plants.
Iowa River Landing Wetland Park
From the lobby, you walk right out the back door to a large plaza, past a raised bed garden where vegetables are grown for the hotel restaurant, and onto the nature trail. Follow the path through the park (or just walk out the front door of the hotel) and it brings you back to the rest of the redevelopment project: several restaurants, an antique car museum, and a historical society.
Iowa River Landing Wetlands Park and Observation Tower
There’s one more little gem inside the Marriott. Iowa City is the home of the famed Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. Off the hotel lobby is the Iowa Writers Library, a bright room lined with bookshelves full of books by faculty and graduates of the Writers’ Workshop. There’s a fireplace, some comfortable chairs, and even a rolling ladder you can use to reach the books on the top shelves.
Iowa Writers Library, Coralville Marriot Iowa City
Wondering why it’s called Coralville? About 380 million years ago, during the Devonian Period, Iowa City and the surrounding area were under the sea. Extensive coral reefs formed in the water, and then became fossilized. Remnants of these reefs can be found throughout the area.
