Category Archives: Route 66

Williams City Council agenda items for tonight

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WILLIAMS — The meeting, as usual, will begin with public participation. Citizens are given five-minutes to discuss a topic. They may be granted additional time by the council.

The Council cannot act upon items presented during the public participation portion of the agenda. Individual Council members may ask questions of the public or may respond to any criticisms, but the members are prohibited by the open meeting law from discussing or considering the items among themselves until the time that the matter is officially placed on the agenda.

The open meeting law does, however, allow the City Council to ask staff to review a matter or ask that it be placed on a future Council agenda.

The council will Approval of Purchase Orders and Approval of Check Register for Month Ending October 31, 2015.

The Council will hear a proposal from Randy Feucht of Running Water regarding locating a water hauling facility on City-owned property and may direct Staff on how to proceed.

The Council will also discuss a proposal from SBA Communications to extend two existing ground leases located at 502 East Route 66 and 1211 West Route 66 and may direct Staff on how to proceed.

Arizona Highways comes up big in prestigious magazine awards

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11737953_10153070228646852_4089567091217152843_nPHOENIX — Arizona Highways (Facebook) was a big winner in the International Regional Magazine Association awards for 2014. The magazine, produced by the Arizona Department of Transportation, picked up 16 awards, including seven top honors, at a recent ceremony in San Diego.

John Burcham’s “Long Exposure,” a September 2014 portfolio for which Burcham photographed Bismarck Lake near Flagstaff for an entire year, won gold in the Photo Series category. Editor Robert Stieve took home a gold award for that portfolio’s headline, and Burcham won silver in the Photographer of the Year competition.

Other 2014 gold winners were for the magazine’s January cover, which featured a shot from the Vermilion Cliffs; Jack Unruh’s illustration of a jaguar (April); Charles Bowden’s “Counting Sheep” (February), an essay about bighorn reintroductions in the Santa Catalina Mountains; Joel Grimes’ portrait of a rodeo announcer (August); and Matt Jaffe’s “Two Men and a Truck” (November), a travelogue from the Navajo Nation.

Arizona Highways’ 16 total awards were the second-most in the competition, behind only Texas Highways’ 17. The seven golds were tied for the most with Down East: The Magazine of Maine.

In addition, Arizona Highways Publisher Win Holden received the Kenneth L. Gibbs Award for Merit, the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Arizona Highways captures the essence of this state’s exquisite landscapes and byways while promoting Arizona’s brand around the world,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “While we are proud of the individuals who earned these awards, we’re even more proud of Arizona Highways’ role in this agency’s mission of moving Arizona and its economy forward.”

The International Regional Magazine Association was founded in 1960 to support and promote regional magazines in the United States and elsewhere.

Founded in 1925, Arizona Highways is dedicated to promoting travel to and through the state of Arizona. In addition to the world-renowned magazine known for spectacular landscape photography, Arizona Highways publishes travel guide books, calendars and other products to promote travel in Arizona. The magazine has subscribers in all 50 states and more than 110 countries.

For more information about Arizona Highways please visit arizonahighways.com.

Gold Awards

‒ Nature & Environment: “Counting Sheep,” Charles Bowden, February 2014
‒ Travel Feature: “Two Men and a Truck,” Matt Jaffe, November 2014
‒ Head and Deck: “Long Exposure,” Robert Stieve, September 2014
‒ Photo Series: “Long Exposure,” John Burcham, September 2014
‒ Portrait Photo: Rodeo announcer (The Journal), Joel Grimes, August 2014
‒ Illustration: Jaguar (Spotted in Southern Arizona), Jack Unruh, April 2014
‒ Cover: Vermilion Cliffs, Barbara Glynn Denney, January 2014

Silver Awards

‒ Public Issues: The Verde, Terry Greene Sterling, March 2014
‒ Single Photo: Monument Valley (A Picture’s Worth … Eh, Let’s Skip the Words), Enio Lanaro, April 2014
‒ Magazine Photographer of the Year: John Burcham
‒ Department: The Journal, Arizona Highways Staff
‒ Special Focus: Winter issue, December 2014
‒ Companion Website: Arizona Highways Staff

Awards of Merit

‒ Service Article: “On the Edge,” Robert Stieve, July 2014
‒ Essay: “A Winter’s Walk,” Craig Childs, January 2014
‒ Art Direction of a Single Story: “French Impressions,” Barbara Glynn Denney, Keith Whitney and Jeff Kida, August 2014

Icy roads and walkways order of the day

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640-15-11-05-04WILLIAMS — While people like to picture a winter wonderland as depicted in the photo above after a winter storm, they forget about the icy roads and walkways.

We would like to remind everyone to take care while driving and walking in our picturesque, snowy setting. The National Weather Service has issued warnings about freezing temperatures overnight. Ice could be a problem tomorrow, as well.

Bill Williams socked in by fog this morning.

Bill Williams socked in by fog this morning.

It is predicted to be sunny, today, with a high of about 40 climbing to around 50 by Monday.64015-11-04 003

Williams gets 3-inches of snow

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64015-11-04 005WILLIAMS — According to the weather report from Channel 3 news in Phoenix, Williams received three-inches of snow with Flagstaff receiving 4.5-inches.

While Williams received only a dusting overnight, snow began to fall at about 8:45 a.m. and has been falling steadily as of this writing.

Webcams around our area do show the impact of the storm that moved in Monday. The first image shows a view of the central campus. The camera view from the Weather Service in Bellmont shows a view of the San Francisco Peaks and the ADOT cam shows a view of I-40 around milepost 190. No significant snow fall appears at the Grand Canyon. These images are all from about 9 a.m. this morning.
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Travel from Williams to Flagstaff may be hampered by snow and ice. A winter storm warning has been issued until midnight tonight. This means, of course, ice and we advise taking your time on I-40 and around Flagstaff.

Williams receives some hail with the rain

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Hail-15-11-03-03WILLIAMS — Rain has been pretty constant since about 10:20 this morning and is expected to continue throughout the afternoon. The city also received a dose of hail and some thunder and lightning.

The rain is expected to give way to snow this afternoon and throughout Wednesday.

A high wind advisory has been issued through 6 p.m. tonight.

Tourism Cares visits Williams

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640tourism-cares-01WILLIAMS — As you wandered around Williams the past couple of days you might have noticed the “sprucing up” of City Hall and the Williams Visitor Center. Steve Dudley of Williams sent us this report.

Today, about 150 volunteers of Tourism Cares blew into Williams and spent the day painting the town. From City Hall and the Visitor Center to National Forest signs, the all volunteer group fanned out across the city and gave everything a fresh coat of paint. Tourism Cares’ mission is to preserve the travel experience for future generations. They protect the heart of travel by uniting the travel and tourism industry to tackle shared priorities with our collective might! Tourism Cares is the charitable arm of the travel and tourism industry. After a full day of hard work and a job well done the group had dinner at Wild West Junction.

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Our thanks to the group for making us look even better.

Amateur Radio Relay League sponsors National Parks on the Air

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NPOTABeginning on January 1 and running through December 31 of 2016, the Amateur Radio Relay League will sponsor the special event National Parks On the Air (Facebook). This event does not begin until January 1, so amateur radio operators have time to register.

Since the 100th anniversay of the ARRL ended in 2014, amateur radio operators have pushed for another year-long event . The ARRL responded to the requests with this year-long event coordinated with the National Parks Service to celebrate their 100th anniversary. There are several awards and certificates available for this event, but HAM operators must register through the ARRL special web site.

Ham operators conduct several events throughout the year to earn certificates and awards. One is called contesting where an operator attempts to contact as many other Ham radio operators around the world as they can in a specified time. Ham operators set up in remote locations and send special cards, called QSL cards, to Ham operators who contact them.

A recent example is the 2015 Route 66 On The Air event. They even made a stop and broadcast in Williams and Flagstaff.

Ham radio operators will “activate” radio units in various parks, such as the Grand Canyon. “Chasers” will try to contact these Activators all year long to collect certificates. Regular paper logs will not be accepted for the event. Amateur radio operators will have to register in the ARRL Log of the World

The history of amateur radio extends to the days when radio transmissions began. Most contacts were made through morse code (called CW or continous wave in Ham radio) transmissions. Today there are a plethora of different radios and contact methods. You are encouraged to learn and use CW, but it is no longer required to obtain a license from the Federal Communications Commission.

Those “activators” will also demonstrate the capablity of Ham radio for uninitiated visitors to the park. They will answer questions and advise people on how they can become licensed Ham radio operators.

If you are interested in learning more about the Amateur Radio Service, how to obtain a license and participate in this event, you can check out the ARRL web site.

Spooky happenings in Williams

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Friday 2015-10-30 012WILLIAMS — Even before the ghosts and goblins began appearing on the streets for trick-or-treat, the Grand Canyon Railway made a scary transformation.

They decorated for Christmas.Friday 2015-10-30 013
Williams has put on its Polar Express face with the standard sleigh in the park and lights along the railway. They were even playing Christmas tunes.

The Polar Express begins running this Friday, November 6 on the weekends with some special runs over the Thanksgiving period. They will have several runs through December ending with a run on January 2nd and 3rd. This is the big event for the winter, in Williams, and tickets usually go fast. Make sure that you get your reservations made now.

The Grand Canyon Railway also asks families to submit photos for their annual photo contest. See their web site for details or ask before you board the train.

Weather moves in this morning

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Weather will shut down Zipline until Thursday.

Weather will shut down Zipline until Thursday.

WILLIAMS — Clouds from the incoming storm front darkened Williams this morning pushed by cold, gusting wind. Wind could gust to 30-mph through Wednesday. Flagstaff can expect about the same forecast.

As we published this article, the rain began at 10:24 a.m.

Rain is likely today turning into snow showers overnight. Snow levels are expected to drop to 5500′ overnight and up to 2-inch could fall on Williams. Up to an inch more could fall on Wednesday. The overall expected snow fall is 1 to 3-inches above 6000-feet and 3 to 6-inches above 6800-feet.

The Weather Service has issued a wind advisory through tonight which could affect high-profile vehicles driving east-west routes. The Weather Service recommends securing loose objects on your property.