Coffee With Jim

It was truly an epic and historic adventure. Effie Hotchkiss, her mother, a Harley Davidson with sidecar, and a coast to coast trip and back again - in 1915.  “I got a lot of non-family discouragement,” Effie recalled in her memoir. “Decent roads would be non-existent for most of the way; there would be deserts to cross, high mountains to climb, lack of water, no repair shop, no this and no that....

Epic road trips and fearless women were major new stories in the first decades of the 20th century. Often they were also at the center of promotional and marketing campaigns. Alice Huyler Ramsey was a young New Jersey motorist and socialite who drove across the continent in 1909. Then there was Effie Hotchkiss, who in 1915 rode a motorcycle from New York to California and back with her mother in t...

Alice Huyler Ramsey was a young New Jersey motorist who drove across the continent in 1909. Then there was Effie Hotchkiss, who in 1915 rode a motorcycle from New York to California and back with her mother in the sidecar. And Emily Post, the future authority on etiquette, wrote a book, By Motor To The Golden Gate, about her epic 1915 transcontinental odyssey. At Jim Hinckley’s America we believe...

Route 66 relics lost and found. A Guide Book to Highway 66 by Jack Rittenhouse was published in 1946. That little guide book that would fit into a pocket transformed a Michigan factory workers life in the 21st century. Scott Sheehan has spent more than a decade locating and documenting the motels, campgrounds, garages, and service stations listed in Rittenhouse's book. Those road trip adventures i...

There are road trips, and then there are epic road trips. The later is exactly what Harriet White Fisher experienced when she became known as the first woman to drive around the world. Her remarkable journey began in the summer of 1909. She and her traveling companions, with a pet monkey and dog, drove across Europe, Egypt, India, Ceylon, China and Japan before crossing the Pacific. Their adventur...

From the historic heart of Pontiac to the First Annual Mother Road Conference, from Docs Just off 66 in Girard to the innovative Route 66 Experience in Springfield as well as educational projects, the use of AI, websites, and the future of Route 66 we had lots to talk about. Our conversation with Casey Claypool, Director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, on this epsidoe of Coffee With Jim was...

Cheerful idiots and road trips seem to go together, that was the conclusion derived at by a writer for Outing magazine in March 1905. Today the accounts of early automobile owners, manufacturers and their road trip adventures are an endless source of fascination.  Let me introduce you to Elmer Lovejoy. In 1892 he rode a biccyle from a ranch in Colorado to the World's Fair in Chicago. Then he opene...

Discover the wonders of Route 66 in the Land of Enchantment as we visit with Vickie Ashcraft, a founding member of the New Mexico Route 66 Alliance and owner of the Enchanted Trails Trading Post & RV Park on this episode of Coffee With Jim. Vickie's infectious enthusiasm for Route and dedication to the Route 66 community will do more than inspire a road trip or two. When it comes to Route 66 i...

Dust & Dreams: Roadmap of the American Soul (A Memoir of the Mother Road, in Her Own Words). In the first half hour author Crystal Sershen and illustrator Francis Strasser joins us to talk about this fascinating new book that tells the Route 66 story in a whole new way. Published in March 2026 to coincide with the Route 66 centennial it is written as though the road itself was telling the stor...

Alexander Winton attempted a grand road trip in 1901. His epic cross country adventure came to an abrupt end in the desert sands of Nevada. A dozen years later thousands of adventuresome travelers were discovering America with road trips. By motorcycle and by automobile Edsel Ford, Emily Post, Bessie Stringfield, Effie Hotchkiss, A. L. Westgard and countless others set forth on grand adventures th...

What happens to Route 66 after the centennial celebrations? Does Gen Z have interest in Route 66 and the great American road trip? How do we market Route 66 and road trips to the social media, Instagram influencer generation? On today's episode of Coffee With Jim we answer a few of those questions. And we raise a few more. Our guest was Kiki Fox, a freelance travel writer and Route 66 enthusiast w...

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-gghrs-1b617e2 The Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is rooted in Route 66 history. On April 27, 1931 the U.S. Highway 66 Association held a similar convention in Elk City, Oklahoma. As with the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference, attendees were not just focused on the business of Route 66. Fast forward to 2014. The International Route 66 Festival...

The Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is rooted in Route 66 history. On April 27, 1931 the U.S. Highway 66 Association held a similar convention in Elk City, Oklahoma. As with the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference, attendees were not just focused on the business of Route 66. Fast forward to 2014. The International Route 66 Festival held in Kingman, Arizona was another milestone event...

Route 66 is more than just the Main Street of America. It is the American story made manifest. On September 14, 2025 accalaimed documentary film producer John Paget was our guest on Coffee With Jim. We discussed his amazing career and a new project, development of a full length Route 66 documentary centennial film. Today on Coffee With Jim, we discuss this amazing project rooted in his first docum...

Route 66 in the land of enchantment is more than an epic road trip. It is a journey through time. The blending of cultures made manifest in uniquely New Mexican foods, villages that predate the signing of the Declaration of Independence by centuries, and with the slightest of detours, one of the most scenic drives in New Mexico and the original Las Vegas. To drive Route 66 in the Land of Enchantme...

Vintage Thunderbirds and road trips. A perfect combination. Today's guest on Coffee With Jim is Tom Przedwojewski, Vice President Vintage Thunderbird Club International, who joins us to discuss the history and development of the Ford Thunderbird and the 2026 All Thunderbird Convention to be held in Flagstaff, September 8–13, 2026. We are also be speaking with Laura Misajet of the Mojave Desert and...

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-x94jq-1b5174b Route 66 blurs the line between the past and the present, and even the future. The San José de la Laguna Mission at the Laguna Pueblo dates to 1699. The village is even older. A few hundred miles to the west in Kingman Arizona the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation is establishing the world's first EV museum. Connecting these tangible links to...

Route 66 blurs the line between the past and the present, and even the future. The San José de la Laguna Mission at the Laguna Pueblo dates to 1699. The village is even older. A few hundred miles to the west in Kingman Arizona the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation is establishing the world's first EV museum. Connecting these tangible links to our past and our future is legendary Route 66, the m...

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-v6w57-1b48025 Forgotten pioneers, the women of the auto industry, is a fascinating chapter in the American story. Did you know that the heater that keeps you warm on the winter morning commute in Detroit was the brainchild of Margaret A, Wilcox? Florence Lawrence was a Hollywood pioneer and one of the first superstars of the silver screen. And she was also an...

Forgotten pioneers, the women of the auto industry, is a fascinating chapter in the American story. Did you know that the heater that keeps you warm on the winter morning commute in Detroit was the brainchild of Margaret A, Wilcox? Florence Lawrence was a Hollywood pioneer and one of the first superstars of the silver screen. And she was also an automotive pioneer credited with the first turn sign...

Four friends, three American cars from the 1960s bought sight unseen under a shared budget cap, and a reveal in St. Louis on September 25. Every open hood asks the same question: what can four friends fix, and who stops to help? Let's see if I can provide a summary of this morning's episode of Coffee With Jim. The magic of Route 66, the people that infuse it with infectious enthusiasm, and road tr...

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-b34k3-1b3e968 In 1893 the first American automobiles manufactured for sale slowly rolled from the factory. The circus gave it top billing at the side show. Five years later the first automobile race took place in Chicago. In 1900 forty manufacturers gathered in New York City for the first automobile show. And in 1906, a steam powered Stanley was driven to a n...

In the blink of an eye. In 1893 the first American automobiles manufactured for sale slowly rolled from the factory. The circus gave it top billing at the side show. Five years later the first automobile race took place in Chicago. In 1900 forty manufacturers gathered in New York City for the first automobile show. And in 1906, a steam powered Stanley was driven to a new record, nearly 150 miles p...

Meet Jack Rittenhouse, the fellow best known to Route 66 enthusiasts for A Guide Book to Highway 66 published in 1946. This, however, was but one chapter in a life filled with diverse adventures and accomplishments. Our guest today is David Farmer, author of the new book, Jack Rittenhouse: A Western Literary Life piblished by University of New Mexico Press. Farmer, like Rittenhouse, has lived a li...

Lace up those hiking boots and grab the sunscreen. This morning we share a desert walkabout on the White Cliffs Wagon Road trails near Kingman, Arizona. It's stunning scenery, a bit windy on top of the mesas, quiet deep shade dappled canyons, and a wide ranging conversation with Jim Hinckley. Tour company reviews, restaurant tips, lodging suggestions in Kingman, Arizona (including Tin Can Alley on...