The skies calmed down and the tornadoes all ducked to the south, clearing way for a great evening in Hamel at Scotty’s Route 66 Bar & Grill.

Registration for the tour has been slower this year (no surprise thanks to the price of fuel,) but a good number of walkups registered Friday night – and more than expected decided to attend the banquet Saturday night in Lincoln. “Whispering Joe” Gniadek entertained in the bar area and the dining room was packed throughout the night with Association members and newcomers clamoring to pick up their passports, goody bags and purchase t-shirts, flags and other Route 66 memorabilia.

Everything is set for Saturday morning at the Chain of Rocks Bridge and a great cruise up Route 66 along the Carlinville Alignment all the way to Lincoln! Follow along the next two evenings with this blog and the accompanying Flickr album; photos should be posted late each evening.

Update, 3:45 PM: The weather seems to be weakening a bit, and the trailing storms down 66 in Springfield are far less threatening. All of the rain is supposed to fizzle out by early Saturday, leaving us with a mostly dry Motor Tour. We can hope.