My husband, Monty, and I started out Saturday morning on a road trip. We drove about 10 hours the first day and made it to the Oklahoma …
My husband, Monty, and I started out Saturday morning on a road trip. We drove about 10 hours the first day and made it to the Oklahoma state line, stopping in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Our plan is to drive straight through for two days to get to our western-most point and then make our way very gradually back east toward home (and new granddaughter, Ella!) via old Route 66 through New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. On Saturday night we had a bit of trouble finding a room. All the rooms on the east side of Fort Smith were full to capacity. “Why?” we asked the clerk at the first hotel stop. “Why, because of the Spinach Festival!” “The WHAT festival?” “Spinach Festival.” Okay, we heard right first time. We have never been to a spinach festival (have you??) and if we did not need to make it further west, we might have gone to our first one. No spinach for YOU! For Popeye, maybe but not us!
After two days of straight-through driving, Monty and I stopped at Santa Rosa, New Mexico, just south and east of Santa Fe. We found a h…
After two days of straight-through driving, Monty and I stopped at Santa Rosa, New Mexico, just south and east of Santa Fe. We found a hotel right on the main drag through town, a little highway called Route 66. After a night’s rest we started out Monday morning on our drive westward on “The Mother Road”. Our first stop was just a couple of blocks down from our hotel at the Route 66 Auto Museum. What first attracted our attention was a bright yellow car up on a tall pole. We pulled in and immediately saw a vintage 1950 yellow taxi cab and an old pickup truck with a wooden truck bed. Bet you “youngsters” didn’t even realize that truck beds were once floored with wood planks! As we entered the museum, we stepped on the black and white checkered floors and immediately spotted Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean – no, Elvis is NOT alive. These were life-sized posters in the gift shop. We rested on a bench designed from the trunk and fenders of an aqua 1957 Chevy. Very cool! No need to wonder what happened to the rest of the car. We handed the $5 admission fee over the cashier’s desk, which just happened to be the front end of that same Chevy. Besides approximately 30 completely restored vintage automobiles, there was an impressive collection of vintage toys and signs and other memorabilia celebrating Route 66. Even if you are not a vintage car buff, you can’t help but be impressed by all the shiny chrome and fins. If you are ever near here, this is a stop you don’t want to miss! Further along the stretch of Route 66 in Santa Rosa there was evidence of long-closed businesses that suffered from the building of nearby Interstate 25. But more importantly there were many other businesses have stood the test of time and still remain open. It is obvious that Santa Rosa is working to preserving this section of historic Route 66. After leaving Santa Rosa, we picked up Route 66 again near Dillia and followed a 40-50 mile section to Santa Fe. For the most part, the two-lane road ran a close parallel to I-25 but sometimes curved away from the noise of the interstate. It was during these times, driving along in the rural areas of New Mexico that we experienced a taste of what the early Route 66 travelers must have enjoyed. I suppose it will be no surprise that I will soon be uploading some of the many, many photos taken on our road trip this week.
One of the good things about driving down the Historic Route 66 is that there are so many interesting side trips. On Tuesday morning, we…
One of the good things about driving down the Historic Route 66 is that there are so many interesting side trips. On Tuesday morning, we woke up to a warm southwestern sunrise in the beautiful Taos Valley nestled at the base of New Mexico’s Sangre De Cristo Mountains. Taos has a history that dates back to the ancestors of the Pueblo people, commonly known as the Anasai. The room blocks and pit houses in the area verify their presence since 900 A.D. AlthoughTaos has a long and colorful history, let’s jump forward to 1898 when two young artists from the East named Ernest Blumenshein and Bert Phillips came to Taos to get a broken wagon wheel fixed. Totally captivated by the beauty of the area, they stayed and were soon joined by other artists. By 1915 the Taos Society of Artists had been formed and the town of Taos was known world-wide as an artist haven. Monty and I love to search out free stuff to do first. We drove down to the 200-year-old Taos Plaza with streets that radiate outward from the town square to form the National Historic District of Taos. Stopping in one of the gift shops, we picked up the free 26-page “Walking Tour” brochure for a self-guided tour of 22 historic Taos landmarks. Starting in the heart of the plaza or town square, we visited the Kit Carson home/museum, the El Rincon Trading Post, The Couse House, Fechin House, and Old County Courthouse, to name only a few. The brochure included maps, photographs, and a written history of each of the 22 landmarks. It was a lovely day for a stroll through Taos. The sun was shining and the temperatures were in the mid 70s. Spring was in the air and the tourist rush had not started yet. I was able to photograph many of these beautiful landmarks in their natural state without dozens of people standing around. Arriving back at the Plaza around noon, we decided to have lunch at Ogilvie’s. From the 2nd floor covered balcony, we enjoyed delicious sandwiches while overlooking the downtown area. For dessert afterwards, we strolled over to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for chocolate ice cream, which we consumed in leisure sitting on a bench in the plaza square. After lunch we visited the Taos Pueblo. Located only a few miles north, the Taos Pueblo is the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. Interestingly, their native language – Tiwa – is unwritten, unrecorded, and will remain that way. Instead of the written word, the tribe relies solely on oral history handed down through the generations. The pueblo looks today much like it did when the conquistadors first arrived around 1540. The only exception is the addition of doors. Before the doors were added, the only entry was by ladder through an opening in the roof which also was a source of light. The buildings are made entirely of adobe, which is a mixture of earth, straw, and water, which is poured into forms and then sun-dried. There is no electricity and no running water in the sacred village. It costs $10 per person and $5 per camera to gain admission to the Taos Pueblo. You can join a group with a native tour guide or wander about the pueblo on your own. A note to all photographers, “All commercial and or professional photographers need prior approval through the tribal Governor’s Office.” All other photography is restricted to personal use. Next we will travel the scenic route to Sipapu Ski Resort (Elev 9,000+) and begin a gradual drive back east on Route 66.
After our side trip to Taos in New Mexico we began heading back to Route 66. Upon the recommendation of one of the locals, we picked up …
After our side trip to Taos in New Mexico we began heading back to Route 66. Upon the recommendation of one of the locals, we picked up Highway 518 just south of town as our route back to The Mother Road. This highway would take us up into the mountains on a scenic drive to Sipapu Ski Resort. Sipapu (see-pah-poo) means “Land of Paradise” and is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range with a base elevation of 8,200 feet. The drive rewarded us with gorgeous mountain views. The skies were azure with those big ole puffy white clouds that make for a lovely photographic background. Although the resort was closed we didn’t mind because it isn’t always the destination that is most important. We simply enjoyed the journey ! From Sipapu we continued further south on Hwy 518 to Las Vegas (New Mexico) where once again we picked up pre-1937 Route 66 to Santa Rosa. Although we followed this route two days before on our way to Taos, it was just as much fun on the way back and we even saw some things we missed the first time. East of Santa Rosa was the town of Cuervo, which is visible from the interstate as Route 66 runs parallel on the south side. As we drove slowly down The Mother Road, it was quite eerie looking at the three blocks of decaying old homes and businesses with broken windows and missing doors and broken-down vehicles in the yards. Looking a block or so beyond the old highway, we could see two or three homes that looked as though they were still inhabited, but that was all. Sad how these once thriving communities were annihilated by the building of the interstate. NEXT STOP – Tucumcari, New Mexico
I want to thank the hosts of Canon DSLR Group for featuring Orphan Mesa, New Mexico...
I want to thank the hosts of Canon DSLR Group for featuring Orphan Mesa, New Mexico. It is an honor to be in the company of so many talented photographers.
I’ve created a new travel blog that I will use for most of my reportage during my upcoming Mexican Motorcycle Odyssey! If you wanna r…
I’ve created a new travel blog that I will use for most of my reportage during my upcoming Mexican Motorcycle Odyssey! If you wanna ride along with me… you can follow along HERE
We were cruising down Route 66 in eastern New Mexico to our next stop, Tucumcari (pronounced too-come-carry). We were really looking for…
We were cruising down Route 66 in eastern New Mexico to our next stop, Tucumcari (pronounced too-come-carry). We were really looking forward to this stop because we had heard that there was a section in the east part of town with hotels and curio shops that were still well-preserved right down to working neon lights on the signage. It was later in the evening for a night shot than I would have liked. Once it gets what I call “black dark”, it is much harder to good a good exposure on neon lights. Those types of shots usually turn out much better when taken at dusk, once the sun has gone down and there is still a hint of blue in the skies. As we drove slowly down The Mother Road through Tucumcari, it was just as I had hoped – about a mile or so of neon signs, some flashing. The first one we came to was the Blue Swallow which had a sign with a big blue swallow that flashed on and off. There was a vacant darkened lot next to the motel so we pulled in there. I knew that night shots probably would not be the best, but in my excitement I wanted to try. We pulled out my father-in-law’s heavy-weight tripod that he had bought in the late 1960’s. We brought it along, thinking that its age was fitting for a road trip down Route 66. After attaching the camera to the tripod, I snapped my first shot. I could see on the digital screen that the light from the neon tubing was flaring outward in a soft glow, giving the impression that it was not a sharp image. Monty stood beside me with his little pen flashlight and I changed settings to bracket several times, getting about four more shots. I was not satisfied with any of them. I knew it probably was not going to get any better, but thought I would try for one last shot. As I was composing for the sixth try, my husband remarked that a man had stepped out of the motel office and had peered around the corner of a vehicle, clearly looking at us. Then he went back inside. About 10 seconds later, we watched as the flashing blue neon tubes around the bird went out. We continued staring at the sign and then caught sight of someone pulling back the corner of the curtains of the motel office. He was standing back at the edge of the window but the outline was still clear of someone looking out toward us. The curtains closed and then a few seconds later, the neon lights that formed the words “Blue Swallow Motel” went out. Now the sign was totally darkened with only the tiny orange “vacancy” sign still lit. The curtains came back again in the same place and we saw the outline of a person staring out the window toward us. This all happened very quickly. After the second set of lights went out, we immediately packed up and left. We looked at our watches and it was only 8:30 pm. I was very upset by this incident because up to this point we have met only nice business owners who encouraged us to take all the photos we liked. Even one of the tourist guide books commented that we should keep our camera handy and use it often because so many roadside business/attractions have quickly fallen to ruins and now are completely disappearing as a victim of the bulldozer. Even though we have been traveling in the off-season, we often circled old 66 roadside attractions along with other tourists, also with their camera in hand. So I was very upset that it appeared the owner or a clerk of a Route 66 icon like The Blue Swallow would deliberately turn out the lights to prevent a tourist from taking a photograph. After we checked into a room nearer to I-40, I surfed the internet and found an email address for the Blue Swallow. I sent a message asking point blank why he turned off the lights. I received what I considered to be a rude reply. He didn’t deny anything, just said that everyone turned off their lights along Route 66 at 9:30 pm every night and that he doubted I was a true Route 66 fan. It may be true that the business owners don’t leave the neon lights on all night, but he said everyone turned them off at 9:30 pm. We had looked at our watches and the clock in our vehicle – the lights went out an hour earlier at 8:30 p.m. I also don’t think it is very wise of a business owner dependent on tourism to insult me by questioning whether I am a true fan. I quite taken aback and have since formed a negative opinion of this motel owner. I researched the history of the Blue Swallow Motel afterwards and found that these people are not original owners and have bought it more recently. The motel was once run for quite a long time by a very nice lady, Miss Lillian. I believe that Miss Lillian would never have been so rude as to turn out the lights on a tourist. I think that if she had seen us in that parking lot, she would probably have waited until after we finished taking the photograph before darkening the signs. The next morning we drove past The Blue Swallow in the light of day. In my personal opinion, the place does not have much going for it except for the spectacular blue neon sign that flashes at night. In the glaring light of day, it didn’t appear to have anything to recommend it except for two nice vintage vehicles parked in front. But that is only my opinion. About one block east on the other side of the road, we stopped at Teepee Curios. The front entrance is in the shape of a teepee and is a nice photo opportunity. When I went inside, the bearded man at the cash register did not speak to me. I browsed around and finally eased over to the counter and said “Good Morning.” He did respond, but was not very friendly. If these two business owners are representative of Tucumcari, then I was not left with a good impression of the town. That said, I would still recommend that if you are ever in New Mexico driving Route 66 approaching Tucumcari, don’t miss the drive through town. There are some very nice vestiges of the old road still worth seeing and photographing. However, I cannot recommend The Blue Swallow as a Route 66 photo op or as a place to stay. After two days to consider everything prayerfully, I decided that I must forgive the owner of the Blue Swallow in order to find peace. I’ve done that and now have been able to laugh with my husband over how a woman with a camera shot out that bird. It was the night the lights went out in Tucumcari…
Hey Everyone! / Flew back from New Mexico yesterday. It was a bitter sweet trip. We saw tons of friends that we have missed terribly since…
Hey Everyone! / Flew back from New Mexico yesterday. It was a bitter sweet trip. We saw tons of friends that we have missed terribly since the move to North Carolina. No where on earth is a beautiful as New Mexico during autumn. I took as many shots as I could work in around business and friends. I tried to show sides of New Mexico that the normal tourist rarely sees. Friday, I’m off again. This time to my hometown, Fredonia, Kansas. This weekend is Homecoming. I’ll be taking a ton of pictures. The real reason for the visit is to get my mother to her eye doctor in Wichita next week. Just checking in. Hope everyone is doing well. Pat
Just arrived back on Route 66! Having zig-zagged down from Denver, I’ve picked-up where I left off last year, here in Albuquerque, so …
Just arrived back on Route 66! Having zig-zagged down from Denver, I’ve picked-up where I left off last year, here in Albuquerque, so hopefully lost more images of the Mother Road soon. In the meantime, a few of my favourites will make my blog – / www.alancopsonpictures.co.uk/blog Please have a look there and let me know what you think. If any of you are on the Arizona section of Route 66 during November, drop me a line! All the best, Alan.
When do I learn to leave well enough alone? I love to cook. It’s one of my passions. My husband’s work had a party yesterday with Mexican…
When do I learn to leave well enough alone? I love to cook. It’s one of my passions. My husband’s work had a party yesterday with Mexican food. First, let me explain that we moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina from Santa Fe, New Mexico last winter. New Mexicans are picky about their chile…..especially the transplants! The picnic was catered by the best Mexican restaurant in North Carolina. That’s saying something as there has been a huge influx of Mexicans to the state over the last 30 years. Unforrtunately, the salsas from the interior of Mexico are very different from those of Northern New Mexico. It also seems that the local restaurants dumb down their salsa for local tastes. Sooooo, I volunteered to make the salsa. It turned out to be for a 100 people! Spent all yesterday afternoon, with some help from my husband, slicing and chopping. We fixed classic Northern New Mecico salsa, pico de gallo, and watermelon salsa. Got it all to the party without much spillage, except for when our Basset Hound tripped me leaving the house. All of the party goers were appreciative of the effort. That made it worthwhile. Interesting evening as this is a university community, and the group were multicultural. They were bound by love of food, chatting, and volleyball.
We’re back from the Thanksgiving round of visits to family members. We had a great time in Florida and New York. The main problem was pac…
We’re back from the Thanksgiving round of visits to family members. We had a great time in Florida and New York. The main problem was packing for both climates! Saturday we leave for Santa Fe, so I may be out of touch next week. Just wanted to let everyone know if we don’t have wifi at our friends house. We’re staying with friends from my husband’s job in Albuquerque and loading a Uhaul truck with stuff that we didn’t want the movers to touch when we moved last winter. We’ll be doing the I-40 drive home. It’s way less romantic than the old Route 66. Cleaning out the Santa Fe studio will be bittersweet as it was supposed to be our retirement home. But life changes and needs change, too. If anyone wants to buy a house in Santa Fe with a wonderful photography/art studio, ours will be on the market next spring. It has tons of storage and a fully working darkroom for anyone still into film. We bought it from the man who does the non-model shoots for the Peruvian Collection catalog.
I’m really excited and thankful to have one of my images, “Cactus Fiesta”, featured in the “Come Fly with Me!!” group. What a great way…
I’m really excited and thankful to have one of my images, “Cactus Fiesta”, featured in the “Come Fly with Me!!” group. What a great way to begin the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which begins on Saturday. Can’t wait to see our beautiful skies filled with all that color. Congratulations to all the other artists who were featured as well!
We have never bought a dog. Unless you count one female puppy that we rescued from the humane society the day before she was to be put do…
We have never bought a dog. Unless you count one female puppy that we rescued from the humane society the day before she was to be put down. That turned out to be our lovely Dorothy. We got her to be a companion to Toto. Well, Toto just had to have a Dorothy. The names are a nod to my small town Kansas heritage. But I digress! Dogs just seem to find us. Toto is the dog love of my life. He was our first and most magical dog. We had been in our new house about 6 months and were looking for our first dog, when my husband heard a noise in the backyard at 5 am one morning. It was Toto. He had been dumped during the night. He was a matted dirty mess. It was love at first site on my part. We looked a little for his owners but after 2 days we stopped. Got him groomed and taken to our vet for shots, etc. What emerged was one of the cutest dogs to ever live. The closest we can get to his heritage is that he’s a poodle/Papillion cross. For a time, I hid him afraid that someone would come looking for him. That was 18 years ago. We still have him! Next we got Dorothy. She was a honey with the humans in the family, but a tyrant of a pack leader. If I cried, I could count on feeling a wet nose on my hand. It was Dorothy giving me comfort. Toto had back trouble. Louis, our tom cat, had asthma. Dorothy got a virus and died when she was seven. Toto’s back trouble and Louis’ asthma went away with her death. Our grief at Dorothy’s death continues to this day. I keep my photo “Nose Grass” up on my page as a tribute to Dorothy and her beauty. Sid VanHalen was our second magical dog. He showed up the night before my mother in law died. Sid, a Basset hound, was 22 pounds under weight and had over 70 ticks. Sid helped us all get through our grief over the loss of a family member. He’s beautiful, stupid, and untrainable, but my husband loves him beyond belief. He’s my current muse. Ringo, a blue heeler mix, showed up 2 weeks before our daughter left for college. He’s the new pack leader and much more popular with the pack than Dorothy was. Ringo can jump. He once jumped the fence in our back yard and ate one layer of a cake that I had cooling on out front patio! Last winter, we moved from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We started across the country in a blizzard in a Subaru Forrester with 3 dogs and 3 cats. Everyone made the trip just fine. Toto spent the 3 day drive asleep at my feet on the car floor. Nights, we found pet friendly motels. This is not a trip that I would recommend to anyone, but we’re glad managed to keep the family intact.
Hope this doesn’t come off as just another whine about having to move two years ago. Due to the ailing US economy and a great job opportu…
Hope this doesn’t come off as just another whine about having to move two years ago. Due to the ailing US economy and a great job opportunity for my husband, we’re splitting out time between Santa Fe, NM and Chapel Hill, NC. Mostly because we couldn’t sell the Santa Fe house. Both great towns, but Chapel Hill just isn’t home. When people ask me what I miss most about New Mexico, other than the food, I tell them the eccentric people. People from the East Coast of the US usually look shocked and make some remark about Chapel Hill being full of eccentrics. Usually, I say, “Not even close.” The first night back in NM, we usually hit Whole Foods for groceries and a noodle bowl. Whole Foods Santa Fe is a people watching trip. The latest look among New Mexico baby boomers seems to be gray hair dyed pastel. We saw a woman with blue and green stripes in her “do.” The topper was a “man” in cycling clothes with breasts, makeup, green hair in a ponytail and a mechanical parrot. If you smiled at him, he’d wind the parrot up for a concert. He ate his dinner then put on his cycling helmet, took his bird and groceries and rode off. Love it!
Thanks to everyone who has commented and purchased my work! I’m having a very positive experience here. I’m looking forward to browsing…
Thanks to everyone who has commented and purchased my work! I’m having a very positive experience here. I’m looking forward to browsing all the great art on this site. It’s beautiful here in Albuquerque today. It’s the first day of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and it was a perfect morning for it. I drove along the north side of the park and hundreds of balloons were drifting right over me. If any of you ever have the chance to see it, it’s a beautiful sight – around 700 hot air balloons!
By Jill Carattini Master photographer Edward Steichen once remarked that the mission of / photography is to explain man to man and each…
By Jill Carattini Master photographer Edward Steichen once remarked that the mission of / photography is to explain man to man and each to himself—a mission he / found at once both complicated and naïve, but worth fumbling toward. / “Every other artist begins with a blank canvas, a piece of paper,” notes / Steichen. “The photographer begins with the finished product.” It is a / thought befitting of a scene from 2001, when the who’s who of the / country’s finest photographers volunteered their time for such a mission. / What they discovered is that when the “finished products” are the faces of / children in foster care systems across the country, photography offers the / chance of new life. Diane Granito is the founder of the Heart Gallery, a unique program that / uses photography to help find homes for older foster children, sibling / groups, and other children who are traditionally difficult to place with / families.(1) The program started in New Mexico in 2001 at the suggestion / of a local photographer. Space was then donated by a prominent gallery in / the city, where more than 1,000 people came opening night. The photos on / exhibit were the end result of the photographers’ attempts to coax out the / unique personalities in hundreds of children—a great contrast to the / typical photos attached to a child’s file. “They look like mug shots,” / said one of the photographers. “This is an opportunity to just portray / them as kids in their environments,” said another involved. “We’re / treating this as a living, breathing project.” Since its inception, the Santa Fe project has inspired 60 more Heart / Galleries in 45 states. In some places, the adoption rate after an / exhibit is more than double the nationwide rate of adoption from foster / care. Such photography earns a description worthy of its roots: the word / in Greek means “to write in light.” Those who work to find foster children adoptive families are used to / rubbing up against the public perception that most foster children have / serious emotional and behavioral problems. Sometimes, though not always, / it is an accurate perception. And a picture offered in a different light / does not change the child it portrays. But an image of a troubled child / at play offers the accurate light of hope. We all have many faces that could be portrayed to the world. If the / pictures that represented us to the world were pictures that showed our / worst sides, I wonder how different the circles of people around us would / be. There are definitely certain faces I would prefer not to have / captured in a photograph and placed in my file. While those close to me / have by now seen me in many kinds of light, it is frightening to imagine / my adoption being contingent on any one of them. Yet, our adoption as / God’s own was completed as we stood in the worst of all possible lights. / “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still / sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). As Christ died for the sins of / the world, he held dear even the pictures of us at our worst. While in prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer struggled with the many reflections / of his life. As a seminary instructor he was considered a saint and a / giant. In America they made him feel like an escapist. In prison they / made him feel like a criminal. There were days when he saw himself as all / three and all the stages in between. It was in such a convolution of / images that he asked: “Who am I? / This or the other? / Am I one person today, and tomorrow another? / Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others, / And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling? / Or is something within me still like a beaten army, / Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved? / Who am I? They mock me, / these lonely questions of mine. / Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine.”(2) Our adoption by God is our identity, the picture we hold as children until / the day when there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, and / God will wipe every tear from our eyes. Neither death nor life, nor / anything else in all creation, can separate us from this love of God that / is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi / Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. (1) http://www.heartgalleryofamerica.org/About_Heart_Gallery/History.asp / (2) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (New York: / Touchstone), 348. —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-——- / Copyright© 2008 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) / “A Slice of Infinity” is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of / challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who / would enjoy receiving “A Slice of Infinity” in their email box each day, / tell them they can sign up on our website at / http://www.rzim.org/slice/slice.php. If they do not have access to the / World Wide Web, please call 1-877-88SLICE (1-877-887-5423).
Hi all! Sorry I’ve been missing in action a bit lately, but my wife and I just got back from a brief trip to New Mexico to warm up and…
Hi all! Sorry I’ve been missing in action a bit lately, but my wife and I just got back from a brief trip to New Mexico to warm up and reacquaint ourselves with the sun! We followed that up by both of us getting sick, so I’m only just now getting back to my photos and Redbubble. However, the plus side to all of this is that I now have mountains of New Mexico photos to share with you and will be posting them off and on over the next few weeks as I sort through them. Now if I can only get Spring to start springing outside, all will be great! Happy shooting everyone!
those of you who keep me on your watchlist and those of you who know me personally may have noticed that i haven’t posted anything for ab…
those of you who keep me on your watchlist and those of you who know me personally may have noticed that i haven’t posted anything for about two weeks now. There’s a simple explanation for this: i’ve been backpacking in the mountains of New Mexico. / It is a harrowing tale involving buffalo, blisters, pack-sores, sunburns, powdered food, and a trip up and down a mountain. I took my sketchbook but didn’t really manage to draw anything. Not to worry though, i took plenty of pictures which will be uploaded within the next few days (I’m typing this from a hotel computer). Just letting you know what I’ve been up to.
Just came back from a daytrip in the Central New Mexico Mountains. I was looking for some new photo oppurtunities. and had a great time o…
Just came back from a daytrip in the Central New Mexico Mountains. I was looking for some new photo oppurtunities. and had a great time on my way home I stopped to eat lunch next to a busy railroad track and filled up a 2GB chip with train Pictures . It was a good day out with my Camera.
dont have any fans yet! / here in our village a movie is being filmed!!! / the book of eli with denzel washington / a post apocalyptic sp? ...
dont have any fans yet! / here in our village a movie is being filmed!!! / the book of eli with denzel washington / a post apocalyptic sp? western hero trying to save the book / which holds the secret of salvation for the devastated earth / hit people one a gorgeous woman mali? born in ukraine / and jim patterson are sent to kill him and gary oldman does ? maybe the mayor of the small town / i have not seen a movie for years / cause ive lived in small desert towns where there are no theaters! / so this will be the whole enchilada as we say / have no way to put my art online no digital camera and all that / will send images out on the psychic airways love in the light / the carpenters/ production staff begin tomorrow / redesigning the old main street – now the beginning of an art colony / into a wrecked town bombed windows cracked bullet ridden / they are building a large false theater front even tho we have an empty the lyric one empty lots will be filled in we all get to watch!! / irony we are near white sands ballistic missle testing area!! / awful raptor break the sound barrier jets / bombing we can hear such a puzzle it all is
After leaving Tucumcari, we headed east to San Jon, our last stop in New Mexico. San Jon is another small town on Route 66 with abandone…
After leaving Tucumcari, we headed east to San Jon, our last stop in New Mexico. San Jon is another small town on Route 66 with abandoned motels and businesses. The photo below shows a rusty sign that once glowed neon for the Western Motel. That is a 1960’s Plymouth sitting in the yard. Doubt that it runs, but someone did put a modern sun shield in the back window. As we edged into the eastern side of Glenrio, we saw our first town on the route in Texas. The first sign that there had once been life in this town was an old metal sign leaning at a 90-degree angle, almost obscured by overgrown trees and bushes. All of the signage had been blown out, but the guide book showed that it once read “Deep Rock”. Further down in the abandoned town we discovered one occupied home sitting back behind the ruins of Glenrio’s business district. Now it is surrounded by a junk yard of remnants of the once thriving town. Nearby is the Morel Café and Last Motel in Texas. In its heyday if you had driven into town from the west, you would have been that the sign read the First Motel in Texas. As you can see by the photo below the sign is barely there, probably a victim of the ravages of the storms and hail that recently hit Texas. Next stop on Route 66 was Adrian, which claims by its signage that it is the mid-point of Route 66. From Adrian it is 1,139 miles east to Chicago and 1,139 miles west to Los Angeles. I must note that the next town on the route is Vega, which disputes that and also claims to be the mid-point. However, Adrian is the one with the great looking mid-point signs and The Mid-Point Café, home of the Ugly Crust pies. We came through town right after lunch and were too full to try one of the pies, but we heard they are the best! The old town of Vega was the last cruise-through for today. We didn’t have time to stop at Dot’s Mini Museum which is touted to have a great collection of Route 66 memorabilia. There were several old signs and The Vega Motel looked like it might still be in business. A cool photo op just off of Route 66 and closer to downtown was a restored gas station from the 1920s with a green & white Magnolia Gasoline pump in front. The photo below is colorful Roosters, a Mexican restaurant. I would not recommend starting out on a Route 66 drive without a good guide or map to direct you down the road. We have two books, one with good maps that showed clearly whether the road was running on the north or south side of I-40 or if the road no longer existed. The other book listed all the towns in geographical order and recommended points of interest for each. All the guide books and maps on the market for Route 66 start in Chicago and direct you west toward the Pacific Ocean. I assume that is because this is the way that The Mother Road started out after she was born and where she finally matured out west on the Santa Monica pier. But if you are driving east on Route 66 as we are, then you have to learn to read backwards. Just kidding! But you do have to flip pages backwards in the map/guides to see which town is next on the eastern route. When we first started east, I was having a bit of a hard time figuring out where we were going next. But I soon became adept at flipping pages backward and then reading forward. If I can do it, anyone can! RECOMMENDED TRAVELING COMPANIONS (besides your loved ones): “Route 66 Adventure Handbook” (3rd Edition) by Drew Knowles / This book directs you to points of interest and attractions. Without this book, we would have missed so many amazing sights and side trips. Throw this one into the convertible before you leave home! “Route 66 Traveler’s Guide” (Collectors Edition) by Tom Snyder / This book has good maps showing where the road is in relation to I-40. It also indicates where the road no longer exists and will recommend alternate routes. Both these books can be purchased on www.amazon.com
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