On the Mother Road :: Part 8

Groceries.

Prairie dog!

So cute! there were hundreds of these guys on this part of the drive.

Cute tummy.

Checking out their surroundings.

DeSoto’s Salon.

We were actually able to eat here! In the middle of nowhere!

Route 66 Grill.

Land. Well played.

Very old 66.

Tree in the middle of the road.

It’s hard to see but there’s a cow and her baby under that big bushy tree.

Seligman, AZ.

We ate snow cones here.

I have a really strong hatred for Betty Boop. I just don’t get why she’s a thing.

Eric bought a real Route 66 road sign here!

Cars.

Grand Canyon Caverns! Yes we took the tour! I love me some caverns.

They actually have concerts underground! And there’s a hotel room you can rent! Sadly it was booked the night we were there or I think we would have spent way too much money to sleep underground.

It was a really clear night at our campsite. I tried some long exposure photography.

And I caught a passing train!

Bert’s Country Dancing.

I love this section of 66.

Old cop car.

We explored.

Eric really wants a car just like this.

Hackberry General Store. We bought some old license plates here and I bought some old Arizona Highways magazines.

Hackberry.

On the way to Oatman, AZ!

Watch out for wild burros!

I love the desert. There was actually water coming from a spring here. And there were goldfish in the water!

A popular place to spread ashes. They have quite the view.

Welcome to Oatman!

i told you there were wild burros!

This gal was very pregnant.

The burros are somewhat tame. They always expect you to give them treats. Most of the stores in town sell treats for the burros. Some of the really young babies had little notes taped to their heads that said…”Don’t feed me!” They just need mama’s milk.

Look at those big ears!

It was soooo hot here! I was one sweaty beast.

Just hanging out on the stoop snoozing.

On the Mother Road :: Part 7

Good morning! What a way to start a day, huh?

The sky in the southwest never disappoints!

A church blending in with the hills.

Moccasins for the entire family!

The Continental Divide!

Blue Spruce Lodge.

A cowboy Muffler Man.

Arizona.

Friends along the road.

Geodes! I love rocks and minerals so the rock shops in Arizona were super exciting!

Rock Shop dinos.

I bought some Arizona petrified wood at this shop.

More dinos and geodes.

The Wigwam Motel was our home for the evening!

The happy (and tan!) couple!

Wigwam sunset.

The motel has old cars stationed throughout the parking lot.

Morning dinos.

Rawr!

So much petrified wood!

Pow Wow Trading Post.

Bucket of Blood Street!!

b Horsehead Crossing.

Inside our Wigwam. They’re actually quite a bit bigger than they look from the outside.

An old campground.

Here it is! Jackrabbit, AZ.

This side of the billboard needs some loving!

Eric rode the rabbit.

And I hugged the rabbit.

On 66 in Winslow, Arizona.

Do you remember that song by the Eagles called “Take it easy?”

“Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona and such a fine sight to see. It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.” Take it easy.

Broken down map.

I’m not sure what this was, but I’ll take it!

Giant dreamcatcher!

We took a tour of Meteor Crater. It’s impressive, but you might not be able to tell that from the photo.

Storm clouds over the crater.

Please slow down! Baby calves on roadway.

Two Guns, AZ.

Old mountain lion cages for tourists to gawk at mountain lions. That’s just rude.

See? Mountain lions.

Super cute graffiti!

Twin Arrows, AZ.

On the Mother Road :: Part 6

Good morning, Tucumcari!

Can you spot the little lizard?

Outside of Tucumcari we stopped at an old swimming pool.

Broken down.

Wilkerson’s.

Church in Cuervo, NM.

Old 66. What a view!

The road REALLY deteriorated. The Yaris is pretty much an ATV.

We were way out in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t pass one car. At one point we stopped and turned the car off. You could literally just hear the wind. Nothing else. Those kinds of experiences make you love life and the ability to travel!

We had beautiful weather while on this road.

Trust someone, Little Robot.

About an hour after exiting that gravel 66 road we encountered some hail!

There were some incredible downpours throughout the day in this part of New Mexico. Look at that water!

Pecos National Historic Park…and some rather threatening clouds.

You could actually use the ladder and step down into the kiva.

Inside! It was so cool underground.

Ruins.

There was some construction going on around the ruins. I think they were (hopefully) trying to restore more parts of the ruins.

Note the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background.

Blooms.

I was on snake patrol. But I only saw some red ants.

Lovely colors!

We also visited Glorietta Pass Battlefield which is close to the Pecos ruins.

St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe!

Santa Fe is littered with beautiful buildings.

I really wanted to buy one of these cute little bunnies! They were $80 a piece though, so I just settled for a photograph.

We hiked La Bajada in New Mexico. This is a famous Route 66 road.

Morning on La Bajada.

Madonna of the Trail in Albuquerque, NM!

The Desert Sands Motor Hotel.

Gorgeous!

We were in Albuquerque on July 4th. Fei’s Cafe is a vegan cafe that was sadly closed for the Fourth.

But Mint Tulip was open! This was our first time visiting Mint Tulip. We had lunch and then ice cream. And then we went back later for milkshakes. Oh my! Vegan goodness galore!

Albuquerque had a big fireworks display that we stayed for. We also had some fries and corn on the cob.

You could see storms rolling in as night approached. Check out the lightning!

Happy 4th!

It started to rain right before the fireworks display started. People started to scream and run. I guess people in Albuquerque aren’t used to the rain.

Eric and I crawled under a picnic table to watch the fireworks while not getting wet!

In the morning I spotted that nasty little critter when we packed up the tent. OMG gross. Go away little guy!

Cat photos. Everyone likes cat photos!

Juniper and I were hanging out this afternoon. She was rolling around and just asking to be photographed!

She ignored me for the most part.

She was sleepy.

And I just love that little face!

Rollin’!

Scratchy back.

And dirty paws.

She’s active in the afternoon when we come home from work. If it’s after 3pm…she’s zonked out on “her” chair.

Shy little girl.

Deep in thought. Not really deep…she probably just saw a fuzzy on the floor.

Close your little mouth baby kitty!

Two paws up for kitty time!

On the Mother Road :: Part 3

Route 66 emblem on the pavement near John’s Modern Cabins.

John’s Modern Cabins…or what’s left of them.

We had to walk through some brush to get to the cabins. That was a bad idea when we realized we had ticks all over us. I was so creeped out until I showered that night. I checked every inch of me and every inch (inside and out!) of my clothing for those pesky ticks.

John’s not so Modern Cabins.

An awesome No Trespassing sign directed at one guy! Burn!

The Munger Moss is one of the most famous motels on 66. We sadly didn’t spend the night here.

Rest Haven Court.

One of two turtle rescues we performed on the trip! This guy was crossing a busy road and we helped him along.

Antique.

Fantastic fence along 66!

Glass bottles in cement. I would love to do this someday.

This was in a little “village” type thing. The guy who built the village collected old buildings and cars to make a town of his own.

I love the paint of the buildings and bird houses.

Planes and automobiles.

Shiny.

This lovely lady was perched atop the airplane.

Sassy gal!

Danger ducks.

More fabulous sculptures in the little village.

Happy little car.

Highway Patrol.

Moon barn.

Mail Pouch Tobacco ad.

Probably the most famous drive-in on Route 66! There was a weird guy watching us the whole time we were taking photos. I think he was the cranky caretaker.

Carthage, MO.

Mater!

Palace Drug Store ghost sign.

Murder brothel.

Bridge in Kansas.

A very bare and beautiful downtown.

Conoco Station.

Original 9 foot road segment on 66. Also known as the Sidewalk Highway!

At least we know!

Cafe.

Possibly old tourist cabins? Lovely though!

On the Mother Road :: Part 2

Morning sun in Lincoln, IL.

World’s Largest Wagon and Big Lincoln.

Old 66.

Our Lady of the Highways Shrine – Raymond, IL.

Jesus. Just Jesus.

Mega blue sky!

Cemetery in Mt. Olive, IL.

Mother Jones’ grave site in Mt. Olive, IL.

Old Shell station.

President Lincoln’s tomb.

Rub the nose of Lincoln for good luck! I rubbed it and wished good luck for my niece, Tessa, who was born that day! Yay Tessa!

Inside Lincoln’s tomb.

President Lincoln.

Mama bird near the tomb.

Fantastic buildings!

More old road on 66.

There are some turkey tracks in the cement on a segment of 66.

There are the tracks!

An old jail. The ivy makes it almost seem cozy.

A homemade 66 monument.

Humpin’ to Please!

Henry’s Rabbit Ranch.

Hop on!

The Bel-Air Drive In.

Chain of Rocks Bridge spanning the Mississippi River!

The Great Mississippi River!

Awesome buildings on the Mississippi.

On the Chain of Rocks Bridge in Illinois.

And on the Chain of Rocks Bridge in Missouri!

This sign was kind of sad! A missing tortoise. I’m not sure how you lose your tortoise. I hope they find the guy. Or I hope he lives a happy life in the wild.

Meramec Caverns.

A beautifully restored Phillips station.

The World’s Largest Rocking Chair!

Just another gorgeous sign on the Mother Road!

To Chicago! And the beginning of Route 66.

War Correspondents Memorial.

You are here. At the Battle of South Mountain.

The Burnside Bridge. It’s a famous Civil War era bridge on the Antietam Battle Ground.

Walking towards Fort Ligonier.

Inside the fort.

The buildings were rather well maintained.

The raw wood beams are lovely!

I kind of want old glass windows in our house.

We took a short walk to see the place where General Braddock was buried.

And this is where he’s buried now…just a short distance up the hill from the other plaque.

One of a few Madonna’s of the Trail we saw on the trip.

Welcome to West Virginia!

In Moundsville, WV we stayed with friends for two nights. Moundsville is famous for the Grave Creek Mound.

And there’s the mound. It’s an Native American burial mound. The mound used to be higher, but humans are rude and sometimes don’t have respect for the dead.

The former West Virginia State Penitentiary. We actually toured the penitentiary but I’ll save that for a different post!

Be progressive!

National Road West.

There’s our travel buddy!

Don’t you want to play some corn-hole games?

I never really find the drive from Pennsylvania to Chicago all that interesting, but sometimes you come across things like this! And that makes the drive bearable.

Hey Indiana!

The Illinois and Indiana state border.

Welcome to Chicago.

I love Millennium Park in Chicago! You’ll see more of that soon.

A fancy lion in front of the Art Institute.

More Millennium Park! Water pours out from these fountains. The faces on the fountains also change every few minutes. AND the faces on the fountains are of Chicago residents.

The Bean!! It’s my favorite thing in Chicago! I did my art history research paper on the Bean during my senior year in college.

Seagulls on the Bean.

Can you see us in the reflection?

There we are!

The last time we were here was in 2008 and we saw someone buffing and shining the Bean.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

Clarence F. Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Chicago has really nice parks and architecture.

Vomiting seahorses!

The beginning of historic Route 66! And the fun begins.

From Washington to Ohio.

The trip to Pennsylvania took us through Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and finally PA! I added a few new states to my “States I’ve Been To” list. Those would include North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. And do you know which states I hated? North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan! Michigan was the biggest offender. I’m sorry if you live there, but good grief it was a horrible drive! Never let me go there again!

Dry Falls, Washington.

Juniper was along for the ride.

 

Old concrete.

In Montana, white crosses along Route 2 mark where someone has died. This dangerous 70 MPH section of road has already taken 17 lives. SLOW DOWN!

Big Sky Country.

Continental Divide.

We saw so many trains on the way to PA!

There were plenty of stormy skies but they mostly stayed away. They were fun to watch from a distance though.

Dino time!

There’s an underground tour in Havre, Montana. This shot was taken while on the tour looking up at the sidewalk. The purple glass squares are inset in part of sidewalk.

The underground tour took us through a dentist office, a saloon and even a brothel.

Beautiful buildings in Havre.

Clouds and cows.

This gorgeous church is in Montana!

Cowboy Bar. Cowboys and old neon? Heck yes! I love me some cowboys.

“I’m gonna get you with my tiny arms!”

Rugby, North Dakota. The geographical center of North America!

Waking up to a beautiful morning.

Blazing sky.

One of many Paul Bunyan and Baby the Blue Ox sculptures we saw on the trip.

Giant Pike – Erskine, Minnesota.

Cordwood Pete and Tamarack. The legendary brother of Paul Bunyan. There was supposed to be a statue of Pete and Tamarack somewhere in this town, but we couldn’t find it! Maybe someone stole them?

We became very fond of Paul and Babe. We even bought a Paul Bunyan and Baby the Blue Ox salt and pepper shaker set.

Babe on the sidewalk.

In Cloquet, Minnesota is a gas station designed by famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. We HAD to stop there for gas. There are restrooms and a sitting area above the actual gas station. I took advantage of that.

Frank Lloyd Wright.

Big Paul Bunyan.

These poor guys were locked up! Stop vandalizing people. Knock that shit off so everyone else can enjoy giant things!

45th Parallel.

Back in Amish Country! We spotted this ATM in Ohio. And yes it’s IN the back of a buggy.

I’m still here!

I’m here! And so is spring!  I’ve been gone, but don’t think I haven’t been doing exciting things.  Last week I took a trip to Pennsylvania.  I didn’t tell my sister I was flying in so she was quite surprised!  My sister is pregnant now so it was soo good to see her!  I felt the baby kick too.  It’s really exciting.  I can’t wait to be an aunt.  We spent quite a bit of time with my parents and my brother-in-law too.  We went out to eat, bought some Italian ice AND had a surprise baby shower for my sister!  I have tons of photos to share with you over the next few weeks.

Bright sun and blue skies!

Here comes the sun!

Soon!  Almost!  It’s just around the corner.  The sun has been poking out more and more.  Kitty naps have been had in the sun by the kitty in the house.  And kitty naps have been had by me on the couch.  I feel like I’m slowly creeping out of my winter hibernation.  I didn’t hibernate as long or hard as I have the past few winters.  I’ve been trying to juice more and run (is that what we call it?) on the elliptical machine.  I’ve been trying to stretch my lazy winter muscles as much as possible too.  It’s actually been helping my stiff neck and back.  It makes me think I should really take yoga classes.  I bet it would help more than just my still muscles.

One place Eric and I keep talking about visiting this summer the Ancient Lake area in central Washington.  We paid it a quick visit last October, but we need more!  It was our last real trip of the summer/year.  I think we went out with a bang!  Ancient Lake was way prettier than anything we were expecting to find in the coulee.

Ancient Lake, October 2012.  Polaroid Land Camera negative scan.

Today Youtube recommended a Lana Del Rey song to me.  I usually don’t listen to Youtube, but today I gave in.  I’ve seen posters for Lana’s new album plastered all over the local record store.  Sometimes I don’t listen to the music the record store advertises on their walls because quite often the poster has the face of a hipster on it.  But perhaps I don’t listen to certain things because I’m afraid that it *might* be hipster music *and* I’ll like it.  What’s wrong with that though?  Can’t we all have guilty pleasures?

But in the end I listened to Lana Del Rey today and I am girl crushing!  She is gorgeous and she can sing.  I’m the type of person who can listen to the same song on repeat for hours AND not tire of it.  I did that tonight with her song, “Ride.”  She made me want to travel!

“I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast.  I am alone in the night.”

“Every night I used to pray that I’d find my people, and finally I did on the open road.  We had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore, except to make our lives into a work of art.  Live fast. Die young. Be wild. And have fun.”