Along Route 66
A lovely sunset brings life to an interesting diner along Route 66…
So much goodness on the Mother Road! This was a diner in Albuquerque, which I had previously looked up and hoped to catch in interesting light (or blue hour at least). Luckily I had a lovely sunset in the background which accentuated the neon and colors here.
Along the Mother Road
A vintage-looking restaurant along Route 66 in New Mexico…
I LOVED driving along Route 66! I spent about 10 days driving along Route 66 in Arizona and New Mexico and seriously enjoyed it. It was actually pretty quiet in most places, and of course I love to find all the little interesting bits of Americana history along the way. This restaurant in Santa Rosa, NM really caught my eye!
Abandoned on the Mother Road
An old gas station in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66...still looks good after all these years!
So much interesting stuff to see along Route 66!
I loved my little adventure down Route 66 back in August. I spent about 2 weeks driving it across all of Arizona and New Mexico - what I consider the prime stretch of it. I had no hotel reservations and no plans. Just my camera and the open road ahead of me.
I meandered, and detoured, and just had fun. I also took a lot of photos. :-)
I came across a number of old gas stations, many of which had fallen into disrepair and were nearly in ruins. I shot those for sure! But I also came across many like this one, which though abandoned, was not in ruins. The paint looked good and it simply looked like they just walked away from it that morning. It's interesting how well-maintained it appeared.
This one was in Tucumcari, NM which is a jewel of a town, photographically speaking. It may have been my favorite stop along Route 66. There is just so much to see and shoot there - I loved it!
The coolest motel in the world
Here's a pair of photos of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66, and I also share some insight into shooting this amazing little gem of a town.
Ok, I haven't been to every motel - that's obvious. But can you deny that the Blue Swallow Motel should at least be high on the list?
I love places like this - lots of character, some neon, tons of history, and so much visual interest that you cannot help but take some photos. When I arrived at this hotel in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66, I immediately parked and took some iPhone shots. I then checked in and stayed 1 night in the motel, and thus I spent a copious amount of time taking all sorts of shots here.
The entire town of Tucumcari is very photogenic, in a Route 66 "the best days are behind it" sort of way. That may sound mean, but I mean it as a compliment. It's historic and there are some amazing things to see in this little town, and nearly all of them beg to be photographed. So I obliged. :-)
I drove and walked up and down Route 66 in Tucumcari and shot all sorts of old hotels and motels, so in use like the Blue Swallow and some boarded up and empty. There are multiple old gas stations, also in varying degrees of disrepair. And then all the lovely signs. I spent only about 18-20 hours in town, but boy did I walk away with a lot of great photos!
The 66 Diner
The 66 Diner in Albuquerque, NM is quite the place for photography, though I never tried the food.
On my trip across Arizona and New Mexico along Route 66, I dedicated one evening to Albuquerque, simply so that I could visit the 66 Diner. I had seen photos of it before and it looked interesting enough to stop for. The timing was good for an evening shoot and so once I got a hotel and dropped my bags, I went in search of it.
Thankfully the drive was only a couple of miles, because when I left the hotel I could see that the light was starting to get interesting. As you can see, the sunset ended up being just incredible! I stood here and took many photographs for a long while and am very happy with them. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to run off and find another vantage point for the sunset. That's a problem I have when the light is great - I'm never happy capturing just one place in that light, I always want more!
The Blue Swallow Motel
The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM along Route 66...
I finally made it here and it's awesome!
I have wanted to visit this motel for many years now. I had seen photos online and just knew it was something I had to photograph myself. Well I finally had the chance during my Route 66 trip!
The Blue Swallow Motel is located in Tucumcari, NM along historic Route 66. That town was my destination for a night during my recent Route 66 drive. There were several things on my list for that town, so I knew I wanted to spend the night to make sure I had enough time to see them all.
On the day I was planning to arrive there, I was looking online for hotel rooms nearby and most everything was open, but uninspiring. You know, just boring chain hotels that were all sort of "blah" looking. Then I just happened to look at the website for the Blue Swallow Motel, and called them. They had a room and I took it, so I actually got to spend the night here, too. It was excellent!
I went to an early dinner so I could have plenty of time around sunset and blue hour to shoot here. While I was eating, it started raining. I was really worried that it would rain all night and I would miss my one chance to shoot here. Luckily, it stopped about the time I finished eating, and though the sunset wasn't much the blue hour with all the storm clouds was fantastic. I stood here for about an hour and took countless shots of the motel. I absolutely loved it.
The owners are really nice and you are welcome to photograph it to your hearts content - so I did!