Route 66 holds a certain allure for a lot of people, for me it's the post world war boom that brought opportunity to those along the road. People on 66 could make a decent living pumping gas, cooking meals, selling real simulated indian jewelry or just about anything to lure people off the highway to spend their hard earned cash that they were more than ready to part with. Whether it was snake pits, 5 cent burgers or rubber tomahawks, the Route 66 traveler not only wanted it but needed it. It was the optimism of those baby boomers as they fueled an economy that was finally enjoying itself after years of depression and war. They saw hope along the road as it wound its way from Chicago through the lush heartland and the harsh desert finally to wind up on the Santa Monica Pier. I-40 finally bypassed 66 completely in 1984 which killed most of the family run businesses on the old route which is still happenning today as those businesses that were able to relocate close enough to the new highway exits struggle to survive in our jetset age. It's these dead and lost dreams found along the old road that tell the sad story of a great road that brought both prosperity and loss with it through its relatively short life.
Rio Puerco Bridge, NM 2003
This is a great steel tressel bridge outside of Albuquerque that still stands, unused next to I-40.
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An old gas station used to stand right across from the bridge but a slab of concrete surrounded by these burned out hulks is all that's left.
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Rio Puerco Bridge, NM 2006
I went back again this summer on a slow night to see what I could do with the same stuff with 3 more years experience under my belt.
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Grants, NM 2004
They're exactly the same Priscilla, only differnt! Theses are two trains travelling west out of Grants.
Corrales, NM 2003
Corrales is an artsy little village just left of Albuquerque that has lots of great little places along the main road. This caboose* is in a place called Thorn Construction that sells stone and hay. The San Ysidro Cemetary** is just around the corner.
*Interesting note: When taking these photos of the caboose I encountered a large white dog that didn't bark or threaten me but got my attention enough to make me follow it to see where it was going. When I rounded the caboose to see where it should have been in the dirt lot it was gone. I don't know why but I grabbed all my gear along with my camera without even closing the shutter and high tailed it back to the truck. Just as I was loading my equipment up, a truck turned into the lot and shined its lights exactly on the spot that I had been less than two minutes earlier (trespassing.) I do believe that I saw my spirit guide that night.
**Interesting note no. 2: each time that I photograph in this particular cemetary my necklace falls off as I walk past this angel. It is a beaded necklace that is not easy to remove. I'm really not creeped out by this since I am concentrating more on taking photos than ghosts. My wife tells me that I should leave the necklace as an offering... I think I will.