It rained all day — from a slight drizzle to heavy downpours. Not great conditions for taking pictures (or getting good results) but I did pretty well anyway. Most of the way was on or near Route 50 (aka Highway 50) – which doesn’t get nearly as much press as Route 66 or the Lincoln Highway though it has some pretty amazing stuff. It runs across the whole country. More about it here:
http://www.route50.com/

A bit of old Highway 50 that dead-ends… and a section of old Highway 50 next to the new one:

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I am often asked how I find so many great things on these trips. The short answer is: research. I have been keeping “To See” lists for years so that when opportunity arises, I’m pretty much ready to plan the route. About 90% of my route and what I photograph is pre-planned (the other 10% is stuff I stumble upon). About 30% of what I go to see has either been demolished or altered to a severe degree. The quantity of images and subjects at my website might leave the impression that there’s tons of wonderful old stuff throughout the country but that is really not the case. Beautiful old buildings, neon signs, and giant fiberglass wonders are disappearing on a daily basis.

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One of the things that I will try to do with this blog is make it more interactive and provocative. I will try to hit on some different topics and welcome your feedback in the comments below. I took a few photos today in Sedalia, MO that might spark some thought or discussion. Let’s start with this one and I’ll add a couple others tomorrow morning.

The Best Western: built 1960, remodeled 2001

A mid-century, two-story glass-faced building that has been updated in front with a huge & hideous awning and porte-cochere. I guess this is meant to hide the age of the building and make it look new & “chain”-y. Better than demolition I suppose which will undoubtedly come next. Unless it can hang on through various concealments for about 20 more years til 1950s/1960s is hip and rare enough to be properly renovated. Should we be concerned with garden variety classics like this or only push to save Big Name Buildings?

The weather and lighting were a lot better today. I got lots of great signs, an incredible six-story tall Abe Lincoln, a “true” mini golf, some theatres, and more. The dogs got lots of running and sniffing in, including this fun romp at the Hurricane Cemetery (named after Hurricane Creek) in Greenup, IL.

Nik with his Jolly Ball:

The girls running amuk:

Some people might find it disrespectful to let the dogs loose in these old cemeteries. But I feel that the lingering souls must be amused by the joyful activity. I always pickup after them & make sure nothing gets bumped. They are lovely, quiet places – great for a quick picnic. The memorials are touching and beautiful.

This trip officially began yesterday afternoon after a doggie competition in MD. The dogs thoroughly enjoyed barking at all the Amish horse & buggies as we made our way to the PA Turnpike. Then it was all boring interstate driving to make it to central OH for the night.

Today, I got a lot of goodies for the website in Ohio and Indiana (see flickr set for a sampling). It was dreary weather all day so the lighting was not great. Even some snowflakes here and there. Ran out of daylight in Indianapolis so we’ll spend the night here and resume tomorrow.

To avoid duplication, I will try to include photos at this blog of things that will not appear at flickr and probably not at my website.

Here are my three travel buddies…

… and the gorgeous fall foliage in Indiana:

I’m about to embark on a big trip to AZ and thought it might be a good time to try one of these. I will post some photos here en route and provide commentary about the trip. Other photos will be found at my flickr account which is a sampling of what will eventually make it to my website.