I've been traveling the entire stretch of (what's left of) Rt 66 all the way from New Mexico to Missouri. Large sections of it are gone completely. Just last week I drove the length of the largest unbroken stretch of 66 that still remains. You can actually stay on RT 66 continuously all the way from Oklahoma City, to Joplin Missouri. (If you have a really magical GPS or good psychic skills to know to turn every time RT 66 suddenly turns left or right at an intersection with NO sign telling you that) That's about a 250 mile stretch of badly paved road.
I'm trying desperately to find anything worth shooting along that lonely, mostly abandoned highway. The interesting things are very few and far between. But, then I most unexpectedly stumbled upon this little hidden gem around Joplin Missouri. This has to be one of the most interesting, and nicely composed collections of memorabilia I have found on the entire length of the road, and nobody would ever even know it's there. It's tucked back behind some storage sheds, barely even visible from the road.
Tags: Rt 66 Joplin 7-15 0875
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I'm still continuing my historic Rt 66 trip across the country. From Albuquerque, all the way to St Louis, I have driven every mile of Rt 66 that still exists.
This was a stormy night last month at a cool old gas station in Shamrock, Texas.
Tags: Rt 66 Shamrock Texas Conoco Lightning 6-15 8479
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Surprisingly, St Louis is actually a fantastic city to photograph. Lots of great architecture and beautiful parks around that city. Here is a collection of photos I have been working on from my visit there a couple months ago.
This top photo is the Chain Of Rocks Bridge. There are several different bridges that were at one time, the official Rt 66 bridge. This is the most famous of them. It's no longer used as a bridge, but you can still walk on it.
Tags: Rt 66 Chain Of Rocks Bridge 8-15 4339
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As I slowly make my way across the country, I am trying to take all that remains of old Rt 66. Most people don't realize how little remains of this famous historic road. Every time I drive on I-40 or I-44 I study a map and write down every exit that leads to old Rt-66. Any time Rt-66 makes an appearance, I take that instead of 40. I want to see if there are any hidden treasures left on 66 that I haven’t seen yet. Such a shame that they didn’t leave more of old 66 intact so you could still drive it and stay on it. In many places. it is very difficult to tell if I am actually on 66 or not. Really annoying that in a lot of places, it is not even labeled as 66, but as Business-40. Don’t know why they wanted to try and erase this important piece of history.
Tags: Tulsa Oklahoma Rt 66 7-15 9933
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One of the last stops on this year's big roadtrip was Williams, Arizona.
My boss needed shots along old Rt 66 in WIlliams and Seligman.
I have cruised all that is left of Rt 66 all the way from Oklahoma to California. There is not much left. Williams and Seligman are two of the most intact and historic towns along that highway.
Tags: 10-11 0196 www.mikejonesphoto.com Smith-Southwestern Mike Jones photo professional photographer Arizona AZ historic rt 66 old
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