Route 66 Day Seven

What a treat!  We spent the night at the famous EL Rancho Hotel, Route 66, in Gallup, New Mexico. This hotel has operated continuosly since 1931. There must be at least 200 photos of movie stars that have stayed there over the years. All the rooms are named for the the most famous star to actually stay in the room. We were in the James Cagney room :) We enjoyed everything about this place including the food. Apparently, Gallup catered to Hollywood filmmakers with locations for their movies. A lot of westerns were shot near here and this is where the stars stayed during shooting. I even got to sit in John Waynes favorite bar stool and eat the John Wayne burger :)  Lots of photos and videos to come later. Got a great nights sleep and we headed home today.

Happy Shooting!  Crutch

Route 66...Day Six

Pete noticed a huge storm rolling in from the northeast and the bright sun on this mountain range. We hurriedly pulled over and setup our tripods to capture this rare scene. As this unfolded, I quickly shot 2 photos and then merged them in PS5. This is the result. Moving on to Gallup, NM. Happy Shooting! Crutch

Route 66... Day Five

Cadillac Ranch ! We we sure looking forward to this staple site on Route 66. This is a farm land setting that the owner decided to bury some cadillacs nose first in the ground. We arrived late, but the place was full of people taking photos and spray painting the cars. Since we did not have and spray paint, we just settled for taking photos. The ground had just been plowed under for next years crop to be planted in the spring. This is soooo weird. Thanks for following us. Happy Shooting! Crutch

Route 66... Day Four

Today, we decided to take a quick side trip to Palo Duro State Park in Canyon, Texas. We had seen some brochures and thought this would be some fun. We were very surprised at the second largest canyon in the USA. We timed this to get there with the light in our favor. The place was just awesome. You could just about drop your camera and take a great photo. Pete did a lot of HDR and was very pleased with the photos. I shot this photo at 1/100 at F8 and added a little saturation in post. It's on to New Mexico and points beyond! Happy Shooting! Crutch

Route 66...Day Three

Another "Giant" along Route 66. This time it's the largest totem pole. It's 60 ft tall. A nice park and a great stop along Route 66. Pete was a little under the weather today, but remained a trooper. The weather has changed for the better, with a high of 70 today. We used the a/c most of the day. Covered about 450 miles. Hopefully we will be in Amarillo, Texas tomorrow morning. Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone has as much fun as we are.
Happy Shooting!   Crutch

Route 66 Day Two!

Well the rain finally stopped and we were able to make some photos. We met Gary at this old service station. He had a wealth of Route 66 information for us. He and his wife have fixed up this building and some others on the grounds. They have lived here since 1957. He sure was a great charactor and we left feelng like we had known him for years. This place was a special treat and we enjoyed it and his stories. I think he knows just about everyone on Route 66. Thanks for looking and Happy Shooting!  Crutch 

Route 66 Trip Day One

We have spent all day in the rain. We planned to shoot the skyline at Louisville, Kentucky, but it turned out too foggy. We pressed on to St. Louis, Mo. and discovered the arch is only lit on weekends. Too dark for any pics.  But, we are having a great time and look forward to tomorrow :)

Crutch