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Sept 12-20, 2024

This post will show few photos as I follow Route 66 and I-40 through Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Then I continued on I-70 and I-90 to Brockport, NY. I have visited many of the sites previously, so this is not comprehensive, but these will be some new ones for me anyway.

First stop was in Tucumcari, New Mexico. This is a fairly well preserved town with many functioning vintage motels on the Main Street. For me, the Blue Swallow Motel has always been a favorite. They even have garages between the units with murals. I made a creative photo from one of them.

I stopped in Elk City, Oklahoma at The National Route 66 and Transportation Museum. There are many exhibits, preserved buildings, and outside windmills and old farm implements.

Just down the road a short distance is the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. This museum is not as extensive as the Elk City one. I was intrigued by the neon signs and lighting. The third photo has been creatively enhanced to take advantage of the neon glow and reflection into the wind shield of the car.

In Chandler, Oklahoma, I found a place with many old gasoline station signs, with a fairly nondescript building at the end of the parking lot. But low and behold once inside there was a restaurant, a video game gallery, and a bowling alley, all surrounded with various gasoline and road related signs.

I am not sure where the first gas station is located, but the second is in Foyil, Oklahoma.

The next town that I stopped at was in Cuba Missouri. There was supposed to be a place with old gas station and signs but I couldn’t find it. Finally I asked someone and they said the people had passed away and so was the location. But I found two other places in town. The first was an old gas station turned restaurant with a catchy name. The second was a still functioning motel with the old car out front.

The next stop, now off Route 66, on I-70, is the town of Vandalia which was the second capital of Illinois. Abraham Lincoln began his political career in 1834 as legislator. He was instrumental in moving the capital to Springfield in 1840. The building below served as the Illinois state capital from 1836-1839.

While visiting friends in Delaware, Ohio, we took a day trip to Lancaster, Ohio to see the Rock Mill.

I never knew that quite a few covered bridges are located in the northeast corner of Ohio right off I-90 which I had traveled many, many times from Chicago to Buffalo. So for this trip I stopped at three of them. The first is the Olins Bridge.

The second bridge is called Benetka Bridge.

And the final bridge in this series is the State Road Bridge.

The next stop was to visit a friend in Erie, PA. The first late afternoon we drove out on Presque Isle, a penninsula in Lake Erie. We could see a sailboat regatta race in the distance.

As sunset approached we found a good viewing spot by a lifeguard house.

This is the Erie Land Lighthouse, which is a considerable distance from the water’s edge. It was built in 1867 out of sandstone, restored in 2004, open on Tuesdays, and 69 steps to the top.

Gary has a friend that lets him on his property to take photos. It has a derelict house, a creek with waterfall, and is right next to Lake Erie.

This is a nice sunset place on a small bluff above Lake Erie. I especially liked the colorful hue on the bluff. The Turkey Vultures were roosting near by.

When I finally reached my brother’s house in Brockport, NY, there is an Oak tree with many acorns for the wildlife begging for photos from the window.