May 13, 2023
Scenes from a unique place on Long Island: The Shrine of Our Lady of the Island
February 24, 2023
On the border of Navajo land referred to as Deadman Flat is the Wupatki Spirit Totem. Though no one is sure when they were erected and by whom, the land is important to the Hopi & Zuni tribes and is near the Wupatki National Monument, a preserved ancestral pueblo. Read more…
February 22, 2023
Before I drop a bunch of Route 66 neon, I want to give a big shout out to Chinese eateries across the country who always offer a reliable vegan options. This well needed meal was from Mandarin Beauty Restaurant. Mapo tofu Also, it is a great thing that veg snacks Read more…
April 21, 2022
Cowboy boots on means it’s time to go to Texas… Just wanted to share my excitement about this Farmer’s Fridge in JFK Airport. The Pineapple Coconut Chia Pudding was what caught my eye. It was a great price for a fresh vegan breakfast. I’m sorry I don’t remember the exact Read more…
April 18, 2022
I first visited Very Large Array, a National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in February of 2018. My goal in 2022 was to get better shots of the many radio telescopes at the observatory and appreciate it a bit more since my first visit I kind of went in blind. I also Read more…
April 17, 2022
Santa Rosa’s Sun ‘N Sand Motel is partially collapsed and the remaining rooms are scrapped and their doors remain wide open. Parts of the roof are caved in and at least one wall is wide open to the street. Locals are disturbed about its sad state as it has become Read more…
Part 10 of abandoned ruins along Route 66 is the almost-ghost town of Cuervo, New Mexico. I learned after I returned to New York that this place had a strange lure. 😬
Every exit of Route 66 brought new ruins to explore. A few were on my radar, but others were exciting discoveries… like this structure I am calling Old Man Wilkerson’s in the near-ghost town Newkirk. Just one of many towns that began when a rails came, but ended when the Read more…
As fate would have it, I just happened upon an abandoned church on Easter Sunday after pulling off Route 66 for some snacks at the gas station. So I went to church…
I could have stayed at this site for hours.. with a gas station, food mart, truck repair shop and large restaurant (named “Restaurant”) to peruse, it had a little something for everyone–and, though stripped and ransacked, not a ton of vandalism. It used to be Shell Truck Plaza along Route Read more…
The Heart of the Mother Road, I very much enjoyed my stay in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The whole town embraces roadtrip culture as bygone ruins stand next to thriving road establishments in a sort of living museum. Seemingly frozen in time, I was able to book my stay at a Read more…
April 16, 2022
One doesn’t have to explore far beyond the exits of Historic Route 66 to find some dynamic decay. This decay, artifacts of a bygone era of car travel, was the reason for my trip to the area. To follow, the first of a lot of decay I wandered through. Starting Read more…
July 28, 2021
It isn’t until you experience the death of someone close to you that you decide what you believe–what makes sense to your heart, what makes sense to your hurt. Because what is and the life of your emotions don’t intersect sometimes. Resourceful buggers, some emotions can sustain themselves in a Read more…
July 21, 2021
Did you know there is a National Radio Quiet Zone? The National Radio Quiet Zone restricts Earthly radio transmissions to maximize radio data from outer space. This means NPR wasn’t coming in too clear on my drive to Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. Similar to the field Read more…
July 12, 2021
One thing to take note of when driving on the backroads of Vermont while using Google Maps GPS… they don’t really care if they put you on a steep dirt road winding into the mountains like the long driveway of some geezer living off the grid barely. That is how Read more…
July 2, 2021
In El Cajon, California is the remains of Marshal Scotty’s Playland Park. The amusement park opened in 1967 and enjoyed success until the 90’s. Since the owner was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1990 parts of the property has been used as a day camp, a go-cart raceway, and, Read more…
June 30, 2021
Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain has a simple statement: God is Love. Apparently this message is best conveyed with bright colorful paint upon the area’s pale stone, local adobe clay and other such happenstance canvases. Entering the Dr. Suessian land you can feel the urgency of Knight’s saved soul even if Read more…
June 29, 2021
I haven’t seen the Cabazon Dinosaurs, the roadside attraction made famous in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, since 2005 (shown in this previous post). I was shocked that they had been painted vividly, but pleased that there was a constant stream of folks equally excited to see them. Bubblegum pink brontosaurus… Read more…
June 28, 2021
Seven Magic Mountains, New York-based Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s public art display in Las Vegas’s desert, would be our gateway to a California desert adventure. Though very instagram-ed out, the vivid rocks are only permitted to remain in this location, 20 minutes from Las Vegas, until the end of 2021, Read more…
June 4, 2021
Since it’s been a minute (2009), I feel it’s time to profess my love for Carnivals. There is something magical about all the onsets of Summer. And carnivals are wrapped up in that ertia (a word I made up meaning the opposite of inertia)… one of the many colorful ways Read more…
April 1, 2021
When built in 1960, Lake Placid’s 240-foot Tower (aka Happiness Tower) was the largest concrete structure in the world. It halted operation in 1982 because the owners were guilty of tax evasion, then it reopened in 1986 with random quirky additions–attempts to entice visitors. But the petting zoo and “highest Read more…