Viva Las Vegas or Bust! (Part 1)

Last week Pat and I drove to Las Vegas by way of the Grand Canyon. It was a ton of fun! The photos I'm posting today were taken at a Flintstones themed RV campground near the park. It was so kitschy, I made Pat stop the car so I could take pictures. The place was deserted, and now I know why -- it's been closed down. Too bad! It must have been a lot of fun in its time.

More tomorrow! I'll keep posting vacation pictures until I run out of them!

The 2018 Denver Modernism Show (Part 1)

I hope you enjoyed my road trip pictures over the last several days! Last Sunday Pat and I went to the Denver Modernism Show like we do every year. I took lots of pictures, of course! Here are a few, and I'll post the rest on Monday. Have a great holiday weekend!

Road Trip to Durango (Part 6)

Durango is a little over fifty miles from Farmington, New Mexico, and my brother Chuck reminded me that there's a Muffler Man in Farmington, so of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to add pictures of him to our collection! If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that Pat and I are somewhat fanatical about Muffler Men and will go out of our way on road trips to find one. So fifty miles was nothing! If you've never heard of Muffler Men, by all means take a minute to read about them HERE. The one in Farmington is called Sunny the Big Man, and he's dressed in baseball garb in honor of the Connie Mack World Series held there every summer. In fact, we just happened to be there around that time (maybe he's only dressed like that during Connie Mack week?). Anyway, we were thrilled to find him and I took lots of pictures. After that, we explored Farmington's downtown a bit. Pictures of that tomorrow!

Road trip to Texas (part 6)

I'll finish up my vacation pictures by posting images from the drive home. We went out of our way to locate a couple of Muffler Men -- actually, one of them was a Muffler Lady! -- and Buddy Holley's grave. So from Austin we drove to a little town called Lamesa, then to Lubbock, then to Amarillo, and finally turned toward home. There were a lot of tiny little towns in between, and hundreds of miles of nothing but pasture. It took forever but it was worth it, even though our last 100 miles or so were largely blizzard conditions! (Yes, that was scary at 2:00 in the morning when both of us were exhausted beyond description.)

We had a great time! I can't wait for our next road trip! Tomorrow I'll start blogging images of Colorado Springs again. I hope you've enjoyed our vacation pictures!

Our first ever Muffler Lady! (Technically she's a Uniroyal Gal.) This was in tiny Lamesa, Texas. She stands in front of a tire shop. As you can see, she's been turned into a giant cheerleader with the local high school's "tornado" logo on her sweater. We love Muffler Men and will go to great lengths to see one on our road trips. I have pictures of many Muffler Men (including "cowboys" and "Paul Bunyans"), but I've never had the pleasure of seeing a Muffler Lady with my own two eyes. She was awesome! And HUGE!

Here I am, taking a picture of her. You can see how gigantic she is! We got such a kick out of her! (Photo by Pat.)

Onward to Lubbock, where we stopped at the Buddy Holley Center. I've been there before but this was Pat's first time. He thought it was pretty cool!

The larger than life statue of Mr. Holley. I thought I'd give him a little extra flair -- or flare, I should say! It took quite a few attempts to get just the right amount of flare through his famous glasses.

Here he is, in all his glory. The plaques on the wall behind him honor the many well known musicians from Lubbock.

Buddy Holley's grave in the Lubbock Cemetery. The dates of birth and death are sobering. He didn't even make it to 23. So sad.

It's customary to leave a little token when visiting his grave. Oftentimes people will leave guitar picks.

At an RV park in Amarillo we tracked down this good looking Muffler Man! He's surrounded by vintage Cadillacs, all of them in perfect condition.

He looks great! A lot of times Muffler Men look shabby because they're at least 40 or 50 years old and have been standing out in the elements for decades. But this cowboy looks spiffy! There may be a Muffler Man near you -- check THIS map to find out!

Last shot of our vacation, about to jump in the car and leave Amarillo.

Road trip to Texas (part 1)

As promised, I'll be sharing some of my vacation pictures for the next few days. The photo above was taken somewhere in New Mexico, en route to Alpine, Texas with a stop in Roswell just for the heck of it. We wanted to see the crazy alien conspiracy stuff that Roswell is famous for. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that Pat and I are huge fans of kitsch, and it doesn't get much more kitsch than Roswell! Another reason why we wanted to stop there was that a couple of days before our trip we watched the movie "50 to 1", about the long shot gelding named Mine That Bird who surprisingly won the Kentucky Derby in 2009. Mine That Bird trained in Roswell, and the Double Eagle Ranch, where it all happened, is featured in the film. We wanted to see it just for fun, and maybe get a glimpse of the champion himself, who is now retired and living out his days on a ranch across the street called Buena Suerte Equine. It was fun to see the ranch and the track he trained on, even though we didn't see Mine That Bird. Pretty cool!

It seems like everything in Roswell is tied into the alien theme. I love a town that embraces its weirdness. Practically every business in Roswell has a big green alien standing in front of it, or a green alien head somewhere in its logo.

The famous UFO Museum.

More alien stuff! I like the misspellings and questionable grammar on this sign.

The Double Eagle Ranch! This is where Mine That Bird trained. Having watched the movie only 48 hours earlier, it was fun to find the entrance to the ranch, looking exactly how it did in the film. Pretty cool!

Just across the road is Buena Suerte Equine, where Mine That Bird now lives in comfortable retirement.

Here's the track that he trained on. I recognized it from the film as well.

Leaving Roswell, headed for Carlsbad and beyond. It was miles and miles and miles of flat, straight highway through a dirty windshield.

We made it to oil country as the sun was going down. Vents burn off excess gas to prevent it from entering the atmosphere. We saw countless numbers of these, glowing in the nighttime landscape as we drove deeper into Texas.

Tomorrow, pictures from Marfa! Stay tuned!

There's a Muffler Man in Colorado Springs!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that Pat and I are great fans of American kitsch, especially the kind of oddities and corny tourist attractions that you come across when criss-crossing this enormous country by car. You've seen what big detours we've made just to get a few pictures of these kinds of things -- especially Muffler Men!  These fiberglass giants are a distinctly American advertising icon.  Instead of going into a detailed explanation here, I urge you to click on this link to read a short (and fascinating) history of Muffler Men and their ilk.

A year ago we made a road trip to Kansas and Oklahoma in order to escape the smoke and heat of the Waldo Canyon fire, and on that trip we made sure to include a stop in tiny Aline, Oklahoma so we could photograph the giant Paul Bunyan that sits at the back of Bud's Salvage (to read that fun post, click HERE).  Not long after that trip, I made the happy discovery of our very own Muffler Man right here in Colorado Springs!  He proudly stands on Academy Boulevard, our main drag, in front of Copperhead Road Honky Tonk and Saloon.  I've been dying to photograph him, but it had to be the right lighting to do him justice, and I wanted it to be summertime.  Yesterday was the big day.  Since I had no weddings or portraits booked this weekend, I was finally able to get a few shots of the big guy.  As you can see, he's not brandishing a muffler but a cigar, a gigantic beer, and a guitar. He's awesome! I'm so glad I finally got a chance to photograph him in the right light!  I'm going to submit these photos to Roadside America so more people can bask in his magnificence!

 

July 3, 2013 edit:  One of my pictures and my brief write-up have been added to Roadside America! To see it, click here and scroll about halfway down the page:  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/37384 

More Skinny

The mascot for More-Skinny Used Cars in Pueblo.  This dealership been around for as long as I can remember.  According to their website, the original owner, an Italian, was named Moreschini, and the name was anglicized to make it easier for people to pronounce.  Apparently the owners just went with the visual that naturally pops up in your mind when you hear the two words together. Hey, it works! More than 70 years later they're still out there selling used cars!

To see more Skywatch Friday posts from bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

On the road again

Driving home from Austin, Texas recently, a trip that takes about 14 hours, we went through quite a few small towns. Well, some of them were more like villages I think!  I captured this larger than life, dinner bell-wielding cowpoke high above a restaurant in Brownwood, Texas. This level of corniness just makes my heart smile :^)

At almost 19,000 people, Brownwood is a bustling burg in comparison to the many little hamlets we passed through. If you check out the map HERE, you'll see that it's quite literally deep in the heart of Texas.  Something tells me that the food in this restaurant is both heart-stoppingly fattening and stick-to-your-ribs hearty. Too bad we didn't have time to stop and try it out!  I suppose my arteries are thanking me for that right now.

...To see other Skywatch Friday pictures from bloggers all over the world, click HERE.

Hello, Austin!

I was in Austin, Texas recently for a few days, to visit family. I've been there once before, but it was only for a couple of days so I didn't have a chance to explore the city at all. This time I was there long enough to really check it out. Everyone says Austin is such a cool and funky place. And they're right. I had a great time getting to know this vibrant city.

Here's a picture of a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Austin called El Azteca. I love Mexican food. Just love it. And living in Colorado Springs, let's just say you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a similar hole-in-the-wall, family-owned Mexican restaurant, and they're always excellent. But the food at El Azteca is some of the best Mexican cuisine I've ever tasted. It was DELICIOUS. And cheap.  And they offer vegetarian options, which I appreciated.  My brother Chuck found the place on recommendation of our cousin Omar, who lives in Austin. Apparently celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dined at El Azteca for his TV show, "No Reservations".  It turns out the place is a local institution that's been there since 1963. The decor is very kitsch (whether intentional or not) -- there are tons of hilarious tchotchkes that appear to date from the late '60s through the early '80s in there. I loved it.  Another thing we found is that quite a few celebrities have dined at El Azteca over the years. A case on the wall displays menus autographed by the likes of Anthony Bourdain (of course), Ricardo Montalban, Edward James Olmos, and numerous other luminaries and sports stars. Impressive! I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Austin and hungry. I'm already pining to go back and eat at El Azteca again!

The next several days I'll be blogging pictures that I took while on my trip. I'm currently swamped with family portrait sessions and holiday orders, so please enjoy my Texas photos while I take a brief respite from shooting for the blog in Colorado Springs.  (And since there's quite a bit of lovely blue sky in today's photo, why don't we go ahead and call it a Skywatch Friday shot to boot!)

Paul Bunyan, I presume

Who is this giant looming in the landscape? He's Paul Bunyan, of course! (For my non-U.S. readers: Paul Bunyan is an American folk hero -- you can read more about him HERE.) We found him at Bud's Salvage in tiny Aline, Oklahoma during our road trip last month. These 20 foot tall fiberglass figures were produced in the 1960s and '70s as advertising gimmicks and they're generally known as "Muffler Men"; variations include Paul Bunyan, "the noble savage" and "the happy halfwit". Whenever Pat and I go on a road trip, we consult www.roadsideamerica.com and see if there are any Muffler Men to be found on our route. Generally, if it's not too far out of our way, we'll adjust our trip accordingly. This is one of the best ones we've seen!

We arrived at Bud's Salvage only 10 minutes before their closing time. They kindly allowed us to run around back and take pictures of their Paul Bunyan. It was quite a hike, actually, and I was wearing some very adorable and yet very useless shoes, and the temperature was 108 boiling hot degrees. The sun was beating down on us mercilessly. It felt like we were on some kind of crazy endurance test, but it was worth it to get up close and personal to Mr. Bunyan and snap a few pictures of him! Afterward we ran back to the car, and the proprietor was patiently waiting at the gate for us. Thank you, sir!I must say, I think I sweated more in that 10 minutes than I have in my whole life all put together. Hats off to those of you who live in Oklahoma and can endure that kind of heat and humidity! I am, apparently, a wimp.

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An overlooked picture from my Wyoming trip last month. I was in Casper to shoot a wedding. In sorting out the final edit, I came across this photo that I took specifically for the blog and had forgotten about. Love all the bright colors! So cheerful!

Wendover Will

One last image from Pat's adventures at Speed Week at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats last week. The flats are situated near the town of Wendover, which straddles the Utah/Nevada state line. This image was taken on the Nevada side -- this is Wendover Will, a famous landmark since 1952. He's 64 feet high and uses over 1,100 feet of neon tubing! You can read more about Wendover Will HERE.

Bonneville Speed Week

This week Pat took a few days to make a whirlwind road trip to Utah for SCTA Bonneville Speed Week, a dream of his since boyhood, when he read a book about the Blue Flame. The many obligations of wedding season kept me grounded at home, so I equipped him with a decent camera and a couple of lenses and sent him off with our good friend Joe. One, he had the time of his life, and two, he came home with some pretty cool pictures! I'll feature some of them here on the blog for the next few days, starting with this shot of a vintage camper trailer, which I covet! Many participants of Speed Week bring campers to use as their base of operations. I personally love these old school trailers and would love to have one. Doesn't it look cool sitting out there on the salt flats?

San Antonio, Part 6

On our last night in San Antonio we were treated to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Mi Tierra. The place is purposely very cheesy and touristy, and I loved every minute of it -- the decor is over the top! And there are wandering mariachi musicians who hop from table to table playing songs. They were great!

Attack of the giant beetle!

No, this isn't an ad for a cheesy horror movie, it's another image from our little jaunt down Highway 115 yesterday. This enormous Hercules beetle is a Colorado Springs landmark. It's there to tempt you into visiting the May Museum, which I'll admit I've never done! I have, however, taken a few pictures of the giant beetle over the years. It's hard to resist! And I'm proud to report that he's even listed on www.roadsideamerica.com, a true distinction indeed.

Mystic Meadows

If you drive southward on Nevada Avenue far enough, its name changes to Highway 115. Once you've gone past Fort Carson you're pretty much in the boonies, an area called Turkey Creek. It's a really pretty drive. I think there are probably quite a few Colorado Springs residents who don't even realize what's there: a lot of open space and a park/nature reserve, and just gorgeous terrain in general. If you continue on Highway 115 you'll eventually end up in a little town called Penrose, but that's a subject for another post.

There's a place on Highway 115 called Mystic Meadows. Basically it's a venue for events such as weddings or other large gatherings. It's situated on a pretty parcel of land that includes a pond; there's also a lodge-y sort of building and a gazebo. I've shot a couple of weddings there over the last few years. If I reach back far enough in my memory, I recall that it used to be a steakhouse some time ago, then I think it sat empty for a while before the current owners bought it and turned it into an events center. My favorite part of Mystic Meadows is the marquee with the bucking bronco atop it. I'm sure that the marquee at one time beckoned you to come on in and enjoy a nice juicy steak, but now it generally reads "Congratulations Justin and Jennifer!" (or whoever's getting married there this weekend).

I love the horse and I'm glad the latest owners decided to keep it despite the slightly kitsch-y quality it lends the place. It's become a bit of a landmark in these parts, and it's unique!

The Alligator Farm

After our hilariously brief visit to the Great Sand Dunes, Pat really wanted to check out the nearby Alligator Farm. This place is well known to Coloradoans, and it's gained a little bit of fame in general just for being an oddity. It's one of only a handful of places in the U.S. where you can receive training on how to properly handle alligators. According to their literature, the place started out many years ago as a fish farm (tilapia, to be exact). The thermal springs in the area provide a naturally warm water temperature year round. Gators were first brought in to consume dead fish. Now why they thought of gators for this task, I cannot tell you. I assume that most fish farms lose a certain amount of fish in their daily operations. How many of them employ alligators to rid themselves of the offal? It would seem that the alligators themselves would produce their own special kind of offal. Awful!

But I digress. Anyway, the place is just a few miles down the road from the national park, so it was easy to find. For some reason it was closed, but that didn't stop us from hanging out for a few minutes to look around and take a few pictures. As we were investigating, a pair of emus (yes, emus -- extremely large Australian flightless birds) came over to investigate us. Thank goodness they were behind a fence! They seemed friendly enough, but they were taller than me! They let me take their picture, which was very sweet of them.

What a strange place this alligator farm is. We didn't see any alligators, but we sure saw a lot of junk. As we were leaving I caught sight of this sign bidding us to drive five and-a-half miles north to check out the "UFO tower". Maybe next time!