| Keith and I, for our Wedding Anniversary a few years ago, decided to take a trip and do the western stretch of Rt. 66 from Twin Arrows all the way into Needles, CA. I must say that I was quite pleased with some of the photos I managed to take. |
| A trip started in Sedona, the place where Keith proposed to me. |
| I was still using a relatively poor digital camera at the time. I used my new, more current photo software to touch up the photo and give it a "vintage" look. |
| Even though the original was only a JPG, I was still able to create an HDR shot. I like the idea of the green vegetation, red rocks, and while socks all combined! |
| This was in the month of August which meant possible summer monsoons hence the clouds. The weather actually felt wonderful to sockwalk everywhere in! |
| Our first official Rt. 66 destination was Twin Arrows. We had seen it before, but this time took the opportunity to explore it. It used to be a Truck Stop on Rt. 66 and had two large arrows in the ground. |
| Again, because I was working with a poor camera I found myself tinkering quite a bit with the shot, and given this abandoned stop's history I felt a little Sepia Tone would help. |
| I had been here years before as a teenager when it was open and had a restaurant and trading post. Now it's just an abandoned stop that was tons of fun to sockwalk around! |
| Of course it was not without its potential hazards. Just trying to climb on to this open area was tricky with all of the old, broken glass still on the ground after all these years. |
| He's hard to see, but if you look closely to the right of the two arrows you'll see my husband doing his own photography. He enjoys photographing abandoned buildings. |
| Of course I like to have myself photographed (Yes, I used a self-timer!) with abandoned buildings and me in my socks! This is also another HDR photo. The color and textures called for it. |
| In front of the same restaurant I ate at years with my family during our Rt. 66 vacation in 1976. Now that it's closed I doubt they'll mind that I'm there without any shoes! |
| I've always found something rather adventurous in sockwalking, even more so in doing sock vacations, and given Rt. 66 colorful history it only seemed right for me to enjoy in my own, unique way! |
| A close up from the previous photo... Socks are starting to somewhat dirty! |
| I can't describe how much I hate this photo. Still, it has a good view of the socks so I kept it in and created an unusual HDR pic to make it a less unpleasant for me to look at! |
| The truck stop isn't the most easily accessible place to get to. It's off of what is now only a small frontage road connected by an on-ramp from I-40, and there is this barrier. |
| Of course it's easy to just hop the barrier and walk around in socks. There was no one here to stop me so I made the most of my sock visit here! |
| After visiting Twin Arrows we followed Rt. 66 a bit further west until we arrived in Winona. |
| Of course I couldn't help but climb on it and go for some good sock sole photos! |
| Here is another HDR photo from the original JPEG. I highlighted the textures in the shot which did wonders for the dirty soles in the shot! |
| The bridge itself is the "old alignment" of Rt. 66. The road was given a small bypass just south of it by a few hundred yards prior to I-40 opening up. |
| Stopped off at a tourist stop that had a cavern (socks only NOT allowed) and this nice sized fellow. The subject matter begged for a HDR treatment of this pic. |
| Rt. 66 is full of towns that have been forgotten since the Interstate opened. While not a ghost town, this gas station is certainly abandoned. |
| Again, I was working with a relatively poor digital camera (by today's standards), so I fixed the photo by going with a Sepia Tone shot, which gave a very nice affect! |
| I can't explain, but there just seemed to be something "appropriate" about being photographed in my socks at this abandoned gas station. |
| Far west of Kingman, but not quite in California, was this very scenic area which demanded a stop. |
| Just off the highway, but a nice little walk in socks to get this shot! |
| Just after crossing into California we came across this abandoned house near some train tracks. I went for a texturally strong HDR shot because of the setting. |
| How could I not want to explore this house in my socks??? |
| Of course like any good house guest I will enter in my socks, whether the house is abandoned or not! |
| I'm guessing this used to be some type of closet. It doesn't matter as it just seemed like the perfect place for a place to stretch out my hot, dirty socks! |
| This was taken without a flash which really highlighted my dirty socks!!! |
| I liked how my socks looked I decided to highlight them and create a HDR pic of it... I just love those dirty sock soles!!! |
| Here is a second shot, this time taken with a flash. I kept both to compare and my socks can be more easily seen, although not looking quite as dirty as before! |
| From the previous shot I decided to create a second HDR pic. I love the overall results, especially how my dirty socks came out!!! |
| Somewhere along Rt. 66 between the California border and the town of Needles. |
| Just before arriving in Needles, CA we saw another beautiful vista which required stopping for more photography. |
| It was a pretty warm outside so just wearing my socks on my feet felt really great!!! |
| A rare shot of both me and Keith. Can't tell us apart? I'm the one not wearing any shoes!!! |
| Each night of our trip we stayed in Seligman, AZ on Rt. 66. It's a small, sleepy town, but had this cute display for people to photograph. |
| Did you think I would actually pass this opportunity to be photographed here in my socks??? |
| These are the same socks that I had been wearing since the trip began! Not dirty enough for you? So arrest me!!! |
| I went for a dramatic HDR shot because of the background. I really wanted to give a strong emphasis on the textures. |
| The ground was slightly damp from a severe thunderstorm the night before, which darkened my already dirty socks! |
| I went with a bright contrast HDR photo this time to brighten the colors. Luckily my socks still look pretty dirty!!! |
| I'm not sure what this entire facade is for, but it looks like a miniature film set which made for lots of fun sock photography!!! |
| My socks, which had been barely damp and dirty, have now given way to being perfectly dry, but still quite dirty socks!!! |
| The place even had its own outhouse. Again I went for a HDR pic to bring out the colors and textures, which only works in favor for my socks!!! |
| Even though we were only traveling for 3 days, it was one of my more enjoyable mini-vacations! |
| This was also one of my most successful sock trips as well!!! |
| Being able to go on sock road trips is probably one of the greatest thrills for me to enjoy!!! |
| I don't know where my future sock travels will take me... |
| So long as I can take photos in my socks I'll be a happy camper!!! |