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Travel

tipis, arrows + a giant beetle!

by Kaylah Stroup June 30, 2014

I’m a huge fan of the Roadside America app, as you might have been able to tell since I mention it all the time. On this trip, I was constantly on it looking for things nearby. It seemed we were on the right route though because before I could even get directions to some of these places we just stumbled upon them. Most of the things pictured below were seen across Colorado, and Arizona.

Wigwam Village No. 6 – Holbrook, AZ

Giant Arrows – Mancos, CO

Tomahawk Indian Store – Lupton, AZ

Navajo Travel Center – Gallup, NM

Indian Rock Shop – Holbrook, AZ

May Natural History Museum – Colorado Springs, CO

Wigwam Village, the first photos in the this post, is one of the few things on the trip we had actually planned before we left. I’ve been wanting to stay at a Wigwam Village for SO long. There are three remaining Wigwam Motels in the US so when I saw there was one kind of out by where we were going to be, it became a necessity. The room was pretty small, definitely out of date but still clean. Such a fun road trip pit stop!
xoxo

I’ve since visited the other two remaning Wigwam Villages. Read more about my stays – Cave City, KY + San Bernardino, CA
All of the photos above were taken with a Pentax k1000 and Fujifilm 35mm Superia X-TRA 400.

Dinosaurs EVERYWHERE!

by Kaylah Stroup June 26, 2014

You know what one of my favorite things out West was? ALL THE DINOSAURS. Dinosaurs everywhere, man! I think if you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time you’d know that I love giant roadside attractions and dinosaurs are certainly one of my favorites.

The majority of the ones we found were in Arizona and we just happened to stumble upon them, some with help from the Roadside America app. The ones I’m most excited about though? The two in the last pictures! They’re kind of famous. They’ve been featured in a few different movies, most exciting to me being Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. If there’s one place from any one movie that I’ve ever wanted to visit, it was these dinosaurs. So stoked to cross them off my list!

“Dinny”, the Apatosaurus, is actually a gift shop. I was elated to be able to go inside him. It’s surprisingly roomy inside. There were even pressed pennies available to purchase. Score!
xoxo

All of the photos above were taken with a pentax k1000 and Fujifilm 35mm Superia X-TRA 400.

Bombay Beach

by Kaylah Stroup June 19, 2014

One of the big stops on this road trip was the Salton Sea. The sea was created in 1905 by a flood from the Colorado River. In the 1950’s and 60’s the Salton Sea was a booming tourist attraction. People flocked from all around to enjoy California’s largest lake. But it didn’t last. Agricultural runoff from surrounding fields increased the salinity. With no outflow it only got worse with time. Now the Salton Sea is a far cry from what it used to be. It’s littered with abandoned buildings and dead fish.

The main area we spent time in was Bombay Beach, a quaint little town nestled 225 feet below sea level. Prone to flooding from the Salton Sea, there is now a large dike protecting the town. As of the 2010 census, 295 residents lived there, down from 366 in 2000. I can only imagine how small the population is now. The side closest to the sea is almost completely abandoned. Bombay beach was intense. It’s like nothing I have ever seen before.

We visited on a very hot day, instead of the dead fish smell that others experience at the Salton Sea, it just smelled like hot trash to me. It was repulsive. I have such mixed emotions about the whole experience. It was so exciting to be able to explore so many abandoned homes, sheds, boats, etc. at once and in such a small area but in the same breath, it’s incredibly sad that this even exists. The homes are full of belongings from the people who just up and left. Did you notice all the clothes in the fifth picture? It’s not like being an abandoned factory, school or any of the other places I’ve explored, this was so personal. There’s something unsettling about being there.

Definitely an experience I won’t soon be forgetting.
xoxo

Polaroids from out West

by Kaylah Stroup June 16, 2014

Well hey there! If you don’t follow me on instagram you might have missed my most recent little adventure. I mentioned it briefly last week on the blog but other wise kept things running smoothly over here. Jeff and I took a liiiittle trip out West. By “little trip” I mean we flew to Denver, Colorado, rented a car and drove around six states including Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. We spent two nights in a hotel, one night in a wigwam, and the other three in the car. In the six days we were on the road we racked up a whopping 3,204 miles. It was the most incredible trip of my life. I could have never imagined it would be that much fun.

I took so many photos. 18 rolls of 35mm film, quite a few packs of instant film, and a handful of digital photos. The 35mm I haven’t gotten developed yet. I’m trying to compare prices a bit because that’s a lot of film. There will definitely be a plethora of blog posts about this trip. I seriously can’t even remember all the things we did off the top of my head, it takes looking back through my photos to help me remember because we just did SO MUCH. To start off the posts from my big trip, here are some random photos I took with my polaroid 600 and some Impossible Project color frame film.

I have photos of almost all of these things taken with my other camera as well. I’m sure there will lots more dinosaurs and kitschy roadside things on the blog shortly since the desert just seems to be full of them, it’s kind of crazy!

I can’t wait to share more soon!
xoxo

South of the Border

by Kaylah Stroup February 25, 2014

While in Georgia, Mickey and I decided to get road trip tattoos. We got matching peaches that ended up being even cuter than either of us had imagined. During our short visit to Anonymous Tattoo we told the artist all about our trip and how we were obsessed with silly roadside attractions. He asked if we had stopped at South of the Border and suggested if we hadn’t already stopped we make it a priority. We looked it up and decided to hit it on the way home since it would only take us a little bit out of the way.

It didn’t take long before we started seeing signs for South of the Border. I have literally never seen so many billboards for one thing in my life. I don’t even understand how they could possibly make enough money to cover the advertising costs. The closer we got the more there were and the more excited we grew.

South of the Border is a strange, strange place. There are over a dozen large animals, at least two restaurants, an ice cream parlor, a bunch of souvenir shops, a motel, and even an indoor reptile exhibit. It’s all so wildly colorful too!

According to their website “Our trademark has always been a value-oriented service ~ we provide a clean, safe & fun environment for travelers of all types to visit on their way to or from the southeast.” I’m not so sure about that. Mickey and I used one of the bathrooms while we were there. As we walked in the attendant scowled at us and then sat down in a rusty old chair. Needless to say, she didn’t get tipped.

It’s apparent the place seen better days. It’s a bit sketchy and I probably wouldn’t want to be there at night but it sure was awesome. Running around from animal to animal taking pictures was a blast. I’m not sure any roadside attraction could ever top this but you best believe I’m gonna look.
xoxo

Freed Cemetery // on film

by Kaylah Stroup December 3, 2013

I’m a month late sharing these but better late than never, right? So, back to that trip to West Virginia with my mom and grandparents! One of the main things the trip was about was visiting the family cemetery. I’d never been there and of course, it absolutely appealed to me for a variety of reasons. My grandfather hadn’t been in a few years and may never get to visit again due to declining health since getting to the cemetery is a bit of a trip.The cemetery is on the top of a large hill that’s home to a herd of cattle. But before conquering the hill you have to cross a stream. It’s not really a long hike from the car to the cemetery (maybe fifteen or twenty minutes) but I can definitely see how it would be a tough one for the bad knees that seem to run on this side of the family.

It was gorgeous up there. Not to mention the cemetery was immaculate, I can’t believe someone takes such great care of it considering the location. It’s a fairly small cemetery but packed full of relatives. I got to see where my grandpa’s parents and siblings were buried among many other relatives (and some people who we didn’t quite know who they were.)

The cemetery alone was well worth the trip to West Virginia. It was an amazing experience, to say the least.
xoxo

All of the photos above were taken with a Canon T2 and Fuji 35mm Superia X-TRA 400.

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