In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong

Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard’s work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com

Route 66: The Mother Road

Posted on | December 2, 2009 | 6 Comments

Route 66, Amboy, California

Route 66, Amboy, California

I was born after Route 66’s heyday so I don’t have the personal connection to it unlike probably many of those my parents and grandparent’s age. But what I do relate to is that many Americans long to leave the rat race and day to day grind behind to hit the road. Route 66 is a symbol for the dreams of many Americans.

One of my favorite experiences was a 21 day road trip in the summer of 2001. By the end of it, we were completely exhausted mentally and physically but I keep having that desire to do it again and for longer. My dream is to unplug from everything for six months and travel North America by road taking photos every day seeing and experiencing everything I’ve always wanted to do. Sunrise alpenglow kissing the faces of Mount Rushmore, looking for wolves in Yellowstone through a 600mm lens, tipping Russian waitresses in a small town in South Dakota, storm chasing in Kansas, New England fall color, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, re-living my childhood experiences in the Canadian Rockies, grizzly bears in Alaska, PCH from top to bottom, etc… I don’t know if that is really a smart idea for my future financially but the thought of this is what keeps me going.

I am currently reading John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley, which is about Steinbeck’s months long trek around the country in a camper with his dog Charley. He undertook this journey toward the end of his life so he probably knew the end was near and wanted to get it out of his system before it was too late. I am probably closer to the beginning of the journey than to the end of it but I can certainly relate to Steinbeck’s desire to get a better understanding of his country then write about it.

Work to live but remember that working ain’t living. Who wants to go?

See more of my Mojave Desert photos.

Category: Mojave Desert
Tags: >

Comments

6 Responses to “Route 66: The Mother Road”

  1. Sherri Meyer
    December 2nd, 2009 @ 12:22 pm

    Love this post Richard! Your dream trip sounds like something I would like to do, as well as traveling Route 66. John Steinbeck is also one of my favorite authors! I haven’t read that book though.

    Thanks for sharing and reminding me of all the places I have not yet traveled to.

  2. Ron Niebrugge
    December 2nd, 2009 @ 12:28 pm

    Hi Richard,

    My sister gave me that book a number of years ago just as I was heading out in my camper on a long photo trip. It was cool, I was reading his chapters on Montana and areas around there as I was passing through myself. Great book.

  3. Richard Wong
    December 2nd, 2009 @ 5:27 pm

    Thanks Sherri and Ron.

    I’m about halfway through the book but it is interesting to get Steinbeck’s observations of people, and consider that this was in 1960 but doesn’t seem dated at all from reading it in my opinion.

  4. Ron Niebrugge
    December 2nd, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

    I agree, it really didn’t seem dated to me either, especially considering the year.

  5. Ajay Jain
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:47 am

    Go for it. I am doing similar road trips but in India. There is something heady about being on the road – especially in India where a lot of stuff is a revelation.

  6. Richard
    April 28th, 2010 @ 12:20 pm

    Thanks Ajay. Sounds like quite an adventure you have got planned.

Leave a Reply





Page 1 of 0