Where I’ve been

I know, I know, I suck at keeping up with this blog. Cut me a break; I’ve been blogging (and tweeting and Facebooking and pinning and Instagramming) my butt off at work, so I don’t have much left by the time I get home.

If you miss your daily dose of hippie wisdom brilliance cleverness smartassery … well, you won’t find much of that on my work blog, because I have to play nice and act like a grownup, but I am writing a lot and posting a lot of pictures and doing a lot of cheering for Tulsa and Route 66.

Work blog is here.

Work Twitter account is here.

Work Facebook page is here. I’m still figuring out how to use Facebook as a promotional tool without totally overlapping the Twitter account. Right now, it’s kind of lame, but I’m hoping to get off my duff and come up with something better in the near future.

Work Pinterest is here. I’m not really into the whole Pinterest thing, mainly because I am too arrogant to get excited about photos that I did not personally shoot, but I’ve put up a few pins this week and have gotten a couple of repins, so I guess I’m getting the hang of it. I pin a lot more stuff for work than I do for home.

I think you have to download the Instagram app to follow my work pictures, but if you have it, my work account is listed as thecampbellhotel. I assume it will come as a surprise to exactly no one to learn that Instagram is my favorite of the social media I’m using at work.

I’ll try to post the rest of my vacation photos here in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, go entertain yourself with my work blog. I think it’s pretty good.

Go follow my work stuff and make me look good at the office, and maybe I’ll reward your loyalty and patience with a giveaway and some actual effort in the near future. XD

Emily

Amboy Crater

Sorry I didn’t get back here to post more pictures in a timely fashion. My new job is great, but it’s kept me busier than I anticipated. Anyway, here are the photos I promised from Amboy Crater, which is an extinct volcano that has become one of my favorite Route 66 destinations.

This is the view from the top of the volcano as you look down into the crater.

In the crater.

I hate heights, but I really wanted to see what was behind Amboy Crater, so I sucked it up and climbed the rather steep, uneven path up to the south side. Predictably, it was just another lava flow, but it was pretty.

While I was up there, I found this weird mini-crater. I think this is where a big bubble of lava burst.

On my way back down the path, I discovered this scorched plant. I love how the leaves are all completely intact but completely dry and almost ghostly white.

Here’s Ron inside the volcano.

I think this is my favorite picture of Ron from this trip.

I’m not sure why, but I’m kind of weirdly obsessed with the Mojave Desert. I like the solitude. I like the desolation. And I like the danger. The Mojave is beautiful, but it does not suffer fools gladly, and if you fail to show it the proper respect, it has no compunction about punishing your impertinence with death.

I do not fear the desert, but I respect its power, and I cherish its gifts. I know of nothing that can put things into their proper perspective quite like a hike into Amboy Crater. Glorious.

Next up: A visit to an absolutely striking ghost town just before sunset.

Emily

Hackberry to Kingman

Sorry I didn’t post these sooner; I’ve been busy the last couple of days. Anyway, here’s the next batch of photos from our recent road trip:

Bob Waldmire tribute vehicle in front of Bob Waldmire’s old store. Love this place. Bob had already sold it by our first trip, but it’s still pretty heavily infused with his spirit.

View through a broken window at the historic gas station in Peach Springs.

Gas station in Peach Springs, Ariz.

I’m not sure how it is that I’ve managed to travel 66 for 12 years without getting a photograph of the Frontier sign in Truxton, Ariz.

One of my favorite roadside attractions on 66: Giganticus Headicus, located on 66 east of Kingman. I think I need a giant tiki god in my front yard.

Hill Top Motel, Kingman, Ariz. We stayed here during our trip. Great place with friendly owners.

Recently restored neon sign at El Trovatore Motel, Kingman, Ariz.

El Trovatore’s other sign. We almost stayed here but decided to go to the Hill Top instead because we’d heard good things about it.

The next batch of photos will take us into the mouth of an extinct volcano in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Stay tuned.

Emily

P.S.: If you haven’t checked out my new blog for work yet, go take a look. We’ll probably switch to self-hosting on that eventually so it can drive traffic to our main site and push us up on all the search engines. When we do, I’ll post a new link so you can bookmark it.

Ron and Emily’s Excellent Adventure

I can honestly say that I have never needed a vacation so desperately as I needed the one we took a couple of weeks ago. It was perfect in just about every detail, and I made a conscious effort to savor each moment instead of looking ahead to the next day or the next attraction or the next highlight.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter probably saw most of my Instagrams from the road. Below are a few of the shots I took with my “real” camera (my digital Rebel, which has been with me on every vacation since 2005). Expect to see more in the next few days.

A recent rain left Cuervo Cutoff — an old alignment of 66 between Cuervo and Santa Rosa, N.M. — absolutely carpeted with purple and yellow blossoms.

I’ve wanted this shot since I started painting the Dreamcar two and a half years ago. (Jack Rabbit Trading Post, just west of Joseph City, Ariz.)

Two Guns, Ariz. We spent a long time exploring the ruins out here.

As usual, the lighting conditions were all wrong for Twin Arrows. It looks as if the Navajo tribe is putting in a casino across the interstate. I hope they reopen the Valentine Diner on the Twin Arrows property.

Supai Motel, Seligman, Ariz. This place is wonderful — clean, quiet, inexpensive, and the neon sign is obviously gorgeous. Very nice owner, too.

Tomorrow: Hackberry to Kingman.

On an unrelated note, the new job is great. I’ll have a full update on that later.

Emily

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)

Things I have done in the past 14 hours:

1. Went to work at 7 a.m.
2. And liked it.
3. Got my hair cut at a spa.
4. And liked it.
5. Realized I have two days to spend doing anything I want, with no lessons to plan, places to be, deadlines to meet, or stress to deal with.

Clearly, R.E.M. was right. It’s the end of the world as we know it.

And I feel fine.

In unrelated news, I will post vacation photos as soon as I get them Photoshopped. In the meantime, go look at the new blog I set up for work. I think it turned out pretty cool.

Emily