Photo Trip: 2026 July - Birthday, Route 66, Grand Canyon
I Love Roadtrips
There's something about being on the open road that I really love. I enjoy the clarity that it brings, especially as someone with ADHD. Being able to focus on the task at hand quiets my mind, enjoying music, an audiobook, or a podcast either by myself or in this case with the company of my wife. There's a magic to getting to share travel experiences with her, and see new things together. We had gone on a similar trip last year, during the summer of 2025 for my birthday. We went and explored the panhandle of Texas and drive the snippet of Route 66 that crosses through it, and also see some gorgeous landscapes in the State parks like Palo Duro and Caprock Canyons. This year I wanted to do something similar for my birthday again - explore more of Route 66 - but also get my wife to see the Grand Canyon for the first time to celebrate maybe our last big trip together before we welcome a baby into our lives at the end of the year. She enjoys reading her books in the car while I do some urban exploring and photography, and we both love the quiet time together.
It was a more ambitious drive this year, this time crossing state lines. I had seen the Grand Canyon years back, when I had done a cross country road trip with college friends spanning from Maryland to California, and had such fond memories of how expansive and vast it was. That trip also helped cement my love for the beauty and variety of vistas and landscapes that the US has to offer.
Often, I feel like people want to travel internationally to get their form of escape from the daily grind. But I personally hate flying. There's the discomfort of being stuffed into seats that are too small, the hassle of dealing with airport security and people who also do not want to be crammed into the pressurized tube in the sky. I hate bookending what could otherwise be a pleasant trip with the unpleasntries, stress, and anxiety that being in large crowds and queues of people tend to bring with it.
I love the freedom of just driving. Stopping when I want to stop. Which comes in handy when I see something that catches my attention and draws me to pull my camera out. As a designer I'm hugely inspired by the aesthetics of old-timey Americana, and my favorite subject to photograph are old broken things. Driving across the country, staying off the interstates, and moving through older abandoned towns is a somber experience but fills me with humility and hope for a better future. I'm captivated by the lives and stories that used to inhabit the crumbling infrastructure of this country, and the rusted hollow skeletons of cars and homes that have been reclaimed by nature.
First Stint: Drive Route 66 to the Grand Canyon ASAP
The plan at the outset was to drive up to Oklahoma's Route 66 and stop at Pops, a gas station with a massive collection of eclectic and eccentric sodas, where we could make a pit stop and try some fun soda flavors, before driving out to the Grand Canyon ASAP and take our time on the drive back. We have a couple detours planned on the way, like the Petrified Forest State Park with some incredible views.
We made reservations at the Grand Canyon Railway & Hotel, and got tickets to ride the train to the canyon. We got the Observation Deck where we could watch the landscape zip by with unobstructed views from a higher vantage point. It was a pleasant little journey in a comfy cabin. When we got to the canyon, it was already mid day, so not the best lighting conditions but the view was as awe inspiring as ever.
To quote my wife, "It's just...so much...much..."
Second Stint: Explore Route 66
Following our day at the Grand Canyon, we made our way back towards Texas along Route 66. We stopped at the Grand Canyon Deer Farm, where my wife got to feed and pet the deer, and we spotted the cat that lives inside of the gift shop. It was a cute little morning stop. We also stopped at the Galaxy Diner for a quick bite afterwards. (P.S. they have the best fries.)
As we made our way back on Route 66, I would pull over whenever I saw something that caught my eye. Like a huge graffiti playground in the bones of some collapsing buildings, where I met another curious traveler and artist who was in the process of delivering a truck full of original Shepard Fairey pieces. His name is Brandon Kerr, and you should check out his own painting work!
Along the way to the next major stop, the Meteor Crater (the most well preserved meteor crater, that NASA and scientists have used to study meteors and discover other craters), I love stopping in on abandoned buildings and homes. There's a profound sadness and sense of loss seeing homes and businesses crumbling under their own weight. Sometimes there are signs that point to these having been left behind not that long ago. Entire lives occurred in these places, and now they stand destitute.
Best Laid Plans Get Scrambled
We stopped in Winslow, Arizona to see the famous Route 66 corner, and walk around a little bit. After checking the town out a bit, we found a bench and looked at a map for anything that we might want to see before looking for someplace to sleep for the night. We stopped at the Little Painted Desert, outside of Winslow in Navajo County. Sunset was happening and a storm was coming through, and I wanted to see if I could get some cool landscape shots. The clouds were crazy. The dichotomy of rain clouds sweeping over one area and beautiful sunset in another was truly something to behold. I love the pictures I got out of this random happenstance.
After seeing this sunset, I decided I wanted to see it again at sunrise for my birthday. It was so pretty already, in my head I could imagine the pretty oranges and blues as dawn breaks over the horizon. We found somewhere to stop for the night, and made our way back out to this spot at 4am.
As I was setting up my tripod and camera on the overlook, dialing in settings and getting some test shots, I heard something behind me. I turned around, saw what I initially mistook as a coyote sniffing my bags. I tried to shoo them away, which woke my wife up who was still sleeping in the car, at which point after getting a look at the animal's face we realized it was a husky.
What the fuck is a husky doing in the desert? We're 25 miles out on an access road from the nearest main highway. There's nothing out here.
After our initial shock, we noticed how friendly and personable this pup was. She clearly was used to people, and this wasn't a feral dog. We managed to get her into our car, and we drove her back into Winslow to the local animal shelter to check if she was chipped. She wasn't. And because of jurisdiction of where we found her, the shelter couldn't take her. We were told that she was probably dumped out there. Apparently dumping unwanted dogs in the desert is a common enough occurrence that they've seen this before. The shelter shared our frustration that someone would leave a husky in the middle of the desert in the summer, and they offered us a case of kibble, a leash, and bowls for water and food.
And so, we decided to scrap the rest of our plans and bring her home with us. The plan being to just get back home ASAP because continuing to stop for sights and photos with a husky in a hot car was too cruel a thought.
And thus, we adopted a new dog into our family.
Arizona DD. Winslow.
Zoey for short. DD for Dog Distribution system. She's been a super sweet pup, and has meshed wonderfully with our other dog and two cats. Happy Birthday to me, haha.
The rest of my photos from this trip are from short stops we made to fill up or grab some food.
