Sock, and sock again

I think I need to have my head examined. I signed up for the Summer of Socks 2007 knitalong, and in the past, knitalongs have been the kiss of death to projects. But, like Soctoberfest, the rules are loose and I'm knitting socks anyway, so I didn't think it would hurt to be in concert with fellow knitters. They're having contests and all kinds of other stuff, so go sign up if it's your thing. Summer of Socks starts June 21, so I'll try to have my Rainbow Socks finished by then so I can start on a pair for the Emperor, probably out of that Tofutsies yarn I picked up in Santa Fe. Meanwhile the long slog through a thousand miles of stockinette for the Emperor's sweater continues.

When I was heading to that conference last week, it was on my way to take a drive down old Route 66 from Flagstaff to Holbrook, Arizona. It's one of my favorite stretches of road in the world, but things have changed in the seven years or so since I've gone that way. First, here's a shot of the San Francisco Peaks which hang over Flagstaff. I took this from A-1 Mountain Road, just west of town. There is a lot of new development near Flag and sadly, some of it is in new, pristine areas.

Heading toward Holbrook, I would usually have stopped at Twin Arrows to take a picture, but it's all blocked off now and I didn't want to risk the rental car. Follow the link to the sad story and for a picture of the arrows in their original state. I did cruise through historic downtown Winslow and stood on a corner to take a picture of the corner that the city fathers designated to be the corner that was stood on in the Eagles' song.

I'm a' standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona

Such a fine sight to see

It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford

slowin' down to take a look at me

Next stop has always been my favorite destination on Route 66: Jackrabbit Road, outside of Holbrook. There's a sign...

and like the arrows, it's fallen into a bit of disrepair. This surprises me, considering the popularity of old Route 66 icons. When I got ready to take the picture, I waved hello at the approaching train and the engineer honked for me.

Across the road from the Jackrabbit sign you'll find a very cool little trading post, which I've declared as the best tacky gift shop in the Southwest. It puts the one at The Thing to shame.

In Holbrook itself, I stopped and took a picture of the Wigwam Motel. It's one of the best-preserved examples of concrete-tipi architecture in the nation. Follow the link and scroll down a little for some history.

They've parked a bunch of vintage automobiles around the motel lot in order to give us photographers more to get excited about.

I took a bunch of pictures on this trip, but I'm saving them to get my Eye Candy Fridays on track again. It's been a long time since I've had much to post, photographically. I'll be in Los Angeles next week, so I might be able to capture some more fun images, perhaps on Route 66!