Kicks, etc.

Kicks, etc., a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Originally a two-lane road, Route 66 needed some upgrades by the mid fifties, as America's newfound mobility meant more and more people were traveling by car for that family vacation. This was done by simply paving two more lanes parallel to the existing road, separated by a grassy median-hey presto, two new lanes!

As we all know, eventually Route 66 was superseded by the new interstate system, the paved superslab being better suited to higher traffic levels and higher speeds as well. In most places, old Route 66 reverted to two lanes, usually the newer two, and the old pavement was left to sit, or removed altogether.

In a lot of places you can still see these original stretches of road, parallel to the current alignment, cracked and crumbling, weeds growing through the gaps, markings faded. This one's in Illinois, just outside the town of Dwight.

Fill 'er up

Sky Chief-TTV, originally uploaded by William 74.

We're back at the beautifully restored Texaco station in Dwight, Illinois, for this week's Through The Viewfinder Tuesday! I've talked about this station before, so I won't say anything except that if you're in the area this summer you totally should go and take a bunch of photos, say hello to the volunteers who run the place, buy a soda pop, and sign the guestbook.

I've also warbled on at length about TtV photography so I'll skip that too, except to say "is it live, or is it Full-Vue?"

Now, for some serious business. Do you like what you see here? Think the pictures are pretty, and you wish you could look at stuff like this all the time, and not just when you turn on your computer and point the interweb browser to this site? Well, now you can! We here at View. Found. are proud to announce that our chief photographer (oaky, it's me) has his own website! See more here!

Trust Your Car To The Man Who Wears The Star

Texaco, originally uploaded by William 74.

The Texaco Star! This is the classic Texaco "banjo" sign, which at one time was a common sight in the United States-Texaco is the only petroleum company to sell gas in all 50 states under the same branding. These days, Texaco is a regional brand (there aren't any around here anymore), and the stations that remain don't have banjo signs anymore. This one is in front of the Ambler's Texaco in Dwight, Illinois, along historic Route 66.