On the Road Again

I've been photographing along some of the vestiges of old highway 40 again, primarily between Marshall Junction and Kingdom City.  This is a very well-preserved garage in Callaway County.

Room 27

A very vacant room at Lay's Motor Lodge, or the remains thereof, in Kingdom City.  At the junction of old route 40 and highway 54 in Callaway County.

Oasis Cafe, Marshall Junction

A bit of architectural detail against a late autumn sky on the roofline of the now defunct Oasis Cafe, at the junction of old route 40 and highway 65, in southern Saline county.

Lay's Motor Lodge, Kingdom City

Lay's Motor Lodge, an abandoned motel located on old highway 40 in Kingdom City.  A sign at the edge of the parking lot advertises "Glass Heat Electric Heating" in every room.  I don't know what that is, but it apparently could not forestall the eventual demise of the motel. 

Arrowhead Motel Neon, Business Loop, Columbia

The Arrow Head Motel neon sign, down on the east end of the business loop, in Columbia.  I photographed the sign back in 1999, when the owners were still switching on the neon every night.  I haven't seen it on in over three years. 

Light switch, abandoned gas station, Franklin

I was completing a portfolio on Missouri's historic highways, venerable routes such as highway 40, route 65, highway 61, and route 66.  I discovered this patch of beautiful color beneath the oft-flooded, mud caked walls of an old gas station on highway 40, in the middle of the Missouri River bottoms, just a few miles north of Boonville.