“Rancho” | Route 66, Santa Rosa, NM
I think it is a rite of passage for any aspiring photographer to “get your kicks on Route 66” by traveling down the Mother Road for at least as long as it takes to find a roadside motel and shoot a picture of it.
As I made my way through Santa Rosa, NM last April, I pulled into town and grabbed a room at the first cheap motel I could find (I am a sucker for cheap roadside motels). I was on my way back home, at the tail end of my week-long trip, and I was quite tired. I intended to kick back and relax. But the the light that evening was perfect, and I had one last roll of color film. I couldn’t not shoot it, right?
I loaded up and took off walking. Right behind the motel I was staying in was the Rancho and this magnificent exterior wall with the old sign crowning it. It was the first shot of the last roll of the trip.
The Rancho Motor Lodge is a shadow of its former glory. The wall had graffiti that someone had tried to wash off, and that - for me - was the metaphor for the whole place.
The establishment had long been converted into an extended stay motel, and it wasn’t the only one in town. And, honestly, what do you do with an old motel when the main highway doesn’t run right in front of your place anymore? You do what you’ve gotta do. You wash off the graffiti. You look for long-term clients.
This shot of the Rancho reminds me all is not lost. I may be a little worse for wear and not remotely what I used to be, but I’m still worth something.
