And just for fun..
We’ll let you finish…
What we had begun…….
?????………………………………
Today I’m starting out at the end rather than the beginning. This blog entry ends with Burma Shave. The catchy little rhyme above….yeah, that’s from Burma Shave.
So, what the heck is Burma Shave, why am I posting slogans from this mystery entity? Simple…..they got to me!
Speaking of an ominous “they” getting to someone…..have you been reading the financials? IndyMac has tanked. Gee, if you check the link I just put in you’ll see they denied difficulties only a few days ago…hmmm….maybe somebody mis-spoke! Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac are all in difficulties too. Bailouts, bailouts, bailouts. Go figure they’re GSE’s (Government Sponsored Entities). Pay attention to Prudent Bear this week, and check Fleckenstein’s latest posts as well. Things are going to get interesting….
So, Burma Shave fortunately isn’t a large financial corporation on the verge of collapse. If it were a financial corporation it might actually survive what’s in the wind due only to it’s catchy slogans. Let’s face it, when is the last time you heard a cool slogan from a bank? You just don’t.
Back in the day Burma Shave was a “brushless shaving cream” manufacturer. Way back folks had to use those cute little brushes with soap to set up for shaving. I hate shaving now, back then I’d surely have a huge beard. As it turns out, Burma Shave was well known for it’s slogans, jingles, and other fun advertising. At one point in time they had more than 7,000 signs dotting the highways of America.
Today I got to see a few of those signs for myself. The intro to the blog came from 5 signs of theirs! The last series I saw today left off their name, and instead let me fill it in. Burma Shave Baby!
See, today Sadira and I took a ride along Route 66 to Seligman, AZ. I’d heard recently that some of the cool stuff from the movie “Cars” was based on Seligman. When you hear something like that you have to take a ride. You also have to bring the camera, get some amazing shots, and be prepared to blog about a great day!
We headed out really early this morning. An early trip on the heals of shooting a wedding yesterday, then popping by Sadira’s reunion for a little while. If you thought I was tired before……
By 9:00 a.m. we were outside of Seligman on Route 66, and that’s when we started seeing 4 - 5 signs in a row from Burma Shave. Sure, it’s not their original signs, but somebody decided to make new ones in honor of the cute company with catchy slogans. Every few miles we’d see another series. Heck, on the way home we stopped at 5 signs in a row just to photograph a series! It was fun!
After our initial Burma Shave baptism we reached Seligman. It was everything I expected it to be! A cute little stop along Route 66, now catering to tourists who want to relive a little of that “Americana” that we seem to have lost everywhere.
I saw no Malls along Route 66 today……just saying.
Pulling up in the town I could see a few features here and there that reminded me of “Cars”. Pretty cool. I’m sure the film makers pulled from many spots along 66, as well as locations from Monument Valley. Pool it all together and you’ve got yourself a great setting for a cute story about a forgotten part of America. Wow, now I want to watch the movie again! 
We spent a short while in town, but then decided to move on toward Kingman. The town would be there, and we’d be back. Since most things weren’t really open yet why not go a little further just to see what you might find? Right?
So, that’s what we did.
Did we find anything else along the road of interest? You betcha! We also found a whole lot of nothing in between.
Except for the Grand Canyon Caverns. I have no idea what they are, but I think I want to go. I’ll be doing a Google search tonight and making plans afterward.
Our trip didn’t take us all the way to Kingman, but we came close. After searching for a bathroom for 45 minutes we found a great little “porta potty” at a gas station that had no public restrooms.
Fortunately the porta john was full to the rim, making the experience all the more memorable for me, and I’m sure unforgettable for Sadira!
As you’re reading I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “I’m so glad he didn’t decide he needed an HDR shot of that little stop!” Actually, I did take photos in the vicinity of that stop…..I’ll post those HDRs when I’m desperate for attention! 
Once “business” was out of the way we decided to make our way back to Seligman. A little lunch at a local diner, stopping into the local shops, more photos….and more Burma Shave signs the whole way back! Ah yes, wild and crazy stuff!
After a long ride with pretty views we made it back to town. Several stores were visited, and somehow I didn’t buy a thing. I was tempted though, really tempted. There was a shirt there that reminded me of Rich Luhr’s Hawaiian shirts, so I dodged that bullet quickly! Sadira thought it was cool…..hmmmm…..
Being tourists for the day left us each extra hungry, so we stopped by a diner that advertised “Dead Chicken”. They of course served more than just dead chicken (I’m allergic to chicken now), and we each found something that worked well. In my case, a greasy hot dog. Oh, and yes, I’m paying the price for eating it now! But it was good!
With lunch finished up the Versa was pointed back toward Prescott (and another series of Burma Shave signs). Monsoonal clouds continued to form as we headed home, and they made for really cool skies to photograph as we made our way back. The first photo of this post shows you exactly what I mean. So does the second….. you get the idea!
Of course, what would a trip along Route 66 be without an Airstream popping up somewhere? It wouldn’t be a good trip at all! Fortunately, right on the edge of town an old Airstream sits below a bill board. The poor trailer, it looks like it’s been alone for a while. TLC is needed! Plus one side of it has been revamped as a “bill board” as well. Somebody needs to restore the thing…..quick!
Well, that’s the wrap for today. I’m spent, and I’m going to nap now. 7 p.m. meeting tonight, and I need some rest. I need another one of those days off where I do nothing………
And yes, all shots in this entry are HDR….with one exclusion. The first photo is not HDR. Shocking but true.
Apologies for so much HDR in one entry, but it was necessary. We’re talking about Route 66. It’s an extra cool stretch of road that deserves a unique twist. Hyper real photos, colors pushed to the edge (the shot of the diner), etc., fit well with what I imagined the road would be like!
Oh, and if you like these shots…..wait until you see the good ones!
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I’ll start at the end too…how delightful to be able to share your first Burma Shave sightings (mine too, but I’d heard of Burma Shave before our road trip) and your very first sightings of the Grand Canyon as well! I’m so sorry we weren’t able to get closer to the canyon…and the caverns are totally intriguing aren’t they? I just loved the kitsch of the shops we saw in Seligman (even the shirts, but for my father, not you, they’re a little too “colorful” for you I would think…sheesh) and I’m left feeling so wistful for something I remember hearing about, but never really experienced. It must have been amazing to travel by car along Route 66 in the day and see it when it was really catering to the road trip traveler…all the neon signs and tons more colorful shops and cafes…I feel very sad that we’re loosing that part of America in the favor of time saving…what happened to enjoying the journey? Or stopping every few feet to take a picture of a catchy slogan…laughing yourself silly over the signs on the side of the road, or all the amazing conversations you get to have when you’re in a car with nothing but miles stretched out before you? I had such a wonderful time today…
And thank you for being my personal paparazzi at my reunion last night, I was honored and delighted to have you by my side! Plus? Those people that have been reading our blogs (and my “crew”) may have been just a little bit more excited to be seeing you rather than me
Shooting the wedding was also fun…even through all the fumbling on my part…I would be happy to be your assistant/waitress any day. Plus? I Think we’d be mighty good at this wedding photo thing. The keepers and recorders of the visual memories indeed…
What an amazing weekend we had, eh?
(I can honestly say that because I just got up from a two hour nap, and I feel rested enough to be able to relive all the great things…guess I need to blog too don’t I?)
OH, and the shots you posted today are so great? I can’t wait to see the good shots
)
Next time you go to Seligman, make sure you go inside the barber shop to meet Angel Delgadillo (you have a photo of his name painted on a sign outside his shop). He and his brother, Juan (now deceased), are given credit for being responsible for bringing Route 66 back to life. Stop in his shop and Angel will tell you the story of what they did to bring patronage back to Seligman after the interstate was built and passed them by. Juan owned the Ice Cap next door where they sell the dead chicken. Juan had quite the routine when you went in to buy something. I was lucky enough to witness it a couple of years before he died. We stopped at Seligman the Christmas of 2001. Business was bad after 9/11. We were thanked profusely for shopping even though we only bought one or 2 items. All that was what I was reminded of as I sat and watched Cars. Route 66 is really worth exploring.
Sandybee
I got to read all about Angel Delgadillo today! I’m glad for their efforts to get 66 back on the map! I also read about Juan’s passing while we got our lunch. I read so many testimonials….they’re both well known for sure! I also read about Juan’s antics…..that would have been fun, although I wouldn’t want my change getting out to others!
Too funny!
I’ll be going back again. You can bank on that one!
Gotta re-watch Cars this week!
Sounds like a good time. We were in that neck of the woods on sunday as well (We stopped in Kingman). Gotta love a day out driving!
And do I spot a bit of a sundog in that first photo?