Back in August, I drove a 15ft U-Haul truck from Tucson, AZ back to Asheville, NC. I've already posted on the trip here. Before the trip, I had mailed my film and my RETO Ultra-wide and Slim to my daughter in Tucson. I hadn't used the UW&S for quite a while, and figured that it would be a fun thing to have with me for the trip back, in addition to my Pentax Spotmatic F and my digital Panasonic GF-1. It had been several years since I used the RETO camera, and I did review it in 2022.
I put in a roll of expired Agfa APX 400 that my daughter had in her film stash, because I wanted a shorter roll in the UW&S. A 24-exposure roll is recommended for this camera. It didn't matter if the film was expired - this is all for fun, and toy cameras are perfect for old higher-ISO films. I didn't start shooting with it until our second day on the road, when I loaded it up in Grants, NM, where we had spent our first night.
Since the camera has such a wide-angle of view, it's basically just aim and shoot, which I could do one-handed while driving the truck. But that camera was the one I pulled out when we were refilling at gas stations and pit stops from New Mexico to Tennessee. We were on I-40 most of the way, with the occasional stretch of old Route 66. I think I made the most of my limited photographic opportunities.
Here is a sequence from the trip.
 |
| Filling up just E of Grants, NM in the morning of 8/25. |
 |
| Traffic jam on I-40 in Albuquerque, thanks to a 4-car collision ahead. |
 |
| At a rest stop E of Albuquerque |
 |
| NM has some really interesting-looking rest areas. |
 |
| I bought some souvenirs here in Tucumcari, NM |
 |
| A little park to stop at and eat our our take-out lunch from Del's in Tucumcari. |
 |
| A quick partial fill-up in Adrian, TX. |
 |
| A fill-up at Buc-ee's in Amarillo, TX. This must have been built since we were there in 2021. |
 |
| A rest-area in Oklahoma |
 |
| Oklahoma. It was damned hot AND humid there. |
 |
| Arkansas |
 |
| Major Tom, Weatherford, OK and out-of sequence. |
 |
| Somewhere in Tennessee. It was a long last day on the road. |
I enjoyed your travelogue seen through a wide angle lens. These road trips across country show so many variations in foods, scenery, road signs, and architecture. Now you have reminded me that it is time for another cross-country trip, possibly Rte 2 across the northern periphery of USA. Maybe with a Rolleiflex???
ReplyDeleteThanks! If you stick to the non-interstate and take US routes, you do get a lot more local flavor. Unfortunately, so much homogenization has taken place that business strips look the same almost everywhere.
ReplyDelete