If you’re in northern Virginia, you may owe it to yourself to check out the work of a local woman’s photography.
Norma Woodward of Fredericksburg, Va., has a photo exhibit of her images from America’s Southwest — including Route 66 — at the Members’ Gallery at the the Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts, 813 Sophia St., Fredericksburg, Va., through April 30, according to The Free Lance-Star newspaper of Fredericksburg.
With no set schedule of when or where to stop, and with no deadline to arrive for a visit to her son and grandchildren in Arizona, the 71-year-old could cruise at her leisure, avoiding interstates and cookie-cutter hotels.
Instead, she visited unique spots and attractions on Route 66, pulled over whenever the striking vistas caught her eye and planned out her trip to see places where the term “mom-and-pop” still means something. […]
She also stopped at iconic roadside attractions such as the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., and the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Ariz. […]
What impressed me as much as the images in her exhibit–many of which contrast buildings of stone and sand with rich, blue Southwest skies–was the decision to just take off and experience true back roads America. […]
“I’ve always been fascinated with Route 66 and some of the past it still shares with visitors passing through,” said Woodward, who read up on some of the best stops along the way.
Some of Woodward’s work can be seen here.
Fredericksburg is about halfway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond.