Drawn the Road Again

Author: Chandler O’Leary

  • Cave paintings

    Cave paintings

    Well, I might not have had the chance to tour Meramec Caverns, but I got to tour the everloving snot out of Carlsbad Caverns—and I have the bursting sketchbook to prove it. We were there in the “wrong” season—that is, not the time of year for bat-watching. But it didn’t matter: I figured the cave…

  • Farm to marketing

    Farm to marketing

    This post is part of an ongoing series called 66 Fridays, which explores the wonders of old Route 66. Click on the preceding “66 Fridays” link to view all posts in the series, or visit the initial overview post here. One of the most well-known—and most-hyped—tourist traps along Route 66 are the Meramec Caverns. Whether…

  • Ted’s tasty freeze

    Ted’s tasty freeze

    This post is part of an ongoing series called 66 Fridays, which explores the wonders of old Route 66. Click on the preceding “66 Fridays” link to view all posts in the series, or visit the initial overview post here. Our first day on Route 66 was bookended with pit stops at iconic Mother Road…

  • Arch-etype

    Arch-etype

    Well, there are natural arches, and there are the man-made variety. Somehow, they both seem to attract my attention equally. In any case, you can bet that any arch that dominates the skyline as completely as the Gateway Arch does is going to be a star player in my sketchbook, any day.

  • Frozen desert

    Frozen desert

    In my humble opinion, the absolute best time to visit Arches is in the winter. Sure, you’ll have to wrap up extra warm (it barely got above zero degrees F during the day!), and if you’re sketching, you’ll have to think ahead to keep your paints from freezing. But the rewards far outweigh any annoyances.…

  • The first stop

    The first stop

    This post is part of an ongoing series called 66 Fridays, which explores the wonders of old Route 66. Click on the preceding “66 Fridays” link to view all posts in the series, or visit the initial overview post here. If you’re going to start Route 66 in Chicago, start your trip right with a…

  • Sunset sentinel

    Sunset sentinel

    When Mary-Alice and I drove across Texas together last year, we knew our stop for this night would be somewhere around Houston. Neither of us fancied slogging through an enormous, unfamiliar city at rush hour, so from the passenger seat I pulled out the map to see if I couldn’t find an alternative. What I…

  • From a certain angle

    From a certain angle

    Lime Kiln Point is one of Washington’s best state parks. For one thing, it’s on my favorite island (and since I love all of Washington’s islands with a mad passion, that’s saying something). For another, it’s got a great lighthouse—which is something for which I’ll always come running. Best of all, if you happen to…

  • Eastern terminus

    Eastern terminus

    This post is part of an ongoing series called 66 Fridays, which explores the wonders of old Route 66. Click on the preceding “66 Fridays” link to view all posts in the series, or visit the initial overview post here. To help you keep your bearings in this 66 Fridays series, and to provide an…

  • Mother Road, mother lode

    Mother Road, mother lode

    Last summer the Tailor and I spent a couple of weeks traveling every inch of old Route 66. And then I kept pretty quiet about it, because I just had no idea how to organize and share the sheer number of sketches and stories I came away with afterward. There really is no “long story…