Where in the world was The Art Abyss? (Adventures in Urban Spelunking)

You might have noticed that we totally missed two days of posts this week. We'll talk about that more next week (tune in Monday!), but in the meantime, let's review one of things we were *supposed* to talk about.

Kadie started off our new "Life in the Right Brain" series with a collection of pictures from her kickass Memorial Day BBQ. I can't say that I am nearly the photographer or the party-thrower that Kadie is, but I did go have a pretty epic adventure off of Interstate 10 on the drive between Tucson and Phoenix.

Having grown up in this state, I actually remember when the motel this sign pointed to was still up and running - though it was rundown even. Now it's been torn down, leaving only the old skeleton of its neon sign behind. As you can see, the sign has been repurposed for new billboards. But there's something I love about the original design, and it's only gotten better (in my opinion) as the sign has decayed and faded under the Arizona sun. Still, I wonder what it looked like all fixed up, when the motel was new and one of the only stops on the road.

The other highlight of my drive was invading the old Nickerson Farms Restaurant in Pinnacle Peak. You can read about what things used to be like here, but these days, the building is hollowed out and falling apart. It creaked with every gust of wind, and a thick layer of dust, broken glass, and fallen insulation littered the floor. I'm not going to lie -- this was my first-ever adventure with wandering in abandoned buildings, and I was thoroughly spooked. Luckily, the only residents were a couple of pigeons nesting in the beams. I spent about half an hour photographing and poking around, then headed back out into the sun. Never mind that little voice reminding me that wandering through

abandoned buildings is how 84.6% of horror movies start, because I was so freaking thrilled with the pictures I got. I'll probably go back -- armed with a couple lights and a friend or -- and see if I can get some more interesting shots in the shadows. Something about "broken down 60's restaurant" just says crazy fashion shoot to me.

If you want to see more pictures from the day, including my favorites from inside the restaurant, I'll have them posted over on my other blog, Mrs. Degree, as well as on my Facebook. Woot for shameless self-promotion!