Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 - Black and White Americana Wall Art, Travel Art, Neon, New Mexico, Road Trip Photography, Vintage, Retro B&W

After a long day of driving along the winding stretches of Route 66 from Albuquerque, photographing everything along the Mother Road, I arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico, utterly exhausted. My destination: the iconic Blue Swallow Motel, its neon sign a beacon of nostalgia glowing in the desert night. Despite the fatigue pulling at every muscle, I had one goal in mind—capture this historic motel in a way no one had before.

The night air was cool and dry, carrying the faint scent of sagebrush and asphalt. Route 66 stretched out like an old ribbon of memories, and the sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra played from a distant speaker. The neon lights of the motel flickered vibrantly, bathing the classic cars in the lot with a dreamy blue and pink glow.

Setting up my camera and tripod on the sidewalk, I framed the shot. The iconic sign, the vintage motel office, the dark sky stretching endlessly above—it all came together perfectly. But just as I leaned in to adjust the focus, headlights washed over the scene. My heart skipped. Someone was pulling into the lot, and toward me and my camera, quickly.

Thankfully, they saw me, and stopped in time. It turned out to be some fellow photographers, stopping to do the same thing I was.

I wasn’t about to let exhaustion or near misses stop me. With a few final adjustments, I snapped the shot. The neon lights glowed against the deep desert night, the colors vivid and surreal. I had captured it—the Blue Swallow in all its timeless beauty, glowing against the vast New Mexico sky. It was a dream realized, a piece of Route 66 history, forever frozen in time.

I packed up, had a nice chat with the proprietor, and checked into room #1 for the night. I got the best night's sleep I've had in a motel in many years.

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Production and Shipping Time: 5-7 business days

Premium Photo Paper: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.

Ready-to-Hang Canvas: 5 days for printing, 5 days for shipping.

There are 5 ways to print these images.

1) Premium Photo Paper are high quality, professional paper-prints.
Sharp, Vivid and rich Color sets this apart from a casual photo print.
You'll feel like you're there.
Premium Photo Paper will last a long time.
This option is available in 8x10 inches, 11x14 inches, 16x20 inches or 24x36.
They are designed to be placed in a glass frame, which can be purchased separately (starting at a few dollars at your local Target or online.)

2) Ready to Hang Canvas are ready to hang right out of the box with zero assembly required. Ultimate convenience.
Gorgeous finished look. It comes out of the shipping box finished and ready to hang with a simple nail in the wall.
Canvas Prints are a well-known, high-end way of displaying photographs.
0.75 or 1.5 inch thick (depending on which size that you order) wooden stretcher-bars that give it shape, in the same way an oil painting is traditionally assembled. There are no staples or ugly lines visible on the sides (very important.)
Estimated delivery time for printing, assembling, packing and shipping is around 10 days.

3) Ready to Hang Canvas (split into 3 panels)
This is for larger pieces, and the photograph is split into 3 even panels, 3 separate canvas panels which together make a single large image.
This gives a modern look, and allows spectacularly large sizes on your wall!

4) Aluminum Metal Prints
Create elegant wall decor that shines with high-end, exclusive and unique aluminum metal prints.
Create a polished addition to any home or office. 3/64" thick aluminum panel. Features a glossy coating and rounded edges.
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All metal sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box.

5) Acrylic Prints
Create eye-catching home decor with modern acrylic prints. Light refracts through the museum-quality acrylic bringing vibrancy and depth to your photos. The 1/8" thick, clear acrylic produces superb image quality from edge to edge and absolutely stunning, brilliant color!
UV resistant ink prevents fading. All acrylic sizes are ready to hang on your wall, right out of the box