A Route 66 Road Trip to Scatter Cremated Remains
I recently took a road trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Catoosa, Oklahoma.
The assignment: to scatter the cremated remains of my brother-in-law, Steven Bleicher.
Steven was an artist, art professor, and color theory expert. Around 2004, he created a series of works inspired by Route 66, the Mother Road. Highways, movement, memory, and the souvenirs we gather along the way were central in this phase of his creative life.
On Thursday, April 9, 2026, he will be honored at a memorial service at Coastal Carolina University, where he taught for many years. This journey felt like a fitting prelude, returning him, piece by piece, to the landscapes that shaped his art. Read his bio here.
Here is a video of photos I took while scattering his cremated remains along Route 66 over several trips, from Chicago to Los Angeles:
This leg of the journey carried me through eastern New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and deep into Oklahoma, a stretch of road rich with nostalgia, roadside oddities, and echoes of America’s past.
Santa Rosa, New Mexico – The Blue Hole
A sapphire pool in the desert, amazingly clear and a mild 61 degrees year round. I chose the outflow rather than the swimming area, and got permission first. It’s not a quieter place, though, as the water noisily fell to continue its journey. Still, it felt right. Steven’s work was never static; it flowed, layered, and moved through time.
Tucumcari, New Mexico – The Defunct Ranch House Café
Once bustling, now silent. Weathered signage and faded paint told stories of travelers long gone. I left a small portion of his remains here, among the ghosts of road trips past, exactly the kind of Americana he celebrated.
San Jon, New Mexico – The World’s Largest Flip-Flop
Whimsical, slightly absurd, and completely joyful. Steven appreciated the playful side of roadside culture. In a connection from the Universe, the couple that founded this roadside attraction were originally from Charleston, South Carolina. Steven taught at Coastal Carolina University near Myrtle Beach. This stop felt like a wink, a reminder that not everything needs to be serious to be meaningful. BTW, San Jon is pronounced San Hone. www.WorldsLargestFlipflop.com.
Adrian, Texas – The Route 66 Midpoint
Exactly halfway between Chicago and Los Angeles. There’s something poetic about the middle, not the beginning or the end, but the space in between. A fitting metaphor for a life well-lived.
Amarillo, Texas – Cadillac Ranch
Half-buried Cadillacs covered in ever-changing graffiti. Art layered upon art. I scattered some ashes into the wind here, watching them mingle with paint dust and desert air: ephemeral, collaborative, and ever-evolving. And the wind made it hard to hear what I say on the video.
Shamrock, Texas – The Conoco Tower and U-Drop Inn Café
Restored to its former Art Deco glory, this stop stands as a testament to preservation. Steven’s work, too, was about preserving moments, holding onto fragments of time and place. And, in a nod to modern times, I recorded my video in front of a bank of Tesla charging stations right next to the classic building.
Sayre, Oklahoma – Spirit of the West Sculpture
A life size bronze buffalo in a US Cavalry outfit outside the Beckham County Courthouse marks the spot in this town. It reminded me of Steven’s fascination with the West, and the westward journey Route 66 provided to so many people.
Weatherford, Oklahoma – Downtown Park with Giant Astronaut
This was recorded next to a towering astronaut statue in the middle of town, unexpected and delightful. Route 66 is full of surprises, much like Steven’s layered compositions.
Catoosa, Oklahoma – The Blue Whale
Joyful, iconic, and slightly surreal. In a cosmic coincidence, my traveling companion and camera person Martie McNabb and I met the son of the man who built The Blue Whale when we dropped in at the U.S. Route 66 Museum gift shop in Elk City, OK. He regaled us for 15 minutes with inside history of this roadside attraction. Catoosa, just east of Tulsa, was our turn-around point. At the ultimate in roadside attractions, I shared an early example of Steven’s work from 1978.
Arcadia, Oklahoma – The Round Barn
A beautifully restored barn, functional and unique, built round to address the ceaseless Oklahoma winds. A reminder that creativity often lives in the unconventional.
Clinton, Oklahoma – The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum
A place dedicated to memory itself. Exhibits of travel, time, and transformation. If his work had a physical home, it might look something like this—objects telling stories, inviting interaction.
Groom, Texas – The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Towering over the plains, visible for miles. Whether one is religious or not, it’s impossible to ignore its presence. I paused here longer than expected. Grief has a way of sneaking up on you in wide-open spaces… and they had an interesting gift shop.
Amarillo, Texas – The Slug Bug Ranch
Like Cadillac Ranch’s quirky cousin—Volkswagen Beetles planted nose-down in the dirt. There’s humor here, and resilience. Even in decay, there’s personality.
The Arc of the Journey
Steven wrote that his work was about the persistence of memory: our need to capture fleeting moments and preserve them.
This road trip became exactly that.
Each stop was a fragment, a shadowbox of sorts, landscape, memory, and meaning layered together. A little bit of him left behind in places that already held so much history.
Route 66 itself is a kind of memory. It’s no longer the main artery of travel, but still deeply embedded in the American imagination. It survives through stories, souvenirs, and people who choose to take the slower road.
Scattering cremated remains along this route wasn’t just about saying goodbye. It was about continuing the narrative Steven spent his life exploring.
After all, as he said:
“After any event, all that remains is the memory.”
And now, those memories are part of the road.