For some, driving through America has always held a certain level of romanticism: the memories it conjures, long childhood hours spent with family, and the inevitable rest area where legs were stretched and sandwiches were devoured. The sad reality, as photographer Ryann Ford discovered, is the rest stop’s imminent disappearance from the American landscape.
Her latest project, The Last Stop, funded through Kickstarter, documents through beautiful photography the remaining rest stops found while driving throughout America during the past several years. On her Kickstarter page, Ford says the rest area once gave small towns the chance to highlight their cultural significance, whether it be a teepee or a wagon. The natural progression—surely from supply and demand, and mostly convenience—has replaced these stops with gas stations, drive-thrus and roadside hotels. Before all of the rest areas disappear, a record of the last remaining few will soon be published.
Shot on a medium format film camera, the book will fill about 100 pages with roughly 75 photographs from Ford’s prolonged five-year road trip. Without a doubt, it is a visually exciting and approachable coffee table book for Americana enthusiasts or anyone longing for the American road trip from the comfort of their living room.
The Last Stop will be available for purchase on Amazon and Ryann Ford’s website in December 2015.
