Chris Erickson is raising funds for a special road trip, documenting Route 66 on the 100th anniversary of the “Main Street of America” for a photo/video/social media project called Forever 66
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
A media producer from Vancouver is preparing for an epic road trip that will combine his passion for storytelling, instant photography, videography, and history.
This year marks the 100th year of the famous Route 66, or as some call it the Main Street of America. The 2,400-mile highway stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Chris Erickson is not just going for a drive, though.
His drive is to document Route 66, business owners along the highway, and other tourists, in hopes of capturing Americana on video and instant photography.
“I just want to be able to escape the real world for a while, hang out with my friend, take some photos, and have a good time,” Erickson said.
Oh yes, and document the journey for a book/podcast/photo project called Forever 66.
Erickson noted that every year, businesses along the route close. Their owners retire or pass away and “history gets lost forever,” he said.
“My goal is to keep it alive.”
Erickson grew up in Vancouver. His friend Caleb Potter recently moved to the Northwest from the Midwest. Together, they plan to fly to Chicago in April, rent a car, and take a couple of weeks on America’s most famous road.
To help offset costs of such a trip, Erickson created a GoFundMe account. Fans of his work, or of Route 66, can donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-forever-66-and-save-route-66-history
There will be plenty of ways to follow Chris and Caleb on their adventure. Erickson can be found on social media searching for Just Another Chris. He has accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
His personal YouTube page has more than 30,000 subscribers. Erickson is really into retro tech and photography, specifically instant photography.
In the instant photography culture, there is a push to take photos of old things with old cameras.
“Find a neon sign or broken down buildings,” Erickson explained.
“I fell into that, but I also like the history side of things, as well, and telling the stories of the things I’m taking pictures of,” he said.
Which makes this trip a perfect combination of so many of the things he enjoys.
The idea for this road trip started a couple of years ago. The two friends figured 2026 would be perfect — the 100th anniversary of the route.
Judging from his social media, Erickson will make this trip look amazing. He will be using the skills he does for his job, after all..
To be fair, his Just Another Chris channel is more of a hobby.
“I chose a community that is very niche,” he said, referring to instant photography. “Doesn’t generate a lot of revenue.”
However, he is a producer for other YouTube channels, some famous around the world. Ever hear of Deep Pocket Monster in the Pokemon world? Erickson works with that channel, which has more than 2 million subscribers.
Forever 66 will include videos posted throughout the trip. At the end, a director’s cut will be made into a movie.
“Think about it as a documentary vlog series in a sense,” Erickson said.
There will be a podcast, too. Expect the friends to just pull over in the middle of nowhere, perhaps, to talk about their day.
Along the way, they hope to have meet-ups with their followers. Maybe a send-off in Chicago, a meet-up in the middle of the trip, and a welcome to L.A. gathering.
When the trip is complete, Erickson wants to put all of the adventures into a storybook with photographs as well as QR codes for even more videos.
“I just like to help people, educate people, and build a community,” Erickson said. “I want to be welcoming to everybody.”
In the GoFundMe page, Erickson says any support will help cover the costs of travel, including rental car, fuel, lodging, and food, plus film and instant photography materials. His goal would be to have 2,448 people donate $1 to help preserve Route 66’s stories. That would be a dollar for each mile of the route.
“Let’s make Route 66 … Forever 66,” Erickson concludes.
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