Sleep in a Teepee at the Wigwam Motel

I am a total sucker for kitschy mid-century architecture and roadside attractions. I’ve driven parts of the old Route 66 when on a road trip with my family and one of my favorite stops was the Wigwam Motel in Arizona.  We didn’t stay the night, we just stopped to take pictures.

Turns out there is another Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, just a little over an hour east from Los Angeles.  I’ve wanted to visit and stay the night there as long as I’ve known about it, but on road trips it never made sense to stop so close to Los Angeles.  This last weekend I made the executive decision to spend one night at the teepees on our way out to Joshua Tree for the weekend with Jason, and our friends Joanie and Kitao.  For $95 on a friday night we got a teepee with two queen beds, a fridge, tv and bathroom.  The wigwams are centered around a grass lawn and a classic kidney bean shaped swimming pool, from which I shot a dronie video to be edited and posted soon.

Photos are shot on Mamiya 7ii with Portra 160VC film that expired 10 or 15 years ago, which kind of looks appropriately like a vintage Route 66 postcard. Photos of me by Jason MacDonald.

Wigwam-keeping