Happy Independence Day! It was very fitting that we celebrated the birth of our nation by enjoying the God-given freedom we have to travel across this vast, beautiful country on a road so rich with history - Route 66. In other words, another day, another 400 miles or so!
From there, Route 66 hugs closely to I-40 as a "frontage road" (see yesterday's post). It veers off slightly to enter small (often derelict) towns with names like Bushland, Vega, and Adrian. Adrian was significant because it had a marker designating the halfway point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica. The classic Midpoint Cafe is right across the road from the marker.
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While in Tucumcari, we stopped at Teepee Curios for some souvenir shopping. We talked for a while with the owner, Mike. He had just come back from a Route 66 trip of his own - to Tulsa OK, to see the unveiling of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere which had been buried in a time capsule for 50 years. As a freelance photographer, he took shots of the car as it emerged. The car came out very rusty, but Mike said that Chrysler may end up buying it and restoring it for the Walter P. Chrysler Museum - right in our backyard, in Auburn Hills, MI!
Pecos National Historical Park had beautiful examples of adobe construction in the Pueblo ruins, and in the huge Spanish mission which was built on the site when the Spaniards arrived to evangelize the Indians. If you are ever in this part of the country, I strongly recommend a visit.
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Shortly after leaving the KOA in Amarillo, we came upon what has become .jpg)
a modern landmark for folks driving the Mother Road: Cadillac Ranch. Stanley Marsh 3 (yes, 3) and an art collective called the Ant Farm half-buried ten Cadillacs of select years from '49 to '63, at an angle (supposedly) the same as the sides of the pyramids at Cheops. Over the years, countless layers of spray paint have been added by visiting "artists." An interesting and fun stop, but it does make one wonder: Why?? Perhaps Stanley just wanted to create a wacky tribute to the love of cars and the open road - in that, I think he succeeded.
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a modern landmark for folks driving the Mother Road: Cadillac Ranch. Stanley Marsh 3 (yes, 3) and an art collective called the Ant Farm half-buried ten Cadillacs of select years from '49 to '63, at an angle (supposedly) the same as the sides of the pyramids at Cheops. Over the years, countless layers of spray paint have been added by visiting "artists." An interesting and fun stop, but it does make one wonder: Why?? Perhaps Stanley just wanted to create a wacky tribute to the love of cars and the open road - in that, I think he succeeded.
From there, Route 66 hugs closely to I-40 as a "frontage road" (see yesterday's post). It veers off slightly to enter small (often derelict) towns with names like Bushland, Vega, and Adrian. Adrian was significant because it had a marker designating the halfway point on Route 66 between Chicago and Santa Monica. The classic Midpoint Cafe is right across the road from the marker.West of Adrian, several things happened: 1) we left the Texas panhandle and entered New Mexico; 2) we changed from Central Time to Mountain Time; and 3) most strikingly, the terrain seemed to change instantly to a look you'd associate with Westerns - large, flat buttes jutting out from expansive flat plains with scrubby and sparse foliage. It was so amazing how quickly the landscape changed. We took a brief side trip to an older alignment of 66, at a ghost town named Glenario. There was also a very rough dirt road spur, but since we weren't driving a 4x4, we did not want to chance it.
Next came Tucumcari NM, which is another postcard favorite of Route 66 lore. Dozens of old-style motels and gas stations are here. We stopped to look at the restored Blue Swallow Motel ("100% Refrigerated Air!"). These old motor lodges included garage spaces for your vehicle, with a door connecting to your room - I suppose this was done so that old Betsy wouldn't get so lonely!!
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While in Tucumcari, we stopped at Teepee Curios for some souvenir shopping. We talked for a while with the owner, Mike. He had just come back from a Route 66 trip of his own - to Tulsa OK, to see the unveiling of a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere which had been buried in a time capsule for 50 years. As a freelance photographer, he took shots of the car as it emerged. The car came out very rusty, but Mike said that Chrysler may end up buying it and restoring it for the Walter P. Chrysler Museum - right in our backyard, in Auburn Hills, MI!After passing through several more small towns, we took a BIG side trip (adding over 160 miles to our day) on the pre-1937 alignment of Route 66. This route took us north and then west through the beautiful Pecos Pueblo country, through Santa Fe, and finally to Albuquerque.
Pecos National Historical Park had beautiful examples of adobe construction in the Pueblo ruins, and in the huge Spanish mission which was built on the site when the Spaniards arrived to evangelize the Indians. If you are ever in this part of the country, I strongly recommend a visit.+-+Pecos+NM.jpg)
Santa Fe is a beautiful, artsy city with seemingly hundreds of art galleries, boutiques and gift shops, all with the Pueblo style architecture. Unfortunately, we could only see it from our car windows as the rain finally caught up to us in torrential fashion. Maybe next trip...
All ended well, though, as we arrived in Albuquerque at yet another KOA (we should own stock!). As I'm typing this I'm watching fireworks in the distance, reminding me again of how blessed we are as a nation to live in freedom! GOD BLESS AMERICA!
1 comment:
This brings back so many memories for me. During the early 70's my family and I took this route, actually drove hundreds of miles through 6 states on Route 66 to Tucson Az. (and back) on 3 separate occasions. But unfortunately, all of the sites and scenery were either viewed at 70mph, or in the dark of night.
The first time we made the trip, we drove non-stop, 36 hours from Detroit to Tucson. No money and no time to sleep in motels or enjoy the scenery!
I remember the first time I saw the Rocky Mountain range way off in the distance I thought it was an approaching thunder storm. When I saw it up close - I was breathless!! I also remember those railroad tracks that ran parallel to Route 66, and used to enjoy racing the trains, some of which were really burning up the tracks! Have a safe and enjoyable trip.
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