June 22, 2015
The morning started rather
pleasant as far as the temperature – mid 70’s. This did not last long and soon
it was high 80’s with the mid 90’s to come.
The pre-1937 alignment of
Route 66 followed the Santa Fe Trail, a pretty old route that started in the
1820’s in Franklin, Missouri and ended in Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Trail served
as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. After 1937 Route 66 was realigned to run through
Albuquerque.
Other than the history attached to the route, it is boring at best. Long, straight and today seriously hot.
We connected with I40 after
a couple of hours – more long straight and boring – and oh yes hot.
Route 66 Auto Museum
Santa Rosa, NM has a small,
but interesting Auto Museum and we stopped in for a visit. The museum houses
about 30 cars, mostly hot rods and mid 60’s Mussel Cars – opps, make that
Muscle Cars. Some of the cars are for sale, but most are not.
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| This is an original and unmolested '57 Chevy Bel Air - for sale - $19,000 |
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| Basket Case Harley-Davidson |
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| '57 Chevy Nomad - very few made. This one is a hot rod with a big block 454 engine. For sale for only $47,000 |
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| I remember using these |
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| A very rare front loader / back hoe Edsel |
From Santa Rosa, it is a
one-hour ride to Tucumcari and another iconic motel – the Blue Swallow Motel. I
had stayed at the Blue Swallow five years ago. There are new owners now – Kevin
and Nancy – and they are doing a splendid job of preserving the old tradition
of 1930’s motels. They also have a rule that is very significant – in wine in
plastic cups. They will supply you with proper wine glasses if you do not have
your own.
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| The neon sign is just great |
Dinner was at the Pow Wow
Restaurant & Lizard Lounge – a
fantastic Mexican Restaurant – plus they run a shuttle service from the motels.The booths all have murals that look like someone is already sitting in the booth. The people in the murals are all local people and are very life like. It's very strange to share a booth with people you don't know.
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| Our booth mates are the local Judge and his wife |
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| The Lizard Lounge Boss and us |
The plan is to get an
earlier start tomorrow and try to beat some of the heat.
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