Santa Rosa and Route 66

 

 

When I left Roswell and Bottomless Lakes State Park, I drove north out of the desert and into the high plains area. The terrain changed along the way, the brown of the desert gave way to rolling hills covered in different shades of green grasses and clumps of short green trees. There were tiny little wildflowers scattered along the way.

My first stop was Lake Sumner State Park about 15 miles north of Fort Sumner. When I pulled in, I was the only one in the campground. They have pay stations in these state parks, so there was no one in the visitor center. It felt a little strange being the only camper. Of course, it was early morning and a few other people came in throughout the day. And they left the next morning. One other couple and I were the only ones who stayed more than just overnight.

My next stop was Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa State Park. It seems like most of these parks are situated around lakes and somewhere along the line, the Corps of Engineers was involved in their development. These last two parks both had dams.

I visited the town of Santa Rosa, built along Route 66, which has been replaced by Route 40, although old sections of the road remain. There are a few remnants from Route 66, some signs that haven’t been taken down, and there’s a Route 66 diner that’s still in business.

I had to stop at the Route 66 Auto Museum, where they had a collection of very nice antique cars, mostly from the 1960s, although some were older and some newer. They had an Auburn from the early 1930s in very nice shape (I had never heard of it before) and a LaSalle, also nicely kept. Others included Mustangs, a Thunderbird, Road Runner, Cadillac, Edsels, a Camaro and a Woody wagon. There were all sorts of signs and other memorabilia on the walls, as well as an old gas pump and air pump. It’s definitely worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood.



Next stop is Tucumcari, which has more Route 66 sights and memorabilia. They have refurbished some of the landmarks and maintained others.

By the way, the gas station with the above sign was not open - I sure was disappointed!