Tucumcari, New Mexico, at night.

 

 

This little shop has jewelry and all sorts of other little trinkets, even pretty rocks and agates from other areas.

This little motel seems to be the nicest of the vintage ones.  And they have "refrigerated air"!

 

 

 

 Basic, historic and restful and they have wifi!   

 

 

 

 This is not far from a truck stop and right off one of the interstate exits.  They probably have good food.

 



 

 

This is one of the basic motels - and they have phones, probably not a big draw anymore!

 

I've enjoyed this town, it was probably well visited back a few decades ago.  There are so many abandoned, derelict buildings and businesses that it's a little depressing.  But the people are friendly, helpful and care deeply about their town.  And I believe they actually value their visitors, unlike lots of places.

 

 

 



Tucumcari, New Mexico on Route 66

 



 

 



This is an interesting little town, and Route 66 runs right through it.  Route 66, also called The Mother Road, is four-lanes here, although it goes back to it's original 2 lanes on one and of town and disappears on the other, to appear further on.



 

 The mural in the above photo is on the side of a building in town and there are about 24 other murals around town, most of them larger.  They all depict the area's history or show the area's terrain - which is also called Mesaland.

Because of the history of the road, the town is full of old classic "mom and pop" motels, some of which have been maintained very well,, and others that have been closed and boarded up. 

Old gas stations have been taken over by other businesses or they have been boarded up. 

A few miles east of town, Route 66 continues to a town called San Jon, which has numerous buildings along the road that have been abandoned. 

There was a business along the road that was fenced in, with numerous old vehicles of various stages of rust and decay.  I parked along the road and wandered in to see if they would mind if I took some photos.  I photographed most of them - Studebakers, Jeeps, Fords, Ramblers, an Edsel, and many more.  They were a real contrast to the shiny classic cars in the museums in this area.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Tucumcari, it sure has been fun here.  Tomorrow, I plan to give you another glimpse of the town, at night.

 

 

 

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!