Friday, August 06, 1999
Day 7: Amarillo, TX - Tucumcari, NM
Tonight I'm writing from the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. This motel was built in 1948 and is a Route 66 classic. Until a couple of years ago it was owned and by a lady named Lillian Redmond who died last year. She was 90-something years old at the time. The motel has a neon sign with a blue swallow (bird) on it. The motel court itself is adobe painted pink and each room has a garage with a turquoise painted garage door. The inside of the rooms are also textured plaster with coved ceilings, but the ubiquitous cable TV is here. The bathroom is tiled in black and white ceramic with a large shower. All this for under 30 bucks!
We got up kind of late today in Amarillo and ate a continental breakfast (free) at the Big Texan Motel before leaving. As we traveled across the Texan panhandle the land became flatter and flatter until we were driving in a completely straight direction on completely flat land as far as the eye could see. We could even make out the curvature of the earth ever so slightly in the far distance. As we approached the New Mexico border, at about the last 10 miles the topography of the land began to change to some small undulating hills with flat topped mesas scattered over the landscape.
At the Texas-New Mexico border there is a ghost town named Glenrio. The town is completely deserted and straddles the border as it runs through the middle of town. The only activity was some dogs wandering through the deserted streets and the empty decaying gas stations and other buildings. Great pictures......Chris told me to knock off taking all the pictures.
Just west of Glenrio the route turns into a dirt road for the next 18 or so miles. As we drove through the ranch land we were once again aware of times past and how desolate this part of the country is. The road was muddy as it had rained the night before, and in spots the traction felt as if some Michigan slush was beneath the wheels of our car. Two roadrunners (birds) darted in front of our car....the first time either of us had seen this bird except on Warner Brothers cartoons with Wylie Coyote. They were smaller than I expected.
Tucumcari Mountain loomed in the distance as we left San Jon and headed to our destination for tonight. The town of Tucumcari has long been a stop on the itinerary of the Route 66 traveler. It boasted "2000 Motel Rooms" and "Tucumcari Tonight" on billboards scattered in both directions from the town along the route. The town has a new Route 66 sculpture/memorial at their "convention center". The sign there said "Welcome Rattlers Reunion" What does THAT mean?", we wondered. Turns out that's the high school mascot here....the Tucumcari Rattlers. Because we got here early in the day we had time to explore the town. The area appears very economically depressed. Most of the homes are poorly maintained with lots of junk and old vehicles, etc in the yards. A majority of the homes are made of adobe-like material. Landscaping is pretty much nonexistent. Tucumcari's had better days, I think.
We ate supper at a genuine Tex-Mex/Mexican restaurant called La Cita. Delicious food. Chris had the enchiladas, I had a tostada-type dish called Chalupa.
Tonight after it gets dark we're going to drive down Tucumcari Blvd. to look at the neon signs. There are old neon signs on most of the motels and restaurants along the "strip." It's another thing the town is known for along the route.
Tomorrow it's off to Albuquerque via Santa Fe........a bit of a longer drive than today. We passed the 1/2 way point today (Yes, another picture, Chris!). 1339 miles to go.
We got up kind of late today in Amarillo and ate a continental breakfast (free) at the Big Texan Motel before leaving. As we traveled across the Texan panhandle the land became flatter and flatter until we were driving in a completely straight direction on completely flat land as far as the eye could see. We could even make out the curvature of the earth ever so slightly in the far distance. As we approached the New Mexico border, at about the last 10 miles the topography of the land began to change to some small undulating hills with flat topped mesas scattered over the landscape.
At the Texas-New Mexico border there is a ghost town named Glenrio. The town is completely deserted and straddles the border as it runs through the middle of town. The only activity was some dogs wandering through the deserted streets and the empty decaying gas stations and other buildings. Great pictures......Chris told me to knock off taking all the pictures.
Just west of Glenrio the route turns into a dirt road for the next 18 or so miles. As we drove through the ranch land we were once again aware of times past and how desolate this part of the country is. The road was muddy as it had rained the night before, and in spots the traction felt as if some Michigan slush was beneath the wheels of our car. Two roadrunners (birds) darted in front of our car....the first time either of us had seen this bird except on Warner Brothers cartoons with Wylie Coyote. They were smaller than I expected.
Tucumcari Mountain loomed in the distance as we left San Jon and headed to our destination for tonight. The town of Tucumcari has long been a stop on the itinerary of the Route 66 traveler. It boasted "2000 Motel Rooms" and "Tucumcari Tonight" on billboards scattered in both directions from the town along the route. The town has a new Route 66 sculpture/memorial at their "convention center". The sign there said "Welcome Rattlers Reunion" What does THAT mean?", we wondered. Turns out that's the high school mascot here....the Tucumcari Rattlers. Because we got here early in the day we had time to explore the town. The area appears very economically depressed. Most of the homes are poorly maintained with lots of junk and old vehicles, etc in the yards. A majority of the homes are made of adobe-like material. Landscaping is pretty much nonexistent. Tucumcari's had better days, I think.
We ate supper at a genuine Tex-Mex/Mexican restaurant called La Cita. Delicious food. Chris had the enchiladas, I had a tostada-type dish called Chalupa.
Tonight after it gets dark we're going to drive down Tucumcari Blvd. to look at the neon signs. There are old neon signs on most of the motels and restaurants along the "strip." It's another thing the town is known for along the route.
Tomorrow it's off to Albuquerque via Santa Fe........a bit of a longer drive than today. We passed the 1/2 way point today (Yes, another picture, Chris!). 1339 miles to go.
