Route 66 to Paso and so much more! (5649 miles on vinyl!!)

Getting out for a closer look at that last building will reveal the old truck parked inside of it! There was also a late 70 Trans Am parked next to it, an old Ford Top Loader transmission sitting on the window sill, tools scattered about, and parts and junk everywhere!!

 

Driving out of San Jon, it was just a short jaunt up the road to the town of Tucumcari, New Mexico, where we stayed the second night. There are lots of motels to pick from here, but when we spotted the green 66-67 Nova from Michigan that had also stayed at the same motel as us back in Shamrock, Texas the previous night...we took as a good sign and pulled in to inquire about a room!

The new owner of the Palomino Motel was a vey nice soft-spoken gentleman who offered us what would end up being the best motel room bargain of the entire trip! When he discovered that he didn't have any rooms ready to rent with two beds...he gave us TWO rooms with SINGLE beds for the same low, low price of a single room! He had just bought the place five weeks earlier and was anxious to get it fixed up. He was willing to go out of his way to make sure we were happy with our lodging for the night and invited us to stay there again if we happened to come back along the same route!

As a nice bonus, the motel was directly across from a great little restaurant called Del's where we had dinner that evening, and breakfast the following morning!

Scenic Mount Tucumcari is visible from nearly all points within the central business district of Tucumcari.

(That's pronounced "To Come Carry" in case you were wondering!!!)

 

Great Trip! Bringing back memories! We took the kids by motorhome on route 66 a few years back. I think it would be more fun though, in a hot rod like you're doing! Spent a lot of time checking out the Cadillac ranch! Looking forward to more of your pics!

 

this is cool , me and my dad hit a few of those spots back in 1977 ! thank`s for sharing .

 

Great pics, sounds like you'all having a good time. I've been to the round barn that was kool.

 

Thanks for the pic's need to do that before I die.

 

Great Pics. My wife and I just hit all the same spots as you did between Amarillo and OKC last weekend. We both looked at your Cadillac Ranch photos to see if we could find any of the stuff we painted. I guess you were there before we were...

My dad took me to Cadillac Ranch as a kid. It was really cool seeing it again as an adult. I left his initials on one of the old cars since he's no longer around to do it himself.

Slonaker

 

Oh Im definitely going to do it now this post just sealed the deal, very cool pictures!

 

Nice to meet you guys. Glad to see you made it ok.

 

Too Cool!!!! I think me and the pops stopped at that Stuckeys before


Rusty,

 

Great pics and tour, someday I will follow the old route and spend a month doing it.

 

All right...on to Day Three!!!!

We woke up and spent a few minutes talking to the owner of the Palomino Motel again before heading over to Del's for breakfast (as stated in the Day Two segment!).

From there, we drove through Tucumcari again to take some pictures of signs, buildings and points of interest in the town before heading Westward. The first stop for the day was at the tee-pee shaped curio shop just a block or so up the street from the motel. While CathyH was in there, I went next door to the NAPA auto parts place to buy a new gas cap...since I think I left the original one on a pump back in Oklahoma somewhere!!! (Yes, NAPA actually had the cap in stock!).

 

Tucumcari is nicknamed "The City of Murals", and there were several painted on buildings all over town. This extra large one was sprawled across one wall and let everyone driving by know that they were indeed traveling old Route 66!

 

Thanx for the fun trip the Texas gas station is the coolest. taken that road several times and it is a blast!! Way to go-Sololobo

 

Another classic motel in Tucumcari is the Blue Swallow. Unlike most, you can actually drive your car into the small garage doors provided in most of the rooms...making it a true 'motor inn' I suppose!

(Or just a cool way to pretend you're Dan Tanna for a night?!)

The motel has that nostalgic look, and even a pretty neat mailbox!!!

 

As we were cruising Tucumcari that morning taking pictures of various places and things, we met a fellow toirist named Sean from Toronto, Canada. He was driving the whole route (From Chicago to Cali) in a little red Honda Civic hatchback like DIRTYT's old legendary Interstate Engine Hauler! He said he planned to just scrap the car once he got to California and then take a plane back to Toronto...since he didn't have enough vacation time to drive back home! Ha Ha...now THAT'S a cool new twist on a Route 66 trip...drive the whole way and then junk an import at the end of it all!!!



Here's a few more images taken in and around Tucumcari....

 

As you leave Tucumcari headed West out of town on 66, you will pass this cleverly done "66" landmark! Looking like a classic 50s tail fin with tail lights mounted on an attractive rocky display, it's gleaming chrome really catches the eye!

 

And one last peek at legendary Mount Tucumcari (which gets it;s name from an old Indian fable) before hitting the road and motoring on...

 

A short drive later, we stopped in the remote town of Newkirk, New Mexico to mail some post cards at this little Post Office, and to buy a bag of ice for the cooler. There, we ran into Sean and his little Honda again. He had just come from a stop about a quarter mile up the road and joked about wanting to buy the old Rambler and Dodge pickup parked up there!

 

Here's the Dodge truck and Rambler that Sean spoke of. I'm not sure about the whole truck, but I'd dig having that old Poly motor resting between the fenders for sure!!

The Rambler was an "Ambassador"...and I don't think I've ever seen another one in this particular body style. Not exactly my favorite Rambler look...but it was kinda cool just in being odd and different!

 

Along many of the driveable sections of old Route 66, you'll see these brown and white signs that let you know you're still on the right track. You can also spot them at many exits off of Highway 40, letting tourists know that they can pick up segments of what's left of the Mother Road at those particular exits.

 

Driving onward, we rolled past several small 'junkyards' occupied by older and newer discarded vehicles of all shapes and sizes...and even a small Post Office set up in a trailer!

 

We decided to take a detour off of the official Route 66 path just as we were reaching the town of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Traveling about 60 miles south of there will get you to Fort Sumner, New Mexico where we stopped to tour the Billy The Kid Museum, as William H Bonney was shot dead outside of Fort Sumner.

The little green Willys belonged to a museum employee I believe.

 

The museum features lots of articles, objects and artifacts directly related to William Bonney and his associates, friends, enemies and admirers...including wanted posters, newspaper clippings, photographs, a Winchester rifle in the gun room, and also many other old and interesting things to see dating from the 1800s all the way up to the 1960s, and even some oddball 70s stuff thrown in here and there! It's really quite an extensive series of exhibits, and well worth the time and money spent!

 

I really liked this old door (one of many that you pass through while strolling through the museum at your own pace)...it must've come from an old Santa Fe Railroad station...the logo set inside the metalwork was just too cool!!!

 

There was a quite a collection of old horse-drawn vehicles and equipment on diplay, too...including this very early 'hearse' contianing a small casket built for a child.

 

In addition to the horse-drawn vehicles, there is also an area of the museum featuring much more modern vehicles! The garage area was filled with various old cars and trucks...as well as road signs, gas pumps, tools, parts, etc.

Ha Ha...check out the way old green Studebaker wagon...and the slightly newer Stude in another odd green color!!!

 

The tombstone and dedication stone on display at this museum were replicas of the originals. The original ones can still be seen by the public behind the actual old Fort Sumner location a few miles outside of town. These copies look exactly like them, though.

 

The jail cell at the museum is one similar to an actual cell that the real Billy The Kid had escaped from at some point in his infamous career.

I'm sure some of you will be disappointed to learn the the lock no longer works on this door, though...but it makes for a 'must do' photo opp!!!

 

After touring the museum and browsing in the large gift shop, we drove out to old Fort Sumner to see the actual tombstone and dedication stone. They are pretty well enclosed and protected, however...as the tombstone has been stolen and recovered something like six or seven times over the years!!!