It is said that one reason for the sentiment and popularity of Route 66 may be due to its symbolism of the American Dream. A longing for simpler times may also be a contributor. Nostalgia and sentiment, scenic beauty, or the feel of the open road, whatever your reason for interest in Route 66, take a moment to step back in time with us as we trace some of our highway's finer paving. Begun as a government highway project in 1927, dubbed the National Highway System, adopting the theme, AMain Street of America,@ eight states formed an association to speed up the building of their highway---Route 66. By 1937, Route 66 was completed and stretched from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Also known as “The Mother Road,” and the “Will Rogers Highway,” Route 66 is 2,448 miles long. Replaced officially in 1984 by I-55, I-44, and I-40, we can still find fragments today offering old-time fun, scenic views, and traditional road-side fare. Our southwestern view of 66 begins in Clinton, Oklahoma, where the East meets the West, and ends on this trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Duke City. Clinton, Oklahoma is about an hour east of the Texas state line, and home of the Route 66 Museum, located at 2229 W. Gary Boulevard. Featuring exhibits, displays, memorabilia and collectibles, the museum is a must on your southwestern Route 66 tour. We chose to stay at the Best Western Tradewinds Courtyard Inn just across the street from the museum. A quaint little tourist court with a days-gone-by feel. They have a lovely courtyard which in spring and summer is lush with seasoned and well cared for plants surrounding a cool and tempting swimming pool. The rooms were clean and comfortable and a welcome reprieve after journeying to western Oklahoma. The inn also boasts the charming Route 66 Restaurant for a good hearty American breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Our breakfast there was included with the price of the room.

Photo - Staff

Photo - Staff

Leaving Clinton, Follow I-40 West to Amarillo where you will want to tour Old Third Street, Sixth Street, and Amarillo Boulevard containing many vintage 66 sites. Leaving Amarillo, the old Route 66 is the North Frontage Road. The old route jogged in Vega, Texas, where you will be able to see many original structures including an original service station and the Vega Motel, still in operation. The next town, Adrian, Texas, is considered the official halfway point on Route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles. The old route ends here but will resurface at the south service road into Glenrio, a ghost town just across the New Mexico border.

Tucumcari, New Mexico, though small in population, is a giant in this era. Filled with tourist courts as they were once known, most are still operating, and room rates are around $30.00 for a single (that's the catch). Gift shops, souvenirs, and restaurants all feature 66 memorabilia. Most recently, according to the New Mexico Department of Tourism, "Tucumcari just celebrated the 'Mother Road' with the dedication of Route 66's largest mural."

Long before songwriter Bobby Troup was getting his kicks On Route 66, there was a railroad camp called Six Shooter Siding. When, in 1901, Rock Island Railroad officials decided to push their way west, merchants, gamblers, saloonkeepers and dance hall girls - living in Liberty at the time - dismantled their establishments and moved three miles to the south. Tucumcari was born.
Life was tough until the 1940s, when a dam across the South Canadian River was completed, creating Conchas Lake and bringing irrigation to acres of farmland. Sixty years and one more Canadian River dam (creating Ute Lake, located 20 miles north at Logan) later, Quay County farmers are irrigating 60 acres of cropland and farming another 200,000 acres, raising alfalfa, wheat, vegetables, cotton, corn and sorghum. Quay County ranchers are raising an estimated 60,000 cattle and 10,000 sheep on nearly 16 million acres.

Farming and ranching, however, are not what lodged the name Tucumcari in the country’s collective consciousness in the 1930s: It was the town=s locale along historic Route 66, and its ability to capitalize on its location, drawing in scores of visitors in search of rest, refueling and recreation.

Tucumcari paid homage to this intrigue on April 28, 2005, when it unveiled the largest mural in the world dedicated to Historic Route 66 on Route 66. Created and produced by Doug and Sharon Quarles of Sharon & Doug’s Studio of Tucumcari, the mural is painted on the east wall of Lowe=s Grocery Store, located at 105 West Route 66 in Tucumcari.

Photo - New Mexico Tourism Department

"Now designated a National Scenic Byway, Route 66 still fires the imagination with its collection of historic towns, offering an intriguing look at America's Main Street," said Michael Cerletti, secretary of the New Mexico Tourism Department. "Tucumcari has a long and distinguished history with America's traveling public, and we applaud the efforts of its citizens in celebrating that history with this incredible mural."

The mural features local details and life size and larger-than-life size people, animals and scenes from the town=s past, present and future. It is 114 feet long and 14 feet high. For more information, call the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, 505-461-1694, write chamber@tucumcarinm.com or visit www.tucumcarinm.com

The mural is one stop to see in Tucumcari as is the Roadside Attraction, a Route 66 sculpture by artist Thomas Coffin commissioned in 1997 for the "Arts in Public Places," program, it stands gleaming in the New Mexico sunlight, a tribute to the fascination and fondness for America's beloved highway.
 

Photo - Route 66 Roadside Attraction - Staff

Leaving Tucumcari, and heading on west, Santa Rosa, New Mexico, also offers a Route 66 Restaurant where we stopped for dinner after breakfasting at the Clinton 66 restaurant. It=s a little pricey (what else can we expect, this is the 21st century), but the food and service were great with a down-home feel. As you leave Santa Rosa, as the excitement of New Mexico builds, you will begin to see the foothills of the Sangre de Cristos and before too long, the backside of the Sandia Mountains, home to Albuquerque.

In the very beginning, until 1937, 66 left north out of Santa Rosa to Santa Fe, went through Santa Fe, the state=s capital, following the Old Pecos Trail, and came back down into Albuquerque. There is an interesting story to its demise: The then governor of Santa Fe was not re-elected to the seat and blamed his loss on local politicians. To get even, he had a new highway built prior to stepping down in January, and Route 66 then by-passed Santa Fe, traveling instead west from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque.

Albuquerque=s Central Avenue, running east to west through all of Albuquerque, is of course the old Route 66. It is one of the most obvious pieces of 66 still visible today with its neon signs, tiny motels, tourist shops, and restaurants. It is also the address of the University of New Mexico, the Nob Hill District, and Old Town.

Nob Hill, a bohemian-like two-mile stretch, is an eclectic mix of funky clothing shops, book shops, galleries, cozy coffee houses, and much more. It is in the heart of Central's "cruising" strip where on any given night one will find everything from Harley's to 57 Chevys, to low-riders, to family station wagons making their way to the next vacancy sign. Originally the entrance to Albuquerque, the district is now the hippest area in town.
 

Photo - A biker cruising down Central Avenue (old 66) in Albuquerque, NM - Staff

Photo - Desert Sands Motor Hotel, Central Ave., Albuquerque, NM - Staff

Old town, Albuquerque's cultural mecca, first founded as a crossroad in the Southwest nearly three centuries ago, still thrives as a community focal point. San Felipe de Neri Church, founded in 1706, has been in continuous use for almost 300 years. The central plaza is surrounded by a maze of adobe structures, courtyards, gardens and winding pathways, back ally-ways and intricate corridors, all leading to magical doorways where one may purchase beautiful baskets, beadwork or jewelry. Southwestern fashions adorn shop doors and windows bringing the style of the west to today's shopper. Scrumptious foods, fiesta colors, juniper scents; Old Town is a feast for the senses and a delightful end to our 66 tour.
 

Photo - Old Town Sidewalk - Staff

Photo - San Felipe de Neri Church, Old Town, Albuquerque, NM - Staff

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