We said our goodbyes to Robert, our fantastic host at the Blue Swallow motel. I cannot say enough good things about this motel. If you are ever in the area, try and stay here. We were sad to leave and would love to come back for a longer stay down the road. The town of Tucumcari is quaint, and like many of the small towns along the route, has been negatively impacted by the lack of travelers along the route. In so many towns the number of abandoned businesses is quite high, and it is sad to see. Most of the businesses are hoping this year’s centennial celebrations will kick some life back into the joys of cross country traveling and increase their business.
We had a recommendation for a bakery named Carlson Coffee Company which was close by, so we stopped in. They offer great breakfast sandwiches, coffee, teas and a variety of fresh baked goods, everything is baked onsite. As with many spots along the route, people love to leave their marks, here was no exception. The walls are brick and they were covered with names of all those who came before us. We were again struck at how many were from other countries, Australia, New Zealand, France, Denmark, and even Africa. I guess the need to be on the open road and follow this historic route is an international one. It makes you realize how truly lucky we are to live in this beautiful country.
Before we left, I took the opportunity to load up on a few treats for the road (I am going to gain about 50lbs on this trip), and we were off again, heading West.
We made a stop at the Blue Hole located in Santa Rosa, it’s a spring fed swimming hole known for its crystal-clear water. It’s 80 feet in diameter and about 130 feet to the bottom. A very popular spot for divers and there were quite a few there when we stopped by. On sunny days, it will resemble the Caribbean, of course today it was cloudy, but you could still see almost to the bottom, it was very inviting. Don’t be fooled, it’s on 62 degrees and neither of us were going to take the plunge!
Just outside of Santa Rose we came upon the Route 66 Auto Museum, you know with Joey in the car, we were stopping. The museum had a good selection of cars on display and tons of automobile related memorabilia. The museum was started by Tim “lil Bozo” Cordova who was a well-respected automobile restorer. His tag line was “we don’t clown around” not sure which came first, the nickname or the tagline. And honestly, with a $5 entry fee, how could we pass that up.
The route through New Mexico was beautiful and the terrain changes from one end to the other, it starts out as flat grassland, then to volcanic fields and high-altitude mountain passes. We started at the Texas border at 3,800 feet when we crossed the continental divide, we were at 7,200 feet. I was the driver today and tried my best to see as much as I good, but I had a death grip on the steering wheel as the speed limit is 75mph, tractor trailers where all driving well above that, and the wind wiping across the highway was intense at times. I know one person who would not have been happy being in the car, ;-). Do you know who you are?
We arrived at our hotel, The El Rancho, and I was very happy to check into our room. We are here for two nights, a bit of a break for us to just chill.
I’ll have more about the hotel tomorrow. There’s a lot to tell and I’m hungry and thirsty.
See you down the road.
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