Coincidentally, our Iowan friends, Kristin and Wayne, were in Albuquerque visiting their family at the same time we passed through. We started the day meeting them for breakfast at this landmark eatery on Route 66 in Albuquerque.
In 2001, we drove the entire length of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica in another Alfa spider we owned at the time. On that trip we used a set of maps with detailed directions and books specific to Route 66 to find old roadbeds and our way on the various route alignments as they had changed throughout the years. Without detailed maps, we found today that the old route 66 alignments are not well marked except for some historical signs here and there. Consequently, and because we had many miles to cover today, we only traveled Route 66 for short periods and used the interstate for the bulk of the miles.
One place of interest on Historic 66 that we had seen in 2001 was Glenrio, a ghost town that was bypassed in 1973 with the construction of I-40. Glenrio straddles the border of New Mexico and Texas and at one time boasted the first or last motel in Texas, depending on which direction you were going. In 2001, we had seen a sign that the entire town was for sale with an enticement that you could “own your own zip code.” We’re not sure what its current status is, but the town looks like it hasn’t changed at all since our last visit. These are the buildings on Historic 66 in Glenrio. The mile-long paved road that runs through the town ends and a gravel county road in New Mexico begins.
End of the road
Rusted(ic) beauty
The service station
The diner
The post office
A former residence?
The first/last motel in Texas
The last point of interest before the long haul on the interstate to Oklahoma City was Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo, TX. Created in 1974 by the group Art Farm, Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 General Motors Cadillacs buried nose first. The installation is interactive in that people can bring their own spray paint and compose accordingly. Every so often the cars are either brought back to gray to begin anew and/or replaced periodically with new old vehicles.
