Route 66 Day 8 October 29, 2019
It was -4 degrees Celsius in Amarillo when we woke up this morning and had to take our suitcases out to the car. The black car parked next to our had ice patterns all over it. It's curious that our car had no ice on it at all! (It's a white car.)
We managed to grab a bit of breakfast before the daily group briefing. The usual fare on offer for breakfast is scrambled eggs, sausages (which look like a hamburger patties), biscuits (which are like dried out scones), and gravy (which is like white sauce with pieces of mushroom in it). If you prefer you can have oatmeal or cereal. There's also coffee and tea. I've learnt that if I want just ordinary milk in my coffee, I have to head to the cereal section to get it, otherwise I have to use 'creamer' (powdered non-dairy whitener) or small capsules of milk. The milk is a bit confusing. It's either 2% (which I'm assuming is the same as our Hi-Lo), and skim milk. I find that most things in America are processed in some way or another.
We left at about 8am, but the morning light was still quite dark.
One of the guys suggested that it was because of the fact that we were very close to changing time zones. We were leaving Amarillo at morning peak hour, but our first stop was not too far out of town. We were to meet yet another Route 66 identity - Bob "Crocodile" Lile at his Route 66 Art Gallery. As we walked into the shop we were greeted by his dog Lady who was a border collie cross. She was very sweet.
Crocodile Lile has been travelling Route 66 since he was a little kid. In 1947 his parents took him on his first road trip on the Mother Road. These days he and his partner Cheryl log many, many miles with their Harley on America's highways and byways, but their favourite is Route 66. Crocodile's art studio is inside his shop, and he spends most of his time making jewellery from the build up of paint that he chips off the cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch. It's really beautiful ... and expensive!
This is a lump of paint (in the picture on the left), and (on the right) these are some of the jewellery items Crocodile Lile makes.
I have a version of this little prayer in my kitchen.
Unfortunately one of the cars in our group had some mechanical issues, so there was a bit of a delay before we headed off again. I didn't waste the time however. I've been downloading music to make a playlist that has grown as the trip has progressed. Just as we were rolling up to Cadillac Ranch, Bruce Springsteen started singing his famous song.
I
It was freezing cold when we stepped out of the cars to go and take a look at this famous art installment. Around the base of the cars was old snow and ice covering over dirty puddles of water.
Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were part of the Ant Farm art group.
It was so good to get back in the car. We were all bitterly cold. One of the guys had driven our car while I was having fun in the yellow corvette yesterday. He'd fiddled with all the settings and now I had a steering wheel and a driver's seat that heated!! I really appreciated them then. By the time we got to our next stop, they were positively hot!
It was cold! Freezing point is 32 degrees F. It was -2.5 C!!
This old gas station dating back to the 1920's has been restored by the City of Vega with the help of the National Parks Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. It was the second service station built in the small town which is now reliant on farming and ranching as its main source of income, and boasts a population of about 1000 residents.
This was just a quick restroom stop before heading to our next destination. The road was windswept with drizzle clouding the windscreen.
Before long, we were at The Midpoint Cafe & Gift Shop in Adrian, Texas . We were now officially half way along Route 66!
. 
This cafe was originally built in 1928 and was known as Zella's Cafe and is the inspiration for Flo's V8 Cafe for the movie Cars. The Midpoint Cafe has been continually operating since 1928 and serves their famous "ugly crust" pies amongst other delicious dishes. I was trying to watch my intake of calories, but Jenny threw caution to the wind and had a piece of their pie which she said was delicious.
Across the road from the cafe was a sign, and Jenny and I hammed it up for a couple of shots.
Then we went back to the cafe to take advantage of the fact that they were selling all their souvenirs at 50% off!
I love the slogan on this t-shirt (but I didn't buy it!)
After a good amount of time at the Midpoint, we left the cafe feeling warm and happy because we'd been able to get some hot coffee, good bargains and some fun photos.
As we continued west the land began to change to great open flat plains.
We eventually arrived at a little ghost town on the border of New Mexico called Glenrio.
It was originally called Rock Island when it was established in 1903 as a railroad siding, but it had its name changed to Glenrio (derived from the Scottish "glen" and the Spanish "rio") by the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It prospered into the 1920's with multiple stores, cafes, its own newspaper (until mid 1930) and motels.
Route 66 was affected by the expanding economy and middle class vacationers. This led to several changes - the most dramatic was the expansion of the number and variety of motels for overnight accomodation. In the 1920's, local merchants had set aside campsites near downtown business districts to keep potential customers nearby. Entrepreneurs quickly developed additional camp areas with services, on the edges of towns. By 1926 campsite cabins were equipped with cots, chairs, camp stoves, beds, tables, benches and water pitchers.
Life along Route 66 in the 1930's was a study in contrasts. The road was crowded with down-an-out migrants looking for work and a better future, but there were also more economically stable drivers who continued to demand improvements in the road system. During World War II, as the demand for public transportation exceeded availability, hitchhiking became a popular way to travel the road.
The booming post-war economy brought increased affluence to the average family. Sightseeing by automobile became the standard way to see many parts of the US. With all the choices and 28 cents per gallon gasoline, motoring sightseers tended to quicken their pace in an attempt to visit as many places as possible in as little time as possible.
The beginning of the end for Route 66 can be traced to World War II when government leaders recognised the need for a modern, high speed highway system that would be truly "inter-state". Super highways, with divided lanes, limited access, and no 'stop' signs were first built along Route 66 in California and Illinois. In t1976, when the states of California, Illinois, and Missouri removed the old 66 shields from the road, the "mother Road" ceased to exist as a continuous stretch of highway.
Unfortunately Glenrio was one of the victims of the Interstate passing nearby and in 1973 all the businesses had disappeared. All that's left now is the remnants of the Little Juarez Cafe built in 1946 in the design of a highly successful chain of diners called Valentines; the shell of the First Motel in Texas/Last Motel in Texas, Phillips Station built in 1934 and the Longhorn Motel and Cafe; The kold post office; a pile of rubble representing the State Line Tavern and the train station in Texas that delivered the mail to the post office in New Mexico.
There's a 1960's Pontiac parked out the front of a ramshackle house owned by a lady who has to drive nearly 2 hours to get her groceries. We didn't get to meet her, but she gave us permission via Dale to have a look around. I felt sorry for her, especially knowing that in her childhood she had made a significant amount of pocket money cleaning the wind shields of the cars who waited in line outside her home, to have the opportunity to top up their fuel tanks.
As we left Glenrio and crossed into New Mexico, we gained an hour, meaning we had to adjust our clocks. We did this once we reached Russell's Truck Stop. Although this truck stop looked as if it was prospering, it also looked as if it had seen better days.
Instructions on where dogs are allowed American crows.
to relieve themselves
Different kinds of snacks we don't see in Australia
There was also Christian merchandise. This little prayer appealed to me.
After a good look around, we headed off to Tucumcari for lunch.
Flat land to drive over A change in the colour of the soil
Tucumcari is the quintessential Route 66 town with its procession of snapshot ready motel signs and buildings from a bygone era of highway travel.
After lunch we wandered into the shop called TeePee Curios, housed in a huge cement TeePee for more fun looking at different things we hadn't seen in previous places.
Another one of those machines that
flattens a 1 cent coin for the cost of $1!!
TeePee Curios was built in the early 1940's and originally served as a Gulf gas station. It eventually succumbed to the widening of Route 66, losing its pumps but gaining new business selling curios to Route 66 travellers. As the weather was now bitterly cold, I was finding that my four layers of clothes were not enough to keep me warm. I saw a beautiful windcheater type garment made from recycled fibre, and only selling for $16, so I bought one. It was fleecy on the inside and I was beautifully warm after I put it on. In fact I wore it out of the shop.
A bit further up the road was the Mother Road Monument a Chrome 66 - a more recent addition by artist Tom Coffin who was commissioned to create the sculpture, which he finished in 1997. It is set on a sloping base that that looks a bit like a Tex-Mex temple made of sandstone tyres and serpentine (a dark green mineral consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, sometimes mottled or spotted like a snake's skin). It's toped with a chrome, Cadillac-like fin, tail lights, and a pair of tubular Hippie font "sixes" - all headed west.
After yet another group photo, we got back in our cars and headed to the ghost town of Newkirk in New Mexico. To get there we spent a little bit of time driving on the interstate, then we got back onto Route 66, then drove under the Interstate and along another section of Route 66, then back onto the interstate.weaving our way closer to our destination.
It was only a quick stop at Newkirk. Nobody wanted to stay out of their cars for very long. All the while the clouds were building up and the temperature was dropping. Every so often we would drive through patched of drizzle. I was beginning to think it looked and felt like it was going to snow.
Mountains interspersed with plains
Occasional we drove in fog, and sometimes we drove in the clouds!
Higher and higher we were rising above the plains. There were signs warning us to be careful of elk crossing the road, and patches of snow lying on the ground....
A few miles on we arrived at the city of Las Vegas (and all along I thought we were going to the place where people gamble all day and night!) in New Mexico. Our hotel for the night, the magnificent Plaza Hotel, was built in 1882 and is known as The Belle of the Southwest.
At 6435 feet above sea level (more than a mile high), it presides regally over the Old Town Plaza and has been lovingly restored, now being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Back in the 1800s , the Plaza Hotel became the centre of commerce in the young New Mexico territory. The hotel provided elegant lodging for prominent and affluent travellers arriving by train on the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The period from 1879 to 1900 also brought some of the most notorious outlaws and infamous characters of the Old West to the Plaza. Among them were Doc Holliday, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid. It is the premier place to stay in Las Vegas. Our rooms were luxury plus!!
Everything we needed for a comfortable night's accommodation had been provided!
As the light was slowly fading, Jenny and I decided to go for a walk and explore the beautiful town square. This small city, which dates back to 1794, was an important atop for the Santa fe Trail, and in 1900 it was larger than Santa Fe. Las Vegas today has more than 900 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Around the Plaza is a delightful collection of stores and restaurants, perfect for a little stroll and some shopping. We came across a magnificent shop selling beautiful quilting fabric.
As we were leaving the shop we enjoyed looking at the decorations for the harvest festival and halloween.
We continued on around the square looking through various shop windows closed for the end of the day's trade.
This is another gun happy area of the US - Love the colours!
see the sign on the door!
In one little shop, which was obviously a novelty shop, we saw a range of gifts perfect for dog lovers...
And a couple of nice ideas when it comes to caring for your dog!
It was getting dark now, so Jenny went and had her tarot cards read while I went and bought us a couple of tickets to watch The Addams Family movie. Then we ducked across the street to have some burritos and a margarita each. By the time we got to the movie, we were both pretty relaxed!! The movie was meant for children, and it didn't take long for us to fall asleep!! I woke up enough times to get the gist of the plot ... not particularly complicated!! We'd been dressed for the cold outside, but while we were in the theatre we had to strip off a couple of layers to prevent us from breaking into a sweat. At the end of the movie we piled the clothes on again and walked back to our hotel. We basically collapsed into bed and had an excellent night's sleep.
We managed to grab a bit of breakfast before the daily group briefing. The usual fare on offer for breakfast is scrambled eggs, sausages (which look like a hamburger patties), biscuits (which are like dried out scones), and gravy (which is like white sauce with pieces of mushroom in it). If you prefer you can have oatmeal or cereal. There's also coffee and tea. I've learnt that if I want just ordinary milk in my coffee, I have to head to the cereal section to get it, otherwise I have to use 'creamer' (powdered non-dairy whitener) or small capsules of milk. The milk is a bit confusing. It's either 2% (which I'm assuming is the same as our Hi-Lo), and skim milk. I find that most things in America are processed in some way or another.
We left at about 8am, but the morning light was still quite dark.
One of the guys suggested that it was because of the fact that we were very close to changing time zones. We were leaving Amarillo at morning peak hour, but our first stop was not too far out of town. We were to meet yet another Route 66 identity - Bob "Crocodile" Lile at his Route 66 Art Gallery. As we walked into the shop we were greeted by his dog Lady who was a border collie cross. She was very sweet.
Crocodile Lile has been travelling Route 66 since he was a little kid. In 1947 his parents took him on his first road trip on the Mother Road. These days he and his partner Cheryl log many, many miles with their Harley on America's highways and byways, but their favourite is Route 66. Crocodile's art studio is inside his shop, and he spends most of his time making jewellery from the build up of paint that he chips off the cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch. It's really beautiful ... and expensive!
This is a lump of paint (in the picture on the left), and (on the right) these are some of the jewellery items Crocodile Lile makes.
I have a version of this little prayer in my kitchen.
Unfortunately one of the cars in our group had some mechanical issues, so there was a bit of a delay before we headed off again. I didn't waste the time however. I've been downloading music to make a playlist that has grown as the trip has progressed. Just as we were rolling up to Cadillac Ranch, Bruce Springsteen started singing his famous song.
I
It was freezing cold when we stepped out of the cars to go and take a look at this famous art installment. Around the base of the cars was old snow and ice covering over dirty puddles of water.
Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were part of the Ant Farm art group.
The cadillacs used in the installment were either older, running, used, or junk Cadillac automobiles, representing a number of evolutions of the car line (most notably the birth and death of the defining feature of early Cadillacs - the tail fin) from 1949 to 1963. The tradition is to roll up at the site with a spray can of paint. I didn't have one, but Col let me use his to paint a big red love heart. It was trickier than it looked.
The Cadillacs have been half buried nose first in the ground, at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. I wasn't able to get an explanation why. It was a shame that so many empty (or not so empty) paint cans were lying around at the base of the cars. There was also a lot of rubbish blown up against the fence through which you had to walk to get to the cars. Unfortunately someone had vandalised the sign instructing people to show respect for the environment.
 |
| The sign says This is not a national park please pick up your trash |
We drove past Cattle Feedlots, more wind power generators and windswept fields with barely a tree growing in them. Before long we were in the town of Vega to stop at the old Magnolia Gas Station.
It was cold! Freezing point is 32 degrees F. It was -2.5 C!!
This old gas station dating back to the 1920's has been restored by the City of Vega with the help of the National Parks Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. It was the second service station built in the small town which is now reliant on farming and ranching as its main source of income, and boasts a population of about 1000 residents.
This was just a quick restroom stop before heading to our next destination. The road was windswept with drizzle clouding the windscreen.
Before long, we were at The Midpoint Cafe & Gift Shop in Adrian, Texas . We were now officially half way along Route 66!
. 
This cafe was originally built in 1928 and was known as Zella's Cafe and is the inspiration for Flo's V8 Cafe for the movie Cars. The Midpoint Cafe has been continually operating since 1928 and serves their famous "ugly crust" pies amongst other delicious dishes. I was trying to watch my intake of calories, but Jenny threw caution to the wind and had a piece of their pie which she said was delicious.
Across the road from the cafe was a sign, and Jenny and I hammed it up for a couple of shots.
Then we went back to the cafe to take advantage of the fact that they were selling all their souvenirs at 50% off!
I love the slogan on this t-shirt (but I didn't buy it!)After a good amount of time at the Midpoint, we left the cafe feeling warm and happy because we'd been able to get some hot coffee, good bargains and some fun photos.
As we continued west the land began to change to great open flat plains.
We eventually arrived at a little ghost town on the border of New Mexico called Glenrio.
It was originally called Rock Island when it was established in 1903 as a railroad siding, but it had its name changed to Glenrio (derived from the Scottish "glen" and the Spanish "rio") by the Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It prospered into the 1920's with multiple stores, cafes, its own newspaper (until mid 1930) and motels.
Route 66 was affected by the expanding economy and middle class vacationers. This led to several changes - the most dramatic was the expansion of the number and variety of motels for overnight accomodation. In the 1920's, local merchants had set aside campsites near downtown business districts to keep potential customers nearby. Entrepreneurs quickly developed additional camp areas with services, on the edges of towns. By 1926 campsite cabins were equipped with cots, chairs, camp stoves, beds, tables, benches and water pitchers.
Life along Route 66 in the 1930's was a study in contrasts. The road was crowded with down-an-out migrants looking for work and a better future, but there were also more economically stable drivers who continued to demand improvements in the road system. During World War II, as the demand for public transportation exceeded availability, hitchhiking became a popular way to travel the road.
The booming post-war economy brought increased affluence to the average family. Sightseeing by automobile became the standard way to see many parts of the US. With all the choices and 28 cents per gallon gasoline, motoring sightseers tended to quicken their pace in an attempt to visit as many places as possible in as little time as possible.
The beginning of the end for Route 66 can be traced to World War II when government leaders recognised the need for a modern, high speed highway system that would be truly "inter-state". Super highways, with divided lanes, limited access, and no 'stop' signs were first built along Route 66 in California and Illinois. In t1976, when the states of California, Illinois, and Missouri removed the old 66 shields from the road, the "mother Road" ceased to exist as a continuous stretch of highway.
Unfortunately Glenrio was one of the victims of the Interstate passing nearby and in 1973 all the businesses had disappeared. All that's left now is the remnants of the Little Juarez Cafe built in 1946 in the design of a highly successful chain of diners called Valentines; the shell of the First Motel in Texas/Last Motel in Texas, Phillips Station built in 1934 and the Longhorn Motel and Cafe; The kold post office; a pile of rubble representing the State Line Tavern and the train station in Texas that delivered the mail to the post office in New Mexico.
There's a 1960's Pontiac parked out the front of a ramshackle house owned by a lady who has to drive nearly 2 hours to get her groceries. We didn't get to meet her, but she gave us permission via Dale to have a look around. I felt sorry for her, especially knowing that in her childhood she had made a significant amount of pocket money cleaning the wind shields of the cars who waited in line outside her home, to have the opportunity to top up their fuel tanks.
As we left Glenrio and crossed into New Mexico, we gained an hour, meaning we had to adjust our clocks. We did this once we reached Russell's Truck Stop. Although this truck stop looked as if it was prospering, it also looked as if it had seen better days.
Instructions on where dogs are allowed American crows.
to relieve themselves
Different kinds of snacks we don't see in Australia
There was also Christian merchandise. This little prayer appealed to me.
After a good look around, we headed off to Tucumcari for lunch.
Flat land to drive over A change in the colour of the soil
Tucumcari is the quintessential Route 66 town with its procession of snapshot ready motel signs and buildings from a bygone era of highway travel.
 |
| A classical looking gas station in Tucumcari |
flattens a 1 cent coin for the cost of $1!!
TeePee Curios was built in the early 1940's and originally served as a Gulf gas station. It eventually succumbed to the widening of Route 66, losing its pumps but gaining new business selling curios to Route 66 travellers. As the weather was now bitterly cold, I was finding that my four layers of clothes were not enough to keep me warm. I saw a beautiful windcheater type garment made from recycled fibre, and only selling for $16, so I bought one. It was fleecy on the inside and I was beautifully warm after I put it on. In fact I wore it out of the shop.
 |
| A sight to behold parked outside TeePee Curios |
After yet another group photo, we got back in our cars and headed to the ghost town of Newkirk in New Mexico. To get there we spent a little bit of time driving on the interstate, then we got back onto Route 66, then drove under the Interstate and along another section of Route 66, then back onto the interstate.weaving our way closer to our destination.
It was only a quick stop at Newkirk. Nobody wanted to stay out of their cars for very long. All the while the clouds were building up and the temperature was dropping. Every so often we would drive through patched of drizzle. I was beginning to think it looked and felt like it was going to snow.
The landscape was changing again ... becoming more mountainous. It was to be expected now that we were in the Mountainous time zone (as it is called in America).
Mountains interspersed with plains
Occasional we drove in fog, and sometimes we drove in the clouds!
Higher and higher we were rising above the plains. There were signs warning us to be careful of elk crossing the road, and patches of snow lying on the ground....
At one stage we stopped for a photo at a picturesque spot ...
A few miles on we arrived at the city of Las Vegas (and all along I thought we were going to the place where people gamble all day and night!) in New Mexico. Our hotel for the night, the magnificent Plaza Hotel, was built in 1882 and is known as The Belle of the Southwest.
At 6435 feet above sea level (more than a mile high), it presides regally over the Old Town Plaza and has been lovingly restored, now being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Back in the 1800s , the Plaza Hotel became the centre of commerce in the young New Mexico territory. The hotel provided elegant lodging for prominent and affluent travellers arriving by train on the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. The period from 1879 to 1900 also brought some of the most notorious outlaws and infamous characters of the Old West to the Plaza. Among them were Doc Holliday, Jesse James, and Billy the Kid. It is the premier place to stay in Las Vegas. Our rooms were luxury plus!!
Everything we needed for a comfortable night's accommodation had been provided!As the light was slowly fading, Jenny and I decided to go for a walk and explore the beautiful town square. This small city, which dates back to 1794, was an important atop for the Santa fe Trail, and in 1900 it was larger than Santa Fe. Las Vegas today has more than 900 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Around the Plaza is a delightful collection of stores and restaurants, perfect for a little stroll and some shopping. We came across a magnificent shop selling beautiful quilting fabric.
As we were leaving the shop we enjoyed looking at the decorations for the harvest festival and halloween.
We continued on around the square looking through various shop windows closed for the end of the day's trade.
This is another gun happy area of the US - Love the colours!
see the sign on the door!
In one little shop, which was obviously a novelty shop, we saw a range of gifts perfect for dog lovers...
And a couple of nice ideas when it comes to caring for your dog!
It was getting dark now, so Jenny went and had her tarot cards read while I went and bought us a couple of tickets to watch The Addams Family movie. Then we ducked across the street to have some burritos and a margarita each. By the time we got to the movie, we were both pretty relaxed!! The movie was meant for children, and it didn't take long for us to fall asleep!! I woke up enough times to get the gist of the plot ... not particularly complicated!! We'd been dressed for the cold outside, but while we were in the theatre we had to strip off a couple of layers to prevent us from breaking into a sweat. At the end of the movie we piled the clothes on again and walked back to our hotel. We basically collapsed into bed and had an excellent night's sleep.
We thought you would encounter some chilly weather by the end of your trip. Glad you managed to buy a warm fleece. You visited St Louis at a good time as it's quite a bit colder now with a couple of nights of frost. It was cold on Halloween so we didn't get as many tric-or- treaters as usual. Happy traveling! Norrie and Wilma
ReplyDeleteHi Norrie and Wilma
ReplyDeleteHalloween had less of an impact on me here (the home of halloween) than it usually does in Australia ... and that's not usually very much at all! I love my new warm over-windcheater. It has been made from recycled fibre. It's warm and it was very cheap. I'm on a real winner with it. xx