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Hello again! For the Day 12 – Albuquerque NM start. I started the day in Albuquerque. Having lunch in Grants, NM. About 80 miles from AZ. Enchilada, Chimichanga and a taco. Served with sopapillas and honey. Had forgotten how good that is.
Pictures:
Street lamps throughout downtown Albuquerque.
Here is one to commemorate Route 66.
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The KiMo Theater in downtown Albuquerque. It was built in 1927 in the extravagant Art Deco–Pueblo Revival Style architecture, which is a blend of adobe building styles (rounded corners and edges), decorative motifs from indigenous cultures, and the soaring lines and linear repetition found in American Art Deco architecture. (From Wikipedia).[3]
Was called NM Route 66 Association. Just this and another wall of signs and…
This ’66-era diner is still open.
“Madonna of the Trail.” There are 12 of these statues throughout the West in areas where moving families to new lands was predominant. They commemorate the women who took their children west to new promises.
The inscription on the statue.
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Scene on Route 66 of the stark beauty of the American West. Taken west of Albuquerque.
Another natural scene on Route 66. Owl Rock. And on a blind curve, so it was dangerous to linger!
Cubero, NM – Beyond the start of Day 12 – Albuquerque NM
This trading post in Cubero, NM, was built in 1937 and has been continuously in operation since then. Gas, groceries, and beer, what else do you need?! Talked with the store manager about the store and the area. She told the story (picture below) about Ernest Hemingway passing thru New Mexico in the early 1950s and staying a while. According to local legend, he wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” in the cafe across the street. Scholars disagree, but the local people insist it is true.
The picture is not good composition but I was trying to cut down the reflection. Most of the text should be readable if you can increase the size of your viewing device.
And the cafe where Hemingway was alleged to have written the book. Have you read it? Classic Hemingway and a great story of the human spirit.
The Whiting Brothers owned a number of these stations along the way. Most of them are being reclaimed by nature.
Gallup, NM – further beyond Day 12 – Albuquerque NM
More southwest beauty. The wind was quite strong by now, so the dust in the air takes away some of the colors.
..and just when you thought you’d seen enough of the giant men, another “muffler man” shows up in Gallup, NM. This one is atop a used car dealership.
More beauty on the road. (I couldn’t get the NM State Police to hold up traffic while I took the picture!) I-40 and the railroad tracks are between ’66 and the view in this area.
Now the dust is beginning to show much more as the wind gusts are likely up around 60 miles an hour. This one was truly “Drive by”, taken thru the side window. At least the window was down! I didn’t want to get out in that stuff!
That’s dust ahead. Not snow, not fog. Good old American soil is being blown around. This one was even more Drive By. Taken thru the windshield.
Again – still later after Day 12 – Albuquerque NM start
Managed to get this one between gusts!
After this, it became too windy and dusty to take more pictures. I didn’t take out the Nikon when the dust started to blow. I still need to get it cleaned when I get back home. Samsung will have to do for this day.
Stopped in Gallup to see the Navajo Code Talkers museum. It was less than expected. A glass-enclosed display of pictures and newspaper articles about their involvement in WWII and the project’s success to use the unwritten Navajo native language as a code in the war in the Pacific. The Japanese were unable to break the code. (The glass on the display was too far away from the display, so I couldn’t get pictures without terrible reflections.)
Different type of adventure tomorrow. Visit the Petrified Forrest National Park, which contains the Painted Dessert. It might be difficult if the wind comes back tomorrow, it was vicious as it was today.
Suppose I could say it reminds me of the Bob Dylan song “Blowin’ in the Wind,” but that was about a different topic entirely! Trying to think of a Rock and Roll song that went with the day but drawing a blank.
Route 66 quiz:
Chicago and Los Angeles anchor the road and are obviously the largest cities on ’66. In between St. Louis is the largest. Now for the quiz. Can you name the next 4 largest in order of metropolitan area population?
Email me at this address if you think you have them correct, and I’ll publish the winner. stan@the-driveby-tourist.com By the way, this contest ended when the trip ended, so no longer active.
The winner gets a free ticket! (It isn’t worth anything, but it’s free!) Reminds of Janis Joplin “nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free” (From “Me and Bobby McGee”.) Did you know it was released posthumously?)
Classic Rock Recollection
“Blowin’ In the Wind” by Bob Dylan
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Written by Bob Dylan
