Day 5 - May 3, 2011

Day Five Stats

Miles Traveled: 486 miles    States Traveled: Texas, New Mexico

Origin: Amarillo, TX    Destination: Grants, NM

Time of Departure: 8:00 AM (CDT)    Time of Arrival: 8:00 PM (MDT)

Highest Observed Gas Price: $3.95/gallon in Romeroville, NM    Lowest Observed Gas Price: $3.64/gallon in Santa Fe, NM

Day Five Summary

Okay, I need to start this post with a correction.  Yesterday I posted that the U-Drop Inn & Tower Conoco in Shamrock, TX was the inspiration for Flo’s V-8 Café in the movie Cars.  I guess my age is showing and my memory slipping – I saw some Cars memorabilia today and realized that it was actually Ramone’s House of Body Art.  My apologies for leading anyone astray on this – I know how you folks rely on my perfect pitch, rugged good looks, and uncanny ability to know everything about absolutely nothing.

Day five got off to a fantastic start with a stop at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, TX.  This place is true redneck art – 10 vintage Cadillac’s buried headfirst into the Texas earth.  If that weren’t enough, you are encouraged to graffiti-ize the cars … and we did!

After leaving Amarillo, we headed west for the midpoint of our trip, Adrian, TX.  On the way, between Vega and Adrian we spotted one of the concrete culverts from the original “Dirt 66” – really cool.  Once in Adrian, we had a breakfast of pecan pie with “ugly crust” at the Midpoint Café – excellent.  While we were eating, we saw two motorcycles pull up out front.  Unbelievably, it was the two guys from Poland that we originally met at Gary Turner’s Gay Parita Filling Station in Parris Springs, MO – on Saturday!  Pretty incredible.  We all shared a good laugh and look to see each other again further down the road.

Next up was New Mexico and the border town of Glenrio.  This place was an absolute ghost town and a real testament to the effect I-40 had on Route 66.  It is amazing that a once bustling town could be absolutely barren now.  We had several sections of Route 66 in New Mexico that were challenging, including a tight squeeze on dirt road through box-culverts under I-40.  Another section near Laguna, NM including the infamous Dead Man’s Curve, which deserves the name with a 300-degree curve around a massive jagged rock formation.

We took the pre-1937 Route 66 through Santa Fe.  It added quite a bit to our trip, but was well worth it.  Snowcapped mountains made for an excellent backdrop on the horizon as we climbed to 10,500 feet.  Downtown Santa Fe was a great experience.  We ate at the Del Charro Saloon and I had some chili that was “mild” by local standards but lit me up pretty good.  Dad thought it was just right.

Today was our longest day, including an extra hour as we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone.  We logged the most miles today as well, topping out just shy of 490 miles!  We are making great time and should be in Arizona early tomorrow.  Tonight we are staying at the Southwest Motel on Route 66 in Grants, NM.  Here’s the recap:

·         Amarillo, TX – Cadillac Ranch.

·         Vega, TX – Concrete Culverts – remnants of “Dirt 66.”

·         Adrian, TX – Brenda’s Café; Midpoint Café.

·         Glenrio, NM – The ghost town of Glenrio.

·         Tucumcari, NM – Blue Swallow Motel; Tee Pee Curios;  La Citas.

·         Santa Rosa, NM – Route 66 Restaurant; Sun & Sand Motel.

·         Santa Fe, NM – Del Charro Saloon; Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; La Fonda Hotel.

·         Albuquerque, NM.

·         Rio Grande River – Crossed it three times!

·         Laguna, NM – Owl Rock; Dead Man’s Curve.

·         Budville, NM – Budville Trading Company

·         Cubero, NM – Villa De Cubero Trading Post.

·         Grants, NM – Ready for some rest after our longest day yet.

What I learned from my father today: Enjoy the Ride

Today we decided to take the pre-1937 Route 66 through Santa Fe, NM.  This required us to drive a good bit out of our way, both up to Santa Fe and then south of Albuquerque.  My guess is we added at least 60 miles to our journey.  At times we wondered if we had made the right decision, but Dad pointed out all of the great things we were experiencing because we took the longer trip.

What I learned from my son today: Two of a Kind

Two of a kind in a poker game is usually a loser, but two of a kind when it is a father and son is a winning hand every time.  I have learned on this trip how alike Ernie and I are – much more so than I realized.  We like the same food, enjoy the same music, and agree on what sights to see and what sights to bypass.  Our commonalities have made this trip easy and comfortable with zero conflicts – fantastic trip!