Posts tagged amarillo
July 6, 2014: Amarillo, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico
0Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
We got started from our hotel in Amarillo and headed over to Route 66. First, we spotted this now-closed shop called Spudnuts Coffee and Donuts. My grandson got a huge laugh out of “Spudnuts,” so for quite a while he amused himself by repeating “Spudnuts”…over and over and over…we felt alot like Charlie Babbitt in Rain Man, as Raymond repeated 97X, BAM – the future of rock and roll, 97X, BAM – the future of rock and roll…you get the idea.
Followed by a cool Sinclair Dinosaur at King Auto Sales
Arrow Motel sign
Next up was a newer addition to Route 66, but not Amarillo. This cowboy statue used to call his home a barbecue joint in Amarillo, but he was sold at auction earlier this year and now resides at the Cadillac Ranch RV Park on Route 66 in Amarillo…of course, not far from Cadillac Ranch.
Then we motored on through Vega and Adrian. Just for my grandson, more water tower excitement, complete with a Route 66 shield, which he’s also fond of spotting. So, this was 2 for 1! We stopped by the Sunflower Station gift shop, owned by Fran Houser, former owner of the adjacent Midpoint Cafe, and the inspiration for Flo, from the Route 66 themed Pixar film, Cars. Fran had an abundance of die cast Cars, and we picked up a Doc Hudson (in full Fabulous Hudson Hornet paint scheme and crew chief headset). We chatted with Fran for a bit and promised not to wait 12 years to come back, however, she currently has the Sunflower Station up for sale so she can retire (again) and spend more time visiting with family. More info on the sale can be found on Ron Warnick’s Route 66 News site, here.
At the Texas-New Mexico border, is the “ghost town” of Glenrio. The town sits on the border, so there is a Glenrio, Texas and a Glenrio, New Mexico.
Another inspiration for the Pixar team here in the former Little Juarez Diner…
…which Pixar made into “The Glenrio Motel.” Again, for more locations that inspired Cars, see this link.
After crossing into New Mexico, we took the pre-1950’s alignment from Glenrio to San Jon. It was paved, but is now dirt. It is very reasonably passable when dry.
We then arrived in Tucumcari, another town which provided alot of inspiration to Pixar for Radiator Springs. Tucumcari is a neon paradise, though it was very early, so we were not staying here (I had stayed here in in 2000 and 2002, though, and would love to again!).
Here’s a collage of some of the signs in Tucumcari (many are from the return trip too). For more from Tucumcari, see the slideshow at the bottom.
Of course, another prominent – and natural – feature is Tucumcari Mountain, which inspired the mountain in Cars, shaped like a radiator cap.
We shopped at Tee Pee Curios and picked up some souvenirs, then left Tucumcari, continuing on 66 through Newkirk, and as we passed Cuervo, we took the pre-1950’s alignment of Route 66 known as the Cuervo Cutoff. If you look on my trip map above, you can follow along our path. We took the “dog leg” route, but didn’t take the diagonal section (we had taken part of that during our honeymoon in 2002).
Here’s a brief video from the Cuervo Cutoff:
The next major city along Route 66 in New Mexico is Santa Rosa. Many towns along Route 66 in various states are preserving – and restoring – their neon signs and buildings. Sometimes the building is long gone, but the signs remain, and they are being restored. But it sure appears New Mexico Route 66 is really working hard at restoring signs, because there are some beauties in this state! I wish I could have been in every town and city with neon during the golden hour. Ahhh, the dream of early retirement…back to reality! Here are few shots from Santa Rosa. Like most of this trip – I didn’t take all my photos westbound…we were also taking 66 eastbound, so I saved some photos for the return trip!
Past Santa Rosa, we continued on I-40. There’s a fragment of post-1937 Route 66 at the westbound rest area at exit 252, just past the on ramp back onto I-40, which you can see on my map. We saw this in our friend Jerry McClanahan’s excellent book, EZ66 Guide for Travelers, which you can pick up at Amazon. We continued on I-40 until Clines Corners, a large travel center, which dates back to 1934 when it was started by Roy E. Cline as a filling station and cafe to the south of its current location. In 1937, it was relocated to its present location. It’s a very cool stop, with tons of souvenirs, curios, and other sundries. Quite a lot for a 3 year old to get (over)excited about, so we couldn’t spend as much time as we would have liked, and it was getting late. The sun was setting!
From Clines Corners, 66 continues to follow I-40 until Moriarty. By this time, however, it was dark and we were all pretty tired (did we say yet that traveling with an over excitable 3 year old is tiring? LOL). We wanted to stay in Albuquerque, so we continued on I-40. We were also taking 66 back, so if we needed to skip any parts of 66 on the way out, we would take them on the way back.
We decided to stay at a mom & pop motel in Albuquerque called the Monterey Motel. It’s a non-smoker’s motel and they mean it. From their neon sign to their website, they make it perfectly clear that’s how they want the air there – so NO smokers. Asthmatics like me do appreciate that.
It was a very nice place – clean, well decorated and comfortable. I would definitely stay there again and I’d like to. We rolled into Albuquerque far too late, and with a tired toddler in tow, we couldn’t take any nighttime neon shots (though of course, I’d prefer the golden hour anyway). Maybe next year. But until then, we hit the sheets, ready to seize the next day – taking some photos of Wild Hogs filming locations around Albuquerque…fun!!
Slideshow of All Photos (from July 3-5, 2014)
Below is a slideshow of all of the photos from this portion of the trip. Click any photo to stop the slideshow and view the photos on my Flickr site. If you are on an iOS device and do not see the slideshow below, click here to view the set on Flickr.
Hope you enjoyed the ride! Pat & Jennifer
July 3-5, 2014: Route 66 – Riverton, Kansas to Amarillo, Texas
0Day 1: July 3, 2014 – to St. Louis, Missouri
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
The first day of our trip was largely uneventful – we took the Interstate to St. Louis after work so we could make some progress on getting to the California border. We stopped at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and met with our camping friends Dane & Elaine, and then headed to our hotel, the Holiday Inn – Route 66….which was on Route 66!
Day 2: July 4, 2014 – St. Louis, Missouri to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Day 2 was a partial day on the Interstate. Usually referred to as the Evil I, it did serve its purpose today – to quickly get us where we wanted to go. We love Missouri 66, but took the Route several times in recent years, so our goal was to get to western Missouri quickly, then slow down in Oklahoma. Plus, we’re strongly thinking about joining the 25th Missouri Route 66 Motor Tour this year!
We did make a stop in Phillipsburg at Redmon’s Candy Factory – also a travel center/gas station, etc. By Joplin, we exited the Interstate for Route 66, but were bummed when we found the Candy House Gourmet Chocolates store was closed. We’d been there last year during the Route 66 Festival and gone on a tour and were hoping for some chocolate!
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, we had an ill-fated quick visit to the Route 66 Carousel Park. I made the dire mistake, after my 3-year old grandson asked to go on a merry-go-round, of saying maybe we’d find one (it sounded innocuous at the time and I thought it would go well, and the place was listed on their site as being open). So true, the park was opened when we arrived, but as we approached the gate, they informed us they were closing for 1 hour. 1…hour…not great to hear for a 3 year old who has no concept of time and was very excited to go on rides! Not great for us, who wanted to make the stop count by going on rides with him…not waiting for an hour, then go on rides! So that went over like a lead balloon! Not good…
So we meandered on 66 and stopped at the Marsh Arch bridge.
My grandson is fascinated with water towers, and this trip didn’t disappoint. He saw plenty and really seemed to enjoy this one in Quapaw, Oklahoma.
We stopped for lunch at Waylan’s Ku-Ku Burgers in Miami, Oklahoma
And of course, the big Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma!
By this time, it was getting later in the day and we decided to stop at a really nice playground/park in Sapulpa, Oklahoma called Heritage Park (considering the missed chance to go on the amusement rides earlier). It’s a very nice park that was built by volunteer residents. It’s huge!!
It was getting late and we didn’t want to miss anything driving in the dark, so we decided to go back to Tulsa to stay, as it wasn’t far. We did a Priceline and got the Crowne Plaza in southern Tulsa, but being the night of the 4th of July, several routes across the river were closed. We didn’t stop anywhere to watch fireworks, but we were treated to displays in all directions – that’s the good thing about the flat land. Ultimately, we made our way to the hotel after a number of detours, which you can see on the interactive map above…but finally we made it!
Day 3: July 5, 2014 – Tulsa, Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas
Today’s Map
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc.
Coincidentally, our hotel was located across from Oral Roberts University, which was the site of a photo op from my Roadside America app, which helps me find neat roadside attractions and oddities from their site, in a pretty cool iOS or Android app. It’s also available as a Garmin GPS add-on too.
We easily spotted the giant Praying Hands – wish we could have gotten inside to avoid the ugly power lines, but the gates were closed:
And some neat architecture as well:
Heading back into Sapulpa, I spotted this art display which pays homage to the town’s manufacturing history, of glass and brick factories as well as Frankoma Pottery.
In Bristow, this Ford dealership’s new building was built in the style of the 1920’s architecture throughout town. Their original building burned down, and they wanted to retain the original style when they rebuilt.
The Rock Cafe is in Stroud
The Round Barn in Arcadia
Restored Phillips 66 Filling Station in Chandler
The Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City
Giant Route 66 Shield at the Route 66 National Museum in Elk City
The Conoco Phillips station in Shamrock, Texas (U Drop Inn) – featured in the Pixar film Cars
And the Big Texan, whose adjoining motel was booked up, unfortunately. We had an acceptable generic stay at a nearby Sleep Inn.
Slideshow of All Photos (from July 3-5, 2014)
Below is an interactive map of our trip, tracked using my Trimble Outdoors Navigator iPhone app.
Feel free to browse and refer to the map for details about where we traveled, the photos were taken, etc. You can zoom in, or click the link below for a bigger, fullscreen map.
Hope you enjoyed the ride!
Pat & Jennifer