Our guidebook's entry for Clinton made mention of the Tradewinds Motel, although spotty reviews online prevented us from booking a reservation there, so our overnight after Lucille's was in an Econolodge in Clinton. Passing by the next morning, though, it seemed busy and looked nice enough from outside. Maybe we'll try it if we're ever back this way!
In the morning our first order of business after checkout was to visit Clinton's Route 66 Museum.
Out front at the museum was a tiny modular diner. These buildings were apparently available to rent at one time; the unit would be delivered to the renter's site and 10% of profits were due to the traveling rental company agent monthly.
It's a compact little diner!
The museum exhibits include modern and retro Route 66 signage, and maps of the road's original construction connecting local roadways as well as alignment changes over time.
I was amazed to learn that, in Oklahoma, at least, the initial construction was carried out by local farmers who earned $1 per day for road work, with an extra $1 if they could provide their own mule team! Children hauled water to the site for the workers ($.10 a gallon). Later, construction assistance was less voluntary, with the state levying a "road tax" on men who couldn't provide the mandatory 5 8-hour days of road work per year!
The gift shop was full of memorabilia, so I picked up some cute sunglasses. We also got a Route 66 antenna ball (unfortunately we can't use it on the rental car!)
Before we left Clinton, we went to lunch at Del Rancho, a nearby restaurant that recommended itself by the sheer number of work trucks in the lot. The food was as good as expected, but we also quickly realized that all meals were served in working man's portions! It took us a moment to notice that we had to use boothside phones to order our meals back to the kitchen.
After lunch we hit the highway again and set out for the Texas panhandle! There were again lots of great road signs along the way and some other sights, including a really neat railroad overpass,
an underpass below the highway that was swarming with swallows (you can almost make out their mud-daub nest on the inner walls),
and new landscapes.
Right at the state line is the town of Texola, which is pretty much a Route 66 ghost town. A few buildings look like they may be inhabited, but most are tumbledown and empty. The signs of life we did see indicate that the inhabitants have/had a sense of humor!
On the wall:
There's No Other PlaceIn Shamrock, TX, we saw the gloriously restored 1936 Art Deco filling station at the U Drop Inn.
Like This Place
Anywhere Near The Place
So This Must Be The Place
McLean, TX, was home to another gem of a refurbished 1930's-era station.
In Alanreed, TX, there was yet another well-maintained filling station, as well as a "Main" street and numbered cross avenues despite the fact that the area is about as populous as a country lane!
Compared to Oklahoma, Texas landscape seemed a little bit more open and the dirt a pale rosy pink.
However, we were surprised by a sudden region of canyons that disappeared as quickly as it came into view.
We diverted further off the highway for another Route 66 ghost town at Jericho.
Finally, just in time for dinner, we made it to our next major stop, Amarillo, TX. Here we stopped to eat at the famous Big Texan Steak Ranch, a restaurant and motel with all sorts of kitschy tourist amenities. The Big Texan is famous for a 72oz Steak Dinner (that's 4.5lbs of steak, salad, bread, a baked potato, and a shrimp cocktail!) which costs $100 unless you complete the Big Texan challenge and consume the entire meal in under 60 minutes. A 6-seat raised table with wall-mounted timers is set up for contestants, and while we were there 3 contenders were giving it a try (two teenage boys and a large man in gray monk's robes!) Nobody succeeded, this time.
Leaving Amarillo, we made a stop at a piece of artwork called the Cadillac Ranch, a stonehenge-like line of cars half-planted in the middle of a farm field and spray-painted wild colors. Apparently it is recommended to bring your own can of spray-paint and contribute to the artwork!
Further out from Amarillo it became hazy, and we drove through some puddles on the road and realized it must've rained. We could see the remaining storm off to the north, with clear skies to the south.
A couple of towns in Texas, Vega and Adrian, claim the honor of center point of Route 66 (by mileage, however with alternate alignments it's hard to pin down the exact middle between Chicago and LA). The Midpoint Cafe is located in Adrian.
The distant storm stayed with us as we continued towards New Mexico,
but the sun also broke through pretty spectacularly.
We reached the New Mexico state line by 8:30ish and gained an hour crossing into Mountain time.
The storm in the distance had all but abated, resulting in a pretty lovely run-up to sunset.
We also began seeing mesas or buttes in the distance almost as soon as we had crossed the state line.
The land changed again and looked more desert-like, with lots of scrub bushes dotting the hillside.
Our actual sunset was almost entirely obscured by the clouds.
It was still light enough to make up more and more mesas in the distance. I believe this to be one side of Mt. Tucumcari.
We arrived at our destination, Tucumcari, NM! The main drag is dotted with motels and Route 66 businesses, many closed but a few restored and still active.
The neon road signs still in operation made a pretty sight as night fell.
We had made a reservation at the Blue Swallow motel, a restored road motel with 15 rooms and attached garage bays. We found out when we arrived that the proprietors, a married couple, had recently bought the business and moved down from Michigan just two weeks ago! We're not sure who was running the place when we booked the room a month ago, but apparently the transition was pretty smooth!
Mike said hello their two friendly golden retrievers with a "Hi, Boomer!" to the younger dog. It turned out that he must look like a Boomer, because that is indeed his name! He and his companion Bessie are apparently the official greeters for all visitors at the Blue Swallow.
Our room (#11) didn't have the original furniture, but it was cozy and cute with some nice vintage touches.
After a pleasant night in Tucumcari, we're currently en route to Albuquerque on the last leg of the Route 66 road trip portion of our journey. I'll save today's experiences for another post!
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