On the outskirts of Amarillo stands one of the most unusual and most visited art installations in all of Texas. The Cadillac Ranch dates back to the late Route 66 era and is the creation of Stanley Marsh. It’s a very simple piece (or roadside attraction, should you prefer that term): ten 50’s-era Cadillac buried in the sand and left open to the elements as well as the graffiti artists.
After leaving Amarillo, my first big and exciting stop was Tucumcari, a motel town like almost no other. “Tucumcari Tonight” signs have flanked Route 66 and I-40 for years. It is most definitely possible to avoid the chains here.
A few more loops through small and sometimes almost-deserted towns and I made my way to Albuquerque.
It would have been nice to spend the night here; it seems like an interesting, vaguely nonconformist kind of place, and also appears to be a magnet for scruffy long-haired boys AND skaters. Hmmm…my two favorite flavors…
Alas, something (I later learned it was some kind of Balloon Expo) was going on in town and jacking up all the room rates. Since I’d now hit Mountain Time, I used the extra hour to get to Gallup, after touring the 66 strip (Central Avenue) a few times and looking around downtown and at a thrift store.
There are motel relics from the past everywhere in Albuquerque; I had to do some serious editing to cut down the number of pictures and move this page along. A few other biggies here included lunch at the Route 66 Diner, crossing the Rio Grande, and seeing highway signs which just read “US 66” rather than “Historic Route 66” or whatever. It made the dream just a touch more realistic.
About this time, I realized that I was getting sunburned. Not, mind you, the sunburn that comes from hanging the arm out the window. No, it was my INSIDE arm which was turning red. We’re talking serious sunshine here. I hate sunshine. So with my arm slowly getting redder and redder, I headed up Route 66 for Gallup NM.
Had dinner at Safeway (don’t ask) and then drove around taking pictures and seeing what was around. I closed out the night watching cable TV at the motel (such a bargain…).
