Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Santa Rosa, NM is a great town that is still very vibrant.  There is a lot remaining of the old Route 66 and much of it is in great shape like the Sun and Sand Motel sign above.  I stayed in Santa Rosa a few years ago and always wanted to go back and look around again.

The restaurant above is a great example of "Googie" architecture and is a step back in time to the 50's and 60's.

Bell Gas closed a while back but the building is still in great shape.

Route 66 looking westbound.

A great view of businesses on Route 66.  If there were no cars you would think this was taken 40 years ago.

Don't we wish these prices were still around?  The station went out of business years ago but left the prices up.

The classic example of the old Exxon stations complete with the "Happy Motoring" sign still above the service doors.  I even had a model of this on my model railroad when I was a kid.

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Tucumcari Tonight!

 Tucumcari, New Mexico (pronounced Two-come-carry) is a mecca for Route 66 enthusiasts and one of my favorite towns to visit for roadside nostalgia.  There are many examples of great old signage remaining in the town.  The place really does take you back to an earlier time.  There are also plenty of motels remaining from the hey-day of the Mother Road albeit not in as good of shape as they were in the 1950's and 60's.  Some motels though are probably even nicer than what they were back then as new owners have refurbished them to preserve the history of the road and the town.  It runs the gamut in Tucumcari.

The Blue Swallow Motel (above) is one of the more famous on Route 66.  I talked with the current owner who bought the motel several years ago.  He and his wife have lovingly brought the motel back to the glory of the past.  It even has 1950's phones and furniture in the rooms.

 

The Lasso's Sign is great right down to the color tv ad. The motel building is gone though, demolished in 2010.

 

The Americana is still going strong.

 

The Redwood has new owners and is being fixed up.

 

The Palomino is a clean motel with a great sign.

 

The Apache is abandoned but still standing.  Time will tell whether is gets saved and restored.

The Pony Soldier is gone but the sign remains.

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Conway, TX

There is not much left to Conway, Texas.  This Route 66 town was bypassed by the interstate around 1984 but was still in close proximity to it.  That did not help the fortunes of the small town though.  The grain elevator is the last remaining business besides 2 old motels and cafe.  Across the interstate is a Love's Truck Stop where most of the travelers money goes to nowadays.

What makes Conway an interesting stop is the "Bug Farm" adjacent to the old trading post.  The VW Beetles buried face down in the Texas dirt are spray painted by visitors, as is the old 1930's car and the crumbling buildings.

The vintage gas station is left crumbling back to earth and is basically a home for some feral cats.  And a cool place to visit for old car guys like me.  I remember gas stations when they were like this.  Locally owned and lots a character instead of the quick marts that we have now.

 One of the cats that live in the old gas station.

 The gift shop has been abandoned for a long time.

 Some snaps of Route 66 is Adrian, Texas.

 A great old station that is still hanging in there waiting to be restored (above).

  A Phillips 66 station that is seeing a second life (above).

 The Mid-Point Cafe is exactly in between Chicago and Santa Monica, CA. (above)

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