Gems & Hidden Histories on Route 66

Vince Lupo said:
Really enjoyed episode 9 -- BTW I read that the U Drop Inn cafe will be reopening by late July.
Click to expand...

Thanks Vince. It would be awesome if the U Drop Inn would open as a cafe again. Last time I was there you could buy cans of soda and chips, and sit in the cafe and eat them, but they didn't actually prepare food there. It would be really cool if it was a full service cafe again.

Best,
-Tim
 
I missed some of the oldefr episode, I'll start again from the beginning to "drive" with you all the road 66 !

Episode 9 is excellent, I?m so impressed by the architectural beauty of the camel back pony bridge, I guess it was courageous work! And the Conoco Tower Station is so particulare I would jump on a plane and on a car to get to see it in person!!!

Thanks for the good work you are showing us, well done!
 
Timmyjoe said:
The latest episode of Gems & Hidden Histories on Route 66 has just been posted.

We spend some time in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the town that is rumored to be the inspiration for Radiator Springs in the Pixar movie Cars.

Gems & Hidden Histories on Route 66, Episode #10

Eps10.jpg


I hope you enjoy.

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...

Nice episode Tim.

At the far west end of town is the Paradise Motel -- did you happen to find out any info about it?

As well, if you're looking for another place for a great bite to eat besides Del's, you have to check out the Tucumcari Ranch Supply and Watson's BBQ (the BBQ is located within the Ranch Supply). They have some of the best barbeque around. Super-nice people -- Stella Watson is a friend of mine, and they're just around the corner from the Blue Swallow.
 
Glad you liked it Vince.

I've passed the Paradise numerous times, but mainly concentrated on the establishments on the Strip thru Tucumcari.

In 2006 I bought a snake-bite kit at Tucumcari Ranch Supply, after one of the locals told me the rattlesnakes were active the time of year I was there. I was out exploring some of the abandonments along Route 66, just west of Tucumcari.

Best,
-Tim
 
Thank you sir.

The Blue Swallow is really something. If you do head out to Tucumcari from Danville, make sure to swing down thru Gallup NM and check out the Hotel El Rancho, and if you dip down thru Arizona, make sure to hit Winslow and La Posada. It's one of the Harvey House hotels along the train line, it's Spectacular. We'll be visiting all of those as we make our way to LA.

Best,
-Tim
 
Timmyjoe said:
Thank you sir.

The Blue Swallow is really something. If you do head out to Tucumcari from Danville, make sure to swing down thru Gallup NM and check out the Hotel El Rancho, and if you dip down thru Arizona, make sure to hit Winslow and La Posada. It's one of the Harvey House hotels along the train line, it's Spectacular. We'll be visiting all of those as we make our way to LA.

Best,
-Tim
Click to expand...

There’s another Harvey House hotel in Las Vegas (New Mexico) that reopened in 2019 after a long restoration, the Hotel Castaneda (and also owned by the same fellow who owns La Posada). I was lucky to have spent one night in it - their sister hotel in Las Vegas, the Plaza Hotel, was all booked up when I pulled into town, but they offered me a room at the Castaneda. It was so new that they hadn’t officially started booking people into it yet. Consequently I was the only guest - and the only person - staying at the hotel that night. A bit scary yet utterly amazing at the same time.

Lad Vegas is well worth the visit as well.
 
I've not seen that one Vince. Not sure how many Harvey House's there were total, back in the day. There is another one on Route 66 in Needles, CA called the El Garces Hotel, and another somewhere around Barstow IIRC, though I've never really been in that one, just saw it from the freeway.

Best,
-Tim
 
On the first of many trips up and down Route 66 I did go up to Santa Fe. It's a really interesting artist community and I enjoyed the architecture. I didn't find as much historic Mother Road-esque establishments or abandonments as the later alignments to Albuquerque so it's not included on my Gems & Hidden Histories series.

Best,
-Tim
 
After a bit of an hiatus, the latest episode of Gems & Hidden Histories on Route 66 has just been posted.

We travel thru sun drenched New Mexico and work our way to Albuquerque, stopping along the way to explore the Cuervo Cut Off, Santo Nino Catholic Church, Robertson Store and other Gems & Hidden Histories. I hope you enjoy.

Gems & Hidden Histories on Route 66, Episode #11

Eps11.jpg

I hope you enjoy.

Best,
-Tim
 
Last edited:
I like Santa Rosa, even though at first glance you’d think there wasn’t much there. You can’t drive through there without a visit to Blue Hole - one of two scuba diving sites in all of New Mexico. Plus the old Pecos Theater on 4th St. (right off 66) reopened in 2019 after having been closed for nine years. There's a beautiful little building right at the corner of 4th and Rt. 66 that started off life as a bank and then became the Lake City Diner. Unfortunately a recent online search indicates that it's closed 🙁

Every Good Friday there is a pilgrimage / walk from Santa Rosa to Puerto de Luna (10 miles south of Santa Rosa), and some participants carry giant crucifixes the entire way.
 
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