The room in Groom was ok - however we both decided that we probably could of pressed on to Amarillo. After the usual morning routines, we checked out of the hotel and headed to Amarillo for breakfast.
Along the way, we passed through the town of Conway and drove on one of the better sections of 66 in Texas; in fact, at one point we were able to go up to 70 ... legally! Soon we came into Amarillo and headed to the Big Texan.
The Big Texan is a hotel/restaurant just off of the Interstate and a couple of blocks away from the 66 route. As the name suggest, it is huge and, probably like most things in Texas, it does things Big. One of their "specials" is a Free 72 Oz Steak... if you can eat it within an hour. Not only do you need to eat the Steak, but also a Baked Potato, Salad, and Rolls ... all while seated at a table on a elevated platform in front of the whole restaurant.
The Breakfast buffet was good, but no one did the steak challenge (supposedly no one did the previous night as well). We headed out of town and to the Cadillac Ranch; a series of 10 cars buried nose first in the soil. Here, we caught up with a couple from Delaware (Smyrna) who drove from there to Chicago and then driving 66 to LA and then will be driving back to Delaware through Dallas.
Pressing on west, we went through Bushland, Wildorado, Vega and then stopped at the Mid Point Cafe in Adrian. They list themselves as the midway point of 66 - 1,139 miles to LA and Chicago. While they are famous for their "Ugly Crust Pies", Jeff bought a polo shirt. For the record, we are tied 2-2 on shirts.
At this point, we had to get back on the Interstate and headed down the Caprock to New Mexico (State # 6). Within a mile or two of crossing the state line, we got off the interstate and followed Frontage roads through San Jon to Tucumcari. The town is known for their old and very beautiful motels and the neon that lights their signs. We stopped briefly at the Blue Swallow Motel but, since the gift shop/office was not open at the time, we continued through the town.
After a quick ride on the Interstate, we got back on the Frontage road and passed through a very tight tunnel under I-40. Crossing the Interstate a couple more times, we passed through Montoya, Newkirk and Cuervo before jumping back on the Interstate and headed to Santa Rosa.
In town, we had some New Mexican food at the Comet 2 Restaurant; very good and the first of many Southwestern meals I am sure. We then jumped back on the Interstate for about 15 miles until we got off and headed North on Pre-1937 66. We decided to take this option since we were planning to go to Santa Fe and Los Alamos.
The first stretch of this was on US 84 and wasn't that bad until we were stopped by Road Work. At first, it seemed that the crew was more concerned about talking to people than directing traffic; however, it became apparent that the stretch of road that they were paving was about 2 miles long and required an escort.
Near Romeroville, we got back on Frontage roads this time following along I-25. We drove past Tecolote and Bernal... before pulling off into San Jose and looking at their plaza curch that was built in 1826 and a closed-off thru-truss bridge from the 1920s. Except knowing that 66 once went through here and that the Pecos River was close by, we weren't too sure what the attraction of having a town here was.
Back on the Frontage road, we went through Sands, Ilfield, and Rowe. At Rowe, we headed north to Pecos, driving past their National Historic Park, and then headed west to Glorieta; site of a Civil War battle in 1862. The Glorieta Pass is the highest point on 66 (pre-1937 route) so it should be all down-hill from here!
We then headed into Santa Fe from the south (Old Las Vegas Highway / Old Pecos Trail / Old Santa Fe Trail). Because of the one-way streets, we went around the plaza area and then, after missing a turn out of town... we headed North to Los Alamos and to Ilana's father's house.
After spending some time at his house, we (along with Ilana's father & step-mother, sister and her boyfriend) headed north to Espanola to a great New Mexican restaurant for dinner.
We plan on staying in the Los Alamos/Santa Fe area for at least one more night; possibly two. Today we are going around Bandelier National Monument. Monday we will probably spend a great portion of the day in Santa Fe... and this is where we will go off-schedule. Which is fine... since we had 3 "Cushion Days" already factored in.
Ilana and Jeff
