Backroads & Byways of New Mexico

images — A VIEW OF EL MORRO (INSCRIPTION ROCK) FROM BACKROAD NM 53

OLD US 66

MOTHER ROAD MYSTIQUE ENDURES

Route 66, the Mother Road, unfurling through eight states and 2,400 miles from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier, California, has given birth to a worldwide nostalgia for the way we once were in America. It’s about possibilities, dreams, migration, transformation, hope, memory, and an endless America. Each decade has had its own story of America’s Main Street, Route 66. It was celebrated as a path of hope out of the poverty of the Great Depression and the Dustbowl in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and immortalized in the film starring Henry Fonda; as a road to freedom and adventure in a Corvette in a 1960s television series; and as a song you can’t get out of your head, written by Bobby Troupe and first sung by Nat King Cole in the postwar 1940s. The road today is a paradox of fantasy and haunted highway. Judging by the thousands of fans it has garnered worldwide, and its ever-expanding mystique, the road exerts its own quintessential magic on anyone who encounters it.

The road evokes the yearning for what everyone loves: endless horizons of possibility and discovery punctuated with mom-and-pop cafés, carny roadside attractions, and cozy motels. As time bleaches and fades these images, they grow more vivid in our imagination. Meanwhile, we repair neon signs, preserve bridges, and repurpose motor courts such as the El Vado on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, now remodeled into a network of spiffy themed condos, cafés, studios, and shops. Every culture needs its legends. It’s safe to say Route 66 is enshrined in the American psyche; the road embodies just as much quintessential Americanness as America’s Highway and the Will Rogers Highway, and it’s not going away any time soon.

In 1921, the US Congress, through the Federal Highway Act, initiated an interstate highway system to link the United States. Route 66, born of a merging of the National Old Trails Road and the Ozark Trails, and it meandered through New Mexico more or less north to south from Pecos to Santa Fe to Los Lunas. In 1926, it was realigned following Governor Hannet’s 1926 term to run straight through New Mexico for 399 miles. This realignment became official in 1937 when the road was paved. It ran through several New Mexico cities as a main street: Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Moriarty, Albuquerque, and Gallup. While the realignment cut 107 miles from the journey, and shooting through the central corridor of the state saved four hours and avoided the perilous switchbacks of La Bajada Pass, the reason for the realignment was political revenge, not practicality. Governor Arthur Thomas Hannett, looking to get back at the unscrupulous group of Republican politicians and businessmen known as the Santa Fe Ring who had (he believed) thwarted his re-election, diverted the road away from Santa Fe. The new straight road became known as Hannett’s Joke.

And it is possible to drive many miles on this original, post-1937 two-lane Route 66, renamed NM 124 when the road was de-commissioned in 1985, parallel to I-40, functioning as a state-maintained frontage road in many places, say, from Albuquerque west toward Gallup. In places, I-40 overrides the original route. In addition, sections of the pre-1937 alignment still exist and are drivable in New Mexico. This chapter speaks to the post-1937 alignment only.

While space prevents detailing every existing road segment, in general, Historic 66 is marked with brown and tan signs. I strongly suggest you consult detailed, recent maps for specifics before heading out, because certain jogs along the way can be confusing, especially when you’re navigating traffic. To have the best trip, it is necessary for the driver to do a bit of homework and be prepared for changes in speed limits, road construction, and weather. An excellent website to check daily for road conditions is NMroads.com. In the big picture, accessible east-west road segments include: Glenrio to San Jon; San Jon to Tucumcari; Palomas to Montoya; Montoya to Cuervo; Cuervo to NM 156; Albuquerque to Rio Puerco; Laguna to McCartys; McCartys to Grants; Milan to Continental Divide; Iyanbito to Rehobeth; and Manuelito to the Arizona border. Many guidebooks and maps are available to assist in navigation, in particular the EZ66 Route 66 Guide for Travelers, by Jerry McClanahan.

Route 66 Westbound: Enter New Mexico from the Texas border heading west at Exit 0, Texas on I-40 and pass under the Welcome to New Mexico arch entering the state. About 2 miles in, at Exit 369, you’ll find Endee. Exit right to Russell’s Travel Center. You’ll find a retro café, souvenirs and snacks galore, gas, of course—and most outstanding, the multi-car museum, the passion of the senior Russell, a mind-blowing collection of shiny vintage automobiles plus toys and collectibles of all sorts. Elvis was definitely here (and still may be). And it is free. From Endee, which got its name from the ND Ranch, the main goal is to return to old Route 66 ASAP.

While I do not believe in backtracking, here is the exception that proves the rule. While this direction may seem counter-intuitive, a quick return here is probably the simplest way to both experience the Russell’s Truck Stop and get back on westbound Route 66. Exit Russell’s and return to I-40 eastbound. Stay in the right lane. See a sign to Historic Route 66 before you cross the state line. Turn right.

Carry on. A bit of rough road, a bit of washboard road, and voila! Some of the most photogenic and memorable ruins on the road can be found, slowly melting into the earth as they are buffeted by the winds of the plains, on this 18-mile stretch of good dirt and gravel roadway, through Endee, such as the “modern rest rooms” outhouse still standing, Bard, Montoya and San Jon (pronounced “san hone”). Caution: best to avoid this route in bad weather. It is 43 miles to Tucumcari, at Exit 335, and most of the drive can be made on Old 66. If you choose to avoid this “dirt” road, the alternative is to turn right at 369 for Endee, visit the truck stop, then left on the north frontage road for 13 miles to San Jon, Exit 356. Cross I-40, then turn right and proceed 25 miles to Tucumcari. This trip leads to traveling across the Llano Estacado, the Staked Plains, of eastern New Mexico.

Tucumcari is visually the purest remaining Route 66 town in New Mexico, and there is an abundance of neon there, lighting up the night sky. For the Route 66 fan, it is Mecca, a required pilgrimage; the town seems suspended in time. Some of the authentic picturesque highlights are the Blue Swallow Motel, Del’s, Tee Pee Curios, La Cita, Buckaroo Motel, Whiting Brothers gas station, and so much more. Some of the most decrepit and abandoned motels and gas stations are the most gorgeously photogenic. Cruise Tucumcari Boulevard, actually Old Route 66, and take your time taking it all in.

On the west end of town, in the Tucumcari Convention Center, is the New Mexico Route 66 Museum, which boasts the world’s largest Route 66 photo exhibit and a recreated vintage diner. Out front is an iconic Route 66 sculpture. Tucumcari also has the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum and the Tucumcari Historical Museum. The restored railroad station downtown also makes a worthwhile stop.

Leaving Tucumcari—the name has various explanations, one meaning “lookout”—indeed, Tucumcari Mountain on the eastern edge of town makes a fine lookout on those approaching from the plains—and the other from a tragic Romeo-and-Juliet-style love story. But the original name was Six Shooter Siding. Take I-40 on the west end of Tucumcari, go 8 miles, take Exit 321 turn right on the frontage road and proceed with caution 4 miles to a one-lane tunnel, requiring a sharp turn under the interstate. On the north side of I-40, go left and continue to mostly deserted Montoya, 21 miles west of Tucumcari, a 20th-century ranch and railroad center that catered to Route 66 travelers once upon a time. There are plenty of photo ops to be found here.

Cross to the south frontage road and continue west until the road passes over I-40, then continue to Newkirk and then to Cuervo. I have taken some of my best Route 66 photos on this stretch, with gloriously deserted, rusty, and broken-down structures, with deliciously faded signs painted on the buildings. At Cuervo take I-40 Exit 291, going 17 miles to Santa Rosa Exit 277. On the main street, Santa Rosa’s most iconic Route 66 sign, the smiling Fat Man from the Club Café, has been preserved at Joseph’s Bar & Grill. Part of the film The Grapes of Wrath was shot here, on the bridge over the Pecos River. Be careful getting out here to photograph—there are many photo seekers probing about, just like you! The railroad-era Fourth Street Business District with the Ilfield Warehouse and old storefronts has been known as a Route 66 stop since 1926. Located on the Pecos River, Santa Rosa is blessed with plenty of water, including Blue Hole, an 82-foot-deep sinkhole that makes the town the Scuba Diving Capital of New Mexico, as well as the water slide and pedal boats on Park Lake. The central corridor is old Route 66, known as Will Rogers Drive. The Route 66 Auto Museum is the place for lovers of vintage automobiles, and this place is dedicated to the preservation of Route 66 memorabilia and custom cars.

From Santa Rosa heading west, return to I-40 for highway driving; the interstate has subsumed the old road. The first place to hop out is at the mega-truck stop at Clines Corners, a stretch from Santa Rosa of 57 miles. More Route 66 immersion awaits in Moriarty, 24 miles from Clines Corners, which was not named for Holmes’ nemesis, but rather, for health seeker Michael Moriarty, founded in 1902. Several period motels remain, like the Sunset, and the restored Whiting Brothers sign is the pride and joy of the community. Find out more at the Moriarty Historical Society & Museum. The US Southwest Soaring Museum, documenting the history of gliding, is another worthwhile local attraction.

There’s a rich stretch of Route 66 to navigate past Moriarty, though the road numbers may not coincide. Simply avoid getting back on I-40 at Exit 194 and hop on backroad NM 333 instead. This approximately 14-mile portion leads through the communities of Edgewood and Barton as you approach Albuquerque through Tijeras Canyon, cutting through the Manzano Mountains to the south and the Sandias to the north. At Exit 181, cross I-40 and curve left onto Sedillo Hill Road. Warning: this road is notoriously icy during bad weather and the site of numerous wrecks. Back when NM 333 was Route 66, Herman Ardans opened a curio shop around 1956. He fabricated the name Zuzax; however, he told customers it had had to do with the Zuzax Indians. Today the name endures as an exit off I-40.

Following the realignment of the original 1926 roadway, Albuquerque’s population tripled as motels opened and businesses serving tourists thrived. Central Avenue has many architectural remnants of the Route 66 era. Cruising it from Tramway Boulevard on the eastern end in search of these vintage, mostly run-down and largely deserted buildings is possible, but be warned: there is a good deal of both construction and confusion along Central Avenue. A dysfunctional transit program begun during a previous city administration excavated the middle of the street. The problems it created are massive and continue to spawn other problems, putting local enterprises out of business and irritating the citizenry. Consequently, street signs are extremely confusing, even to local residents. We will do our best to highlight intact Route 66 sites of note along Central Avenue in Albuquerque; undoubtedly, you will spot a few of your own.

Outstanding Albuquerque sites along the 17 miles of Route 66 in this city include the Streamline Moderne Nob Hill Shopping Center (113 Carlisle Boulevard SE), built in 1947 and called Waggoman’s Folly because it was considered too far out of town to be successful; Jones Motor Company, a garage repurposed as a brewpub; downtown at 5th and Central and worth a stop is the 1927 KiMo Theater, a 1927 Pueblo Deco style movie theater whose name means “the king of his kind” and is now an arts venue; and Maisel’s Indian Jewelry, built by Maurice Maisel in 1937 and the largest post along the road at the time, with murals painted by well-known Indian artists when they were students. You can’t miss the Dog House, scene of Breaking Bad incidents. If you want to stay in Old Town, the Monterey Motel at 2402 Central is an excellent choice. El Vado, across from the Biopark, once considered the purest Route 66 motel architecture on the road, has been redeveloped as motel rooms, condos, shops, cafés, and outdoor dining; then, cross the Rio Grande and cruise up West Central, noting the Grandview and Americana Motels, Mac’s Steak in the Rough, and the Western View Café (a personal favorite) at West Central and Coors Boulevard on the way out of town.

However, you can also set out from Western View Diner & Steakhouse, an original Route 66 diner still open and serving biscuits, gravy, and homemade pie at the corner of West Central Avenue and Coors Boulevard. From there, cross the intersection of Central and Coors, look to the left, and follow the signs to Route 66. Continue up Nine Mile Hill and notice original Route 66 motels and cafés like the Westward Ho. In 15 miles, come to the Rio Puerco Bridge. The Rio Puerco was notorious for flooding and washing out bridges, so the Parker through truss bridge built in 1933 solved many travel difficulties. The strong steel bridge may be found on the frontage road at Exit 140 off I-40. It is possible to get out of the car and take photos of this landmark survivor of the road. On the opposite side of the highway is the Route 66 Casino operated by Laguna Pueblo, offering some campy and cool artistic interpretations of the road that are Disney-fied and just fun.

Take I-40 to Exit 117 at Mesita. Take a right after leaving I-40, then first left to Old Route 66, which parallels the interstate for almost 5 miles to Exit 114, where NM 124 begins. This stretch of Route 66, from Mesita onward, goes through Laguna Pueblo, home of the NM State Fair first-prize-winning burger at the 66 Pit Stop, (505-552-1022, call for directions) and leads to some of my favorite vintage sites: Budville, Cubero, and San Fidel, offering some of the very best photo opportunities on the entire route. The incredible fact is that from here you can now pretty much stay on old 66, which parallels the interstate all the way to Grants, Continental Divide, and ultimately, Gallup, so long as you are willing to stay alert, have patience, follow the signs, and go under a few narrow old tunnels with sharp turns along the two-lane. As you approach Gallup, 66 is again subsumed by I-40, and that will be your entrance to the city. It’s about 20 miles from Gallup to cross the state line into Fort Lupton, Arizona, following I-40.

SIDE TRIP

Acoma Pueblo: Sky City

Since you are so close, it would be a shame to pass up the opportunity to visit Acoma Pueblo, one of the nineteen Indian Pueblos, or villages, each a sovereign nation, in New Mexico. Exit I-40 at Exit 108, 65 miles west of Albuquerque. Follow Indian Route 22 south to Sky City Cultural Center, 12.5 miles. A village of 300 adobe structures on a sandstone mesa 357 feet high above the desert, this place has been occupied for at least a thousand years, making it the oldest inhabited place in North America. The Acoma people are known for fine pottery, and village potters sell their wares directly to visitors atop the 357-foot mesa. Here it is best to be aware that some pottery is made from hand-dug clay, while other, known as “green ware” pot designs are painted onto pre-molded completely regular pots. This is a big distinction from handmade, and it naturally affects price. The best, and only, way to see Acoma is to take the van up to the mesa top and receive a tour from one of the excellent native guides. Purchase a ticket inside the Cultural Center, which has a video, exhibits, and a gift shop, and is free. For tour information, please call 800-747-0181. Tours impart information on history, architecture, religion, culture, food, water gathering, customs, where you may and may not walk. People do live up here, but not all year round; they mainly live here at ceremonial times. There is no electricity or running water and people still live in the old way. Photographs for personal use are allowed if you purchase a photo permit, which must be displayed on your camera. One of the highlights is the San Esteban del Rey Mission, a massive adobe and wood structure built from 1629 to 1640. While Pueblo languages are traditionally unwritten, the Acoma people, the only Keresan-speaking tribe, are gradually compiling a dictionary and writing their language for the first time.

SIDE TRIP

El Morro/Inscription Rock

This side trip requires half to a full day. Take Exit 81 off I-40 west of Grants and turn left on NM 53. Known as the Ancient Way (byways.org/explore/states/NM), this drive parallels the ancient trade route between Acoma and Zuni Pueblos, the route originally taken by Coronado. It’s a 73-mile scenic trip to Zuni Pueblo. This is an intriguing backroad, full of surprises and a variety of natural beauty. The biggest surprise I ever had out here was when a mountain lion leapt in front of my car and bounded across the two-lane road with one spring while I was driving along on a Sunday afternoon. Three miles southwest of the interstate, come to the quiet Hispanic community of San Rafael, a stop for the Navajo on the Long March to Fort Sumner. Immediately pass the villages of San Mateo and Cebolleta.

Exit 81, west of Grants, will take you along NM 53 where you can travel to the northern boundary of the El Malpais National Monument (505-876-2783). This monument holds 200 miles of lava flow. There are several hiking opportunities here, including the El Calderon Trail and Zuni-Acoma Trail, the remaining rugged 8-mile path marked by cairns of an ancient 73-mile trail between the two pueblos across the lava flow. The final stop is the vast El Malpais National Monument. Pronounced el-mahl-pie-ees, meaning ‘bad land’ in Spanish, it consists of almost 200 square miles of lava flows bounded by NM 53 to the north and NM 117 to the east. Five major flows have been identified, the most recent pegged at only 2000 to 3000 years old. Paleo Indians may have witnessed the final eruptions: local legends refer to “rivers of fire.” Stop by the Information Center on NM 53 to pick up permits to explore nearby lava tubes (some of which are ice caves) or get the lowdown on possible hikes. Alternatively, pick up the same info at the Northwest New Mexico Visitors Center in Grants.

An experience like no other is the Ice Caves and Bandera Volcano, 25 miles southwest of Grants. Inside the temperature never gets above 31 degrees Fahrenheit due to the 20-foot thick ice on the cave floor. Bandera is the largest of the 29 quiet volcanos in this region. This cave was known to Pueblo Indians as the Winter Lake, and the ancients mined the ice. The cave is located in part of Bandera’s collapsed lava tube. Bandera Volcano erupted 10,000 years ago, and its lava flow is 23 miles long. There is a trail around the side of the volcano. Called the Land of Fire and Ice, the walk to the trail is a 0.25-mile long and takes 40 minutes to make the round trip. Viewing the ice cave requires climbing up and down a lengthy flight of steps and takes about 20 minutes. The old-time Trading Post displays ancient artifacts found in the lava, plus local Indian art.

One mile further on, cross the Continental Divide. Approximately 170 miles west of Albuquerque on I-40 is the pinnacle of a geological ridge that separates the nation’s waterways. East of the Divide all waters flow east to the Atlantic Ocean, while those west of the divide flow toward the Pacific.

Cimarron Rose Zuni Mountain Bed & Breakfast, 30 miles southwest of Grants on NM 53, is a green retreat on the Continental Divide. Breakfast is delivered to your room, and there are three suites, two with cooking facilities. A splendid perennial garden attracts dozens of bird species.

Ancient Way Café (4018 NM 53, Ramah, 505-783-4612) 4018 NM 53, Ramah offers a café, cabins, tents, and RV spots in this unexpectedly lively scene of art, good food, wellness, and New Age spirituality. The vegetarian-friendly natural foods café, where home-baked cakes and pies fill the display case and the house-cured pastrami rueben is to die for, is Inscription Rock Trading Post & Coffee. The food is healthy, delicious, and somewhat gourmet! You can also visit the Old School Gallery and a sculpture trail behind the Ancient Way Café.

El Morro National Monument (505-783-4226) is 42 miles southeast on NM 53 from Grants. “Paso por aqui” (I passed by here) wrote conquistador Francisco Coronado in the sandstone cliff above the water pool in 1640. His signature is among over 2,000 on this bluff, or cuesta, including petroglyphs made by ancestral Puebloans, Spanish explorers, the military, and Anglo settlers, beneath which travelers throughout history have found a permanent water source. The paved 0.5-mile trail from the visitor center leads here. In addition, a two-hour moderate hike to the mesa top reveals the 13th- and 14th-century ancestral pueblo of Atsinna. Zuni Pueblo is 30 miles west.

Eleven miles further lies Ramah, primarily a Mormon and Navajo town, with one small museum, the Ramah Museum, open Friday 1 to 4 p.m. Through displays, the museum exhibits tell the story of the town. Ramah Lake is 2.5 miles northeast of town.

In 20 miles, arrive at Zuni Pueblo, the westernmost of New Mexico’s 19 Indian Pueblos, and the largest. The people specialize in fine distinctive inlay and “needlepoint” and “pettipoint” jewelry, and jewelry shops and trading posts line the main street. Zuni, also known as Haiikawa, was the first Native American village encountered by Coronado on his search for the Seven Cities of Gold. The restored mission church, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de la Candelaria de Halona, established in 1630–66, has life-sized restored murals. The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center (02E Ojo Caliente Road, Zuni, 505-782-4403, www.ashiwii-museum.org) displays artifacts retrieved when Haiikawa, or Zuni Pueblo, was excavated in 1920. Please note photos are not allowed here. At the junction of NM 53 and NM 602, go left for 25 miles on NM 602, which will bring you into Gallup.

Grants, formerly the Uranium Capital of the World at the base of Mount Taylor, is a favorite place to rest. A cruise through Grants along Santa Fe Avenue shows the remains of much vintage Route 66 architecture, including the Sands Motel, a place Elvis Presley enjoyed staying. The New Mexico Mining Museum has the world’s only underground uranium mining museum where you can ride “the cage” down an actual mineshaft. Cibola (“buffalo”) County has a long history of mining, including copper, gold, silver, uranium, and coal. At Riverside Park across the street from the museum, find the Route 66 Arch, designed for a drive-through selfie. At night, it is a beacon of colorful neon.

During the 1880s, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad laid tracks; the contractors heading up the project were three Grant brothers from Canada, giving their name to the coal loading area and depot. So, the settlement originally named Los Alamitos (small willows) became Grants.

For visitors interested in more of the intertwined history of Route 66 and Grants, Double Six Galleries (1001 West Santa Fe Avenue) features a permanent exhibit called The Route 66 Vintage Museum. Vintage postcards from trading posts and other stops are on display, as well as automobiles, including a 1923 Model T Ford.

At one time, during the 1920s and 30s, Grants was known as the Carrot Capitol of the United States. Continue on Santa Fe Avenue into the adjacent community of Milan, where the road again becomes Route 66. It leads west toward Gallup.

Mount Taylor, at 11,301 feet, is a dormant stratovolcano which erupted last between 1.8 and 3.2 million years ago. It was named for President Zachary Taylor. It is considered one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo and is also known as Turquoise Mountain. To access Mount Taylor, take NM 547 from Grants, a roadway also known as Lobo Canyon Road. Follow until the pavement ends. Continue on the dirt road for 5 miles, then take a right on Forest Road 453 to Water Canyon Trailhead.

Note: If you choose to get off at Thoreau (“threw”), midway between Grants and Gallup, you can get on NM 371, 27 miles to Crownpoint, where the monthly Crownpoint rug auction is held in the high school, and then you can ultimately find the backroad to Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

The Continental Divide is 33 miles west of Grants. It is the highest point on Route 66, at 7,295 feet, along the hydrological divide that runs through the Americas, where water divides and flows east or west. Here the curio shop is built exactly on the divide.

Called the Indian Capital of the World, Gallup’s population swells by thousands each weekend when people come in from the Navajo Reservation to shop and visit. It is the trading, shopping, medical, and educational center for the Navajo and Zuni. Over 100 trading posts sell all manner of Indian jewelry and wares, and Gallup is the site of the annual Intertribal Ceremonial, a gathering of tribes from throughout the hemisphere for parades, powwows, rodeos, market, and dances, in late July or early August. Lacking a formal banking system, many of the early trading posts functioned as pawnshops offering ready cash, and now old pawn or dead pawn jewelry, guns, saddles, and more are sought-after items. Gallup started out as a railroad and coal mining town, and it got its name because the paymaster was named David Gallup, and workers would announce they were “going up to Gallup’s” to collect their wages. Prior to the 1880s, it consisted of a station, saloon, and store.

IN THE AREA

Accommodations

BLUE SWALLOW MOTEL, 815 Route 66, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-9849. $$. Owned and operated by former Harvey Girl Lillian Redman for over 40 years, the current owners cherish the 1939 stucco motel character of the place where the neon blue swallow flies proudly as a symbol of the Mother Road.

CIMARRON ROSE ZUNI MOUNTAIN BED & BREAKFAST, Route 9407, 689 Oso Ridge Road, Grants. Call 800-856-5776. Website: www.cimarronrose.com. $$$.

EL RANCHO HOTEL, 1000 East Route 66, Gallup. Call 505-863-9311. $$. Where Western stars stayed while filming in the area. With 24 rooms, each named for a movie star, this 1937 motel is the epitome of Hollywood-gone-Western nostalgia. It has a pool, a lounge, and a decent restaurant, as well as a bar. The floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and rustic wooden lobby furnishings are always welcoming to visit.

MONTEREY MOTEL, 2402 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque. Call 505-243-3554. $. Modest, inexpensive, clean, circa 1936.

Attractions and Recreation

BANDERA VOLCANO & ICE CAVE, The Land of Fire and Ice. Call 888-ICECAVE. Website: www.icecaves.com.

DOUBLE SIX GALLERIES, 1001 West Santa Fe Avenue, Grants.

GALLUP CONVENTION & VISITOR BUREAU, 103 West Route 66, Gallup. Call 505-863-3841.

GRANTS/CIBOLA COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 100 North Iron Avenue, Grants. Call 505-287-4802.

LAGUNA PUEBLO, 22 Capitol Road, Laguna Pueblo. Call 505-552-6654.

MESALANDS DINOSAUR MUSEUM, 222 East Laughlin Avenue, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-3466.

MORIARTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM, 202 South Broadway, Moriarty. Call 505-832-0839.

NEW MEXICO MINING MUSEUM, 100 North Iron Avenue, Grants. Call 505-287-4802.

NEW MEXICO ROUTE 66 ASSOCIATION, Website: www.rt66nm.org.

NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO VISITOR CENTER, 1900 East Santa Fe Avenue, off I-40 at Exit 85, Grants. Call 505-876-2783.

OLD SCHOOL GALLERY, 46 NM 53, Ramah. Call 505-369-4047.

RICHARDSON’S TRADING CO., 222 West Route 66, Gallup. Call 505-722-4762. Nearly overwhelming selection of turquoise, silver, coral, Navajo, and Zuni jewelry; Navajo rugs; sand paintings; pottery; and old pawn fill the walls and cases of this creaky 1913 post. Reliable.

ROUTE 66 AUTO MUSEUM, 2436 Will Rogers Drive, Santa Rosa. Call 575-472-1966. Website: cibolaartscouncil.com/museum.html.

THE ROUTE 66 VINTAGE MUSEUM, Website: cibolaartscouncil.com/museum.html. Vintage postcards from trading posts.

RUSSELL’S ENDEE TRUCK AND TRAVEL CENTER, 1583 Frontage Road 4132, Glenrio. Call 575-576-8700.

SANTA ROSA LAKE STATE PARK, NM-91, Santa Rosa. Call 575-472-3110.

SANTA ROSA PARK LAKE HISTORIC DISTRICT, 913 Blue Hole Road, Santa Rosa. Call 575-472-3763.

SANTA ROSA VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER, 1085 Blue Hole Road, Santa Rosa. Call 575-472-3763.

SKY CITY CULTURAL CENTER, Haaku Road, Acoma Pueblo. Call 505-552-7861.

TEE PEE CURIOS, 924 East Route 66, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-3773.

TUCUMCARI HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 416 South Adams Street, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-4201.

TUCUMCARI/QUAY COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 404 Route 66, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-1694.

US SOUTHWEST SOARING MUSEUM, 918 Route 66, Moriarty. Call 505-832-9222.

WILD SPIRIT WOLF SANCTUARY, 378 Candy Kitchen Road, Ramah. Call 505-775-3032. Website: wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org.

ZUNI VISITOR CENTER, 1231-1245 NM-53, Zuni. Call 505-782-7238.

Dining and Drinks

ANCIENT WAY CAFÉ/EL MORRO RV PARK AND CABINS, 4018 NM 53, Ramah. Call 505-783-4612. Website: elmorro-nm.com. $$.

DEL’S RESTAURANT & GIFT SHOP, 1202 East Route 66, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-1740. $$. Home cooking with a salad bar, juicy burgers, and great chicken-fried steak, all served up in original 1956 style. Look for the big bull sign.

EARL’S FAMILY RESTAURANT, 1400 East Route 66, Gallup. Call 505-863-4201. $–$$.

EL CAFECITO, 820 East Santa Fe Avenue, Grants. Call 505-285-6229. $.

EL VADO, 2500 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque. Call 505-361-1667. Restored and repurposed 1937 motel, $$.

MAC’S LA SIERRA RESTAURANT, 6217 Central Avenue NW, Albuquerque. Call 505-836-1212. $.

MR. POWDRELL’S BBQ HOUSE, 11301 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, Call 505-298-6766. $$.

SILVER MOON CAFÉ, 3501 Will Rogers Drive, Santa Rosa. Call 575-472-3162. $$.

66 DINER, 1405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque. Call 505-247-1421. $$.

VIRGIE’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, 2720 West Route 66, Gallup. Call 505-863-4845. $.

WATSON’S BAR-B-QUE, Tucumcari Ranch Supply, 502 South Lake Street, Tucumcari. Call 575-461-9620. $.

WESTERN VIEW DINER & STEAKHOUSE, 6411 Central Avenue NW, Albuquerque. Call 505-836-2200. $.