Heading West to Tucumcari!
Jean Sexton plans:
I'm thinking about a day trip in the fall and I think I may go to Tucumcari, New Mexico. It isn't that far from Amarillo and I can drive there, see a few sights, get a nice meal, and head back home. So what is there to see heading west?
There is the Cadillac Ranch which I covered earlier as part of Amarillo's Route 66 interests. What is more interesting to me is Glenrio. This town straddles the border of New Mexico and Texas. Eventually Route 66 made its way there and the town blossomed. Since Deaf Smith County in Texas was dry, liquor was sold on the New Mexico side. Since the taxes on gasoline were higher in New Mexico, gas was sold on the Texas side. In the 1950s a couple of buildings were built that showed Art Moderne influences. In 1975, the town's prosperity came to a crashing halt as Route 66 moved to I-40, bypassing Glenrio. However in 2007, the town was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Glenrio Historic District includes the old Route 66 roadbed and 17 abandoned buildings. I won't be able to drive through to New Mexico, though; New Mexico dug up their side of Route 66 so it wouldn't need maintenance. So I'll need to go back to I-40 to continue on to Tucumcari.
In Tucumcari, you are back on the old Route 66. Murals throughout town celebrate that heritage and there's even a New Mexico Route 66 Museum. But I love dinosaurs and so the Mesalands Community College's Dinosaur Museum draws me to it. There are displays and interactive features. The things I am looking forward are the bronze casts of the dinosaur bones. I love tangible items as they make what I am imagining real to me.
Next time I blog: fun things to do in Amarillo itself.
I'm thinking about a day trip in the fall and I think I may go to Tucumcari, New Mexico. It isn't that far from Amarillo and I can drive there, see a few sights, get a nice meal, and head back home. So what is there to see heading west?
There is the Cadillac Ranch which I covered earlier as part of Amarillo's Route 66 interests. What is more interesting to me is Glenrio. This town straddles the border of New Mexico and Texas. Eventually Route 66 made its way there and the town blossomed. Since Deaf Smith County in Texas was dry, liquor was sold on the New Mexico side. Since the taxes on gasoline were higher in New Mexico, gas was sold on the Texas side. In the 1950s a couple of buildings were built that showed Art Moderne influences. In 1975, the town's prosperity came to a crashing halt as Route 66 moved to I-40, bypassing Glenrio. However in 2007, the town was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Glenrio Historic District includes the old Route 66 roadbed and 17 abandoned buildings. I won't be able to drive through to New Mexico, though; New Mexico dug up their side of Route 66 so it wouldn't need maintenance. So I'll need to go back to I-40 to continue on to Tucumcari.
In Tucumcari, you are back on the old Route 66. Murals throughout town celebrate that heritage and there's even a New Mexico Route 66 Museum. But I love dinosaurs and so the Mesalands Community College's Dinosaur Museum draws me to it. There are displays and interactive features. The things I am looking forward are the bronze casts of the dinosaur bones. I love tangible items as they make what I am imagining real to me.
Next time I blog: fun things to do in Amarillo itself.
posted by Federation Commander at 2:08 AM
<< Home