Tucumcari was the place that the old television series, “Rawhide,” was filmed. At least the outdoor segments were. (Following this article there is a set of photos we took from our walk tonight along Route 66.)We were up and at ‘em early and tried to beat the expect 90-plus degree temperatures in Amarillo, Texas, which was about halfway between where we stayed last night and where we are tonight. The first part of the drive was in the fog and the last part in the bright New Mexico sunshine.
The temperature was 83 when we arrived in Tucumcari, but with the stiff breeze and low humidity made it very pleasant.The main street of the city is the old Route 66 Route and the Cactus RV Park we are located on is a former motor hotel so common on the route in the 1950s and 1960s. None of the little rooms are still in use and I have included a photo here so you can see what was here.
We arrived in Amarillo about noon and the temperature was 83, so we did pretty well. In addition to today’s stiff headwind (about 20 mph) we were climbing in elevation all day. Where we were at last night was at 1,600-feet and today we are above 4,000-feet. Tomorrow, we’ll be above 5,000-feet.Outside Amarillo we saw our first real Long Horn cattle and that was pretty cool.
The effects of the drought are pretty obvious in the Texas panhandle and there is little to break the wind along I-40. Once we got close to New Mexico the scenery changed considerably with the appearances of the first mountains and mesas so common to the Southwest.
All of that presents a challenge for gas mileage and where we usually average about 10 mpg, today we were just above 7 mpg for the whole day.
We grinned when we saw the name of the last county in Texas – Deaf Smith County. Tonight, Joan cleaned out the refrigerator as we will have exhausted all the pre-planned meals for the first part of the trip. Because we don’t unhook the Tahoe and trailer she has to plan to have everything aboard that we will need until we get to our first unhook destination, which is tomorrow.
Dinner was bratwurst, hamburger, salad, rolls and deviled eggs. We walked to a nearby ice cream store for a little treat.
After dinner we went for a little walk along the old Route 66 and took some photos. Kind of sad to see the decay and vacancies along the strip.Early tomorrow we will head to Rio Rancho, New Mexico for a few days of sightseeing in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area and also to check in with an old friend and retired police officer Terry.
We are looking forward to catching up with him and his wife. 
Time out: 8:34 a.m. (Central time)
Mileage in: 76437
Time in: 12:50 p.m. (Mountain time)
Good morning Jim and Joan:
ReplyDeleteJust caught up on reading the two latest blogs, first from Oklahoma and text from Tucomcari (misspelled). Here are a few ramdom comments in no particular order of importance, they are all "important."
Your comments on the wind in Amarillo brought back memories of the summer of 1943 when I was in Army basic training at the Army Air Base just outside the city limits. Two things I remember: In Amarillo you can stand up to your knees in mud and get dust in your eyes - the only thing to stop the wind in Amarillo is a barbed wire fence! We were pleased to leave that place and go on to Stillwater, Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M. A wonderful change.
Your comments of the train noise brought back a memory of when the four of us spent the night in Reno returning from a visit to Blair. You, Mike and Janet were out at the pool and I was in the motel room bathroom when it felt -- and sounded --- like an earthquake. I looked out the bathroom window and there was a freight train passing by so close I could have reached out and touched it! Sleep was not high on the list that night.
Your pictures of motels and businesses along Highway 66 were very special. We had some pretty good times back then on our trips. I could go on for pages, but the next time were together we'll reminisce about the "good times."
Continue having a wonderful time and we'll continue to read the blogs.
With love,
Dad