Tucumcari Tonite

Tucumcari Tonite - Historic Route 66

Tucumcari Tonite ©2012 Bo Mackison

The world is a country which nobody ever yet knew by description; one must travel through it one’s self to be acquainted with it. ~ Lord Chesterfield

Day 1 Part 2. The travel notes continue:

We note the differences between Iowa/Illinois and Missouri. Missouri has fewer corn fields. It looks scrubbier, homes are smaller. The land is undulating, like Iowa – gentle hills, lots of stands of old trees, mostly oaks.  There are more horses, fewer cattle and no dairy farms. The barns are used less for protection of animals, more for storage of grains. They are open and often have several lean-to sheds propped against their exterior walls.

Passing Hamilton MO, boyhood home of J C Penney. Hmmm.

Sunlight streams though the stand of oak, all is a rich golden brown in the low sunlight. They look like shimmering cinnamon sticks.

Cameron MO. Gas is $3.07. We finally get on an interstate to make faster time. I-35.

Passing ENCHANTED FROG ANTIQUES. Looked interesting, but not open. Wonder how it got its name?

First time we see gas for less than three dollars a gallon. $2.99 at Exit 40. Why is gas always cheapest around Kansas City area? — we notice this every time we pass through.

Head into Kansas City, MO at 8 am.

Crossing the Missouri River – managed a few photos of the overhead structure of the bridge. The HISTORIC IMPERIAL BREWERY BUILDING is for sale. It has style, bet it was a real beauty, back in its heyday.

Fishing Creek
Turkey Creek
Missouri River

Kansas state line. 34 degrees and sunny as we leave Kansas City, KS. 8:30 am.

Entering the Flint Hills of Kansas. There is a National Geographic spread — 22 pages – on the Flint Hills in its April 07 issue. So the sign says.

Bull Creek
Wolf Creek
Ottawa Creek
Marias de Cinega
Tequa Creek

Kansas compared to western Missouri? Flatter lands, still shrubby. Farms have fewer barns and store more of their equipment and larger household appliances outside. Oil wells – the ones that stand about 8 feet tall – pump in many fields.

Speed limit has gradually increased from 55 in Wisconsin to 65 in Iowa to 70 in Missouri and now it is 75 mph.

The woods are oak, hickory, sycamore. Only an occasional evergreen tree or shrub.

Rock Creek
Coal Creek
Long Creek
Frog Creek
Badger Creek

Why is Marion, KS called the Rhino Capitol of the World?

Stopped at the Tall Grass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge. There is a nearby bed and breakfast, CLOVER CLIFF RANCH. I would like to stay here for a few nights. What a great setting, looks like a great ranch!

Long trains are now frequent. Freight cars pulled and pushed by 4 to 6 engines.

Landscape is mostly grasslands. Fewer stands of trees. Most of the trees we see were planted for windbreaks around ranches and farms.

Emporia KS is the Founding City of Veterans Day. It is a good place for historic buildings, too. Historic district.

Past Emporia, the tenor of the land is drier, colorless. Many shades of brown, but the rich soil is a deep black. The landscape is offset only by a pale blue sky. Most of the land is for grazing. The buildings are built close to the ground – earth huggers – a good idea in this tornado and blizzard belt.

There is an underground salt mine in Hutchinson KS. Hutchinson is called the “Salt City.” It also has a rescue/adoption program for wild mustangs. Gas is $3.21.

Cow Creek
Ninnescah River
Arkansas River

Only scattered farms. Lots of solitude to be found in western Kansas. Still very dry.

Crooked Creek (dry)
Cimarron Creek (dry)
Pony River (dry)
Beaver River (dry)

Now we are in Oklahoma, crossing just a snippet of its Panhandle. It looks like southwestern Kansas – not a surprise. There is sage brush, dried grasses. And the feed lots – which always make me fret over my decision not to be a strict vegetarian.

Now we are in Texas. We are crossing a bit of this state’s Panhandle, too. Gas is $3.27 a gallon in Dalhart, Texas.

We arrive in Tucumcari and find a hotel, order carry-out for supper. It is 5:45 pm.

On out first travel day, designed to be long on driving while we are both fresh, we traveled 14 hours and drove 863 miles.

Tomorrow we arrive in Albuquerque early, and take time off for exploring, before the last leg of our journey.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She loves to document facts and trivia in her travel journals when traveling cross country.

 

Murals on Historic Route 66

Bus to Tucumcari - Historic Route 66 Art

Bus to Tucumcari © 2012 Bo Mackison

On our travels from Arizona to Wisconsin, we took a few long detours away from the Interstate system. There are only so many hours of a driving day that I want filled with semi trucks passing me going upwards of 85 mph. At least when we take the more rural routes, we are usually pleased to find decent two lane roads, little traffic, and a few surprises along the way.

One such surprise — actually one long string of surprises — was the strip of Historic Route 66 running through the northern part of Tucumcari, New Mexico. These few blocks of Route 66 are filled with a wonderland of murals depicting the Mother Road in a different era.

You're Here - Historic Route 66 Motel and Murals

You're Here © 2012 Bo Mackison

Many of the murals feature the slogans “Tucumcari Tonite” and “You’re Here” reminiscent of the times when these signs dotted the highway for hundreds of miles, beckoning the Route 66 travelers to stop at one of the dozens of motels that lined the main street in Tucumcari. Now, Interstate 40 runs along the southern edge of the town and there are hotels and restaurants providing for most travelers who are in search of the speediest  way.

But there also is a lot of renovation going on along Route 66, and quite a few appealing vintage motels are open for business, providing all the comforts of home. And a great view of a lot of really fun art.

Tucumcari Tonite - Historic Route 66

Historic Route 66 Motel © 2012 Bo Mackison

If you are inclined to see a thousand or so vintage murals, there is even a resource from the Mural Museum, conveniently titled 1,000 Murals – From Pontiac Illinois to Tucumcari New Mexico. It provides information on finding those many elusive art forms on the back roads of middle America.

Tucumcari Tonight - Historic Route 66 Motel

Tucumcari Tonight © 2012 Bo Mackison

Perhaps I will stop and see a few more of these amazing murals on my return trip to Arizona. Wouldn’t it be an adventure to follow parts of Route 66 and document the murals in photographs? I only had a (very) short time to snap these few photos as Sherpa and I took a short break from driving.

But it would be even more fun to stop awhile in some of these towns, say hello to the local citizens, and see more than the back ends of speeding trucks making time on the Interstate.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Sometimes she needs to rush along and traveling on the Interstates make sense, but she much prefers to take her time and see the country she is traveling through.