Last night after a very nice dinner at The Pow-Wow (complete with karaoke and some of it pretty good), Mike and I decided to see Tucumcari in the dark; dark that was illuminated by some great neon. Our motel, The Blue Swallow, is famous for its neon sign and little neon swallows perched above the rooms. Once again we fell asleep to the glow of neon.
Leaving Tucumcari was hard; great food, great motel, new friends, and of course the great neon signs. But, we were headed into new territory and towards Albuquerque. There were so many great signs between Tucumcari and Albuquerque that we couldn't get pictures of them all. The El Don is probably the most famous motel sign in this city, but we saw some that rivaled it.
Following the Route 66 signs out of town, we headed deeper into the barren land of New Mexico. We stopped at an old bridge in Rio Puerco that is now just for foot traffic. The sign giving the history of the bridge was marred by graffiti...hey, if you want to spraypaint go to the Cadillac Ranch! As I am writing tonight, I wish now that I had taken a picture of the graffiti. Mike and I walked across the bridge saddened by the thoughts that not everyone respects these gemsof the Mother Road.
As much as I love the old, decaying signs that define Route 66, I am thrilled by the new neon that will become part of the legend. I have hopes that one day my daughters will take this same trip and will be taking pictures of the these very signs plus some new one that I may never get to experience...all of them signs that The Mother Road is alive and well and thriving.
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