We wake up in Amarillo. It’s Friday. I think. 
The Texas panhandle is hotter, flatter and we start to see that people are very attached to their vehicles. So much so, that they keep them forever. As pets. In their yards.
Traveling Route 66 is like being part of a novel. As a tourist, you’re very much an outsider looking in. It’s a great place to visit, but I’m not convinced I want to pack my bags. I can’t not address the poverty. I’m not talking about the cute places that have managed to make it into the tour guides and road maps on this newly revived road trip route. I’m mostly talking about the places between those tiny dots on the map. I didn’t photograph any of these homes out of respect for their occupants, but the living conditions of some of these very rural, very remote places is… I don’t know. Words don’t do it justice. They lack even the most basic of “necessities.”
Between those places are the punchy towns who have managed to make the books and get characters in Disney movies – well, those places are fun. It’s diners and drive-ins and places who are prospering because America remembers the Mother Road. There, the people are happy, thriving and loving their tangible bit of living history. Those towns alone make the trip so worthwhile.
Still, you can’t talk about one without the other.
Not exactly a remnant, but vibrant proof that life along Rt 66 is thriving is Cadillac Ranch. Remember that Disney-Pixar photo of Ramone from Day 2? Look in the background. See how the rocks are shaped like tilted Cadillacs? Mr. Lasseter did his homework!
Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo, Texas:
We eat lunch at the Mid-Point Cafe, Adrian, Texas – named because it’s exactly half-way from the beginning and end of the Route 66 trip. We met Fran, who is vibrant and beautiful and fun – and… the inspiration for Flo in the Cars movie. We see her scrapbook of Cars memorabilia and learn that we just missed John Lasseter by a couple weeks. The girls who are “Mia” and “Pia” (the twins – McQueen’s biggest fans) in the movie also work at the Mid-Point Cafe. I could have stayed and chatted all day with the great people there.
In Bard, Texas we find that Route 66 isn’t even paved anymore. It’s gravel, and patches of squash and wildflowers have crept their way onto the sides of the road. And it’s seriously questionable if two cars could fit side-by-side without squashing the squash. It’s an adventure for sure.
Soon, we see the Texas – New Mexico border. First stop – Tucumcari, New Mexico. It’s a big dot on the Route 66 trip, and you can tell that this was once the It Place. The Blue Swallow is here, as is the start of all the kitschy Indian / Tee Pee novelty stores. But my boys? They’ve got cowboy fever. Bad.
By evening, we’re in Albuquerque in the Old Town and meeting an old friend for dinner. He was a groomsman in our wedding, and it’s a fun reunion since he moved away. We chat until we all about fall asleep in our seats.
Old Town Albuquerque is beautiful. We are asleep within minutes.
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