Blue Swallow: The Blue Swallow Motel has been a popular Route 66 motel for decades and is the most well-known of the Tucumcari motels. Travelers continue to book the facility months in advance due to its popularity along Route 66. This photo shows the motel with its classic Hudson auto parked in the entrance at twilight as the neon lights begin to light the motel. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
La Cita: La Cita Restaurant is a popular Mexican Restaurant on Historic Route 66 in Tucumcari. The bright yellow exterior with murals painted on many walls and the tall sombrero over the entrance make the restaurant an easy place to spot. The light at the top of the sombrero is the almost full moon which appears to be sighting the top of the large sombrero. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Tucumcari Welcome: A mural painted on the side of the building which houses the Tucumcari Visitor’s Center welcomes visitors as they arrive at the facility. The late afternoon sunlight made the mural stand out to passersby’s. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
On our return trip from the Texas Hill Country, we wanted to extend our trip by touring around for a few days. I have been taking photos of Historic Route 66 for a few years and decided to add to my collection of photos of the road known as “America’s Main Street”.
We began by stopping and spending an afternoon in Amarillo, Tex. photographing the most preserved section of the route than ran east to west through the city which is on SW 6th Avenue.
On a cold and windy morning we chose to skip the Cadillac Ranch on the western side of Amarillo just off of Interstate 40. We stopped in Adrian, Texas at the Mid Point Cafe for lunch, which was several miles down the road. This location is the center of Route 66 as it crosses the country from Chicago, Ill. to Los Angeles, Calif., thus the Mid Point name.
After enjoying a great lunch and browsing the small Route 66 shop at the restaurant it was time to roll on down the road. Our next stop was on the Texas/New Mexico border at the town of Glenrio which today is a ghost town. Remnants of a couple of gas stations and the shell of an old motel and cafe are about all there is to seeing Glenrio.
However, just a few miles away is the Russell’s Travel Center that sits on the frontage road of I-40, which has an address of Glenrio, N.M. Within the travel center are a diner, a travel shop selling items for truckers as well as travelers. In addition the center features a museum of mid-century Americana items including several 1950s cars, which have been restored to showroom beauty. We spent about an hour in the museum before moving on to Tucumcari, N.M., where we intended on staying for the rest of the day and overnight.
Tucumcari was a major travel stop during the decades when Route 66 was a well-traveled highway. Today, Historic Route 66 runs the entire length of town. There are numerous motels, restaurants, Route 66 shops, and other businesses which feature Route 66 items and information. There is a Route 66 Museum on the western end of town but it was closed by the time we arrived in town.
Tucumcari ran a successful travel campaign for several years called “Tucumcari Tonight”. The purpose was to feature the many motels and restaurants available for travelers. Many of the businesses have since closed and travel on the route through town has dwindled since the opening of I-40 several years ago but it remains a popular destination for those traveling Historic Route 66.
I began photographing the route through town late in the afternoon which featured the warm New Mexico sunlight. As the sunlight faded and skies began to darken, I was able to capture some evening photos of the businesses that feature neon lighting.
I photographed until the twilight hours had passed and the skies were dark for the night. We enjoy visiting towns along the Historic Route 66 path and learning more about each location. I enjoy Americana subject matter and Route 66 is loaded with those sites and businesses.
Route 66 will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2026 and there will be more and more information on events along the route during that year. I am hoping to spend as much time traveling the route during the anniversary and attending some of the festivals and activities being planned in honor of the route.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Tepee Curios: Tepee Curios has been selling many regional items as well as Route 66 items for years. The late afternoon sunlight gave the building a warm glow. Visitors enter the shop through a door in the front of the tepee. The design of the facility and the flashy southwestern colors make it an easy place to find along the Historic Route 66 in Tucumcari. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Route 66 Museum: The sign at the Route 66 Museum and Convention Center is designed to attract visitors to the museum. Unfortunately for us, we arrived after closing and were not able to tour the museum. Shown is the sign at twilight on the evening we were in town. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Blue Swallow and Classics: While photographing the Blue Swallow there was a group of vintage car enthusiasts on the grounds showing their cars. As I was about to leave they moved the classic cars to the front of the motel which created another photo op that I could not pass up. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Tepee Curios at Night: The Tepee Curios shop was well lit around the tepee entrance and the neon sign was shining bright when we passed by later in the evening. The night lighting was an eye catcher as we drove by that evening. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
