On the way to Santa Fe...

Tall guy on buried Cadillac

Ok so that's not the title of the song but today was the BEST ride yet!
Our day started at the world  famous Cadillac Ranch just outside of Amarillo just off of Rte 66. This is a place where somebody  has planted 12 old Cadillacs nose down in the middle of a field. Don't really know the story behind it, but it sure is interesting to see. It is tradition to bring a can of spray paint and leave grafitti on the cars. One of our group was there just a few weeks ago and he could not find his grafitti from then as it had been covered with new graffiti.

Inside the Mid Point Diner

Then it was on Adrian texas and the Midpoint Diner where you can order your food in New Mexico and have it delivered to Texas. It is on the mid point of the trek between Chicago and Los Angeles. Amy made 100 pies in anticipation of our visit. I did my part with a piece of Chocloate peanut butter. I need to work out-a lot!!!!



We headed west from Adrian on a VERY rough stretch of the mother road. that and the wind from the south presented a real challeng for the morning. We rode through a lot of old towns, most all but abandoned because of the interstate and in most we were the only traffic. The wind has been remarkable and we notice today that all of the trees and brush have a slant to the north due to the constant wind out of the south.

'54 Chevy

Just east of Santa Rosa NM we found the best automobile museum. It is in Russell's Truck stop on Rte 40. This guy has the most pristine collection that I have ever seen. My favorite was a '54 Chevy (I was born in '54) but he had a '57 Chevy a 49 Ford. 58 T-Bird, 40 Chevy and about a dozen others. Very nice.


After we left the Auto Museum we stopped in the town of santa Rosa for a little Mexican at Joseph's bar and Grill really good burrito.

The Highlight of the day was when we decided to take a little side trip. Most of the time when people take this trip, the head west out of Santa Rosa on the Rte 40 interstate to Albuquerque. However the old 66 ran nort to Las Vegas, NM and then on to Sante Fe. We decided to stay true to Rte 66 and go to Santa Fe even though it would add 6 or so miles to an already long day. Well was it worth it and then some. The old route heads north then skirts the southern end of the Santa Fe National Forest as it goes west out of Las Vegas. The ride takes you up to about 7200 feet and the Vista is SPECTACULAR! We stopped for an afternoon lemonade in Santa Fe and did a little exploring in the City Square where there were several street vendors. The trip back down from Sante Fe was no less spectacular than the trip up and we finally arrived in Albuquerque 13 hours and 380 miles after we started the day in Amarillo.

Tomorrow is an off day in Albuquerque. We have a presentation at breakfast and then I think I might stay off the bike and maybe go the the old city and explore a bit.

Here is a short chance for you to take a ride with me: