Entering New Mexico brings roughly 450 miles worth of enchantment and will take 2 days. This will look so different than Missouri, Oklahoma, even Texas. Till now the trip will have been relatively flat as we cross the Midwest. All of that changes in New Mexico, making travel more difficult and probably more interesting. We pack a lot of miles into the first several days of the trip, trying to get while the getting is good. From here on out our mileage per day will be less, but the terrain will be far more tricky. Snaky roads, up the mountain/down the mountain will all require focus and be more stressful, so we’ll travel at least as long every day but go far shorter distances.
Tucumcari – full of Route 66 relics, it also has great BBQ and Mexican food. This sounds wonderful. We’ll see the Blue Swallow Motel (probably a drive by) and head past the Tucumcari Trading Post and TeePee Curios before moving on to Santa Rosa, the scuba diving capital of the Southwest. Again, I did not know that!
Diving is very popular at the Blue Hole, a spring fed pool that brings in divers from all over the US. We won’t be diving but hope to see the area because it sounds beautiful. There’s also a Route 66 Auto Museum that may be worth our time. Parts of Route 66 in this area are considered undrivable or rough, which is something to consider when one is (two are) on a motorcycle. Dirt roads will not be on our itinerary, so we may end up bypassing bits of the OLD Mother Road in favor of paved roads. The scenery looks amazing through here so it’ll all be well worthwhile.
Santa Fe is someplace I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. It has become a must see; the adobe buildings, the clear blue skies, the nature, the artwork, all of it seems so perfect. The Man has family driving down from Colorado so that’s one more reason it’ll be great as we spend time over dinner and breakfast catching up. I’d also like to see the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum before we leave; plenty of photo ops between the scenery, family and art! Santa Fe also has a 30’ tall robot outside of George R. R. Martin’s Funhouse which sounds like something we can’t pass up.
Albuquerque (volcanoes!) and Gallup are next in line; we can’t pass up Dude Man – yes, another muffler man.
On the Open Road 