Route 66 Chicago to Los Angeles: Day 6 - Amarillo, TX to Santa Fe, NM

We started early this morning as we had almost 300 miles to cover. We also got an extra hour on the clock as we picked up Mountain Time when we crossed into New Mexico.

First stop this morning was the Cadillac Ranch where some enterprising fellow has buried 6-7 Cadillacs nose-in in the middle of a corn field. Lots of travelers on Route 66 stop to see this roadside attraction. The attendant at the gate allowed us to drive Marv’s ‘66 Cadillac onto the site for photos among the half-buried wrecks. We will post photos.

It was then onto the Magnolia Gas Station, a well-preserved station that dates to the 1920’s.

Then on to the Midway Cafe, which is literally half-way on the Route. From this point it is 1,139 miles to Santa Monica and 1,139 miles to Chicago. There is a big white line painted across the roadway so you can’t miss it.

From this point, we moved on to Tucumcari, NM for a visit to Tee Pee Curios, a strange little shop.

Santa Rosa was our lunch spot at Chico’s, a one-off Mexican restaurant that was very good. Unfortunately, Santa Rosa is one of those towns that is slowly disappearing.

There were certainly more closed shops than open ones. The town’s population is down to 2,500. Santa Rosa is very typical of the many towns we pass through on Route 66…..skeletons of their former glory. With no jobs, families move to large cities to find work and find better opportunities for their kids.

The last 100 miles into Santa Fe is through endless acres of sagebrush. Santa Fe is at an altitude of 7000 feet so it’s a bit of a climb up the mountains……handled well by our little VW Bug and all the other cars.