Tucumcari
We spent the night in Tucumcari at the Best Western Discovery Inn. We arrived late the previous evening, so we pretty much went straight to the hotel to sleep. In the evening, we admired only the historic Blue Swallow Motel, operating since 1939. This motel would have been an authentic Route 66 experience, but unfortunately, there were no available rooms, so we missed out on this experience. The motel’s courtyard is illuminated with neon lights and has a very American-style small-town motel feel. It is said if you don’t stay here, your Route 66 experience isn’t complete.
Before leaving, we took a little drive around the town. This town is very Route 66-themed, with lots of murals, Route 66 logos painted on the roads, and other fascinating sights.
Santa Rosa
The next town was Santa Rosa, and here, we found some nice attractions. First, we visited the Route 66 Auto Museum, which had an extensive collection of different cars and vintage items.
Santa Rosa’s most famous attraction is likely the Blue Hole, a clear blue natural pool. This place is a real gem, considering that we’re in the middle of a desert where it rarely rains and the terrain is very dry. If you want, you can swim here, so bring your swimsuit! The pool is 24 meters deep and is also a popular diving spot. The water in this spring-fed pool is quite cold, around 17 degrees Celsius.
The Blue Hole is one of seven lakes connected underground. There are also picnic tables here, so it’s a great spot for a break, even if cold water doesn’t tempt you for a swim.
Power Dam Falls is an old and small dam on the outskirts of the city. We had seen pictures of how this place could have a nice-looking small waterfall, but when we were there, it was really hot and dry, so the place didn’t show its best side with low water levels. Nonetheless, it was a decent stop.
Otherwise, the town shows a lot of history from Route 66’s heyday, with old motels, restaurants, and gas stations. Some are still thriving, while others are being overtaken by weeds.
Albuquerque – Breaking Bad Style
From Santa Rosa, we headed towards Albuquerque, the city made famous by the TV series Breaking Bad. We thought Albuquerque’s most beautiful place was Old Town, which had a really nice atmosphere with its narrow streets lined with beautiful reddish and white adobe buildings. There are many small handicraft boutiques here where you can find really nice souvenirs.
Breaking Bad is visible throughout the city, which is no surprise since the series is world-famous and entirely filmed in Albuquerque. There are guided tours that take you to the filming locations of the series. The tour is conducted in the iconic RV from the show, so the experience is guaranteed, and it’s highly recommended for fans of the series. We even saw this RV driving around the city and had to look closely to make sure Walter White or Jesse Pinkman wasn’t behind the wheel ๐
We stayed at the Motel 6 Albuquerque, NM – Coors Road. This accommodation cannot be praised outright, but the options were quite limited and reasonably priced when we made the reservation, so this is where we stayed. Fortunately, the room was basic but clean, so it was okay.
Near Albuquerque, there’s a beautiful mountain range that we visited. We drove up to Sandia Crest, where there’s an observation platform accessible by car in true American style. You can also reach this area by a gondola lift from the edge of the city. There are several hiking trails in the area if you want to explore nature more.
It was nice to be surrounded by greener nature again after spending days in a dry landscape.
Santa Fe
Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico and was included in the original Route 66 route, which was later changed to run directly from Tucumcari to Albuquerque. Based on photos, Santa Fe looked really nice and cozy, so we decided to visit.
We chose a hotel called The Sage Hotel, which was slightly outside the downtown area but still within walking distance, just over a kilometer from the center. The hotel was really nice, very clean, and had a unique interior design. The building itself was a red adobe building, fitting in with the city’s style.
Santa Fe is indeed an old city founded by the Spanish in 1610. The downtown buildings all have a unified style of adobe construction. Even newer buildings respect the old style and are made to look the same, maintaining a cohesive look throughout the city. Overall, it’s a very atmospheric city.
The heart of the city is Santa Fe Plaza, a park-like square where events are held. During our visit, there was live music, attracting many people. Surrounding the square are several beautiful buildings, including the New Mexico Museum of Art on the Plaza, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and Palace of the Governors at New Mexico History Museum
Downtown has many cafes, restaurants, and lovely little boutiques, so it’s definitely worth taking the time to enjoy the city’s atmosphere. A restaurant/drink spot recommendation is the Rooftop Pizzeria & Draft Station. This place is right on the edge of the main square, so you can watch park events while enjoying food and drinks. Note that they also serve gluten-free pizza here.
From Santa Fe, we continued our journey west towards Arizona, passing through Grants and Gallup. Grants was a fun quick stop, a very small town, but with lots of Route 66 signs and other interesting sights. As we reached Gallup, we were entering the territory of the Navajo and other Native American tribes. The area of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah has many Indian reservations, which are areas governed by indigenous peoples, with the Navajo reservation being the largest.
The roadside of New Mexico is adorned with these traffic signs, but it remains unclear whether this sign warns that UFOs might abduct cows or that UFOs might drop cows? ๐ง๐
As we drove towards Arizona, the landscape began to resemble scenes from Western movies, with more frequent red rock formations. It was truly breathtaking, and Arizona was one of the most anticipated states due to its numerous natural attractions.
For the night, we headed into Arizona, but I’ll save that for the next post.
